Results 5,161-5,180 of 7,082 for speaker:John Paul Phelan

Seanad: National Monuments (18 Dec 2009)

John Paul Phelan: It is appropriate that the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Mansergh, responds to this matter. We spoke about this in the Seanad ante-room earlier. It concerns Knockroe Passage Tomb, south County Kilkenny. It is in an area of Kilkenny immediately adjacent to south Tipperary. A stream at the end of the field in which the tomb is located is the border between Kilkenny...

Seanad: National Monuments (18 Dec 2009)

John Paul Phelan: Exactly.

Seanad: National Monuments (18 Dec 2009)

John Paul Phelan: Slate quarries.

Seanad: National Monuments (18 Dec 2009)

John Paul Phelan: I thank the Minister of State.

Seanad: Companies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2009 [Seanad Bill Amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages (18 Dec 2009)

John Paul Phelan: I welcome the amendments. A number of my college friends work in financial institutions and fund management companies in London and they brought to my attention the window of opportunity for Ireland, especially in light of the taxation changes announced in the recent UK budget. Many leading financial institutions operating in the City of London are actively looking at three or four other...

Seanad: Companies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2009 [Seanad Bill Amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages (18 Dec 2009)

John Paul Phelan: I was going to say, "and so say all of us". I thank the Minister of State for his assistance. As I did not speak on the Order of Business, I want to wish everybody a happy Christmas. I hope the measure that has been introduced will ensure that 2010 will be a better year than 2009.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Dec 2009)

John Paul Phelan: I did not get to contribute before the Minister spoke, as I had to leave, nor did I get to speak on the section which deals specifically with the reduction in jobseeker's allowance. This section deals with supplementary welfare allowance. I spoke about this issue on Second Stage and, in many respects, this is the most objectionable part of the Bill. Senator Doherty is correct. People who...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Dec 2009)

John Paul Phelan: There are no jobs for them.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Dec 2009)

John Paul Phelan: Some are secondary school teachers.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Dec 2009)

John Paul Phelan: They did not go on a holiday if that is what the Minister believes.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Dec 2009)

John Paul Phelan: This is not a financial incentive but a financial disincentive.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Dec 2009)

John Paul Phelan: I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on the cut to child benefit proposed in the Bill. Senator Buttimer referred to many issues I wanted to cover in my contribution. He is right. Essentially, what we are all about is helping families and others. I object in the strongest possible terms to Government policy. Before the budget, many Government Members and their supporters decried...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Dec 2009)

John Paul Phelan: There will be a meanness test now for men rather than a means test.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (15 Dec 2009)

John Paul Phelan: I congratulate Senator Ó Brolcháin. I was not in the Chamber for the Order of Business so I missed his introduction to the House. I wish him well. I will continue on from where Senator Cummins concluded his remarks. He spoke about the legacy of Fianna Fáil and the Green Party and their friends in Government. It is a shameful indictment of what has happened in this country in the past...

Seanad: Budget 2010: Statements (10 Dec 2009)

John Paul Phelan: Can they be taxed?

Seanad: Budget 2010: Statements (10 Dec 2009)

John Paul Phelan: He could cash in the prize bonds.

Seanad: Farming and Agrifood Sector: Statements (9 Dec 2009)

John Paul Phelan: Senator O'Brien would want to tell that to the farmers.

Seanad: Farming and Agrifood Sector: Statements (9 Dec 2009)

John Paul Phelan: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Sargent. In fairness to him, he has probably been the best Minister at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in my seven years in the Oireachtas, which is a fairly shocking indictment of where Fianna Fáil stands on agriculture. He has put in a great effort over his two years in the Department and I hope he can do more in whatever limited...

Seanad: Farming and Agrifood Sector: Statements (9 Dec 2009)

John Paul Phelan: Unlike Senator O'Brien, I cannot welcome much of what the Minister said in his presentation today. This is a shocking time for Irish agriculture and Irish farming families. Leaving aside the recent flooding and the credit crisis, which is crippling small businesses, and farms are small businesses, product prices are lower than they were 20 years ago. In several sectors, farmers are...

Seanad: Farming and Agrifood Sector: Statements (9 Dec 2009)

John Paul Phelan: I mention the credit crisis, although other Senators have addressed it. For many farmers, the early granting of the single farm payment, which I welcomed at the time, has seen the money spent on meeting overdrafts and loans into which many of them entered because of the farm waste management scheme. Financial institutions got their hands on that money straight away and it has not found its...