Results 6,901-6,920 of 7,082 for speaker:John Paul Phelan

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: The Future of Local Democracy: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Feb 2024)

John Paul Phelan: Most counties seem now to have mayors of counties as well as mayors of cities. In Limerick, the mayor of the county is the mayor of the city. It is daft. What is wrong with the word "cathaoirleach"? I know people will say it does not mean anything internationally. "Taoiseach" does not mean a hell of a lot internationally either yet there are lads regularly looking for the job. I make...

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: The Future of Local Democracy: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Feb 2024)

John Paul Phelan: It is part of the Gorey area but it is not a municipal district, so describing the shape of it is a bit irrelevant.

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: The Future of Local Democracy: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Feb 2024)

John Paul Phelan: It was always so. We always had situations where people who lived on the edge of towns were not included. Sometimes town boundaries were extended to include people, in rural areas in some cases, into town council voting in the last number of town councils that would have been elected. That was not always the case either and it certainly was not uniform. As to regional assemblies, I was...

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: The Future of Local Democracy: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Feb 2024)

John Paul Phelan: -----for nothing other than political benefit. This can inflict terror. I have seen cases of that happening. More solidarity among councillors is needed, but I would have no difficulty with some of the measures introduced for Oireachtas Members being extended to councillors in terms of safety. Senator Casey said that local government is the most rewarding position. I say amen to that....

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: The Future of Local Democracy: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Feb 2024)

John Paul Phelan: They used to have 50-year plans as well.

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: The Future of Local Democracy: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Feb 2024)

John Paul Phelan: They did not. That is right. I said that tongue in cheek. I will be controversial here. I decided I would when I came in. We are having a discussion about how councillors feel they are emasculated, are losing powers and do not have influence. At the same time, we are saying they should become fully paid positions. Is there not a central contradiction in that? They are losing powers...

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: The Future of Local Democracy: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Feb 2024)

John Paul Phelan: It would be ridiculous. There are many areas on the edges of towns where footpaths and street lights are needed. Is it the classic situation that some officious individual in Galway County Council is saying it is the big bad lads of the Custom House who brought this rule in when it is a decision that is being manipulated at local level?

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: The Future of Local Democracy: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Feb 2024)

John Paul Phelan: It was a great victory.

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: The Future of Local Democracy: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Feb 2024)

John Paul Phelan: Senator Murphy made a number of valid points, not on town councils but on the size of municipal districts. This arose previously and I recall discussing it with Deputy Ó Cuív. Forty is the upper limit for a council, but 18 for a county the size of Roscommon, regardless of its population, is not enough. The same is true of a county the geographical size of Leitrim, where it takes...

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: The Future of Local Democracy: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Feb 2024)

John Paul Phelan: Senator Craughwell even referred to it in the media. That is something in which I still passionately believe because Galway is unique in that it is physically divided by the city into two counties. Galway would have benefited, and the local authority would be much stronger, if it were a unified local authority. That is my view and I do not expect universal agreement. Whatever reticence I...

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: The Future of Local Democracy: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Feb 2024)

John Paul Phelan: The other thing that I would caution Members about is the notion that the reintroduction of town councils should be limited to towns of a certain size. It will be a case of "Save our town council" all over again. Any place that had one will automatically look to get one back. We know that it took 14 votes to get onto Ballybay Town Commission or Lismore Town Council or whatever. Famously,...

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: The Future of Local Democracy: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Feb 2024)

John Paul Phelan: In practice they will all want to be back.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tobacco Control Measures (20 Mar 2024)

John Paul Phelan: 219. To ask the Minister for Finance if he has any plans to commission an independent assessment of the extent to which tobacco excise increases in recent years are leading to increased illicit market activity, evidenced by the recent detection of a large-scale illegal cigarette factory in Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11619/24]

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tobacco Control Measures (20 Mar 2024)

John Paul Phelan: 225. To ask the Minister for Finance the measures being taken, and additional resources being provided to the Revenue Commissioners to detect and crack-down on the production and sale of illegal tobacco products in Ireland, following the recent detection and closure of a large-scale illegal cigarette factory in Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11770/24]

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Electoral Commission (21 Mar 2024)

John Paul Phelan: 228. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to state whether the statutory functions of the Electoral Commission include the power to review the contents of pole posters or statements made by elected representatives and to communicate with the public in relation to their conclusions of any such review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13467/24]

Gnó na Dála - Business of Dáil (9 Apr 2024)

John Paul Phelan: You know you are talking shite.

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Electric Vehicles (9 Apr 2024)

John Paul Phelan: 171. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to address delays by ESB Networks in providing grid connections for the installation of EV charging infrastructure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15318/24]

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Electric Vehicles (9 Apr 2024)

John Paul Phelan: 260. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport for an update on plans to deploy the use of battery technology to support the installation of EV charging infrastructure along the comprehensive road network in response to delays in grid connections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15316/24]

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Electric Vehicles (9 Apr 2024)

John Paul Phelan: 261. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport for an update on plans to unblock potential barriers and streamline the process for the private sector companies to access grid connections for the installation of EV charging infrastructure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15317/24]

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Transport Policy (9 Apr 2024)

John Paul Phelan: 315. To ask the Minister for Finance if his Department will simplify the VAT code on car sharing, noting the current dual-rate system is unnecessarily complex and discourages car rental; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15320/24]