Results 4,881-4,900 of 7,082 for speaker:John Paul Phelan

Seanad: Renewable Energy: Statements (25 Nov 2010)

John Paul Phelan: The rate of forestry cover is the lowest in Europe. That is fair enough. I agree with the objective of having more forestry cover, but the sad reality, from the last couple of budgets we have had, is that there have been drastic cuts in the grants provided for people who want to plant their land. Once a farmer or landowner takes the initiative in setting aside land for forest, the land is...

Seanad: Renewable Energy: Statements (25 Nov 2010)

John Paul Phelan: I will because we have the wind turbines in my part of the world and I know the Green Party Member in my area was very supportive of them, and it is something on which we agree. Before I get too political, I will leave the debate at that.

Seanad: Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Bill 2010: Second Stage (24 Nov 2010)

John Paul Phelan: I thank Senator Bradford and Senator Buttimer for sharing their time. I want to put on the record some points about this legislation. In the past ten years we have seen a decimation in many rural areas of the service provided by rural post offices because many of them have closed. I know that from personal experience. My cousins ran the local post office, Phelan's post office in...

Seanad: Chemicals (Amendment) Bill 2010: Second Stage (16 Nov 2010)

John Paul Phelan: No more than the Minister of State I suspect, I am not an expert on the chemicals industry as such. However, its contribution to the economy is highly significant as it is worth almost 60% of our overall exports figure for goods each year. Members all are familiar with the significant role that many pharmaceutical companies in particular play in sustaining employment nationwide and as such...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Nov 2010)

John Paul Phelan: We are.

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Nov 2010)

John Paul Phelan: What nonsense.

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Nov 2010)

John Paul Phelan: It was brought on by your banks.

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Nov 2010)

John Paul Phelan: I intended to speak on the banking crisis and the economy but Senator Donohoe anticipated my remarks. There is a terrible sense of fear among the public. Last night I attended a political meeting at which questions were raised about the safety of bank deposits. People are concerned about their children's future and keeping a roof over their heads. As previous speakers have noted, the...

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Nov 2010)

John Paul Phelan: I refer to media comments over the weekend about third level registration fees. The Green Party has prided itself for some time on being the party of education in government. We are led to believe it is not willing to support an increase in the registration fee to €3,000 but that it is willing to support an increase to €2,500. I ask the Deputy Leader to state whether this is correct....

Seanad: Macro-Economic and Fiscal Outlook: Statements (28 Oct 2010)

John Paul Phelan: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary. Not much has been said either by Government or Opposition Senators that I disagree with and I do not have much by way of original thought because much of what I intend to say has been said already. Nevertheless, I will air my views. Earlier, Senator Regan remarked about the need to reform the way the budget is carried out every year and I...

Seanad: Diabetes Treatment and Management: Motion. (27 Oct 2010)

John Paul Phelan: When is it proposed to sit again?

Seanad: Hospital Services (27 Oct 2010)

John Paul Phelan: Does Senator Cummins wish to ask a question?

Seanad: Hospital Services (27 Oct 2010)

John Paul Phelan: Senator Cummins should pose questions to the Minister of State.

Seanad: Food Harvest 2020 Report: Statements (27 Oct 2010)

John Paul Phelan: I will start on a note of agreement with Senator Ó Brolcháin. He made correct points about the potential in Ireland for food tourism and developing our unique brands. He mentioned Italy as a good example. There has been an underground movement in the past few years to try to promote Ireland as a food destination, which does not appear to have received much support from the Department....

Seanad: Food Harvest 2020 Report: Statements (27 Oct 2010)

John Paul Phelan: We must protect this money in rural areas, but I am not satisfied the Government is doing enough in that regard. As I said, approximately 20% of jobs outside Dublin are in the agriculture sector, yet agriculture accounts for less than 1% of the overall Government budget. Two years ago, when we had two or three budgets in one year, the agriculture budget was slashed through the suspension of...

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Oct 2010)

John Paul Phelan: I echo the sentiments expressed by many of the previous speakers and Senator Mullen put the matter very well. There is a paradox as regards the thousands who face enormous levels of personal debt - that is the great difference between what is happening in the current recession and what happened in the 1980s - and the figures expounded by Senator O'Toole and others which indicate that there...

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Oct 2010)

John Paul Phelan: Christmas is coming too and the White Paper has not yet appeared. However, it could be a white Christmas. In the light of the significant reforms to be introduced in how public services are delivered and given that we discussed recently the reform of the VEC sector in the delivery of local services, many services are being delivered by central government that should be and are throughout...

Seanad: Small and Medium Enterprises: Motion (20 Oct 2010)

John Paul Phelan: I have just come from a meeting where we discussed figures contained in an ESRI report which clearly indicate that the worst is far from over. The number of small businesses that closed in the last nine months compared with last year and the previous year has risen. This clearly indicates that the worst is far from over. It is important to set targets. I reject the Minister of State's...

Seanad: Small and Medium Enterprises: Motion (20 Oct 2010)

John Paul Phelan: Senator Butler could take three minutes.

Seanad: Small and Medium Enterprises: Motion (20 Oct 2010)

John Paul Phelan: I thank the Minister of State for his comments on my proposals. No copy of his speech was circulated, which is unusual. The sentiments expressed in the Government amendment are not very different from those expressed by Fine Gael in the original motion. The Minister of State spoke about how the Government's endeavours are not aimed at any particular sector or group within the economy. We...