Results 2,141-2,160 of 3,652 for speaker:Michael Collins

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (1 Oct 2020)

Michael Collins: 239. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will address a matter (details supplied) regarding apprenticeships; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27957/20]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Prescriptions Charges (1 Oct 2020)

Michael Collins: 257. To ask the Minister for Health if he will address a matter (details supplied) regarding the reduction in prescription charges in budget 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27958/20]

Forestry (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (30 Sep 2020)

Michael Collins: I will be speaking to the amendment once again. I will be pointing out to Deputies Boyd Barrett and Connolly that the whole point of the amendment tabled by Deputy Fitzmaurice is that we would speed up the appeals; it is not that we would not have appeals. Many appeals are quite questionable, but that is not what his amendment is for. It is clear what his amendment is for. It is to speed...

Forestry (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (30 Sep 2020)

Michael Collins: It looks as though the Minister of State is going to reject every amendment proposed tonight. She did that in the Seanad, where she rejected all but one or two. She has her own agenda. I spoke to her in a call on Zoom last week. While I welcomed the Bill, it was weak. That is fair. It was put before us and we had the opportunity to put down amendments, which now she will reject one by...

Forestry (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (30 Sep 2020)

Michael Collins: I fully support Deputy Fitzmaurice's amendment and reject everything Deputy Boyd Barrett has said. He assumes that we in rural Ireland love to butcher trees and never plant them. That is totally wrong. It is unfortunate. The Deputy needs to spend a little bit more time in rural Ireland. I know he comes to west Cork sometimes. I will take him for a spin the next time he is down there and...

Forestry (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2020 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed) (30 Sep 2020)

Michael Collins: I wish the Minister of State the very best in her new position. Some 12,000 jobs are at risk, all in rural Ireland. Forestry and timber are critical for anyone who cares about rural development and rural jobs. There are 500 jobs on the line in GP Wood in Enniskeane and its associated companies, where hours are being reduced next month. Forestry is an industry worth €2.3 billion....

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Business of Special Committee (30 Sep 2020)

Michael Collins: I thank the witnesses for being with us today. My first question is open to answer by anybody on the panel. Earlier, Deputy Mick Barry touched on an interesting scenario. I live in the constituency of Cork South-West, which has a geographical spread of 150 km, which is massive. As Cork is far bigger than any other county in Ireland, surely it has to be looked at differently. I heard...

European Union (Common Fisheries Policy) (Point System) Regulations 2020 (S.I. No. 318 of 2020): Motion [Private Members] (29 Sep 2020)

Michael Collins: I have a few more minutes.

European Union (Common Fisheries Policy) (Point System) Regulations 2020 (S.I. No. 318 of 2020): Motion [Private Members] (29 Sep 2020)

Michael Collins: Patrick Murphy, chief executive of the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation, which represents 490 fishermen and their families, spelled this out starkly when he said that the recent decision by the then acting marine Minister, Deputy Micheál Martin, to sign contentious statutory penalty points legislation for fishing breaches into law was dismaying. Mr. Murphy said that two...

European Union (Common Fisheries Policy) (Point System) Regulations 2020 (S.I. No. 318 of 2020): Motion [Private Members] (29 Sep 2020)

Michael Collins: I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this excellent motion. There is a centuries-old legal dictum applying in our Irish common law system, overlaid by the requirements for the administration of justice under Bunreacht na hÉireann 1937, that no person can be a judge in his or her own case. Accordingly, it is not the duly appointed judges of Ireland who prosecute people for...

EU-UK Negotiations on Brexit: Statements (Resumed) (24 Sep 2020)

Michael Collins: I thank the Minister for staying on for the full debate. It is rare to see that happening in the Dáil. I attended the annual general meeting of the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation in the Maritime Hotel, Bantry, last Saturday in order to educate myself on the crisis that Brexit will be for our fishing industry. Brexit has created fallout for the industry and it is...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (24 Sep 2020)

Michael Collins: Some 12,000 people in Ireland suffer from Parkinson's disease. Each and every one of them lives with the disease without much State assistance. Local county-level Parkinson's groups have operated in Ireland for many years. In Cork, one of these has been making the lives of Parkinson's sufferers somewhat easier. It raises funds locally for research and equipment for patients and last year...

Covid-19 (Transport): Statements (23 Sep 2020)

Michael Collins: I know that school transport does not fall under the Minister's brief but it is a nightmare throughout my constituency in Cork South-West. I am getting calls from frustrated and angry parents from Kinsale to Mizen Head. Coaches and buses are available. Drivers are available because they are not driving tourists around Ireland. Why can those vehicles not be used to transport our children...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (23 Sep 2020)

Michael Collins: During the recent election campaign, the Taoiseach's party issued written reassurances on the future of Bantry General Hospital and the anaesthetist post there. In the programme for Government, however, no specific commitment was made on Bantry hospital, even though commitments were made for many more hospitals. Almost two years ago, the then Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, visited...

Sick Leave and Parental Leave (Covid-19) Bill 2020: Second Stage [Private Members] (23 Sep 2020)

Michael Collins: I agree with my colleagues in the Rural Independent Group. It is a bit rich of the Labour Party to put this forward today, when it absolutely destroyed women's pensions. It comes before me in my constituency every week because of the Labour Party's errors and what it did to persecute the women of this country. It has forgotten that quickly but we have not forgotten it because we have to...

Community Safety and Fireworks: Motion [Private Members] (22 Sep 2020)

Michael Collins: The setting off of fireworks in and around a home must be terrifying for anyone who has to tolerate the behaviour of those who show scant regard for people and their property. We must go back to the root of problems as it is mainly our youth who involve themselves in these mindless acts. Not all youth are involved in disruptive behaviour, however. This can be seen from the Garda youth...

Community Safety and Fireworks: Motion [Private Members] (22 Sep 2020)

Michael Collins: Hear, hear.

Climate Action: Statements (17 Sep 2020)

Michael Collins: I am delighted to see the Minister back in the Chamber and I wish him and his family the best. Climate change is a key topic and I am keen to ensure our actions in the Dáil will continue the safeguarding of our livelihoods and our way of life in our Ireland. I congratulate the Minister on the recent passing of the National Oil Reserves Agency (Amendment) and Provision of Central...

Expenditure Response to Covid-19 Crisis: Statements (Resumed) (17 Sep 2020)

Michael Collins: I will concentrate on the tourism, entertainment and community and voluntary sectors in my contribution. The tourism sector is hugely important for my constituency of Cork South-West. The increase in VAT rates from 9% to 13.5%, which happened pre-Covid, had devastating consequences for the tourism industry. It was a serious error made by the Government which it could have rectified, as the...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Sep 2020)

Michael Collins: The Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin, acting as Minister for fisheries, signed a statutory instrument which introduced a penalty points system on fishing fleets a few weeks ago while the Dáil was in recess when we had no chance to debate or stop that or at least submit amendments. Those penalty points have the potential to do major harm to the Irish fishing industry. I remind the...