Results 521-540 of 4,124 for speaker:Martin Kenny

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: ComReg’s Enforcement Functions: Discussion (22 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: The reason we invited ComReg and Eir to appear before the committee is the outfall from the recent court case, which the witnesses will be aware of. I wish to look at a few issues it shone a light on. The case, and a lot of ComReg's enforcement, is really about complaints mechanisms and whether they are effective and efficient. The next part of that, which is what people really want, is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: ComReg’s Enforcement Functions: Discussion (22 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: On that point, I have come across situations where a provider - normally it is Eir but it may be another provider - goes into a town and provides fibre optic broadband to the houses, all of which have got-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: ComReg’s Enforcement Functions: Discussion (22 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: Yes, where the trunking is in place. That only came into place in the mid-1990s, when it became compulsory under building regulations to put in trunking so that cables could be fed into the houses. Houses that are a little older than that do not have it. In order to go into a housing estate where the houses do not have that trunking, it is necessary to dig up the garden and the footpath to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: ComReg’s Enforcement Functions: Discussion (22 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: There are substantial gaps, and they are not just in rural areas. They are in urban areas as well.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: ComReg’s Enforcement Functions: Discussion (22 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: My understanding was that when a provider took on a contract to do a geographical area, it would provide broadband to all in that area. Of course, some of the houses would be easily done, while others would be more difficult. Whatever the charge was going to be, it would cover the 50 houses where it is dead simple to drop the wire in, put it through the trunking and bring it into the house....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: ComReg’s Enforcement Functions: Discussion (22 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: That means we do not know the situation for the people who are left behind. They are technically in an area which is covered by the commercial provider but they are actually not covered. We will have to wait years before somebody comes back to deal with them, which is very inappropriate for the individuals who are left behind.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: ComReg’s Enforcement Functions: Discussion (22 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: It is very unsatisfactory, is it not? Certainly for the people who live in those areas, it is very unsatisfactory.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: ComReg’s Enforcement Functions: Discussion (22 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: The other issue I want to come in on is the Eir situation specifically and similar types of situations. One of the issues that arose in that regard was that people being trained in the provision of customer care and so on were given instructions which were outside of what would be considered the regulations. People were being told that unless a caller mentions ComReg or knows their rights,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: ComReg’s Enforcement Functions: Discussion (22 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: I know after that the-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: ComReg’s Enforcement Functions: Discussion (22 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: A press release from Eir suggested that its training manual had been misinterpreted and the slides did not say what was claimed. Does that stand up? Why do they exist if they were not being used?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: ComReg’s Enforcement Functions: Discussion (22 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: It is quite unusual when anyone goes to court and has a negative finding for them to come out later and say the judge made a mistake. That is pretty much what Eir is saying.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: ComReg’s Enforcement Functions: Discussion (22 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: I understand.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: ComReg’s Enforcement Functions: Discussion (22 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: I certainly hope that at some point Eir will appear before the committee and we will get clarity about what is the situation.

Housing for All: Statements (Resumed) (21 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: I wish to raise two issues in respect of this matter with the Minister. I welcomed the Minister to County Leitrim yesterday. We had a good morning there and several housing projects were opened in Drumshanbo and Ballinamore. It was welcome and excellent to see it happen. We need to see more of it throughout the country. That is the real problem. I want to make a point that is often...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Policies (21 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: It is a local authority.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (21 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: Seventy-nine people have died on our roads so far this year. It is a heartbreaking and frightening number. A third of those people were under the age of 25. That is a figure that strikes fear, particularly for parents, throughout the country. The two main contributors to this terrible statistic are driving under the influence and speed. We have seen the advertisements and the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Policies (21 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: I am sure the Taoiseach remembers the early instalments of Harry Potter when he lived under the stairs in a little alcove. When I see this particular topic of well-being framework, it reminded me of that because yesterday we were in Ballinamore and Drumshambo in County Leitrim with the Minister for housing opening some new houses. One of the houses I visited was that of a family there that...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (21 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: I wish to raise two issues. The Abbey Manor Hotel in Dromahair in County Leitrim received some international protection applicants in recent months. More have come in the past week. The families have been accepted by everyone and I have every confidence that they will be integrated into the community, but the problem that arises wherever people arrive is one of ensuring we have adequate...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy in the Food Sector: Discussion (21 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: I thank the witnesses for their contributions. I will follow on from Deputy Bruton’s question about the brown bins and the amount of organic waste that is going into the wrong bins. Has an analysis been done on why that is? Is it an education problem? Is it the case that the people do not understand? Is it just carelessness? What is the position there?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy in the Food Sector: Discussion (21 May 2024)

Martin Kenny: Is it the same in the restaurant sector, which is one of the areas where much of this is happening? Has an analysis been conducted on where this food waste is coming from? Is it being generated in the kitchen? Are people getting portions that are too large, do not finish them, leave a lot on their plates, and that then ends up in the bins? What is the situation?