Results 1-20 of 31 for speaker:Mike Kennelly

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Flood Relief Schemes (14 May 2025)

Mike Kennelly: I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. This Commencement matter relates to flooding. If there is time, I hope to speak later on how flooding events in the past ten years have completely destroyed many areas in Listowel. Today I bring to the Minister of State's urgent attention a deeply distressing case involving the Gabrielyan family in Listowel, County Kerry, and the...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Flood Relief Schemes (14 May 2025)

Mike Kennelly: I wholeheartedly thank the Minister of State. The family has applied for the offer to be revised and increased. Can it take it that it is with the Department and we can look positively on an increase for the family to secure a home? I welcome all the work that has been done. It has been revised twice and the family has gone back again to look for further funding to eventually get out of...

Seanad: Public Health (Restriction on Sale of Stimulant Drinks to Children) Bill 2025: Second Stage (14 May 2025)

Mike Kennelly: I welcome the Minister of State and I thank Senator Keogan for bringing forward what I believe is a very important Bill. It is timely. As a parent and as a coach all my life who has dealt with children and adults, I have seen first hand what these stimulant drinks can do. They can drive kids, young adults and even adults nearly to a certain point of breakdown. It is timely and necessary...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (8 May 2025)

Mike Kennelly: I raise a humanitarian issue for a family in Listowel. Over the last ten years, they have been flooded in their home three times. They applied for the relocation scheme through the OPW but it is not working in their favour. The family are Artur and Liene Gabrielyan and their two sons. I will outline the details of their family journey so far with the OPW relocation scheme. They applied...

Seanad: Higher Education: Motion (7 May 2025)

Mike Kennelly: I wish to share time with Senator Byrne.

Seanad: Higher Education: Motion (7 May 2025)

Mike Kennelly: I move: That Seanad Éireann: acknowledges: - the establishment of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science; - our long established universities across the country; - the establishment and commencement of technological universities; - the multiple locations across regional Ireland that now have university campuses; - the establishment and...

Seanad: Higher Education: Motion (7 May 2025)

Mike Kennelly: I thank the Minister. This has been a wonderful debate on the future of every student. It is a relief that we can take back what was said to their families. These are difficult financial times for many families who are sending their kids to further, higher or third level education. Students and families in my area are coming to me about gaining access to the programme. This is the...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Health Promotion (30 Apr 2025)

Mike Kennelly: I would like to speak on an issue that may sound dramatic but is an issue of life and death at the moment, that is, the urgent need to introduce mandatory cardiac screening for all competitive sports players between the ages of 12 and 18. Too often we only act after tragedy strikes. However, now we have a chance to act before it does. Heart conditions are among the leading causes of sudden...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Health Promotion (30 Apr 2025)

Mike Kennelly: I thank the Minister of State for the response. Really, it is where we are and where we want to be, to be honest. Even in the last paragraph of his written reply, it refers to response times. I want to get away from the response times and to early intervention, where people are mapped from ages 12 to 18. They need to be mandatorily screened, with a certificate if they are going into...

Seanad: Revised National Planning Framework: Motion (29 Apr 2025)

Mike Kennelly: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I speak in opposition to the amendment proposed by Senators Cosgrove and Harmon, not out of convenience but because of my deep concern for the energy security and future of our nation. I stand in firm opposition to the proposed insertion that states “, subject to a clear prohibition on the development of a Liquid Natural Gas...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Closed-Circuit Television Systems (10 Apr 2025)

Mike Kennelly: I thank the Minister and welcome him to the Seanad. I wish to raise serious issues regarding the roll-out of CCTV surveillance in all our towns and villages across the country. It can offer several key benefits for public safety and well-being. CCTV systems act as a visible deterrent to individuals or groups considering illegal activities. In showing them they are being monitored, CCTV...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Closed-Circuit Television Systems (10 Apr 2025)

Mike Kennelly: I thank the Minister for his response. There lies his problem, namely, with the local authorities, the general data protection regulation, GDPR, and data control. It is for An Garda Síochána to take responsibility for data control. That is how this can be presented to the public in the context of what can be used in statute law. I welcome it. Since 2023, we have seen...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (10 Apr 2025)

Mike Kennelly: I am raising a very serious issue today that has blighted Knock in west Limerick and the lives of vulnerable people. Door-to-door scammers acting as bogus traders are scamming vulnerable people out of extortionate amounts of money. They are acting as tradesmen doing jobs like power hosing, painting or a tar job. One guy in the Knock area was caught for up to €4,000.Another job was...

Seanad: Flooding: Statements (9 Apr 2025)

Mike Kennelly: I welcome the Minister of State back to the House. He and I have debated this before as a Commencement matter, and I will give him a brief of that again. Storm Bert struck Listowel in November 2024. We should not let the blue skies today fool us when we are discussing flooding issues. Even before Storm Bert, we had three flooding issues in Listowel in July 2022 that destroyed the town,...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (8 Apr 2025)

Mike Kennelly: Last Thursday morning, on 2 April, it was with great sadness that we learned of the passing of a former Kerry Gaelic footballer and iconic Gaelic football manager, the great Mick O'Dwyer. Micko was king of the Kingdom and sprinkled some of his gold dust, wisdom and love of Gaelic football on other counties and places beyond with great success, leading his teams with unmatched passion and...

Seanad: Disability Services: Statements (8 Apr 2025)

Mike Kennelly: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and congratulate her on her appointment to what is one of the most serious portfolios in government. I am substituting for Senator Bradley, who is a leading advocate for people with disabilities. I wish her all the best. Last week, I attended an information evening entitled Breaking Barriers, which was hosted by Ballybunion Community and...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (2 Apr 2025)

Mike Kennelly: I raise a very serious health issue, namely, the lack of proper provision of home care hours for our elderly people, particularly in rural Ireland, with counties Kerry and Cork having the longest waiting lists of elderly people seeking to avail of the home care package. The number of older people in the country waiting on these hours stands at 5,556, of whom, astonishingly, 1,018 are in the...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (27 Mar 2025)

Mike Kennelly: I raise an issue on behalf of Councillor Teddy O'Sullivan and Jean O'Sullivan in Kenmare regarding the lack of respite services in Kerry for the most vulnerable in our society. In the programme for Government, the Government is committed to advancing the rights and improving the lives of people with disabilities. St. Francis Special School in Beaufort, County Kerry, is committed to...

Seanad: Road Safety: Statements (25 Mar 2025)

Mike Kennelly: I welcome the Minister of State. I welcome his statements and all the Government initiatives to allow everybody who goes out on our roads to get home safely. As every Senator has outlined, the issues are, in order: speeding; distracted driving; drunk driving and drug driving; poor road conditions; a lack of pedestrian infrastructure; and inadequate vehicle safety features, especially in...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Road Projects (20 Mar 2025)

Mike Kennelly: I thank the Minister of State for coming into the House. I express my best wishes to him in his new role. I look forward to working with him and to his statement in relation to my Commencement matter. I will discuss the complete deterioration and disrepair of the N69 national road from an area called Bolton's Cross, around Listowel, to the Tim Kennelly roundabout in Listowel. As a...