Results 2,721-2,740 of 4,706 for speaker:Dessie Ellis

Private Members' Business - Irish Water: Motion [Private Members] (15 Jan 2014)

Dessie Ellis: Roddy Doyle wrote an amusing but scarily realistic characterisation of what a consultant is, and why the Government uses consultants, and shared it on a well-known social network today. If I can paraphrase it to avoid the expletives, it suggested that "a consultant", in the case of Irish Water, is just a nice way of describing someone brazen enough to charge €50 million for the...

Road Traffic (No. 2) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (15 Jan 2014)

Dessie Ellis: I, too, thank the Minister and his staff for all the information that has been passed to us and the way it has been handed over. It has made my job far easier. While we might disagree on small points, generally, this is a welcome Bill. It has hit many areas that have not been hit before, which is important. Ultimately, it is all about safety. The year thus far has started off rather...

Road Traffic (No. 2) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (15 Jan 2014)

Dessie Ellis: Is there a term which defines "mileage"?

Road Traffic (No. 2) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (15 Jan 2014)

Dessie Ellis: I, too, support the amendment in principle. Perhaps the Minister will clarify that this provision relates not to cars but to trailers attached thereto and so on and that, in the context of the promotion of car pooling, this provision will not be an issue.

Road Traffic (No. 2) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (15 Jan 2014)

Dessie Ellis: I certainly welcome this amendment. There is no doubt this has been a problem over the years. Many people have complained about the mileage being adjusted on second-hand cars. There have been considerable improvements in recent years and it is now much harder to tamper with odometers. However, where there is a will do it, someone will find a way. If the word "mileage" is used instead of...

Pyrite Resolution Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Dec 2013)

Dessie Ellis: I thank the Minister and his officials for their work. Much more is needed to address the issue, but this is a major step and it is important that the step be taken. I thank the Pyrite Action Group and people such as Ms Sandra Lewis, who worked tirelessly to get it to this point. I acknowledge that Shane McEntee did great work in this area, as did many others. I hope the Minister will...

Pyrite Resolution Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Dec 2013)

Dessie Ellis: I tabled amendments proposing that the chairperson of the board would report regularly to the Oireachtas joint committee. The Minister indicated that he might consider accepting that proposal and the reporting could be on a yearly or other basis. I am not doubting the Minister's commitment or what he has said but it would useful for us to be advised of how matters are progressing.

Pyrite Resolution Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Dec 2013)

Dessie Ellis: Is Amendment No. 11 included in this grouping?

Pyrite Resolution Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Dec 2013)

Dessie Ellis: Okay.

Pyrite Resolution Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Dec 2013)

Dessie Ellis: I move amendment No. 6:In page 11, line 3, after "Minister" to insert "with approval of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment".I am just getting my papers.

Pyrite Resolution Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Dec 2013)

Dessie Ellis: Are we on section 11? I did not catch the numbers.

Pyrite Resolution Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Dec 2013)

Dessie Ellis: That is what I meant. It was to include additional wording to the effect that the appointment of the board should have the approval of the Joint Committee on the Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht. That is common sense. We tend to examine the appointments of chairmen and other people to different boards and this is just a similar request, which is a simple one.

Pyrite Resolution Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Dec 2013)

Dessie Ellis: Yes, I will press it.

Pyrite Resolution Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Dec 2013)

Dessie Ellis: Before the Leas-Cheann Comhairle puts the question, I merely want to ask why some of the amendments have been ruled out of order. In the past, we have been told such amendments involve a cost to the Exchequer, etc. A number of amendments - Nos. 4, 5, 7 and 17 - are being discussed together.

Pyrite Resolution Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Dec 2013)

Dessie Ellis: I merely want an explanation, because we are all not happy about the process and the way this has gone. The Bill is being rushed through. We want to get this through, but following a proper debate, because there are many issues that we all raised on the last occasion here in the Dáil. It is clear that this is going through, much like the previous Bill, the Water Services (No. 2) Bill....

Pyrite Resolution Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Dec 2013)

Dessie Ellis: The Minister indicated that there was opposition and that the Cabinet had sat down to discuss the levy and who would pay for it. We have received no explanation as to who was objecting to this levy and the legal reasons behind it. I do not know whether he is in a position to elaborate. Was it the insurance sector, the building sector or representatives of the quarries, or was it a...

Pyrite Resolution Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Dec 2013)

Dessie Ellis: I ask that care be taken to ensure the categorisation scheme is consistent and is managed by highly qualified experts, because there is disagreement in certain places about the extent of pyritic damage. The problem needs to be properly assessed. I am concerned that properties assigned to the second category will be left on the long finger because funding will be prioritised to repair the...

Business of Dáil (19 Dec 2013)

Dessie Ellis: I take it that the Minister did not drink it.

Business of Dáil (19 Dec 2013)

Dessie Ellis: No, it is not. I accept that.

Other Questions: Public Transport Issues (19 Dec 2013)

Dessie Ellis: It is most disappointing to hear a Labour Party Minister defend the privatisation of part of Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann. The wording “opening up to tendering” is, without doubt, opening the door to privatisation. The Government’s attitude seems to be to blame it on the NTA, but the decision was an ideological one taken at Cabinet level.