Results 16,501-16,520 of 16,608 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Concert Licensing: Dublin City Council (15 Jul 2014)

Helen McEntee: Will the council submit its opinions on the system so as to avoid a recurrence? What is Mr. Keegan's position in that regard?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Concert Licensing: Dublin City Council (15 Jul 2014)

Helen McEntee: I thank the witnesses for coming before the committee. I agree with Deputy Coffey that we should not play the blame game or to be judge and jury. It is not why I am here. It is a very difficult situation and people are torn, given that we are talking about a concert while many other major issues are ongoing. The issue has dominated the media for the past two weeks and has received an...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Concert Licensing: Dublin City Council (15 Jul 2014)

Helen McEntee: At any point in the conversation did the council suggest it was not a good idea or that Aiken should hold off?

Free Travel Pass: Motion [Private Members] (8 Jul 2014)

Helen McEntee: I welcome the opportunity to speak on the motion but I take issue with the wording, particularly the line that Dáil Éireann condemns "the Government’s threats to abolish this vital and effective State support". There was no threat and there still is no threat, nor will there be any threat to those availing of the scheme.

Free Travel Pass: Motion [Private Members] (8 Jul 2014)

Helen McEntee: The issue emerged not because of a change in Government policy but because the Opposition felt it could take advantage of a pre-budget submission released by Age Action Ireland two weeks ago. Age Action Ireland is there to protect the elderly and to lobby the Government on issues that may affect it. It is entitled to do so but the elderly people in our society should not be taken advantage...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Capital Programme Expenditure (8 Jul 2014)

Helen McEntee: 519. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government when he expects funding towards housing needs and repairs to be released to Meath County Council as there are a large number of properties across the county that are lying vacant and as funding is required to ensure they are fully habitable for new tenants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29441/14]

Valuation Bill 2014: Second Stage [Private Members] (4 Jul 2014)

Helen McEntee: I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill, and I thank Deputy Cowen for bringing it forward. It has been needed for some time. While there are technical issues, which the Minister addressed, I agree with the objective of the Bill. Sports clubs with bar facilities should be liable for rates only on the part of the premises that has the licence to sell alcoholic beverages. For sports...

Mental Health Services: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (2 Jul 2014)

Helen McEntee: I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill because this is an issue that affects everybody. Sometimes our debates on Private Members' business or legislation can be focused on particular sectors or groups of people but mental health does not discriminate on the grounds of age, gender or nationality. Mental health is a vital issue for the nation and I agree with the motion. As policy...

Topical Issue Debate: Cancer Screening Programmes (2 Jul 2014)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Minister for his response. After 15 years there have been over 950,000 mammograms, which is great news. As Deputy O'Donnell noted, these women are somebody's mother, sister, aunt or grandmother. It is more difficult for people to recover from an illness later in life and deaths from breast cancer are the second highest rate in the 60-69 age group. We are missing four years of...

Topical Issue Debate: Cancer Screening Programmes (2 Jul 2014)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Minister for Health for taking this issue and my colleague, Deputy O'Donnell, for raising it. BreastCheck, which is the national free screening programme for breast cancer, currently extends to women aged between 50 and 64 years of age. It is a fantastic programme. The only figures available to me are from 2012 but I assume that the figures for last year and this year are...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: National Broadband Plan: Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (2 Jul 2014)

Helen McEntee: Will the Minister reply to my question about lines that are not strong enough for which ports need to be updated? What work is being done in this regard?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: National Broadband Plan: Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (2 Jul 2014)

Helen McEntee: While the Minister wants to move away from speeds, his note on the delivery of the national broadband plan stated that by 2015 he wanted more than half of the population to have between 70 and 100 Mbps. Are we on target for that? Deputy O'Mahony hit the nail on the head regarding the recent announcement. People in the 40 targeted locations are anxious that it be rolled out as fast as...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Wind Energy Guidelines (1 Jul 2014)

Helen McEntee: 338. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if any planning application lodged under the current wind energy guidelines will be subject to new guidelines should they be published before the application has been approved or denied (details supplied). [28398/14]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Green Paper on Energy Policy: Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (4 Jun 2014)

Helen McEntee: The Minister referred to the workshops and the various themes within the paper. Will the Minister let us know when these take place? I completely agree that we need to expand our infrastructure and that we need it for the future. There are projections of 3% of GDP growth this year and 4% the following year. Even if we are economical with our energy, we need to expand. However, certain...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Green Paper on Energy Policy: Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (4 Jun 2014)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Minister for appearing at the committee two weeks in a row. I am delighted to hear that the Minister of State, Deputy O'Dowd, will shortly make an announcement on biomass fuels. A number of proposed projects in Meath focus not just on miscanthus but also on sugar beet, among other crops. That we are largely dependent on oil for transport means that many of these projects will...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Textbooks Rental Scheme (29 May 2014)

Helen McEntee: 38. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills in respect of schools that are already operating a book rental scheme (details supplied), if such schools will be given some financial support to maintain their schemes; if he will reconsider his decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23284/14]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: EU Telecommunications and Energy Councils: Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (28 May 2014)

Helen McEntee: My apologies for arriving late. The Minister has touched on projects of common interest, PCIs, and funding. Who decides on that and what are the criteria? Cost has been a major factor in respect of the EirGrid North-South interconnector. They are trying to do it as cheaply as possible so that it does not appear on people's energy bills. Will the fact that the project has not gone ahead,...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Network (27 May 2014)

Helen McEntee: 971. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he or his Department received proposals from Meath County Council over the past ten years to construct a bridge over the River Blackwater in Navan, County Meath; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22386/14]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: EU Energy Policy: European Commission (8 May 2014)

Helen McEntee: I thank the witnesses for the presentations. It is logical to set targets. Renewable energy is self-explanatory and although fossil fuels will not disappear in this or the next generation, I would like to think we can plan for the future. It was indicated that it is no longer proposed to set member state targets but if something is not mandatory, people may not put in the same effort. Are...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: School Transport Scheme: Bus Éireann (7 May 2014)

Helen McEntee: I thank the witnesses for their attendance. As for the legal advice, I wish to associate myself with the comments by Deputies Coffey and O'Donovan. As Deputy Ann Phelan has touched on some of the questions I had wished to ask, I will turn briefly to the tendering process. Companies that have been going through this process for years and which have had contracts for years may suddenly find...