Results 201-220 of 605 for speaker:John Whelan

Seanad: Adjournment Matters.: Health Services (27 Sep 2012)

John Whelan: I thank the Minister of State for a comprehensive answer and do not doubt his bona fides in the matter. However, we would not have raised this matter on the Adjournment today if the measures set out by the Minister of State were in place. Based on information I received from parents of children affected in the narcolepsy support group, that is the range of responses they seek but the...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters.: Health Services (27 Sep 2012)

John Whelan: I am very grateful to the Minister of State.

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Oct 2012)

John Whelan: I congratulate Senator Hayden on her election as the new Whip of the Labour Party Seanad group. I wish her well in her endeavours. I share Senator Darragh O?Brien?s concern about pre-budget speculation and consternation. I thought we had ceased the leaking of pre-budget proposals so as not to upset unnecessarily families already put to the pin of their collar. I agree with Fr. Seán Healy...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Oct 2012)

John Whelan: I, too, add my commendation to the Minister for Education and Skills and express support for him in this creative and bold move. I hope it will receive the broad-based support Senator Quinn mentioned from the stakeholders within the education sector to radically reform the junior certificate. I noted the Senator's comments but am not sure if a course that teaches Kerry people how to make...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Respite Care Services (4 Oct 2012)

John Whelan: I have the privilege of welcoming the new Minister of State at the Department of Health to the House for the first time in that capacity. I wish him well in his endeavours. He is singularly fit and capable of carrying out his duties and responsibilities. In the 18 months I have been in the Seanad I have not raised a matter that concerns me as much as this matter before the House. It...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Respite Care Services (4 Oct 2012)

John Whelan: I intend no disrespect but that is more or less the same answer I received from the Muiríosa Foundation one month ago and from the Department of Health when I made contact last week in respect of this matter. It does not get to the underlying problem whatsoever. Everyone involved including the families affected know full well about the nature of the cutbacks and the strain on resources. I...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Oct 2012)

John Whelan: I call on the Leader, as a matter of urgency, to inform the Minister for Finance and the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, of a matter of grave concern, namely, a fire hazard which could have serious ramifications in the town of Portarlington. It concerns the former Avon Arlington factory which is disused, closed and derelict since 1998 but apparently is now under...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Oct 2012)

John Whelan: I pay tribute to two outstanding and courageous journalists - Paul Kimmage and David Walsh. They deserve all our thanks and full credit for the courage, conviction and perseverance they showed over a decade to expose the outrageous cheating, drug abuse and doping that occurred on the Tour de France. They have been vindicated, although Mr. Kimmage stands exposed to being sued, which is a...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Oct 2012)

John Whelan: My question pertains to media control and ownership because without a strong, independent and robust media, these situations would never be challenged or exposed. A documentary on RTE last night dealt with the question of the future of television. Will programmes only be made on the basis of who can sponsor or pay for them? Will it be a case of he who pays the piper calls the tune? That...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Bank Branch Closures (23 Oct 2012)

John Whelan: I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. I am glad to see him here because I know he takes the matters we raise here seriously and will address them to the best of his ability. Where will I start with regard to AIB? It is in State ownership but not under State control because the same people are still running it in their own image and likeness and doing what they see fit with...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Bank Branch Closures (23 Oct 2012)

John Whelan: I fully realise that the Minister of State's hands are tied and I know he would do his utmost to address this matter if he could. While Allied Irish Bank may be getting leaner, it is certainly getting meaner. Its lack of ability to engage with its customers in this case must be noted. I am baffled as to how it could be economically and commercially viable to close a bank branch in...

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Nov 2012)

John Whelan: When did that happen?

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Nov 2012)

John Whelan: When did that happen?

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Nov 2012)

John Whelan: The Senator is making that up.

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Nov 2012)

John Whelan: I could not agree more with Senators O'Donnell and Kelly. This is the most pressing and most vexed issue throughout the country. The people are looking on in awe, flabbergasted at the manner in which the bankers in this country are riding the public bareback while the Government looks on, saying its hands are tied, it is helpless and there is nothing it can do. That is not true. If there...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Community Nursing Homes (7 Nov 2012)

John Whelan: I welcome the opportunity to raise this matter on the Adjournment and I am glad the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, is in the Chamber to respond to it. I do not doubt her commitment, passion and common-sense approach to care of the elderly. Many groups such as Older and Bolder share my opinion of her, even though they are concerned and fearful about...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Community Nursing Homes (7 Nov 2012)

John Whelan: I am grateful for the Minister of State's informative response which includes some good and interesting detail. She has pointed out that the review was concluded on 16 August. Her suggestion that a recommendation is expected "presently" is a little vague for people from where I come. What does "presently" mean? How long is a piece of string? I would like to receive some indication of...

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Nov 2012)

John Whelan: Notwithstanding the genuine answer the Leader provided yesterday in respect of the obscene pensions of the order of ¤500,000 and ¤650,000 that are being paid to bankers, I remind him and the Government that this issue is not going to go away. His reply was accurate in so far as he replied to the question that was put to him, namely, that one cannot single out a particular small section of...

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Nov 2012)

John Whelan: Good man. The Senator will give us all a good name with that kind of talk.

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Nov 2012)

John Whelan: On a point of order, at what stage did I try to intimidate anyone?