Results 5,921-5,940 of 7,604 for speaker:James Bannon

Seanad: Order of Business. (2 Dec 2004)

James Bannon: I ask the Leader to invite the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to the House for a debate on properly financing and resourcing local government. Budgets will be drawn up throughout the country over the next couple of months and many local authorities are starved of funding to deliver services to the public.

Seanad: Order of Business. (2 Dec 2004)

James Bannon: Local authorities will have no option but to impose higher development charges, service charges and so on. This will be the reality in every townland and parish throughout the country.

Seanad: Community Development. (1 Dec 2004)

James Bannon: I thank the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Ó Cuív, for taking this motion. It concerns the need for approval of a feasibility study for Ballymacormack Community Centre, Stonepark parish, County Longford, an issue of great concern to the people of that parish and which I fully support. This community centre would be the sole provider of recreational facilities...

Seanad: Community Development. (1 Dec 2004)

James Bannon: I made representations on behalf of the local community. This project has the complete support of the parish. The people of the parish feel they are being victimised. A local community is enthusiastic about having a community centre to serve the people of the area and to keep the identity and spirit of the community and parish alive. Very few parishes have a facility such as this. The...

Seanad: Budget Statement 2005: Motion. (1 Dec 2004)

James Bannon: The people of Athlone are always blowing their trumpets.

Seanad: Budget Statement 2005: Motion. (1 Dec 2004)

James Bannon: What about Granny?

Seanad: Budget Statement 2005: Motion. (1 Dec 2004)

James Bannon: I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy O'Malley, to the House to take this debate. With the guillotine looming and the sound of anger echoing through the country the Government has been forced to recognise the wrath of the people and is seeking to appease them in this budget with attempts to reach out to voters who rejected the coalition Government in...

Seanad: Budget Statement 2005: Motion. (1 Dec 2004)

James Bannon: The PDs were too cowardly to put forward candidates in the European Parliament election, despite having always portrayed itself as a pro-Europe party. Now appeasement by the Government parties is under way. That appeasement seeks to balance the scales which have been weighted towards the wealthy in the form of dozens of tax breaks. This has led to the perception that this Government is one...

Seanad: Budget Statement 2005: Motion. (1 Dec 2004)

James Bannon: Last year we were told much about what would be done and the budget was applauded. However, the truth came out and the Minister who introduced last year's budget has been got rid of. Sooner, rather than later, the Government will suffer the same fate at the hands of the electorate. The Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, would like us to believe he is bearing gifts in budget 2005.

Seanad: Budget Statement 2005: Motion. (1 Dec 2004)

James Bannon: However, this budget is far from a giveaway and the tight purse strings across a full range of Government spending is concealed beneath the whole facade. There is evidence of this in several areas. Far be it from me to suggest that the Minister for Finance is finding the Department of Finance to be foreign territory, but it is essential that he recognises that our economy is entering another...

Seanad: Budget Statement 2005: Motion. (1 Dec 2004)

James Bannon: That issue was discussed here last night, almost a year ago to the day. It was doomed to failure and has proved to be just what it was, an empty promise.

Seanad: Budget Statement 2005: Motion. (1 Dec 2004)

James Bannon: Those triumphal reforms will not do much good for those most affected. It is incredible that the plans for decentralisation were first mooted prior to the local elections in 1999 and that in the run-up to the last general election they were part of An Agreed Programme for Government to be delivered by 2002. Prior to last year's local elections it was announced yet again with much fanfare in...

Seanad: Budget Statement 2005: Motion. (1 Dec 2004)

James Bannon: ——to give the verdict it gave to the Government last June in the local and European Parliament elections. If our economy is once again entering a period of prosperity, dubbed "tiger II", the resources the Minister will have at his disposal are a direct result of the effort and industry of the people. That must not be forgotten. We should not applaud politicians all the time. We must...

Seanad: Budget Statement 2005: Motion. (1 Dec 2004)

James Bannon: The people are watching their hard-earned money and the Government is accountable to them. We will be keeping an eye on it over the next two years of this Government's term of office; I do not believe it will last even two years. A false loosening of the purse strings will fool no one. The apparent pre-budget increases of €2.5 billion shrink dramatically to €1.5 billion when automatic pay...

Seanad: Budget Statement 2005: Motion. (1 Dec 2004)

James Bannon: It was not in the Estimates. Close scrutiny of the Estimates reveals a mere 5% increase in the allocation for Garda salaries.

Seanad: Budget Statement 2005: Motion. (1 Dec 2004)

James Bannon: This is consumed by inflation due to the existing pay agreements. By the end of 2005, there will be 92 additional gardaí, which would account for the normal annual increase. The promise of 2,000 extra gardaí echoes as hollow.

Seanad: Budget Statement 2005: Motion. (1 Dec 2004)

James Bannon: The budget shows that the Government will miss its own target for investment in transport infrastructure. There was nothing in the budget for the Irish RoadHaulage Association.

Seanad: Budget Statement 2005: Motion. (1 Dec 2004)

James Bannon: This is detrimental to the future development of our country.

Seanad: Budget Statement 2005: Motion. (1 Dec 2004)

James Bannon: The 7% increase for the Department of Transport falls a long way short of the 18% increase in infrastructural spending sought by the business community.

Seanad: Budget Statement 2005: Motion. (1 Dec 2004)

James Bannon: I will do so shortly. The promise of 367 km of extra road next year is only a smoke-screen. There is no money in the budget for this either.