Results 581-600 of 605 for speaker:John Whelan

Seanad: Order of Business. (19 Oct 2011)

John Whelan: We all share Senator MacSharry's grave concern for the families and workers to be affected by the proposed and expected major lay-offs in the Aviva company. The unemployment fall-out from the fiscal and banking mismanagement in this country and elsewhere has not fully washed through the system. For many families, the worst is not over yet and they face the prospect of having no job coming...

Seanad: Order of Business. (19 Oct 2011)

John Whelan: It is, and I will tell the House why.

Seanad: Order of Business. (19 Oct 2011)

John Whelan: What I am addressing is not a personal or private matter and I do not seek to single out any proprietor or an individual journalist. There is a fundamental matter of press freedom, freedom of speech and fair comment in the public interest, no matter who it concerns. Everyone in this country would be a lot poorer if we did not have an unhindered press. We must also deal with the issue of...

Seanad: Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Statements, Questions and Answers (5 Oct 2011)

John Whelan: I wish to share time with Senator John Kelly.

Seanad: Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Statements, Questions and Answers (5 Oct 2011)

John Whelan: I welcome the Minister to the House. We all know the expanse and extent of his remit and brief. The important decisions and policy matters that must be addressed in his Department will have profound implications for the country for decades to come. There is very little scope, if any, for error. Earlier, reference was made to someone going bald headed. I suppose I would qualify under this...

Seanad: Arts Plan: Statements (21 Sep 2011)

John Whelan: Thank you.

Seanad: Arts Plan: Statements (21 Sep 2011)

John Whelan: I understand. It is an indication of the importance and central role played by the arts in Irish society that we are having this debate. I commend the Government and particularly those who drew up the programme for Government in difficult economic times for ensuring that the arts has a full Minister in Deputy Deenihan, at the heart of Cabinet. That is a recognition of the importance that...

Seanad: Commission of Investigation Report into the Catholic Diocese of Cloyne: Motion (27 Jul 2011)

John Whelan: I deplore the contents of the Cloyne report and do not know how anyone could do otherwise. We should stop playing with semantics and call a spade a spade. Child abuse is a heinous and horrendous crime against vulnerable children. The Cloyne report is not the first of its kind and will not be the last. There have been the Murphy, Ryan and Ferns reports. Unfortunately, a litany of further...

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Jul 2011)

John Whelan: I support Senator Mary White's call for the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Richard Bruton, to appear in the House at the earliest possible opportunity. Job creation is urgent. We and the Minister can talk all we like about it but, unless we protect existing jobs and businesses, we are wasting our time. It is much harder to create jobs than to protect and ring-fence...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Jul 2011)

John Whelan: I too had the pleasure of attending the IFA showcase of Irish Food and the expo of Irish Food. I am surprised that there are so many here this morning, it was so appealing. The Taoiseach made an excellent speech at the showcase, he reminded us of the critical importance of the agri-sector and of artisan and small producers to the economic recovery. At that event, Ms Darina Allen, who is...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Jul 2011)

John Whelan: I do indeed. We learned of a downside at that function. Many of the producers we met last night raised the shocking situation where many of them and others around the county are left severely out of pocket due to the closure and subsequent buy out of Superquinn by another company. In fact the estimates range from €28 million up to €100 million. I call on the Leader to raise this issue...

Seanad: Mobile Phones: Motion (13 Jul 2011)

John Whelan: I wish to share time with Senator John Gilroy.

Seanad: Mobile Phones: Motion (13 Jul 2011)

John Whelan: I thank the Minister of State for taking time out from his busy schedule to come to the House to discuss this matter. Contrary to Senator Mark Daly's view, to be fair, he has done good work on this issue, which I want to acknowledge. The motion has merit in its own right. It is important that the Fine Gael group has brought it forward in a week when we have debated the Public Health...

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Jul 2011)

John Whelan: I commend Senator Feargal Quinn on his choice of necktie this morning. It is very fetching.

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Jul 2011)

John Whelan: I could not resist commenting. I call on the Leader to request at the earliest opportunity the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources to come before the House. I know he has a heavy work schedule and much legislation pending. There has never been a more appropriate time for him to set out his stall and give preliminary notice to the House of his plans for what I believe...

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Jul 2011)

John Whelan: My question is whether the Minister will come before the House at the earliest opportunity to set out his plans regarding legislation on media ownership because the issue of cross ownership of broadcasting and print media is important. Many Members might not be aware that even small local and regional newspapers such as the Kilkenny People and the Limerick Leader are no longer locally owned...

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Jun 2011)

John Whelan: I will not try the patience of the Deputy Leader and call for the Minister of Health to come into the House. There is a long list of questions before him and it will take him a couple of days to get through them all. It reminds me of a comment made by a previous Minister of Health and former Taoiseach that there are more landmines in the Department of Health than in Angola. It still seems...

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Jun 2011)

John Whelan: It is an urgent matter. It is important that the Minister for Justice and Equality does not expose the Government to any costly court cases for litigation owing to any removal of the accident and emergency facilities in Portlaoise. Rioting and trouble in the volatile environment of a prison and incidents of self harm which happen daily in the prison do not occur from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.,...

Seanad: Housing Market: Motion (22 Jun 2011)

John Whelan: I wish to share time with Senator John Kelly. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, for attending this debate to listen to our earnest views on this important issue. I am grateful to colleagues on all sides for offering cross-party support for the motion and adopting non-partisan positions on what is a serious matter. While the longest day of the year fell this week, one needs...

Seanad: Housing Market: Motion (22 Jun 2011)

John Whelan: In that case, I will conclude my contribution. The motion is a genuine, non-partisan effort to find a solution, part of which must be that those in charge of the banks, who were partly responsible for causing the problem, should not be left in their posts. I ask the Minister of State to address this point.