Results 121-140 of 405 for speaker:John Ellis

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Feb 2008)

John Ellis: I congratulate the Garda on its action at the weekend in introducing checks for drugs at some of its checkpoints for alcohol. That is a welcome move and something on which this House should compliment the Garda. I have raised that question here on a number of occasions and I am delighted the Garda has now taken action on it. The Garda should also consider the possibility of introducing...

Seanad: Forestry Issues: Statements (20 Feb 2008)

John Ellis: Senator Bradford finished on a point I was going to make. I attended many public meetings — I am sure Senator O'Reilly was also called to many — on the problems caused by private afforestation companies backed by pension funds and other operations which did not need to make a commercial return. They forced a number of farmers out of business by being able to pay more for land for...

Seanad: Health Services (20 Feb 2008)

John Ellis: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Pat The Cope Gallagher, to take this motion on the Adjournment. I raise the matter of a capital project, which has been proposed by the HSE, and formerly by the North-Western Health Board, entailing the provision of a community care facility and small hospital in Ballinamore, County Leitrim. This was sanctioned in 2002 and was given the go-ahead then....

Seanad: Health Services (20 Feb 2008)

John Ellis: If there is no move on this project by the date given — we were promised it would be commenced by certain dates twice previously — I will raise it again in the House and will continue to harass both the HSE and the Minister until the project gets to the building stage.

Seanad: Electoral Commission: Motion (5 Mar 2008)

John Ellis: I may welcome this motion more than any other Member of this House because I have often raised this matter on the Order of Business. I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Trevor Sargent, and understand that the Minister left the House with good reason. I welcome the Minister's statement of intent regarding the electoral system. I have a...

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Apr 2008)

John Ellis: I compliment the Tánaiste on what he said last week about the future of the Constituency Commission. Legislation is to come before us and there might be all-party agreement to amend it. In a previous debate on the electoral commission, Senators on the other side expressed the view that something should be done about the Constituency Commission's last report which did not take into...

Seanad: Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008: Second Stage (23 Apr 2008)

John Ellis: I welcome the Minister to the House and his introduction of this long-awaited Bill. The need to establish a Dublin Transport Authority has been talked about for the past number of years. The need for it has been sticking out like the proverbial sore thumb for the past 15 or 20 years. Regardless of how this legislation is enacted, we must accept that some people will find fault with it, as...

Seanad: Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008: Second Stage (23 Apr 2008)

John Ellis: The Senator is canvassing too early.

Seanad: Tourism Industry: Statements (24 Apr 2008)

John Ellis: I welcome the Minister on his first visit as Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism. We have all had the privilege of dealing with him as a Minister. The Minister and I arrived to this House together on our first day as Members of the Oireachtas. We will not say how long ago it was. The progress overall in the Irish tourism industry has been phenomenal during the past ten or 15 years....

Seanad: Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008: Committee Stage (8 May 2008)

John Ellis: The Senator hit the crossbar.

Seanad: Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008: Committee Stage (8 May 2008)

John Ellis: We should give the same consideration to the issues affecting pedestrians as we are giving to cyclists. I agree with Senator Norris that there is a problem with regard to proper walking areas, not just in Dublin, but in other urban and rural areas. People often walk on public roads at night without reflective gear and as a result we have serious problems. Cycle lanes in the city of Dublin...

Seanad: Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008: Committee Stage (8 May 2008)

John Ellis: Perhaps the Minister could consider dealing with this on Report Stage. There is consensus on the issue here. I know there is no amendment to cover the issues as we have raised them today. Will the Minister, therefore, consider bringing in something on Report Stage that will encompass our aspirations?

Seanad: Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008: Committee Stage (8 May 2008)

John Ellis: We have an awkward problem here. If we have full deregulation, people will take up licences and try to run businesses on routes that are unsustainable. This is the first issue we will run into and it will cause serious problems. At present, a number of operators provide services into the city from outside. Will an operator be obliged to seek a second licence from the DTA rather than using...

Seanad: Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008: Committee Stage (8 May 2008)

John Ellis: We are all guilty of that.

Seanad: Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008: Committee Stage (8 May 2008)

John Ellis: On Second Stage I expressed abhorrence of the provision precluding local authority members from sitting on the authority. It is regrettable that section 40 prevents members of local authorities or either House of the Oireachtas from being a member of the authority. It is wrong to prevent elected representatives from sitting on such boards, particularly given that they are answerable to the...

Seanad: Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008: Committee Stage (8 May 2008)

John Ellis: The Senator should not tie his own hand here.

Seanad: Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (13 May 2008)

John Ellis: The last time we debated this I raised the issue of the exclusion of local authority members because I feel it is wrong and we must do something to deal with it. It is very unfair that local authority members should be debarred; at least Oireachtas Members have the right to attend an Oireachtas committee and can raise questions when they do so. In this case even the Lord Mayor could be...

Seanad: Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (13 May 2008)

John Ellis: I feel that if we dropped section 40(1)(a) entirely and changed section 40(1)(b) to read "an elected Member or nominated Member of either House of the Oireachtas or the European Parliament", we could get out of the spot of trouble we are in.

Seanad: Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (13 May 2008)

John Ellis: We need to be careful about paragraph (d), which refers to "a person providing services to the Authority". That could very well be construed as a subcontractor to the authority who was negligent should not be exempt from being sued. In the event, it is the authority that will be sued, not the subcontractor if there is negligence, and there should be some way of getting around that, because...

Seanad: Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (13 May 2008)

John Ellis: I take it that the operators referred to in this amendment are primarily those that provide services to people from rural Ireland living in Dublin who wish to return home for the weekend. In the absence of proper parking facilities, it would be unfair of the authority to prevent private operators from parking in the locations they currently use to pick up passengers. I accept the point...