Results 21-40 of 72 for speaker:Mike Kennelly

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (8 Jul 2025)

Mike Kennelly: -----for election fraud-----

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (8 Jul 2025)

Mike Kennelly: Absolutely. A Cahersiveen man had avoided a conviction for election fraud after he cast a vote in the local election in June 2024 using a polling card that was not in his name. This polling card was registered to an address in Killarney and had been in a tractor along with several others and that one was missing from the tractor. It is quite extraordinary to learn that in a case where a...

Committee on Children and Equality: General Scheme of the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024: Discussion (8 Jul 2025)

Mike Kennelly: First, I welcome the witnesses all here this evening and thank them for their opening statements. The Trojan work that each of their groups does nationally to protect and stamp out discrimination for all our society has to be welcomed and I wish them all well in the future. Obviously, discrimination is wrong at every level. That is why we are here to support and to help the organisations...

Committee on Children and Equality: General Scheme of the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024: Discussion (8 Jul 2025)

Mike Kennelly: I suppose the biggest welcome that the groups can get from this proposed Bill is the increased limits on compensation from €15,000 to €75,000. That will stop a lot of public discrimination.

Committee on Children and Equality: General Scheme of the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024: Discussion (8 Jul 2025)

Mike Kennelly: Absolutely. I thank Mr. Collins. Moving on to the National Women's Council, its opening statement talked about the need for groups like it to be able to take cases on behalf of people affected by discrimination. Could Ms Mitchell explain how that change might help more people get support and have their voices heard?

Committee on Children and Equality: Priority Issues Facing the Department: Minister for Children, Disability and Equality (12 Jun 2025)

Mike Kennelly: I thank the Chair. First, I welcome the Minister, Deputy Foley, and her colleagues here this morning. I look forward to working with her. We served well in the last chamber we worked in together, in Kerry County Council. We worked well together and I sincerely wish her well in this very important role as Minister for children and equality. It is one role that every member inside here...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Health Services (12 Jun 2025)

Mike Kennelly: I welcome the Minister of State. I am speaking on a promise I made to the people of north Kerry that, when I became a voice for them in the Seanad, I would do what I could to reinstate out-of-hours SouthDoc services in Listowel. SouthDoc is an out-of-hours GP service operating across Kerry and Cork, providing urgent medical care when a person's regular GP is unavailable. It is designed for...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Health Services (12 Jun 2025)

Mike Kennelly: I thank the Minister of State for the reply. I have seen this before. Let us be honest. I will go back to what I said in my opening contribution; the population here has grown nearly twofold. We should be thankful that it has. During the Covid pandemic, many of the kids came home to live and work in the area and in their family homes. They have stayed in the area. Football team numbers...

Committee on Children and Equality: Priority Issues Facing the Department: Minister for Children, Disability and Equality (12 Jun 2025)

Mike Kennelly: I have a question to ask on behalf of a family. Foster parents have been looking after a kid for many years, since he was five years old. He will shortly turn 22. He has high enough dependencies in the context of independent living and stuff like that. The only pathway for this family is full-time foster care for this person. What is the best advisable mechanism for this family? They...

Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Engagement with Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (11 Jun 2025)

Mike Kennelly: I welcome the Minister and his opening comments. I acknowledge the breadth of work his Department has undertaken across all sectors of learning. There is a great deal to be encouraged by, particularly the progress on student accommodation the Minister just mentioned. I will mention the return of student accommodation in Munster Technological University, MTU, in Tralee recently. That is a...

Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Engagement with Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (11 Jun 2025)

Mike Kennelly: MTU Kerry would welcome the Minister.

Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Engagement with Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (11 Jun 2025)

Mike Kennelly: I would like some clarity on the reform to SUSI and the income disregard while students are working. Students can earn up to €8,424, which in today's terms does not match what students have to do. Students have to work more and work longer hours just to stay studying. On Senator Daly's point, I welcome the €500,000 in funding for the bus route. Is it just a pilot programme?

Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Engagement with Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (11 Jun 2025)

Mike Kennelly: We have students for whom a 50-mile one-way trip is not an issue in rural north Kerry where they are attending MTU. The sad reality, though, is that one of the private bus operators turned 70 last week and he can no longer drive that bus. I hope we can work with whatever Department it is to ensure these people over 70 can be allowed to continue. Again, I know it is not the Minister's...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (10 Jun 2025)

Mike Kennelly: I want to speak today on a matter of importance for the people of north Kerry, namely, the urgent need for the reinstatement of an out-of-hours SouthDoc service in Listowel. As it stands, there is no SouthDoc out-of-hours service operating in north Kerry.This means that for medical attention after regular hours, people in north Kerry and the surrounding areas, from Ballylongford to Duagh,...

Seanad: Insurance Reform: Motion (10 Jun 2025)

Mike Kennelly: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I welcome the proposal and acknowledge the work Senator Linda Nelson Murray and her seconder have put into this. I, too, am against the very excessive increase of 16.7% proposed by the Judicial Council following the review of the personal injuries guidelines. This proposed change would undermine the progress we have made in rebalancing the...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: School Transport (22 May 2025)

Mike Kennelly: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, and thank him for taking the time to address this important issue. I am advocating for the urgent implementation of a dedicated Bus Éireann secondary school transport route to Tralee in County Kerry, specifically servicing the communities of Lixnaw and Abbeydorney, which are located in north Kerry, where I currently reside. In these...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: School Transport (22 May 2025)

Mike Kennelly: I thank the Minister of State for his reply. As I said in my first contribution, the time has come to move beyond outdated catchment policies and towards a demand-led approach that reflects how families live and learn today. According to the Minister of State, Bus Éireann has advised that there is a service that pupils of this area can avail of, with pick-up points of approximately 9.2...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 May 2025)

Mike Kennelly: I wish to advocate on behalf of those seeking the implementation of a dedicated Bus Éireann secondary school transport route to Tralee from north Kerry, specifically servicing the communities of Lixnaw and Abbeydorney. In these communities, 19 families and 29 students face significant challenges due to the absence of a structured reliable transport service. At present, parents are...

Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Business of Joint Committee (21 May 2025)

Mike Kennelly: I congratulate the Chair on her role. I am a first-time Senator from Kerry. I invite everyone down to Kerry as well while the book is open. I congratulate the Chair and wish her every success. I hope we will all work together and be united in everything we say here today. In the programme for Government, there are many challenges and barriers we need to iron out. Hopefully, with the...

Seanad: Driving Test Waiting Times: Statements (20 May 2025)

Mike Kennelly: I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House today on a really serious topic. I am not going rehash everything that has been said. However, the situation in Kerry is particularly concerning. According to the latest figures, the waiting time for a driving test in Tralee averages approximately 26 or 27 weeks, while in Killarney, applicants face a delay of up to 15 weeks. These...