Results 5,461-5,480 of 7,604 for speaker:James Bannon

Seanad: Road Safety: Motion. (30 Nov 2005)

James Bannon: Where are the extra gardaí to ensure they obey the rules of the road?

Seanad: Road Safety: Motion. (30 Nov 2005)

James Bannon: There are no speed checks.

Seanad: Order of Business. (30 Nov 2005)

James Bannon: I support my colleague, Senator Bradford, on the amendment to the Order of Business. This Government has savaged the wheat, dairy and grain industries and, as Senator Mooney says, it is about to savage the pig and poultry industries by its handling of the nitrates directive. It is dismantling the beef industry as we speak and the Minister has lost the confidence and trust of Irish farmers.

Seanad: Order of Business. (30 Nov 2005)

James Bannon: In my clinic at the weekend, farmers were asking what the Government would do next to the agricultural sector.

Seanad: Order of Business. (30 Nov 2005)

James Bannon: This Government has shamefully neglected farmers for the past eight years.

Seanad: Order of Business. (30 Nov 2005)

James Bannon: Senator Coghlan raised the issue of the e-voting machines. I hear that they will make up the first consignment of Government waste for the new incinerators. When will we debate the report of the Barr tribunal that investigated the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. John Carthy in Abbeylara, County Longford? The tribunal was established in 2003 and concluded earlier this year. We were...

Seanad: Order of Business. (30 Nov 2005)

James Bannon: This is a serious issue that also affects the Leader's constituency and we should deliberate on it before Christmas.

Seanad: Housing Policy: Statements. (23 Nov 2005)

James Bannon: I welcome the Minister. I hope he will have time later to go to Buswell's Hotel to address the farmers on the devastating impact the nitrates action plan is having——

Seanad: Housing Policy: Statements. (23 Nov 2005)

James Bannon: ——on pig producers. It is important that he do so.

Seanad: Housing Policy: Statements. (23 Nov 2005)

James Bannon: The Minister mentioned the issue of central heating in local authority houses and the grants that were provided last year. While most, if not all, local authorities have provided the infrastructure in such houses, a serious problem exists with the ESB, which is probably the councils' biggest supplier in terms of connecting cental heating and electricity. I ask the Minister to investigate this...

Seanad: Housing Policy: Statements. (23 Nov 2005)

James Bannon: Fine Gael spelled out its housing agenda last year, prior to the local and European elections. We proposed a house deposit savings scheme, similar to the SSIA scheme, to help young people who are saving for a deposit for a new home. Under the scheme, first-time buyers will receive €1 for every €3 they save provided those savings are used for a deposit on a house. We also proposed the...

Seanad: Housing Policy: Statements. (23 Nov 2005)

James Bannon: ——showed that 51% of homeless people surveyed were or had been taking illegal drugs and that illegal drug use contributed to a range of other problems, including poor nutrition and physical disorders.

Seanad: Housing Policy: Statements. (23 Nov 2005)

James Bannon: There are 5,581 homeless people in Ireland, some 4,060 of them — including 1,140 children — in Dublin. That is a number high enough to fill the Point Depot twice over. It is high time that we solved those problems and I hope that the Minister will act on them immediately.

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed). (23 Nov 2005)

James Bannon: I support the call to invite the Minister for Transport to the House to debate the condition of the school bus fleet, particularly in rural areas. Much is expected of the system but many of the buses operating throughout rural Ireland are in a very poor condition. A child recently told me that pupils travel to school each morning in bone-shakers. Some pupils must leave their homes at 7 a.m....

Seanad: Order of Business. (17 Nov 2005)

James Bannon: Will the Acting Leader invite the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Deputy Coughlan, to a debate on the consolidation of farm holdings through reinvestment and tax relief? Ireland has the highest level of farm fragmentation in Europe and this must be tackled. Approximately one quarter of farms are in a single parcel of land. It goes back to the divide and conquer policy of our landlord days....

Seanad: Juvenile Offenders: Motion. (16 Nov 2005)

James Bannon: I too welcome the Minister of State and support the Labour Party motion. On 20 October 2004, the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Lenihan, told us that the former Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform made it clear in 2001 that the Children Act would take a number of years to implement. It is now almost 2006 and sufficient time has passed in which to implement this Act. I support the...

Seanad: Juvenile Offenders: Motion. (16 Nov 2005)

James Bannon: We should perhaps look to America——

Seanad: Juvenile Offenders: Motion. (16 Nov 2005)

James Bannon: ——where the PAY system is in place — the prosecution alternatives programme.

Seanad: Juvenile Offenders: Motion. (16 Nov 2005)

James Bannon: It is something the Minister should consider for young people.

Seanad: Juvenile Offenders: Motion. (16 Nov 2005)

James Bannon: The Cathaoirleach does not like to hear the truth.