Results 641-660 of 7,082 for speaker:John Paul Phelan

Seanad: Tsunami Disaster: Statements. (2 Feb 2005)

John Paul Phelan: I wish to share my time with Senators Ulick Burke and Quinn.

Seanad: Tsunami Disaster: Statements. (2 Feb 2005)

John Paul Phelan: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Conor Lenihan, to the House. Along with myself and a number of other Members of both Houses, he played his part last week when the Oireachtas XI played a football match for the tsunami appeal. We were unsuccessful but at least we succeeded in the overall objective of raising funds. I join with previous speakers who have expressed their gratitude to the...

Seanad: Order of Business. (3 Feb 2005)

John Paul Phelan: I agree with Senator Brian Hayes's remarks on the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation. I also agree with the views of Senator White on the Central Mental Hospital and its proposed relocation. She raised a very valid point. I refer to the report of the Central Bank published on Tuesday on the general level of indebtedness. It would be apt if the Leader could ask the Minister for Finance to come...

Seanad: Order of Business. (3 Feb 2005)

John Paul Phelan: It sounds like déjÀ vu or Groundhog Day.

Seanad: Future Development of An Post: Statements. (3 Feb 2005)

John Paul Phelan: There is a great deal of unanimity across the House on this issue. As someone from a rural area which has lost its local post office in the past 18 months, it is a topic close to my heart. In fact, Phelan's post office in Tullogher was owned by my cousin so its closure represented the end of an element of family history. I join with previous speakers who have expressed concerns in this area....

Seanad: Order of Business. (8 Feb 2005)

John Paul Phelan: I agree with Senator Browne's comments on the sugar factory in Carlow, especially with the news that has just come to light about the provision of a rail link to the remaining factory in Mallow. It appears as if the rail link to Carlow will not go ahead, as we were led to believe. I join with other Senators who expressed the wish that we have a debate on transport. We had a debate on...

Seanad: Order of Business. (8 Feb 2005)

John Paul Phelan: It makes no sense because there is no construction on many parts of it.

Seanad: Order of Business. (8 Feb 2005)

John Paul Phelan: Not quite. Finally, I would like the Minister for Health and Children to come to the House to debate the provision of cancer treatment facilities in the region. As we entered the House today, there was a protest at the Kildare Street entrance from the south-east cancer care alliance. Many people from my part of the country travelled to Dublin to lobby for the provision of radiotherapy...

Seanad: Appropriation Act 2004: Statements. (8 Feb 2005)

John Paul Phelan: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Parlon, to the House and I am glad we have an opportunity to discuss the Appropriation Act. It was passed in both Houses before Christmas but there was not much debate because of the lack of time. I am delighted the Leader has found time to hold the debate today. I have looked back on some past discussions on appropriations and the Appropriation Acts of...

Seanad: Appropriation Act 2004: Statements. (8 Feb 2005)

John Paul Phelan: There are fewer students in primary education than in 1997, and that is why the pupil-teacher ratio has fallen. It has nothing to do with the Government spending extra money. The one noteworthy aspect of the budget this year was the provision of extra resources for disability. I welcomed it when we had our debate that night, and I still welcome it. However, I was confronted last week with an...

Seanad: Appropriation Act 2004: Statements. (8 Feb 2005)

John Paul Phelan: There was no flooding. There has not been much rain.

Seanad: Appropriation Act 2004: Statements. (8 Feb 2005)

John Paul Phelan: In fairness, there was more than half a dozen fish. It is used as an example.

Seanad: Appropriation Act 2004: Statements. (8 Feb 2005)

John Paul Phelan: It is used as an example, but there was a lot more than half a dozen fish. Perhaps the Minister of State does not care about environmental issues.

Seanad: Appropriation Act 2004: Statements. (8 Feb 2005)

John Paul Phelan: There was a lot more than half a dozen fish.

Seanad: Appropriation Act 2004: Statements. (8 Feb 2005)

John Paul Phelan: I do not want to get side-tracked on an issue like that. We all have examples of infrastructural investments, particularly regarding transport and roads, of schemes that were budgeted to cost a certain amount but ended up costing multiples of the original budget. Nobody seems to be prepared to take the rap for the fact that serious miscalculations took place on the Government's behalf with...

Seanad: Appropriation Act 2004: Statements. (8 Feb 2005)

John Paul Phelan: I do not want to get bogged down in the Kilkenny flood relief scheme.

Seanad: Appropriation Act 2004: Statements. (8 Feb 2005)

John Paul Phelan: I understand the Minister of State is not familiar with Kilkenny——

Seanad: Appropriation Act 2004: Statements. (8 Feb 2005)

John Paul Phelan: He could have brought down the digger to Kilkenny and fixed the weir that the boys put in at a cost of €48 million and which does not do the job it was designed to do.

Seanad: Appropriation Act 2004: Statements. (8 Feb 2005)

John Paul Phelan: I am led to believe the modification will not serve the purpose for which it was intended. That only compounds the problem. The Minister of State can cynically use the fish issue to detract from the point I am trying to make. The principal point is that a Government project that was originally estimated to cost €14 million ended up costing more than three times that amount, and it did not...

Seanad: Appropriation Act 2004: Statements. (8 Feb 2005)

John Paul Phelan: No.