Results 541-560 of 605 for speaker:John Whelan
- Seanad: Commencement Matters: Health Services Provision (20 Jan 2015)
John Whelan: I respect that but Ms Gorman has travelled here today from County Laois to be with us. She has gone public on this as a result of suffering in silence for the past two years in what has turned out to be a vain hope that the HSE would address her medication and her treatment, as recommended by her consultant team and haematology team from St. James's Hospital whose reputation is...
- Seanad: Commencement Matters: Health Services Provision (20 Jan 2015)
John Whelan: I thank the Minister for his reply. I was glad to hear him say that the door is not closed. However, time is of the essence. The conduct of the pharmaceutical company is despicable in this regard. I urge the Minister to use his good offices to ask the HSE to engage with urgency on this and come to a positive conclusion with urgency. People's lives are at risk here and we must help them...
- Seanad: Order of Business (21 Jan 2015)
John Whelan: I appeal to colleagues across the political divide to support me with regard to libraries. They are at the heart and soul of our communities, particularly in regional and small rural towns. Some people who are involved in local government management - quite frankly, I would classify them as bean counters - are trying to make names for themselves by planning to merge library services across...
- Seanad: Appointments to State Boards: Statements (22 Jan 2015)
John Whelan: I am glad to have the Minister, Deputy Howlin, in the Seanad today. We have taken a long time to get around to this debate on the issue of appointments to State boards and the broader question of political reform. It is long overdue. In Deputy Howlin's portfolio as Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, the emphasis has necessarily been on the question of public expenditure and the...
- Seanad: Order of Business (27 Jan 2015)
John Whelan: I am pleased with today's discourse regarding the sale of Aer Lingus. The Seanad should voice its unanimous and stout opposition to any attempt to sell the national carrier from under us for a pittance. The State would receive €300 million for its share in a company that has €400 million in its bank account. The sale of Aer Lingus would be the final straw for many people. As...
- Seanad: Broadband, Post Office Network and Energy White Paper: Statements (27 Jan 2015)
John Whelan: I welcome the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy White, to the House. I wish to make the best use of this time and use the opportunity to air topics of concern. Perhaps the Minister will take questions on the broad remit and extensive range of issues in his ministerial portfolio. At the outset I commend the Minister for what is an inspired choice of securing...
- Seanad: Broadband, Post Office Network and Energy White Paper: Statements (27 Jan 2015)
John Whelan: I ask the Minister to address this issue also.
- Seanad: Order of Business (28 Jan 2015)
John Whelan: Back in 2008, at the outset of the banking and financial crisis, I said the fear of losing one's home was even more traumatic and stressful than the prospect of losing one's job, even though the two often go hand in hand. I understand the Taoiseach has wisely chosen to meet the practitioners from the insolvency services which is welcome and long overdue. Unfortunately, the insolvency...
- Seanad: Possible Sale of Aer Lingus: Statements (28 Jan 2015)
John Whelan: I also commend the Minister for making himself available in respect of this important issue at such short notice to give the Seanad a chance to express its views even at this early juncture. What the Minister is hearing around the room today is the Seanad's unanimous rejection of this attempt by what is effectively British Airways to take over Aer Lingus, our national airline. We were not...
- Seanad: Regulation of Lobbying Bill 2014: Second Stage (29 Jan 2015)
John Whelan: I welcome the Minister and the Bill. I am delighted to see that, broadly speaking, it has cross-party support. It is a good day’s work and is long overdue. It is good to see the Minister getting through the Dáil and being open minded about amendments. It might not be the last piece of the jigsaw but it is a key piece of the reform agenda to ensure openness, transparency and...
- Seanad: Order of Business (3 Feb 2015)
John Whelan: Respectfully, I remind the Leader of a few debates that we have requested here in the House over recent weeks. I know he does his utmost to get the relevant Minister to attend. I ask him to reconsider the following matters and put them on the schedule at the earliest juncture. The first matter is what I believe is the abuse of our bail laws and the ongoing issue of reoffending and serious...
- Seanad: Order of Business (3 Feb 2015)
John Whelan: I am looking for a debate. We should discuss this at every opportunity because the more information we have and the better informed we are, the better. I remind Members that there is already a veto in existence. This Parliament has a veto on any sale of the Heathrow slots, and we do not need British Airways to have any fanciful notion that it could extend such a veto to the chambers of...
- Seanad: Order of Business (5 Feb 2015)
John Whelan: Two weeks ago, the Cathaoirleach was kind enough to permit a Commencement debate in this House on access to expensive drugs and medicines for people who urgently require them. I also the acknowledge the role of my colleague, Senator Thomas Byrne, in that debate. I thank the Taoiseach for yesterday's intervention, as he phoned Ms Mary Gorman in Ballinakill and confirmed to her that the...
- Seanad: Commencement Matters: Waste Management (10 Feb 2015)
John Whelan: I welcome the Minister. It is my view, and it is well-founded, that our country has had a sorry and pitiful experience and relationship with many of its regulators and watchdogs. That is particularly the case with the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, which is charged with protecting the environment and local communities. My specific question pertains to a debate conducted in the...
- Seanad: Order of Business (10 Feb 2015)
John Whelan: I ask the Leader to arrange a debate in due course with the Minister for Justice and Equality on the operations of the Courts Service. Last week, my colleague, Senator Denis Landy, raised concerns regarding reforms that intimated the courthouse in Carrick could be lost or closed as part of rationalisation. I have good news for him. There is a courthouse in Port Laoise he can have. It is...
- Seanad: Commencement Matters: Court Accommodation Provision (12 Feb 2015)
John Whelan: I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this Commencement Matter which concerns a matter of grave urgency. No town should have to endure the terrifying scenes visited on Portlaoise’s main street on Thursday last. They have led to a local outcry and I have been inundated with hundreds of representations. For many, the incident was the last straw. Up to 60 people were involved in a...
- Seanad: Commencement Matters: Court Accommodation Provision (12 Feb 2015)
John Whelan: I appreciate the personal interest shown by the Minister of State and his receptive response to the concerns of people of Portlaoise and County Laois. I am heartened that there is agreement in principle that the courthouse is in the wrong place and must be moved. If the main impediment is identifying and securing a suitable site, all stakeholders and interested parties should work towards...
- Seanad: Order of Business (17 Feb 2015)
John Whelan: I support my colleagues, Senators Kelly, Noone and Barrett, so the Seanad robustly rejects and resents any interference or attempt to silence democratic representation. It is our job to interfere, to engage and to represent the community and public interest. We will not be told by officials in Cork County Council that we cannot make robust representations on planning issues, particularly...
- Seanad: Order of Business (17 Feb 2015)
John Whelan: Let us see it in court. We will see how that pans out. We will not back down. Similarly, the House will not back away from speaking loudly and rejecting IAG's proposal to buy Aer Lingus. As Senator Barrett stated, the board will appear before the transport committee today and tell us how the proposal is a great idea, but it has skin in the game and its members stand to make a financial...
- Seanad: Order of Business (17 Feb 2015)
John Whelan: We must look past that vested interest and put community, national and strategic long-term interests first for towns and cities like Waterford and Cork, the midlands, Mayo, Limerick, Shannon and so on. We will not sell out. People would like to silence us, but we will not be silenced. We have an expert in Senator Barrett, an independent and credible economist who has nothing to gain from...