Results 541-560 of 704 for speaker:John Kelly

Seanad: Order of Business (22 Oct 2014)

John Kelly: I call for debate on the way we do business. We are doing nothing to help the people in this country to access the public service. We established the HSE to replace what I considered to be a working health board system. It has been a disaster. We established Irish Water to replace the operation of the water system by county councils. They did a good job, but investment in the system when...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Nov 2014)

John Kelly: My colleagues, Senators Landy and Whelan, and I have been fighting with EirGrid over recent years regarding the Grid25 project. As a result, we have brought about an independent group which was set up to investigate the possibility of putting cables underground. Alongside that, we always said there was a need to debate whether this project was necessary. Colm McCarthy has agreed and said...

Seanad: Health Services: Statements (4 Nov 2014)

John Kelly: I welcome the Minister to the House. I agree with Senator Crown's contribution on Roscommon County Hospital and the good name of Dr. Pat McHugh. I agree with his words on the Naughton family from Roscommon who have three children with multiple dystrophy. It appears that the Department of Health is doing nothing to assist them. The family are out fund-raising to save the lives of their...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Nov 2014)

John Kelly: I, too, welcome the report of the Garda Inspectorate. While I have not read the document, many of its conclusions will have been well known to many beforehand. I was a member of the policing board in County Roscommon. We were told repeatedly at monthly meetings that crime in the county had declined. It appeared to us that the Garda at senior levels was downplaying the incidence of crime...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Nov 2014)

John Kelly: The Senator should not be frightened.

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Nov 2014)

John Kelly: On the beef crisis, it is vital that action be taken to alleviate the problems faced by small farmers. The small farmers in Roscommon are on their knees and ministerial intervention will be required to solve the problem. I welcome what is due to happen over the next few days and I hope it yields results.

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Nov 2014)

John Kelly: Two weeks ago I called for a debate on our wind energy policy and the Grid25 project in light of the ESB entering the fray. It has questioned the need for Grid25. When an organisation such as the ESB questions the need for Grid25, which is an expensive project, we need to have a debate. I read in The Sunday Business Postthat Eddie O'Connor's Mainstream Renewable Power is in financial...

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Nov 2014)

John Kelly: I agree with most people who say the setting up of Irish Water was an absolute disaster but it seems to have been set up by somebody who was leaving the country in a hurry and it was basically thrown together. It is not fair that the Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly, should be blamed for the disaster that was left on his desk. Senator MacSharry said it was like setting up McAlpine to build one...

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Nov 2014)

John Kelly: The Government which his party led signed up to water charges with the troika. I cannot fathom specifically what he was protesting about-----

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Nov 2014)

John Kelly: -----considering that no decisions or no announcements will be made until today.

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Nov 2014)

John Kelly: What was Senator MacSharry protesting about? Some 31% of the people of Roscommon and, I am sure, of Sligo are already paying for water.

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Nov 2014)

John Kelly: The majority of people will not mind paying for water if the quality is good enough to enable them to drink it from their taps.

Seanad: Report of Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Areas: Statements (19 Nov 2014)

John Kelly: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Phelan, who is a colleague of mine. I concur with my colleague, Senator Landy, that the Minister of State had a lot to do and very little time in which to do it. I agree with colleagues who suggest that €1 million funding for her project is not sufficient and she should look for more. Towns in Roscommon were very badly hit as a result of the...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Nov 2014)

John Kelly: Like others I welcome the new water charges, which I believe are fair and reasonable. I compliment the Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly, who inherited an unholy mess in the establishment of Irish Water. Now we can invest in fixing our leaking pipes, something which we have not done although we have been paying for water for years through our taxes. Now we are in a position to deliver good...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Nov 2014)

John Kelly: I think you will too.

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Nov 2014)

John Kelly: There will be no one from Roscommon at the protest.

Seanad: Water Sector Reforms: Statements (25 Nov 2014)

John Kelly: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. We are where we are on this issue because of political decisions made in the past. When we had water charges they were abolished for political reasons. When they were reintroduced they were later abolished for political reasons to get Governments elected. In the course of all of that we never sorted the problem but it is true that the way...

Seanad: Participation in Sport: Motion (26 Nov 2014)

John Kelly: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I rise to support the motion before us. I would have preferred it had Senator Mooney not mentioned 1973, because I am a Leeds United supporter.

Seanad: Participation in Sport: Motion (26 Nov 2014)

John Kelly: We are both of that vintage, I am afraid.

Seanad: Participation in Sport: Motion (26 Nov 2014)

John Kelly: There is not enough appreciation of volunteering in sport. While that does not apply to the Minister of State, it certainly is the case for some parents, who use sport as a baby-sitting service for their children and then, when their Johnny does not get picked for the team, blame the volunteer who has done all the work. People should be less critical of the volunteers who are in every...