Results 61-80 of 551 for speaker:James O'Connor in 'Dáil debates'

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Agriculture Schemes (4 Oct 2023)

James O'Connor: I thank the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, for being here to deal with the issue of targeted agriculture modernisation scheme, TAMS, grants. It has been raised by many of my colleagues. My constituency office has been getting several queries on the matter. TAMS has been very successful in providing to farmers additional capital resources from the State and European funding to enable them to...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Agriculture Schemes (4 Oct 2023)

James O'Connor: That is very helpful information. I reiterate that the waiting lists and the backlog that is occurring in the TAMS administration office within the Minister’s Department needs to be reduced urgently. It is great to hear of the work that is being done in terms of prioritisation of cases. May I bring a couple of cases to the attention of the Minister? These are people who are very...

School Transport 2023-2024: Statements (3 Oct 2023)

James O'Connor: I thank the Minister for being here. This issue, as we all know, is hugely contentious in rural areas. I want to acknowledge the point that has been made by my colleague in Cork North-Central, Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan, that this year has seen a huge increase in the number of people who are taking bus transport. Due to the work that is being done by the Department, difficulties have...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Care Services (26 Sep 2023)

James O'Connor: I welcome the Minister of State's response and I understand the point she has made on Youghal's population and size and not having these services. This has been a long-standing problem and issue in Youghal. For many years the town has been without Deputies and I am lucky to be the second person elected since the 2011 general election; we also had Deputy McLellan. I am very honoured to be...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Care Services (26 Sep 2023)

James O'Connor: Yes, but as for the county boundary, trying to get that intervention from the State at a local authority level is an issue of continuing concern. I want to see the Department of Health putting in further focus and examination. One item of further concern regarding primary care services in Youghal is that a number of plans have been proposed for the St Raphael's site and it is...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Care Services (26 Sep 2023)

James O'Connor: I thank the Minister of State for being here a little after 11 p.m. It is heartening to see her here so late to talk about this issue, which she knows is a major problem in my area, the constituency of Cork East. We need to see an enhancement of facilities for the elderly in the east Cork area. The area is growing rapidly. It has a certain characteristic. Unlike many parts of the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rural Schemes (26 Sep 2023)

James O'Connor: I commend the information the Minister provided and how good an idea it is. The money that has not been spent in the Department of Transport needs to be transferred for these well-deserved schemes that need funding to progress. She made one comment that concerned me, in that County Cork is number three nationally. The county has the largest road network in the country. Surely, it should...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rural Schemes (26 Sep 2023)

James O'Connor: There are not too many people in the Cabinet I would trust to pilot a Massey Ferguson but I guarantee that the Minister is one of them. Her comments are very welcome. It is good to know that rural Ireland has somebody at the table, like her, with the commitment to try to address this issue. She eloquently put it about having the awareness, for the likes of us in rural constituencies,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rural Schemes (26 Sep 2023)

James O'Connor: 52. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if her Department has considered allocating extra funding to Cork county for local improvement schemes for private roads and laneways; if her Department has considered allocating additional funding for Cork county to repair many regional roads across Cork; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41417/23]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rural Schemes (26 Sep 2023)

James O'Connor: My question relates to funding for rural road infrastructure. Our schemes are well resourced, but we need more funding in County Cork, given the physical size of the county. Its road infrastructure has long been an issue, not only at national level, but also in terms of the area pertaining to the Minister’s Department. Deputy Humphreys has been a wonderful Minister nationally and...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (21 Sep 2023)

James O'Connor: I want to raise what happened yesterday at the Committee on Transport and Communications with the ongoing delays with National Car Test, NCT, testing. We heard justification yesterday that there are supposed to be 18 days of a wait for NCTs across the country, which is factually incorrect. People are waiting for four, five and six months in different parts of the country to get an NCT....

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Pension Provisions (11 Jul 2023)

James O'Connor: I appreciate the Minister of State's response but it does not really answer my question. I acknowledge that it is not his Department or role and that the response is from the Minister, Deputy Donohoe. I have here the forms for the supplementary pension allowance application. They include a statement from the applicant indicating that he or she understands it will be necessary to provide...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Pension Provisions (11 Jul 2023)

James O'Connor: I thank the Minister of State for being present. It is great to have this question selected before the summer recess. I had a fascinating meeting in my constituency office, of which this Topical Issue is the brainchild. I met with a retired public health worker who had worked as a midwife. Without going into too many specifics, it was one of the most interesting exchanges I have had since...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (11 Jul 2023)

James O'Connor: Over the weekend, the chief executive of the IDA and others commented about the infrastructure deficit. What is the Government doing to try and tackle this, in particular pertaining to road projects? A significant number of national road projects, some contained within the national development plan, NDP, are not being replaced because of funding. What is being done to deal with that,...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Water Services (6 Jul 2023)

James O'Connor: I appreciate the Minister of State's response. I ask him to bring the points that have been raised back to the Minister. That would be appreciated. It comes down to this: it is about the scale of time it will take to get to a point at which this will no longer be an issue unless there is drastic rainfall. As I said, these outages are becoming more frequent. They are lasting much...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Water Services (6 Jul 2023)

James O'Connor: I wish to acknowledge the passing of former Cork East Deputy, Gerard Cott, who served as a Member of the House from 1969 until 1973. Our sympathies are with his family and the community in Midleton C.B.S. Secondary School, where he served as a member of staff for a number of years. We have been thinking of them in the past few days. I wish to raise a critically-important issue in the...

Matters Arising in RTÉ: Statements (4 Jul 2023)

James O'Connor: What has transpired over the past number of weeks has been deeply disturbing. It has done enormous damage to the reputation of our national broadcaster. I do not very often agree with some of the points made by Deputy Boyd Barrett but he was correct in much of what he said about the outstanding questions that still need to be answered, in addition to the importance of having a national...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: School Accommodation (29 Jun 2023)

James O'Connor: I thank the Minister. That information is good and positive. I acknowledge the positives. It is great to see there are so many projects in the pipeline but the problem is that they are in the pipeline and we need to get them delivered. The Minister referred to one that is approaching delivering after a painful, arduous process, long pre-dating her own appointment as a Cabinet Minister....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: School Accommodation (29 Jun 2023)

James O'Connor: 89. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to provide an update on the school building programme in County Cork; if she is satisfied with its progress to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31658/23]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: School Accommodation (29 Jun 2023)

James O'Connor: I would like to get some information from the Department and Minister about what the intentions are regarding the school building programme, predominantly in my constituency of Cork East. It would be greatly helpful to get some degree of an update.