Results 20,801-20,820 of 21,128 for speaker:James Reilly

Seanad: Housing: Statements (31 Jan 2018)

James Reilly: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy English, to the House. I thank him for his address which outlines clearly a major amount of progress and welcome the fact that there is a full acknowledgement that there is a long way to go to correct a situation that evolved over the past number of decades stemming mainly from the financial crisis and our inability to fund housing in the way that we...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Second Stage (7 Feb 2018)

James Reilly: I welcome the Minister of State to the House again. He is always more than willing to come here. I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill, which I welcome for many reasons as the Minister of State has outlined, particularly due to the provisions for electronic planning, which will make things much easier for people.I also welcome the provisions on taking into consideration, when...

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Feb 2018)

James Reilly: If the Senator has something specific to say, he should say it.

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Feb 2018)

James Reilly: On Senator Conway's suggestion, Young Fine Gael ran a campaign for reusable plastic cups for coffee etc. It advocated a 25 cent charge to raise awareness of the damage plastic does to our environment. We have all seen the television programmes showing thousands of tonnes of plastic in the sea, as well as whales and other sea mammals opened up with plastic inside them. This morning, The...

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Feb 2018)

James Reilly: In 2012, the House passed a law, which I, as the then Minister for Health, brought through the House and which was heavily sponsored by Senator Bacik. I refer to the law on female genital mutilation. This is the first time the Seanad has met since the broadcast last Thursday night of an interview on "Prime Time" in which Dr. Ali Selim made the outrageous statement that female circumcision,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sectoral Employment Order: Minister of State at the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation (13 Feb 2018)

James Reilly: I welcome the Minister and his team and congratulate them on good legislation. It is important that persons who are genuinely self-employed have some protections. We are taking a range of steps to address the issue. A self-employed individual may also be a small employer, but he or she has no protection once the business goes to the wall, having paid tax and made PRSI contributions for his...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2018)

James Reilly: I move amendment No. 24:In page 44, between lines 9 and 10, to insert the following:“Amendment of section 2 of Principal Act 7.Section 2 of the Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following definition:“ ‘planner’ and ‘planning consultant’ means a person who is:(a) a corporate member or fellow of the Irish Planning Institute; or (b) a...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2018)

James Reilly: The amendment contains a subsection (b).

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2018)

James Reilly: I thank the Senators for their contribution. I accept Senator Humphreys's bona fides on this. The second part of the amendment relates to "a person who has been permitted access to pursue the profession of planner pursuant to Article 5 of S.I. No. 139/2008 - Recognition of Professional Qualifications (Directive 2005/36/EC) Regulations, 2008." That includes very specifically the Royal Town...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2018)

James Reilly: I deliberately waited until the Minister of State had responded because I wanted to hear what he had to say. I found very little fault with what Senator Boyhan has said. We need more local democracy and we must reinforce and re-empower our councillors. Many of them have told me that far too much power has gone from their hands to the executive. I believe that we need to strike a balance....

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Feb 2018)

James Reilly: In respect of Senator Robbie Gallagher's comments, I am a practicing GP and I talk to other GPs. I know that what really makes them cross is the FEMPI legislation. I put my hand up because I was responsible for the introduction of some of those cuts during our financial emergency. However, the Senator's party was responsible for two thirds of the cuts. This has caused general...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Feb 2018)

James Reilly: All of us on this island would be very concerned about the development of further nuclear power plants in the UK, particularly at a time when we are driving towards renewable resources rather than back to the old ways. I rise today to add urgency to the call I made last week for the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to be brought to this House to explain how the new regulator at...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Feb 2018)

James Reilly: I am glad the Senator has mentioned that. I want to speak more forcefully on the issue of newspaper articles comparing the metro to a Luas or a tram. Those who know their onions with regard to transport will be aware that the Luas carries between 6,000 and 8,000 passengers per hour and unfortunately is interrupted by traffic, whereas the metro will be able to carry 20,000 passengers an hour...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Feb 2018)

James Reilly: The metro will be capable of carrying 30 trams per hour, or one every two minutes. It will carry 30 million passengers per annum. The estimated level of demand for metro services is 17,000 passengers per hour. As I have said, it will have a capacity of 20,000 passengers per hour. This project is not just about connecting the airport, Swords and the greater Fingal area to the city; it is...

Seanad: Services for People with Disabilities: Motion (21 Feb 2018)

James Reilly: I welcome the Minister of State to the House yet again. He is here so frequently he has almost taken up residence. Fair play to him that he never fails to turn up, which shows his interest in this matter in the first place and also his respect for the House. I commend my colleague, Senator Conway, for tabling the motion and I am honoured and privileged to second it. As he said, we should...

Seanad: Order of Business (22 Feb 2018)

James Reilly: I support the sentiments expressed by Senator Ó Clochartaigh. When I was Minister for Health, we opened stroke units in most major hospitals, which hugely improved outcomes for people. However, far more needs to be done in that regard. That very much feeds into the point I was going to raise today. Senator Ardagh mentioned good news relating to the national children's hospital....

Seanad: Order of Business (22 Feb 2018)

James Reilly: From the end of September, that will be the only form of cigarette packaging available. It is good to see its presence. Anybody with knowledge of cardiovascular disease, lung cancer or various other ailments is aware that smoking is a major cause of such health difficulties. With a view to ensuring that we further denormalise smoking, further protect our children and allow non-smokers the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Update on Preparations for Brexit: Discussion (27 Feb 2018)

James Reilly: I welcome our three sets of guests from IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and InterTradeIreland. I acknowledge the great work being done by all three bodies, but particularly by the IDA, in the area of Fingal. We have had two good announcements recently in respect of the Korean company, SK Biotek, and MSD biotech. So far, everybody has focused on the issues around our existing businesses....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Update on Preparations for Brexit: Discussion (27 Feb 2018)

James Reilly: With regard to the sentiment in the two countries since Brexit was mooted and passed by the people of Britain, I echo what has been said here, that is, that people from the United Kingdom are, for the first time in their lives, feeling slightly less welcome and thinking of moving. I am referring to professional research people whom I know. The culture here has very much changed. Ireland...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Update on Preparations for Brexit: Discussion (27 Feb 2018)

James Reilly: May I ask something because the question relates directly to InterTradeIreland? It emerged when the SME delegates were before us that many SMEs are not aware of what Brexit means for them. Those who are not exporters might not realise that a large part of their business involves supplying or servicing an exporter. Will the delegates comment on progress in this regard? What can we do to...