Results 1-20 of 174 for likes to work speaker:Richard O'Donoghue

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Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Annual Progress Report 2025: Discussion (24 Jun 2025)

Richard O'Donoghue: I have some simple and practical suggestions to help with the delivery of infrastructure on budget and on time. In the case of the three projects in which Uisce Éireann has been involved in Limerick so far, it has not come in within budget or on time. Accountability is needed within that sector because we are not getting value for money. The Department of public expenditure could...

Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Bill 2025: Second Stage (18 Jun 2025)

Richard O'Donoghue: ...zones. Where do we go? How did we get here in the first place? We got here because of a lack of infrastructure. What have we done over the past six years? I have been asking our Government to look at development-led infrastructure but what we did was that we set up Irish Water. Irish Water was set up to collect money for existing water products. It was set up to put in meters to...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 May 2025)

Richard O'Donoghue: I thank the Taoiseach for his response and look forward to meeting with the Minister on this. I am under no illusions; there are many criteria under different payments the Government must consider under different circumstances. When it comes to people losing a loved one, however, and they are trying to survive, whether they have children, there are massive overheads, even with current...

Biodiversity Week: Statements (21 May 2025)

Richard O'Donoghue: I welcome biodiversity but I also welcome biodiversity in the right areas and places. I also welcome safety on roads. On biodiversity, the laws that have been passed in this country never took into account people travelling. This is where I have a major issue with some of the laws on wildlife and biodiversity: as regards safety of lives. Roads where two vehicles could once travel are now...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 May 2025)

Richard O'Donoghue: Every day we come to the House, we are hear about housing, housing, housing. During the week, the EPA released a report on the inspections of septic tanks by local authorities. Areas were targeted where septic tanks were near rivers. The councils completed 1,390 inspections of tanks and found that 82% of the tanks were inadequate. We are talking about meeting housing targets here. What...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (1 May 2025)

Richard O'Donoghue: On International Workers' Day, I will talk about speed limits. I will give a few figures because I like figures. There are 3.2 million vehicles in this country. There are 5,413 km of national roads; 2,696 km of national secondary roads; 13,122 km of regional roads; and 81,293 km of local roads. The Government has reduced the speed limit on local roads to 60 km/h. Some of these roads...

Water Services (Repeal of Water Charges) Bill 2025: Second Stage [Private Members] (8 Apr 2025)

Richard O'Donoghue: Is the Minister up for taking help from someone who is in the construction sector, who knows water and sewerage and knows how to fix and maintain them? Will he take my offer of helping him to save money and get more value for money? Will he take that offer? I can help him to save money on what he is giving Uisce Éireann and get more infrastructure in place with the same money. If he...

Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Bill 2025: Second Stage (8 Apr 2025)

Richard O'Donoghue: I note that the Ceann Comhairle has asked people to stick to the topic, which I will. I will highlight a few issues. I support the Bill. I support any Bill that will allow a person to get his or her pension either before or at retirement age. The retirement age is now 66. I believe the Government should honour a person with an employment contract that was completed before the legislation...

Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Bill 2025: Second Stage (8 Apr 2025)

Richard O'Donoghue: The Ceann Comhairle, in the position she is in at the moment, is pulling us for something she was well able to do in the past. That is a point of humour, rather than a criticism. I support any Bill that will help people in this respect. I suggest to the Minister of State that I would like to open up negotiations for people outside the current criteria. This would allow us to move forward,...

Post European Council Meeting: Statements (26 Mar 2025)

Richard O'Donoghue: What protections do we have from Europe regarding the tariffs threatening to be introduced by America on our businesses here and across Europe? What protections have we got from such a thing coming down which could impact the loss of jobs, as well as the loss of investment in this country? Vance said Ireland was a tax haven for these companies. The funds and jobs we have from these...

Policing and Community Safety: Statements (Resumed) (5 Mar 2025)

Richard O'Donoghue: I wish the Minister of State well in his role. We need gardaí in my area. We also need equipment for our gardaí. Searches and rescues happened during snow and storms. The Garda assisted in searches for missing persons and had to borrow equipment from another county. I wish to put a question on the record and would like a written response from the Minister of State. There...

Disability: Statements (25 Feb 2025)

Richard O'Donoghue: I take this opportunity to wish the Ceann Comhairle the very best in her new role. My comments today are on accountability for the delivery of services. At the end of the day, the Government will be accountable but I am asking now for it to make changes within Departments so that people who do not deliver for people with disabilities in their Departments are made accountable. In other...

Programme for Government: Statements (Resumed) (12 Feb 2025)

Richard O'Donoghue: I wish both the Minister and Minister of State well in their positions. I look forward to working with them. As my colleagues have said, infrastructure is the main issue. I went across the road today to Buswells Hotel to meet Uisce Éireann. I am probably one of Uisce Éireann's biggest critics. I have been in business all my life. I like value for money and I do not believe...

Appropriation Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (6 Nov 2024)

Richard O'Donoghue: I have been in construction all my life, with over 30 years of experience, and am still in construction on a daily basis. I start work on site at 7 o'clock in the morning because most of the Departments I deal with do not open until 9 a.m. or 9.30 a.m. I get my day's work done in the morning before I come to work at all. That keeps me in tune with inflation, labour and material costs and...

Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2024: Second Stage (6 Nov 2024)

Richard O'Donoghue: The first day I came to the Dáil, I was greeted by a good Limerick man who brought me in. His first bit of advice for me was to get lost if I wanted to learn the House. When I asked what he meant he said I should get lost and go into every corridor and room because I would eventually find out where to go. He said I would learn very fast and it was only the way to get experience of the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 Oct 2024)

Richard O'Donoghue: No. Where Fine Gael was born was close to Clonakilty. He was born to the son of a farmer. Since it has come into government, for decades, Fine Gael has done nothing but close down farms around this country. We then go to Eamon de Valera, who was born in New York and raised in Bruree, County Limerick, and was for Fianna Fáil. Again, we look across the Governments over decades slowly...

Finance Bill 2024: Second Stage (16 Oct 2024)

Richard O'Donoghue: ...background and have been self-employed nearly all my life. I have education of life and of business because I am in business. Why does the Cabinet get it wrong all the time? The Government likes percentage models. How many in the Cabinet are businesspeople or come from the farming or community sector where they have been involved in their communities? When one breaks it down and looks...

VAT Rate for Hospitality Sector: Motion [Private Members] (16 Oct 2024)

Richard O'Donoghue: The Government has proved that it, and the Minister of State's Department, know nothing about business. Deputy Micheál Martin has said that the issues in respect of the hospitality sector need to be revisited. That is what he is saying now. Why is that the case? The Government did not cost it properly. The increase in VAT and the two increases to the minimum wage have affected...

Financial Resolution No. 3: Capital Acquisitions Tax (1 Oct 2024)

Richard O'Donoghue: While I welcome this increase, it does not go far enough if you take into account the last three or four years of inflation and the cost of properties. Let us take as an example a cottage that somebody has left to a family member. Three or four years ago, before costs increased as a result of inflation, you could not give away a cottage for €25,000 or €30,000. Now they...

Financial Resolutions 2024 - Budget Statement 2025 (1 Oct 2024)

Richard O'Donoghue: I would like to put forward a question to the people in Ireland and to all the different generations of people who have voted for Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Green Party and other parties. I ask them today whether their children and grandchildren are for sale because that is what this budget is. The Government is trying to buy the votes of those who have voted for those parties for...