Results 801-820 of 5,550 for speaker:Martin Ferris

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland: Discussion (22 Oct 2015)

Martin Ferris: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland: Discussion (22 Oct 2015)

Martin Ferris: Absolutely.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Peace Building in Northern Ireland: Community Relations Council and Partner Organisations (22 Oct 2015)

Martin Ferris: I welcome the delegations to the committee and thank them for their excellent presentations. They highlighted the work that still needs to be done. I detect from this and previous contributions that there is a sense of a lack of confidence in the process. There is a sense that the peace process has been neglected politically, maybe at governmental level. I spoke to Ms Mary Montague at one...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Peace Building in Northern Ireland: Community Relations Council and Partner Organisations (22 Oct 2015)

Martin Ferris: Are integrated schools a way to break down that barrier?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Peace Building in Northern Ireland: Community Relations Council and Partner Organisations (22 Oct 2015)

Martin Ferris: I would like to come back to the integrated education programme. Ms Jones said the funding cuts are beginning to affect any possibility of the programmes moving forward. People in working class areas, unfortunately, do not have the opportunity for a full education because of their socioeconomic background, with many people living in abject poverty and so on. A conflict resolution process...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Peace Building in Northern Ireland: Community Relations Council and Partner Organisations (22 Oct 2015)

Martin Ferris: Yes, but that has to be resolved by leadership.

Topical Issue Debate: School Transport Tendering (20 Oct 2015)

Martin Ferris: Deputy Healy-Rae and I, along with others, met the private operators a number of weeks back. These people lost their jobs as a result of the tendering process, and they argued very eloquently that the process took place on an uneven playing pitch. Kerry Flyer, which has entered the market, tendered for eight bus runs and it was successful in five of those. That means five operators lost...

Topical Issue Debate: School Transport Tendering (20 Oct 2015)

Martin Ferris: I thank the Minister of State for his reply but it misses our point. Money has been supplied to Kerry Flyer, such as €180,861 in 2014, for staff, including a driver. I do not know if the driver was driving the bus. It is noted as "operational funding" and it is clear that this can be used for motor tax, insurance, diesel and maintenance and repairs of the vehicle. In 2015, some...

European Council: Statements (20 Oct 2015)

Martin Ferris: Along with other parliamentarians, including Deputy Derek Keating, I went to Jordan in 2013. We went down to the Syria-Jordan border and we visited the refugee camps there. There was something rather striking about the whole thing. There are three different refugee camps in Jordan. The camp in Amman is where the 1948 Palestinian refugees were put up. Further south there is another...

European Council: Statements (20 Oct 2015)

Martin Ferris: The Deputy is talking about officials-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Greyhound Racing Industry: Discussion (20 Oct 2015)

Martin Ferris: I thank the Minister of State for his detailed presentation, of which I must be complimentary, inasmuch as at last somebody has taken the bull by the horns, for want of a better expression, to try to sort out this ongoing issue, that is, the dissension, disagreement and so forth, as well as the overall message going out and the damage it has done to the industry. It is good to hear the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Greyhound Racing Industry: Discussion (20 Oct 2015)

Martin Ferris: It is separate. I did not know that. The Minister of State mentioned that all board appointments are made through the Public Appointments Service and that the Controls Committee operates independent of the board. I would be sceptical of that because he also said that its members should be appointed by the Minister of the day. Perhaps it should be appointed by the Minister of the day...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Greyhound Racing Industry: Discussion (20 Oct 2015)

Martin Ferris: I thank the representatives of the federation for their presentation. They say that No. 2 in their list of primary objectives is to make effective representation and contributions to the Irish Greyhound Board, the Irish Coursing Club and the Minister with responsibility for the Irish greyhound industry. How effective has that been? Have they had ample access to the Minister and the various...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Greyhound Racing Industry: Discussion (20 Oct 2015)

Martin Ferris: I would like to be associated with a lot of what Senator Ó Domhnaill has said. This whole debacle, which has been ongoing for a considerable length of time, is a contributing factor in the position in which the greyhound industry now finds itself. Mr. Meaney said there has been an improvement and that €1 million has been paid off the debt. In fact, the IGB got €1.2...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Garda Investigations (20 Oct 2015)

Martin Ferris: 301. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will instruct the Garda Síochána fraud squad to investigate the issue of milk quota irregularities involving a person (details supplied) in County Kildare and a company involving 500,000 l of milk. [36323/15]

Financial Resolutions 2016 - Financial Resolution No. 5: General (Resumed) (14 Oct 2015)

Martin Ferris: There is precious little for struggling farmers in the budget. My party, Sinn Féin, has repeatedly called for the restoration of the farm assist payments to their 2013 level. The Government's refusal to respond to that call which is echoed by farming organisations shows a disconnect from the realities of life for those who are struggling in rural Ireland. The Minister for Social...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Farm Improvement Scheme Eligibility (13 Oct 2015)

Martin Ferris: 101. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if there are supports for farmers for land reclamation and drainage; and if that support extends beyond pipe drainage to alternative methods such a stone drainage. [35200/15]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Home Help Service Data (13 Oct 2015)

Martin Ferris: 240. To ask the Minister for Health the number of new applications for home help, in tabular form, that were approved for each of the past six months in County Kerry. [35316/15]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Home Help Service Data (13 Oct 2015)

Martin Ferris: 241. To ask the Minister for Health the number of new applications for home help, in tabular form, that were approved but not allocated due to financial constraints for each of the past six months in County Kerry [35317/15]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Organic Farming Scheme: Organic Farmers Representative Body (8 Oct 2015)

Martin Ferris: I thank Mr. Finnegan for his presentation. Organic farming is a very poor relation in the overall farming sector. It is neglected politically and discriminated against, not just by this but also by previous Governments. Mr Finnegan has mentioned that while some organic farmers can no longer benefit under both schemes, the green low-carbon agri-environment scheme, GLAS, and the organic...