Results 1,381-1,400 of 1,954 for speaker:John Gilroy

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Mar 2014)

John Gilroy: The House might be aware that I am rapporteur for the Joint Committee on Health and Children on the issue of suicide prevention. For the last year I have been undertaking a series of public consultation meetings with members of the general public who have been affected by or are interested in the issue of suicide. Tomorrow morning I will be submitting a discussion paper to the joint...

Seanad: Renewable Energy: Motion (12 Mar 2014)

John Gilroy: Were they all Fianna Fáil people?

Seanad: Renewable Energy: Motion (12 Mar 2014)

John Gilroy: They were more or less Fianna Fáil people.

Seanad: Renewable Energy: Motion (12 Mar 2014)

John Gilroy: They are in the Fianna Fáil Party now, I see.

Seanad: Renewable Energy: Motion (12 Mar 2014)

John Gilroy: I welcome the Minister of State the House. He will have noticed the noise being generated between my friends in Fianna Fáil and my friends in Fine Gael, who appear to be competing to be champions of negativity in this regard, because the policy differences between them are so slim that the only difference is noise and volume.

Seanad: Renewable Energy: Motion (12 Mar 2014)

John Gilroy: If I did not know any better, one would think there must be an election approaching.

Seanad: Renewable Energy: Motion (12 Mar 2014)

John Gilroy: I have returned to it immediately. Speaking of noise, the entire debate on this issue has been characterised by a great deal of noise and very little light on both sides of the argument. In my own simple way, I wish to clarify the issue for myself and perhaps in so doing might also be of some help to other Members. One can ask three questions with regard to the entire project. The first...

Seanad: Renewable Energy: Motion (12 Mar 2014)

John Gilroy: However, if some people are in favour, the debate should be held honestly. That is the second point. Third, if the grid is being upgraded and if capacity is being added to accommodate new and renewable energy sources, the question is whether it would be a good idea to ascertain whether it is possible to export some of this energy and whether that would make economic sense. In this context,...

Seanad: Renewable Energy: Motion (12 Mar 2014)

John Gilroy: Yes, of course. These are the points to make and if one breaks down the arguments into the aforementioned three questions, the question is, what should we do? Should we have overground or underground cables? The Minister has appointed the former judge Catherine McGuinness to adjudicate on the terms of reference, which are the most important part of any argument. One could have narrow terms...

Seanad: Renewable Energy: Motion (12 Mar 2014)

John Gilroy: That will be unique.

Seanad: Renewable Energy: Motion (12 Mar 2014)

John Gilroy: If it had accepted Her Majesty's ruling in 1969, it might have made a difference.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Suicide in Ireland: Discussion (13 Mar 2014)

John Gilroy: Thank you, Chairman. I acknowledge the Chairman's ongoing support and the support of the committee for the public consultation process that we are undertaking with regard to suicide prevention. I also welcome the witnesses this morning. I do not intend to say a great deal about the paper being presented. I would prefer to listen to the comments and opinions of the witnesses. Some...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Suicide in Ireland: Discussion (13 Mar 2014)

John Gilroy: I also congratulate Professor Arensman on her recent election to the post of president of the International Association for Suicide Prevention. I thank the witnesses for their very interesting contributions and look forward, if possible, to exploring at a deeper level some of the issues they raised. It is convenient that some of them are, like the Chairman and myself, based in Cork. To...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Suicide in Ireland: Discussion (13 Mar 2014)

John Gilroy: I also thank the witnesses – Mr. Crowley, Dr. MacFeely, Dr. Cullinane and Professor Arensman. This morning’s conversation has really added to the public good we are trying to achieve. In the next week or so, if it is okay with the witnesses, I will contact their offices with the intention of having an in-depth look at what we talked about this morning.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Suicide in Ireland: Discussion (13 Mar 2014)

John Gilroy: With the indulgence of the Chairman, I will repeat the remarks I made this morning at the outset of the earlier session in order to introduce a level of consistency between the respective groups of witnesses. I thank the Chairman for his ongoing support for this public consultation process. I also welcome the witnesses who are giving evidence this morning. I do not intend to say a great...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Suicide in Ireland: Discussion (13 Mar 2014)

John Gilroy: To give context to what we are trying to achieve with this report, doing a public consultation throughout the country with members of the public who are not experts in this area but are interested in it is a starting point. Since I wrote the paper in draft form I have had the opportunity to meet some of the chief executive officers and leading people in some of our voluntary organisations....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Suicide in Ireland: Discussion (13 Mar 2014)

John Gilroy: Certainly. The Reach Out document does not contain a list of named agencies with responsibility for implementation or outcomes nor does it contain any timeframe for completion of the outcomes. That is not a criticism of the National Office for Suicide Prevention but rather of us as politicians. The Health Research Board published a document entitled Document No. 7 which included a rather...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Suicide in Ireland: Discussion (13 Mar 2014)

John Gilroy: On that point, it might be worthwhile for the message to go out that providers of alcohol might take a particularly responsible attitude towards the serving thereof this weekend.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Suicide in Ireland: Discussion (13 Mar 2014)

John Gilroy: I thank the Chairman for facilitating these two sessions today. It was tremendously useful in what I am proposing to do. I thank the witnesses for coming in. Their comments, constructive and otherwise, are more than welcome. As I stated earlier, the milieu in which good ideas arise is when there are conflicting views being thrown forward. If we all agreed on everything, we would have a...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Apr 2014)

John Gilroy: I had wished to speak about the recently published crime figures, but Senator Darragh O'Brien's speculation and dramatisation of events require that I comment. While his remarks add to the political tension, they shed no light. It is now 2.45 p.m. and he has requested that the Attorney General come to the House today-----