Results 41-60 of 125 for long speaker:Shane Cassells

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (5 Jul 2021)

Shane Cassells: ...a number of the issues raised in this report from 2020. It especially highlights the continued investment needed in this sphere.The Leader will share my concern about the fact a day patient service is not longer available in County Meath. An inpatient service is available at Crosslanes in Drogheda but only day care services are available in Our Lady's Hospital in Navan. I pay tribute to...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Challenges Facing Arts Venues and Theatres as a result of Covid-19: Discussion (30 Jun 2021)

Shane Cassells: .... Without those public spaces, we do not have places for our artists and performers either to go on stage or to use for gallery purposes. In her opening statement, Ms Walsh called for more long-term and strategic planning in terms of funding for arts spaces. I ask her about her current experience. She touched on how funding differs between local authorities. I ask her to outline her...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (1 Jun 2021)

Shane Cassells: ...on the far side of the world are buying our products to achieve their recycling targets? They are pursuing this circular model that sees waste as a resource to be kept in circulation at the highest value for as long as possible. With the opening of the world's largest recycling facility in Australia, I pay tribute to the workers of Turmec in Ráth Cairn i gContae na Mí who...

Seanad: Future of Gambling Regulation: Statements (23 Apr 2021)

Shane Cassells: ...out yet the place is sponsored by Guinness. The gambling organisations are laughing all the way to the bank. They would let RTÉ talk about problem gambling all day because the little jingle advertising the betting company was played all day long. They think they are untouchable because, quite frankly, at this moment in time they are. I know that the Minister of State has taken on...

Seanad: Councillors' Pay: Motion (22 Feb 2021)

Shane Cassells: .... I have in front of me two newspaper articles. The headline of one states that councillors are in line for a pay bump that will net them an additional €8,000, while the other article states, "Long sought pay rises [...] expected to be in the region of €8,000".They are for the most part, once the sensationalist adjectives are stripped away, pretty much the same article with...

Seanad: Mental Health and Covid-19: Statements (12 Feb 2021)

Shane Cassells: ...he posted on his site to give people encouragement. He said: Just remember to look after our own self thoughts. No doubt it's hard to remain positive, considering this has been going on for so long now. But remember you are not alone, so many others are struggling, struggling more than we have before. Let your family and friends know if things are very bad in your head. It might not...

Seanad: Response to Covid-19 (Housing, Local Government and Heritage): Statements (1 Feb 2021)

Shane Cassells: ...of the delivery of homes. This is a new ball game, however. I mention even the simple act of the €40 million and bringing voids back in, as outlined by the Minister in the July stimulus. I spent a long number of years in a local authority and something that galled me every year was the number of voids that were on the books. The fact is that some 3,500 were brought back into...

Joint Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht: Challenges facing Public Broadcasting and the broader Media Sector as a result of Covid-19: Discussion (16 Dec 2020)

Shane Cassells: .... Mulrennan gave me my first job in local media 20 years ago when he was chief executive of the Drogheda Independent Group. Back then we had bustling newsrooms and production on site. Those days are long gone. Mr. Mulrennan set out the case for State funding for local newspapers similar to what has happened in local radio. In my area we have the Meath Chronicle and Cavan and Westmeath...

Seanad: Seanad Electoral (University Members) (Amendment) Bill 2020: Second Stage (10 Nov 2020)

Shane Cassells: ...do not have to look that far to see the potential for fraudulent practices. The potential to abuse our system as it stands is huge, such as polling cards being issued to tenants or homeowners who have long moved on from their last registered address. Our practices are rife for abuse because of the outdated methods we have, and the need to embrace modern technology when it comes to...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Schools Building Projects (6 Nov 2020)

Shane Cassells: ...St. Mary's Special School in Navan. It has a requirement for a new building. A promise was made to provide one. It has been in existence for 43 years in Johnstown in Navan. The school has had a long-running battle to acquire this purpose-built building to educate the near 100 children who attend there from all across Meath and different counties. These children face the greatest...

Seanad: Biodiversity: Motion (5 Nov 2020)

Shane Cassells: ...in Killarney by the invasive species, rhododendron. In this case, human interference is positive with dedicated men and women doing back-breaking work to clear the rhododendron.However, there is a long-running issue and tension between the NPWS and the volunteers on the ground in Killarney, who have been clearing the rhododendrons for four decades. The volunteers on the ground know the...

Seanad: Tourism: Statements (28 Jul 2020)

Shane Cassells: ...residents visit here in a normal year, and €1.4 billion of the €5 billion international market mentioned by the Minister is their spending. The 1,500 UK residents arriving into Ireland are a long way short of reaching the 5 million in a normal year, and the lost spend. I wish to focus on the spending of tourists. The Minister and the Government are doing everything...

Seanad: Tourism: Statements (28 Jul 2020)

Shane Cassells: ...will be casualties. The impact of the loss of international visitors this season on jobs could be 180,000 of a workforce of 260,000. How many of those beyond the PUPs would be considered permanent job losses in the short to long term? Does that figure include the ancillary jobs created by tourism? Has the Minister liaised with the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation on...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Funding (11 Dec 2019)

Shane Cassells: ...his plans to address the funding shortfall experienced by several city and county councils following the change in Irish Water rate funding; and the way in which he plans to tackle same on a long-term basis. [51858/19]

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (28 Nov 2019)

Shane Cassells: .... The simple focus of the OPW in that project was that its job was to deliver X, which it did, and it did not anticipate the HR problems that would result in it being in cold storage for a long time. As Deputy Burke said, that cost us €20 million. That seems to be the accepted practice. We have to ask where the buck stops with such projects. We cannot let processes go on in...

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 37 - Employment Affairs and Social Protection
Chapter 12 - Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 13 - Timeliness of Income Support Claim Processing
Chapter 14 - Customer Service - Development of Income Support Application Forms (7 Nov 2019)

Shane Cassells: ...about the efforts to simplify the forms, given that their sheer size can be frightening for many people? Figure 14.4 in the chapter lists the sizes. The disability allowance form is 36 pages long and the carer's allowance form is 36 pages long. The form for the non-contributory pension is 20 pages long while the form for child benefit is 16 pages long. The forms for these payments are...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (27 Jun 2019)

Shane Cassells: ...about this also. The Valuation Office has in excess of 1,000 appeals on its books. The Valuation Office could not give me a timeline for how quickly the cases would be taken off the books or for how long on average the businesses are waiting for a valuation on appeal to be dealt with. This is a serious issue also for this committee because the Valuation Office was before the committee...

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 40 - Children and Youth Affairs (13 Jun 2019)

Shane Cassells: .... The entire system would collapse without their co-operation and collaboration with the Department but the staff are grossly underpaid. What is Dr. Lynch's assessment of that point? These people work amazingly long hours. Teachers in private school enterprises are paid by the Department of Education and Skills. Should the people working in the early years sector not similarly come...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Sports Capital Programme Applications (22 May 2019)

Shane Cassells: I have been asking the Minister of State for a long time, and have submitted parliamentary questions to his office as well, about the discussions between the Department and the governing bodies such as the GAA, the IRFU, the FAI and so forth. They are the bodies that will have preferred grounds they wish to see developed. The names of the grounds have been leaked to the media from day one....

Finance (Office of Tax Simplification) Bill 2018: Second Stage [Private Members] (11 Apr 2019)

Shane Cassells: I wish to thank the long list of speakers who contributed. One wonders about the complaints the Ceann Comhairle gets about Members being unable to get speaking time. This is an important Bill. My colleague, Deputy John Lahart, spoke about the various areas where an office of tax simplification could be of assistance. I know of many elderly people who are often overwhelmed by the...