Results 1,481-1,500 of 1,954 for speaker:John Gilroy

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Jul 2014)

John Gilroy: My good friend Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill and many others in Fianna Fáil have during the past year raised the issue of subsidising renewable energy producers during times when they are not producing energy. The words "disgraceful behaviour" have been used by my colleagues in Fianna Fáil in this respect. I ask the Deputy Leader to arrange a debate on renewable energy and public...

Seanad: Health Service Executive (Financial Matters) Bill 2013: Second Stage (3 Jul 2014)

John Gilroy: Before I make my substantive contribution, I take the opportunity to correct the record, as Senator MacSharry would surely do if he had the opportunity to speak again. He said that overruns in the health budget are only a recent phenomenon.

Seanad: Health Service Executive (Financial Matters) Bill 2013: Second Stage (3 Jul 2014)

John Gilroy: Indeed the Senator did. The record should read that in the past 17 years, there were 14 years with overruns. This year's overrun of €158 million, as quoted by Senator MacSharry, represents 0.0166% of the budget. In a demand-led system, that is not the disaster it has been portrayed to be by my good friend, Senator MacSharry. The Bill is highly technical and gives expression to the...

Seanad: Health Service Executive (Financial Matters) Bill 2013: Second Stage (3 Jul 2014)

John Gilroy: By the sounds of it, the Senator has not even got onto the Bill.

Seanad: Health (General Practitioner Service) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (9 Jul 2014)

John Gilroy: Senator Crown gives a good description of the services provided by the GPs and there is not a single person on this or any side of the House who does not agree with virtually everything he says on this. I would be inclined to go a little further and say that the services offered by GPs are pivotal because they are the gatekeepers of the services. Senator Colm Burke referred to a meeting of...

Seanad: Health (General Practitioner Service) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (9 Jul 2014)

John Gilroy: That is just not true.

Seanad: Health (General Practitioner Service) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (9 Jul 2014)

John Gilroy: We do not know that.

Seanad: Health (General Practitioner Service) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (9 Jul 2014)

John Gilroy: No, we are not. It is amendments Nos. 1 to 7.

Seanad: Health (General Practitioner Service) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (9 Jul 2014)

John Gilroy: We are discussing amendments Nos. 1 to 7, inclusive.

Seanad: Health (General Practitioner Service) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (9 Jul 2014)

John Gilroy: I will speak to amendments Nos. 9 and 10 in a moment but first I will not allow some of Senator Crown's comments to go unchallenged. He suggested the Health Service Executive has most to lose from a reorganisation. It seems to be some sort of tautology or, at minimum, a circular argument. In the 30 years I worked with the health services, I have never been accused of being a defender of...

Seanad: Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland Bill 2014: Second Stage (15 Jul 2014)

John Gilroy: I welcome the Minister to the Chamber and welcome this Bill which will be a central plank in providing SMEs with access to funding. Senator D'Arcy said that one criticism of the Bill is that it is only now coming before us. It is a pity we did not have it a year or two ago, but the fact we had no money is probably the answer to that criticism. It is worth reminding ourselves that 70% of...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Jul 2014)

John Gilroy: I support my colleague, Senator Cáit Keane, who highlighted the practice of tabling unrealistic motions and demanding Ministers come to the House at the drop of a hat that are designed more for show than for effect. We have all received numerous representations from a wide range of groups which have had their funding cut in the last while. We all agree that this funding should not have...

Seanad: National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Bill 2014: Committee and Remaining Stages (17 Jul 2014)

John Gilroy: Is any limit on the ministerial guarantee envisaged? The last guarantee we exercised did not turn out for the very best.

Seanad: National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Bill 2014: Committee and Remaining Stages (17 Jul 2014)

John Gilroy: Is there no monetary value to the limit on the guarantee?

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Sep 2014)

John Gilroy: Recently, we heard reports that some contractors working on the schools building programme are employing sub-contractors who are paid substantially less than industry-wide agreed rates. This morning there was a protest at the gates of Leinster House and many colleagues will have met members of the trade union involved. This is not a recent phenomenon and has been ongoing for a considerable...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Sep 2014)

John Gilroy: Is it in County Kerry?

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Sep 2014)

John Gilroy: At the outset, I wish to say that I am a supporter of the JobBridge internship scheme and I will continue to support it. International evidence and experience shows that internship schemes play a very important role in supporting labour forces. The experience in Ireland has shown that 63% of people who take part in JobBridge schemes enter the workforce at the end of it, not necessarily in...

Seanad: Freedom of Information Bill 2013: Second Stage (18 Sep 2014)

John Gilroy: Interesting.

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Sep 2014)

John Gilroy: Senator Darragh O'Brien provided a very fair analysis with regard to the current crisis relating to speech and language services and made a reasonable request in the context of how we might deal with the matter. I do not believe it was the Senator's intention to have the Minister come before the House today to discuss the issue but rather that this would happen at the earliest possible date,...

Seanad: Medical Practitioners (Amendment) Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (24 Sep 2014)

John Gilroy: I welcome the Minister and wish him well in his new job. The magnitude of the responsibilities involved and the frustrations to which the job gives rise turned his predecessors grey, not just in terms of their hair but also, perhaps, in the context of their reputations. I have every confidence that this will not happen to the Minister. He has begun his tenure very well and some of his...