Results 1,781-1,800 of 4,676 for speaker:Dessie Ellis

Taxi Regulation Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Oct 2013)

Dessie Ellis: I move amendment No. 13:In page 39, line 21, after “convicted” to insert “excluding convictions relating to offences covered by the terms of the Good Friday Agreement 1998”.

Taxi Regulation Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Oct 2013)

Dessie Ellis: I move amendment No. 15:In page 63, line 5, after "2009." to insert the following:"Any excess income after expenses will where possible be used by way of grant schemes to offset a portion of the cost to licence holders in meeting standards in relation to branding and vehicle conditions.".

Taxi Regulation Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Oct 2013)

Dessie Ellis: There have been a significant amount of extra costs in the taxi sector. There is a charge of €135 for an internal examination, a €50 charge for the NCT test and €500 to €600 for radios, etc. There is also a signage charge of approximately €60. There is a fund that was handed over to the NTA. Some of it goes on administration, but there should be some way...

Taxi Regulation Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Oct 2013)

Dessie Ellis: I move amendment No. 16:In page 65, line 24, to delete "small public service vehicle and driver interests" and substitute "single licence holder drivers".

Taxi Regulation Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Oct 2013)

Dessie Ellis: There are 18 persons on the advisory committee, four of whom represent the taxi drivers. Some of those four represent not only themselves but multiple taxi licence holders.

Taxi Regulation Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Oct 2013)

Dessie Ellis: Single taxi licence holders do not have enough representation there and I ask the Minister of State to consider looking into that further. They need more representation, and the groups I have met say the same. If there are 16 to 18 persons on the advisory committee, although the different interests represented are good and I welcome their input, the balance is not weighted strongly enough...

Taxi Regulation Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Oct 2013)

Dessie Ellis: I move amendment No. 17:In page 65, between lines 24 and 25, to insert the following:"(b) at least 1 person representing the interests of the multiple taxi licence holders,".

Taxi Regulation Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Oct 2013)

Dessie Ellis: I move amendment No. 18:In page 65, between lines 30 and 31, to insert the following:"(f) the chairperson shall be required to attend a special meeting of the responsible Oireachtas Committee at least once every two years from the commencement of this section. All other members of the Advisory Committee shall also be available to attend these special meetings at the request of the Oireachtas...

Taxi Regulation Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Oct 2013)

Dessie Ellis: I thank the Minister for his reply. There have been massive changes and, overall, the Bill is a good one. There are many good ideas in the Bill. However, we are in the early stages of seeing the overall effects of many of these changes, such as the penalty points, and it would be appropriate that the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport and Communications look at this on a regular...

Freedom of Information Bill 2013: Second Stage (2 Oct 2013)

Dessie Ellis: I am deputising for my colleague Deputy Mary Lou McDonald who has other engagements. This is good legislation. Coupled with the Protected Disclosures Bill, or the whistleblowers Bill, and the lobbying Bill, it goes some way to recognising the heightened expectation of accountability and transparency from the political system. The programme for Government committed to restoring the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Millenium Development Goals (2 Oct 2013)

Dessie Ellis: 46. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide more details on the UN special event on the millennium development goals that he attended in New York; the way it will it impact on the post-2015 development discussions. [41162/13]

Order of Business (3 Oct 2013)

Dessie Ellis: We have all experienced noisy neighbours and the feeling of powerlessness in dealing with them. The hands of the Garda Síochána are tied. The noise nuisance Bill has powers to impose on the spot fines as well as mediation. When will the Bill be brought before the House? It is a major issue when neighbours have parties.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Central Bank of Ireland IT Operations (3 Oct 2013)

Dessie Ellis: 14. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will confirm that in relation to the Central Bank’s IT system an engineer (details supplied) making a change to the application server which was not approved by the Central Bank caused a short outage as the server crashed. [41517/13]

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Bank Debt Restructuring (3 Oct 2013)

Dessie Ellis: 47. To ask the Minister for Finance if he has considered requesting that the ESM take on the tracker loan book off Irish banks. [41502/13]

Order of Business (8 Oct 2013)

Dessie Ellis: More than three weeks ago, I raised the issue of the Pyrite Levy Bill and was told a submission would be made to the Cabinet on 23 September. Judging by the response the Taoiseach gave to Deputy Martin, there appears to be problems with this Bill. The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Hogan, promised the residents that this would be dealt with swiftly and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Back to School Costs (8 Oct 2013)

Dessie Ellis: 92. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the latest Central Statistics Office consumer price survey which shows the cost of education is 4.8% higher compared to September 2012; and his further views on whether the financial strain being placed on parents and students is reflected by the fact that the average third level grant amounts to €84 per week compared to the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Haddington Road Agreement Issues (8 Oct 2013)

Dessie Ellis: 107. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will confirm that his Department has engaged with the ASTI in an effort to resolve the industrial action by the ASTI following the rejection by its members of the Haddington Road Agreement. [42207/13]

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Noise Pollution Issues (8 Oct 2013)

Dessie Ellis: 611. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his attention has been drawn to the disturbance being caused to residents of an estate (details supplied) in Dublin 11 by planes flying over their houses between 11pm and 4am. [42009/13]

Leaders' Questions (9 Oct 2013)

Dessie Ellis: They are all over in Australia or Canada.

Order of Business (9 Oct 2013)

Dessie Ellis: The issues concerning Priory Hall have been top of the agenda and a special case has been made for those concerned, and rightly so. The Minister is engaged with a number of stakeholders, including the banks and, hopefully, we are near a solution. The Gleann Riada estate in Longford is also-----