Results 3,741-3,760 of 4,701 for speaker:Dessie Ellis

Questions on Promised Legislation (8 Nov 2017)

Dessie Ellis: They are exemplary.

Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017: Second Stage [Private Members] (8 Nov 2017)

Dessie Ellis: Cuirim fáilte roimh an mBille seo, ach freisin na leasuithe atá ceangailte leis. I welcome this Bill and the proposed amendments. Up to this point, the Irish Government has failed to introduce a new socio-economic status ground in equality legislation. This Bill will go some way towards ensuring Ireland meets its obligations under both EU and international law. It will, in...

Cannabis for Medicinal Use Regulation Bill 2016 Report: Motion [Private Members] (9 Nov 2017)

Dessie Ellis: That is nonsense.

Cannabis for Medicinal Use Regulation Bill 2016 Report: Motion [Private Members] (9 Nov 2017)

Dessie Ellis: I will call it out.

Cannabis for Medicinal Use Regulation Bill 2016 Report: Motion [Private Members] (9 Nov 2017)

Dessie Ellis: I would like to acknowledge the family, friends and supporters in the Gallery. I am glad to see Vera there. I wish her and her daughter all the best. We are not dealing with the legalisation of cannabis. However, we should make medicinal cannabis available to those who require it for medicinal purposes where it is deemed medically necessary and is prescribed by a medical practitioner in...

Order of Business (14 Nov 2017)

Dessie Ellis: The legislation covering overcrowding in the private rented sector is very weak and in serious need of an overhaul. Recent reports show that some landlords have up to 15 people living in some rooms. This is an indictment and shows a lack of proper scrutiny and oversight in this sector. It shows there are still huge gaps in our legislation. Will the Taoiseach, his Cabinet or his Minister...

Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (15 Nov 2017)

Dessie Ellis: The Taoiseach do not even know that there is homelessness.

Housing (Homeless Families) Bill 2017: Second Stage [Private Members] (15 Nov 2017)

Dessie Ellis: Go raibh maith agat. Ba mhaith liom tacaíocht a thabhairt don Bhille seo, atá curtha chun cinn ag an Teachta O'Sullivan. Táimid an-bhuíoch di. In the Taoiseach's world, everything is going just right. That is what the Taoiseach and his Department of spin seem to want us to believe anyway. This entitled Taoiseach has a feckless and dilettante attitude to the most...

Topical Issue Debate: Motor Insurance Costs (16 Nov 2017)

Dessie Ellis: It has become apparent that insurance companies are applying an unfair loading to motor insurance policies for elderly people. Premium costs have been rising rapidly for several years, with motorists having loadings imposed on their policies for different reasons. The most annoying reason of all is where insurers have applied substantial increases because of drivers' ages. Pensioners, who...

Topical Issue Debate: Motor Insurance Costs (16 Nov 2017)

Dessie Ellis: It is disappointing to hear that we have to rely on the market and the insurance companies. Motor insurance premiums vary considerably from company to company. We all have had experience of that. It is scandalous to see elderly people coming into my clinic and breaking down because of the pressure they have been put under in terms of them being concerned about being able to continue to...

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second Stage [Private Members] (22 Nov 2017)

Dessie Ellis: There is no more open expression of hostility to some of our most vulnerable and deprived citizens than the appalling use of anti-homeless spikes. The cynical term describing these inhuman barbs is "defensive architecture". With whom do these people think they are at war? What are they defending against? The city belongs to everyone as does the space within it. There are some positive...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Vacant Housing (Refurbishment) Bill 2017: Discussion (23 Nov 2017)

Dessie Ellis: I thank Deputy Cowen for bringing forward the Bill. We have long been due some sort of joined-up approach in this regard and I have always felt there has been an awful disjoint when it comes to housing, particularly vacant units. I have raised the issue over the years and I keep getting the figure of approximately 4,000 over-shop units, and we have 200,000 or so vacant housing units across...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Vacant Housing (Refurbishment) Bill 2017: Discussion (23 Nov 2017)

Dessie Ellis: I was talking about Bodenstown and Ballymun. Across the whole Ballymun area, for instance, we have at least 30 units below ground level with large windows boarded up, and not just there but right across the country. It is the same in Bodenstown. Every time I go there I see these units boarded up, and we have no figures on the number of such units. There is a huge amount of work to be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Vacant Housing (Refurbishment) Bill 2017: Discussion (23 Nov 2017)

Dessie Ellis: I thank the witnesses for their presentation. Everyone here is singing from the same hymn sheet about what we want to see. There is huge frustration that we are not delivering quickly enough and that there are a series of obstacles, including planning, fire safety etc. That is why we think Deputy Cowen's Bill could help to create a package that will be delivered quickly. It has not been...

Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2017)

Dessie Ellis: Tell us another porky.

Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2017)

Dessie Ellis: Did the Taoiseach get that from the Department?

Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2017)

Dessie Ellis: He did not even look at the email.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Facilities (28 Nov 2017)

Dessie Ellis: 173. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans for a review of educational needs and facilities in view of the projected population increase; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50131/17]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Child Protection (5 Dec 2017)

Dessie Ellis: 209. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of a complaint by a person (details supplied) submitted to his Department in 2014; the progress that has been made with regard to the complaint; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51934/17]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Narcolepsy Issues (5 Dec 2017)

Dessie Ellis: 304. To ask the Minister for Health if the funding for St James's Hospital national narcolepsy service has been included in the Estimates 2018 process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51446/17]