Results 181-200 of 375 for speaker:Margaret Cox

Seanad: Order of Business. (3 Dec 2004)

Margaret Cox: It was a remarkable volume of stories about innocent people who lost their lives. Their mothers and fathers, sons and daughters are all across Northern Ireland. It is very difficult for many people in the Republic to understand these people's pain, and difficult for them to understand our hurt at the notion that our unarmed Garda force might not be thought special and that gardaí shot down,...

Seanad: Order of Business. (30 Nov 2004)

Margaret Cox: BreastCheck, the national breast screening programme, published its annual report for 2003 yesterday. It is a fine report and I would like to compliment all those involved on the information it highlights and the number of women's lives saved because of BreastCheck. However, as regards the west of Ireland, there is a line in the report which states: "Subject to satisfactory completion of...

Seanad: Order of Business. (30 Nov 2004)

Margaret Cox: Senator O'Meara might be happy to wait for that, but I am not. I am quite happy to have a fight here in this Chamber on the matter.

Seanad: Pension Provisions: Statements (Resumed). (18 Nov 2004)

Margaret Cox: We are debating pensions.

Seanad: Pension Provisions: Statements (Resumed). (18 Nov 2004)

Margaret Cox: Let us concentrate on pensions.

Seanad: Pension Provisions: Statements (Resumed). (18 Nov 2004)

Margaret Cox: There are two separate rates, one for the first and second child and a second rate for the third and subsequent children.

Seanad: Pension Provisions: Statements. (18 Nov 2004)

Margaret Cox: I welcome the Minister to the House. I am delighted the Leader was able to arrange this debate on pensions in advance of the budget and Estimates. I compliment Senator Terry on many of the points she made regarding the pensions industry. My focus will be on older people. The current pensions system is made up of two components, the social welfare pension and a supplementary pension. As a...

Seanad: Pension Provisions: Statements. (18 Nov 2004)

Margaret Cox: I am sorry. I was talking about SSIAs. It is a particularly important and attractive scheme. It was simple, clear and transparent. Everyone understood that whatever money was saved would be backed by the Government and that tax would only be paid on the interest. A number of weeks ago the Minister said he was considering the impact interest on SSIAs might have on means tests for social...

Seanad: Pension Provisions: Statements. (18 Nov 2004)

Margaret Cox: The Senator never does.

Seanad: Tax Code: Motion. (10 Nov 2004)

Margaret Cox: I find it funny that some Opposition Senators have said that the motion moved by Senator Mansergh is an exercise in back-slapping or self-praise. The motion "urges the Minister for Finance to continue to support a low tax regime". It is obvious that our economy has grown, developed and boomed in recent years because of the low-tax regime. Irish workers, particularly PAYE workers, are taking...

Seanad: Tax Code: Motion. (10 Nov 2004)

Margaret Cox: Our cancer strategy has been highly successful.

Seanad: Tax Code: Motion. (10 Nov 2004)

Margaret Cox: It certainly is.

Seanad: Tax Code: Motion. (10 Nov 2004)

Margaret Cox: We are well on the way to——

Seanad: Tax Code: Motion. (10 Nov 2004)

Margaret Cox: We certainly have regional specialties such as chemotherapy in the two centres with which I am familiar, in the west of Ireland and Cork. Cancer liaison teams are operating effectively in such centres. Radiotherapy will come on stream in the new year, or possibly beforehand. We are seeing an improvement in the health services in many areas. It is not enough, however, and I do not claim that...

Seanad: Tax Code: Motion. (10 Nov 2004)

Margaret Cox: It is to be hoped he will ensure this happens. It would really be something for the money to go back to charity. I draw the Minister's attention to the fact that many charities in this country pay the full 21% rate of non-reclaimable VAT when buying services. For many organisations, that is a substantial additional cost. We must investigate whether there is any other way of proceeding. The...

Seanad: Report on Seanad Reform: Statements (Resumed). (21 Oct 2004)

Margaret Cox: I am delighted to welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, to the House. It is great to see him sitting in that chair. I thank the Leader for continuing the debate on Seanad reform to allow all Members who wish to contribute to do so. Page 38 of the report states: . . . it is striking that very few public submissions received by the Sub-Committee called for the abolition of the...

Seanad: Children Act 2001: Statements. (20 Oct 2004)

Margaret Cox: I wish to share my time with Senator White. I am delighted the Minister of State is here today. He gave a comprehensive review of the Act and the work being done. I wish to focus on and widen the debate. The Minister of State does not have responsibility for child care and its cost, but it is important to use this opportunity to address the issues, particularly as we are facing into the...

Seanad: Order of Business. (20 Oct 2004)

Margaret Cox: As we prepare for the budget I am seeking a debate on the issue of child care. While I acknowledge significant strides have been made in this area in the past five or six years through increases in child benefit and the number of crèche places available, the manner in which we deal with the provision of child care is fundamentally flawed. That a recent survey showed that over 30% of the...

Seanad: Order of Business. (14 Oct 2004)

Margaret Cox: Yesterday, the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland launched its campaign for reform of local government funding. While I agree that to some extent local government will need more funding as we come to the end of the year, and will need multi-annual funding, I am concerned at the CCI's call for a site value tax on properties. This sounds like the introduction of rates on properties, a property tax...

Seanad: Order of Business. (13 Oct 2004)

Margaret Cox: Last week Senator Lydon called for a debate on equal rights for women. The Cathaoirleach and I recently attended an IPU conference in Geneva on equal and human rights for women throughout the world. There is urgency to this debate. In Swaziland recently a female student was attacked at a bus rank by a gang of bus conductors who repeatedly raped her because she was wearing a mini-skirt. Those...