Results 1-20 of 1,674 for in 'Dáil debates' speaker:Jack Chambers

Housing and Homelessness: Statements (22 Mar 2016)

Jack Chambers: Today, many residents from Tyrrelstown in my constituency of Dublin West protested outside the Dáil and sat in the Gallery. They fear they will be the next families to lose their homes. Last night, I attended a public meeting with Deputies and councillors from other parties in the constituency and canvassed many of the homes involved. The people there fear they will be the next...

Dáil Reform: Statements (6 Apr 2016)

Jack Chambers: On a point of order, I want to express my dissatisfaction on behalf of many of the Deputies who are not members of the committee and who will not get an opportunity to raise our reforms and what we would like to put forward to the committee. This a cross-party issue. Today, we are seeing the committee members give a regurgitation of their debate within the committee itself but we are not...

Dáil Reform: Statements (6 Apr 2016)

Jack Chambers: It is great to be able to speak. I apologise for my earlier remark but the point still stands that we need greater input from many of the Deputies who might be new to the House so they can give their opinion on Dáil reform.

Dáil Reform: Statements (6 Apr 2016)

Jack Chambers: Some members of the committee did not show up to contribute to the discussion on Dáil reform, which might demonstrate their level of seriousness in engaging the issue. Deputy Micheál Martin, the leader of Fianna Fáil, put this on the agenda in the week after the election and real reform is needed in the coming weeks. I welcome the establishment and work of a cross-party...

Dáil Reform: Statements (6 Apr 2016)

Jack Chambers: We are at a fundamental crossroads in Irish politics and we can embrace proper, real and substantive Dáil reform to restore the spirit and capacity of the Irish Parliament to provide the counterbalance to the Irish Executive. We must not present anaemic, minor or symbolic reforms that would make little or no difference to the workings of Irish democracy. Now is the time to make the...

Dáil Reform: Statements (6 Apr 2016)

Jack Chambers: We need to end the practice of Ministers swanning around in their chauffeur-driven cars making announcements about this, that and everything relating to their Government Department. Their powers are vested from this Dáil and they should respect them when making those announcements.

Dáil Reform: Statements (6 Apr 2016)

Jack Chambers: I hope my own contribution, as well as the proposals from other parties and Deputies, will provide a collective platform to achieve the progress on Dáil reform that we are all striving for on behalf of our people and our Parliament.

Nomination of Taoiseach (Resumed) (14 Apr 2016)

Jack Chambers: Today represented a great opportunity for the Deputies in this Chamber. The choice was a clear one between the old and tired policies of the past, the ones we have laboured through for the past five years during which Fine Gael, under this Taoiseach, oversaw the greatest housing crisis the country has ever seen. Since this election, however, Fine Gael has revealed itself to be addicted to...

Nomination of Taoiseach (Resumed) (14 Apr 2016)

Jack Chambers: I will conclude. We were all elected in February to represent the people. The people have spoken, and they do not want to do so again. They have waited patiently over the past 50 days. They are tired of the old way of doing things. Fianna Fáil will play a positive, constructive and responsible role in the Dáil to progress our policies in a reformed and properly functioning...

Health Services: Statements (20 Apr 2016)

Jack Chambers: The list of failings and shortcomings in our health care system is long and makes for grim reading. Some of the proposals that Deputies from across the House have made are important and they resonate with people. We need to de-politicise health. We need to look at a longer term vision and strategy, something like the National Association of General Practitioners has proposed, which is like...

Health Services: Statements (20 Apr 2016)

Jack Chambers: I will be one second.

Health Services: Statements (20 Apr 2016)

Jack Chambers: I will conclude. The funding is there to provide the adaptation scheme but people cannot get the occupational therapy appointments they need. When a person is waiting up to a year for an appointment and occupational therapy assessment, he or she might need and accident and emergency department or orthopaedic intervention if he or she ends up in hospital. It is important that we look at...

Mental Health Services: Statements (26 Apr 2016)

Jack Chambers: The most frustrating part of the news announced last week was that the budget for mental health services had been raided, which came as no real surprise. Mental health services has been the poor cousin of the health sector for years. This move indicates that the outgoing Government had no interest in changing that. It was disappointing to hear the Minister for Health, Deputy Varadkar,...

Mental Health Services: Statements (26 Apr 2016)

Jack Chambers: The Acting Chairman allowed some discretion to other speakers and I expect the same.

Mental Health Services: Statements (26 Apr 2016)

Jack Chambers: The problems will continue and worsen unless mental health services are prioritised. This means having a clear and focused roadmap on exactly what we need to do and above all ensuring we have the necessary funding to achieve it.

Crime: Statements (5 May 2016)

Jack Chambers: The contributions from Deputies from throughout the country make clear how their communities have been affected by crime. Clearly, it is both an urban and rural problem. We have had a normalisation of crime in what is a two-tier society. During the election campaign, we had three canvass teams in my constituency - Fianna Fáil, the Green Party and Fine Gael - which came together at a...

Nomination of Taoiseach (Resumed) (6 May 2016)

Jack Chambers: What about homelessness?

Insurance Costs: Motion [Private Members] (8 Jun 2016)

Jack Chambers: I thank Deputy McGrath and the Fianna Fáil finance team for putting forward a very important motion. Many of my generation have been particularly affected by the cost imposition, particularly in the motor insurance area and I am delighted to be able to speak on it. Consumers have been hit, as has been mentioned, with a 60% increase in insurance premiums since January 2014 and 34% in...

Questions on Proposed Legislation (22 Jun 2016)

Jack Chambers: Regarding the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015, statistics were released today by the Health Research Board. Professor Frank Murray described the situation as unsustainable. It costs €1.5 billion a year to conclude what we are seeing around alcohol abuse. The legislation refers to structural separation within retail units, minimum unit pricing, addressing issues around advertising...

Questions on Proposed Legislation (23 Jun 2016)

Jack Chambers: I asked the previous Minister for Health a parliamentary question regarding the process of board appointments for the new hospital trusts established by the previous Government and continued by this Government. The response was that it would continue "pending the enactment of legislation" and the trust would operate on an administrative basis, with appointments made on an administrative...