Results 20,961-20,980 of 21,047 for speaker:Alan Kelly

Seanad: Electoral Commission: Motion (5 Mar 2008)

Alan Kelly: Or the Green Party.

Seanad: Hazardous Waste (5 Mar 2008)

Alan Kelly: I welcome the Minister to the House. I wish to raise a very important issue on the Adjournment, namely, whether the Government will honour its commitment to clean up the Silvermines dumps, which have remained idle since mining operations ceased in the area in the early 1980s. This issue has been discussed in the House before, but changes that have taken place recently have brought the issue...

Seanad: Hazardous Waste (5 Mar 2008)

Alan Kelly: I would appreciate if the Minister would ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources a question on my behalf. Given that €3 million of the €10.6 million has been allocated this year and accepting that the cost of the works will be in excess of the latter figure, will the Minister outline the dates for the staged release of the funds in order that a proper assessment...

Seanad: Electoral Commission: Motion (5 Mar 2008)

Alan Kelly: I welcome the Minister to the House. He is one of the few senior Ministers who comes to the House and appears to listen, which is novel and nice to see. Most political parties should not have a major issue with this. It is something for which my party has a track record in terms of the legislation introduced by the former Minister, Deputy Brendan Howlin. Much of it still stands and...

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Mar 2008)

Alan Kelly: I join Senator Fitzgerald in welcoming the publication of the report into cancer care in the midlands, which is overdue. I thought we had learned our lessons with regard to timelines for publication and giving those affected adequate time to study these reports prior to publication. It is not right or proper that people are given hours to study them before they are published. I hope this...

Seanad: Local Government Services (Corporate Bodies) (Confirmation of Orders) Bill 2008: Second Stage (28 Feb 2008)

Alan Kelly: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Killeen, to the House. The Labour Party will not oppose this technical Bill. I welcome the clarification we were given about the areas covered by the Limerick Northside Regeneration Agency and the Limerick Southside Regeneration Agency. I agree with the comments of the previous speakers about the work being done there. The model being used in...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Feb 2008)

Alan Kelly: I request that the Minister for Health and Children be invited to the House for a debate on the ambulance service, an issue I raised previously on the Order of Business and on the Adjournment. There is a danger of going down the wrong road in terms of developments in this critical service, on which I received some disturbing evidence in recent weeks. Press reports have covered this issue....

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Feb 2008)

Alan Kelly: We can all preach, even if we do not read the Bible. The Leader's comments yesterday about the mature drinking of alcohol——

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Feb 2008)

Alan Kelly: ——smacked of gombeenism.

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Feb 2008)

Alan Kelly: Will the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment come to the House to discuss the important issue of technology investment? In the past couple of days, a number of firms have stated that growth rates will be below what the Government expects, although they are hopeful they will grow as we reach 2010-11. I am, however, concerned that support mechanisms for certain sectors of the...

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Feb 2008)

Alan Kelly: That is ridiculous.

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Feb 2008)

Alan Kelly: I have a track record in this House of raising the issue of workers' rights and do so again today. Last week I called on the Government to name and shame those who tried to pay people less than the minimum wage. Unfortunately today I must name and shame the Government itself, as Ireland is one of only four countries that is refusing to put in place the EU agency worker directive. I condemn...

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Feb 2008)

Alan Kelly: Not only will we be bringing workers into this country and, according to Fianna Fáil, asking them to accept different pay, they will get into their cars and be asked to pay different fines if they get caught for speeding or to drive at different speeds, according to the Leader. It is absurd. Everyone in the House will respect an important issue, namely, the Rebecca O'Malley report has not...

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Feb 2008)

Alan Kelly: On a number of occasions I have raised in the House the issue of workers' rights, my concerns given the changing economy, and the issue of the minimum wage and the way in which it is exploited sometimes. I have raised the issue of Irish Ferries, the Irish Hotels Federation, the whole area of tourism and the case of various individuals who have been exploited, including the case of a...

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Feb 2008)

Alan Kelly: I concur with the comments of Senators Fitzgerald and O'Toole on the issue of driving tests. I am concerned that a recent report showed that nine of every ten road deaths are caused by careless driving. That just goes to show the issue with which we are dealing. There is a staggering level of backlog for driving tests throughout the country. The Minister said he had put his neck on the...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (6 Feb 2008)

Alan Kelly: I call on the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Minister of State at his Department, Deputy Billy Kelleher, to debate the issue of jobs and wage structures. The Taoiseach recently replied to my party leader, Deputy Eamon Gilmore, regarding job losses in the construction and manufacturing industries, stating that he is confident they will be replaced by jobs in other...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (6 Feb 2008)

Alan Kelly: I am just finishing, a Chathaoirleach. I will take the same amount of time as my colleagues.

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (6 Feb 2008)

Alan Kelly: I appreciate that.

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (6 Feb 2008)

Alan Kelly: All I am asking for is fair play.

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (6 Feb 2008)

Alan Kelly: I condemn what Irish Ferries is trying to do. The Government has said it cannot do anything but any legislation that can be introduced from a European point of view, or anything that can be done by the national employment tribunal to alleviate the situation should be encouraged. Attacks on the minimum wage from the tourism sector, whether from the Irish Hotels Federation or Irish Ferries,...