Results 20,881-20,900 of 21,047 for speaker:Alan Kelly

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Jun 2008)

Alan Kelly: We have to deal with the reality. We are in a recession. That is the fact of the matter. The good growth rates we enjoyed between 1995 and 2001 were based on exports and a sound economy. The reality is that between 2001 and 2008, we were living in a false economy, based on a cosy relationship between Fianna Fáil and the construction industry. That is the reality. Everybody here knows...

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Jun 2008)

Alan Kelly: That relationship was facilitated by the current Taoiseach, Deputy Cowen, as Minister for Finance. We have had a huge multi-billion turnaround in the economy. It is obvious there are external factors. The reality, as this report shows, is that this is being caused by mostly domestic factors.

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Jun 2008)

Alan Kelly: The previous speaker asked for suggestions. I have some suggestions. It is obvious that the new Minister for Finance will argue that cutbacks are needed in certain areas of the national development plan. We look forward to hearing what he has to say in that regard. I do not see how the national development plan can be cut. When the Minister is taking such action to facilitate the...

Seanad: Order of Business (29 May 2008)

Alan Kelly: I join with Senators O'Toole, Twomey and MacSharry in seeking regular debates on the economy. This is something we must monitor at all times, especially given the possible growth rate of 1% to 1.5% this year. The Taoiseach said yesterday that the country needed a 4% growth rate in order to allow continued investment in the national development programme. This is where politics comes into...

Seanad: Health Services: Motion (28 May 2008)

Alan Kelly: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I am disappointed that some of the Senators who have been criticising the HSE for the past nine months have not shown themselves in the House today. I would like to hear them repeat some of the comments they made during the year about the HSE. There is a philosophy in the HSE of budget management rather than demand for services. That is the...

Seanad: Health Services: Motion (28 May 2008)

Alan Kelly: No. There is an inconsistency in that their roles and job specifications are not defined. At a public affairs level, the management and corporate policy of the HSE is the worst of any public body. This is not good enough from an information point of view because we are entitled to better. As evidenced in this week's "Prime Time Investigates" programme and as has been stated by Senators...

Seanad: Order of Business (15 May 2008)

Alan Kelly: In the recent past, we have listened to various Members of both Houses raise the issue of public sector reform. It has been raised again in the House today, as it has been on most days recently. I agree that the House should have a debate on public sector reform although I am not sure I would go along with some of the views of other Members. I agree wholeheartedly with Senator O'Toole on...

Seanad: Order of Business (15 May 2008)

Alan Kelly: I have already said I am asking for a debate. I will conclude. As well as looking at this from the bottom up, we need to look at it from the top down. We also need to consider the level of management and its performance. I do not believe the performance level in many areas is up to scratch and it therefore needs to be examined. To give an example, I have raised on a number of occasions...

Seanad: Economic Outlook: Motion (14 May 2008)

Alan Kelly: I welcome the Minister to the House. I compliment and thank Fine Gael for putting forward this motion, one of the longest since I became a Member of this House. It is urgently needed. I agree with other speakers who said that from time to time we should return to the issue of the economy and debate it. We are in changing times and such a debate is necessary. To get some of the good news...

Seanad: Rural Development: Statements (14 May 2008)

Alan Kelly: I, too, congratulate the Minister on his re-appointment. Like other speakers, I do not doubt the Minister's sincere passion for rural Ireland, which I share. I consider myself an example of rural Ireland at its best. I come from a small farm on the side of a hill in rural Tipperary. I have taken note of the new Taoiseach's change of language since his election. He speaks about...

Seanad: Rural Development: Statements (14 May 2008)

Alan Kelly: Rural Ireland will not have the products needed to embrace tourism unless cohesion funding is linked to the work being done by Fáilte Ireland. Rural Ireland depends totally on domestic tourism. It is not getting a fair bang from the international buck. Reference has been made to the Beara walk. There are issues in relation to the co-operation of the county councils. Perhaps the Minister...

Seanad: Rural Development: Statements (14 May 2008)

Alan Kelly: I was struck by the Minister's comments on the social effects of nightclubs in attracting young people away from rural areas into towns. I advocate the theming of pubs, including restaurant add-ons, which should be facilitated. Such theming would avoid forcing people into towns for social activities. The Minister should examine that matter. He might also look at health and safety...

Seanad: Rural Development: Statements (14 May 2008)

Alan Kelly: I posed two questions earlier. Will the Minister use his good offices to examine the rural transport scheme with regard to facilitating health appointments? In some places people simply do not go to the doctor. Will the Minister also re-examine the issue of point-to-point events, perhaps allowing a percentage of one-off activities, such as ten trips per year?

Seanad: Twenty-eighth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages. (7 May 2008)

Alan Kelly: Speaking on behalf of the Labour Party, I am glad this Bill has been speedily passed. I echo what Senators have said in that it is important that following today's events, the Government settles down and pushes the referendum as much as possible in a very concrete way. The Minister of State can be assured that the Labour Party will support the treaty 100% and will run an energetic campaign...

Seanad: Order of Business (7 May 2008)

Alan Kelly: I ask the Leader to invite the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Eamon Ryan, to come to the House to debate mining in this country and particularly the after-effects of the mining industry in the past 50 or 60 years. There are a number of distressing stories that this House, and the Oireachtas, need to consider. People's lives are being affected by toxic lead...

Seanad: Tourism Industry: Statements (24 Apr 2008)

Alan Kelly: I welcome the Minister to the House and I wish him and his officials, whom I know, well. When it comes to speaking about tourism, I am effectively an insider trader in that I left Fáilte Ireland to become a Senator. I worked in tourism for more than nine years with Bord Fáilte and Fáilte Ireland. From that point of view, my comments are based on my beliefs as regards where tourism needs...

Seanad: Tourism Industry: Statements (24 Apr 2008)

Alan Kelly: Rally Ireland is a fantastic event. If that money were pushed towards heritage, which is a product in itself and forms part of the broader Ireland experience, it would be more worthwhile. If the Minister is considering issues from a budgetary point of view, I would encourage him to go in that rather than any other direction.

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Apr 2008)

Alan Kelly: I welcome Senator Walsh's statement of clarification. I agree with Senator Fitzgerald regarding the pay talks. There is merit in having a parallel process in the Oireachtas that would consider this issue, assess the debate and comment on what is happening. That would be welcome because there appears to be a democratic deficit to a degree in this respect. I welcome many of the comments made...

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Apr 2008)

Alan Kelly: Last Wednesday when we got out of our beds and trudged to what we were going to do, the one significant event on the landscape from a political point of view was the HIQA report on the Ms Rebecca O'Malley case. Unfortunately, on the day concerned it was over shadowed by other events. I call on the Leader to invite the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, to the House to debate...

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Apr 2008)

Alan Kelly: It was the first report of a new organisation and I was impressed by its recommendations, its tone and its language. Following Rebecca's ability to speak about it — I spoke to her at length on a number of occasions since — the way in which HIQA worked with her over the intervening months and handled the matter is commendable. It was obvious from the report that there was a single point...