Results 301-320 of 405 for speaker:John Ellis

Seanad: Order of Business. (7 Nov 2007)

John Ellis: Last week, and the week before, I raised the question of whether the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government could come to the House to discuss the boundary commission report and the possibility of setting up a cross-party committee to discuss the electoral system. Has the Acting Leader anything to report on that matter? I call for a debate on the need for more balanced...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (1 Nov 2007)

John Ellis: Last week I spoke about the Boundary Commission report. I asked for the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to come to the House to discuss the matter prior to the introduction of legislation. Since then I have been reliably informed that the Boundary Commission has gone outside its terms of reference in some of its decisions. I again ask the Leader to invite the...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (24 Oct 2007)

John Ellis: I refer to the report published yesterday by the constituency commission. As Members are probably aware, 75% of the submissions made to the commission came from County Leitrim. They came from people across the political spectrum who sought the county's location within one constituency or other. The net result of the constituency commission's decision published yesterday is that were a...

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Oct 2007)

John Ellis: The Minister for Health and Children came to the House recently to discuss health issues but the HSE is totally out of control regarding its proposals, particularly its proposal to transfer the rheumatology unit in which Governments have invested considerable money down through the years from Manorhamilton to Sligo General Hospital, which does not even have the facilities to accommodate the...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Oct 2007)

John Ellis: Will the Leader invite the Minister for Transport to address the Seanad prior to legislation being introduced for the mandatory testing of people involved in accidents? Alcohol is a contributory factor in many accidents but the main factor, which is beginning to emerge, is drugs. Recreational drugs are becoming part of the problem. Would it be possible to have a discussion with the...

Seanad: Shannon Airport: Statements (10 Oct 2007)

John Ellis: We never did that.

Seanad: Shannon Airport: Statements (10 Oct 2007)

John Ellis: When we debate the withdrawal of services from Shannon to Heathrow, we must realise the Government is not responsible. We privatised Aer Lingus and everyone supported that when it took place.

Seanad: Shannon Airport: Statements (10 Oct 2007)

John Ellis: The Senator can use his own time to criticise me any way he likes. Aer Lingus is now a private company. It is no longer State-run. Why was this necessary? Aer Lingus needed substantial capital investment in the coming years if a national airline of any description was to be maintained. As Chairman of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport, I held a number of meetings at which we...

Seanad: Shannon Airport: Statements (10 Oct 2007)

John Ellis: I expect it will be successful in doing so, but we must be objective about this matter. We privatised Aer Lingus and we must accept what goes with it. We cannot have it À la carte because it does not work like that. It is easy for people to make rash statements about what the Government can do, but once it was agreed by everybody, with the exception of Senator Doherty's party——

Seanad: Shannon Airport: Statements (10 Oct 2007)

John Ellis: Whoever wanted to disagree did so and we will allow them that privilege. None of us will dispute that, but we must consider what we can do now to get connectivity between Shannon and Heathrow back in place. The House should support the initiatives taken by the Shannon Airport Authority to seek a new partner. We must be clear, however, that the biggest advantage of the Government's 25%...

Seanad: Shannon Airport: Statements (10 Oct 2007)

John Ellis: We will leave that until the day the threat arises. The House must decide whether it wants to be constructive or destructive as far as Shannon is concerned. If we want to be constructive we should support the Shannon Airport Authority and any carrier that wants to run a Shannon-Heathrow service. The only way to support such a service is for those in the region to use it.

Seanad: Shannon Airport: Statements (10 Oct 2007)

John Ellis: I always thought that there were not as many interruptions in this House as in the Lower House.

Seanad: Shannon Airport: Statements (10 Oct 2007)

John Ellis: When I was previously a Member of this House, it was a much more constructive place than it is now.

Seanad: Shannon Airport: Statements (10 Oct 2007)

John Ellis: As far as the Government and everybody in the Shannon catchment area are concerned, we need to get connectivity between Shannon and Heathrow, irrespective of how we do so. Some years ago, Aer Lingus committed another serious crime regarding a regional airport much closer to me, when it pulled out of Knock and left it for dead. We saw what happened there, however, because when Knock decided...

Seanad: Shannon Airport: Statements (10 Oct 2007)

John Ellis: Yes, but it needs to go out and push its case. BMI did not take it but quite a number of airlines with slots in Heathrow would be only too glad to take up this route which was profitable.

Seanad: Climate Protection Bill 2007: Second Stage (3 Oct 2007)

John Ellis: I congratulate Deputy Gormley on his appointment as Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and I have no doubt he will do a good job in that Department. When we speak about climate change and greenhouse gases, it is imperative to realise that Ireland probably has had a greater increase owing to our economic development over the past ten to 15 years. This has probably...

Seanad: Voluntary Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2007: Second Stage (27 Sep 2007)

John Ellis: Like other Members, I congratulate the Leas-Chathaoirleach on his appointment. I welcome the Minister, Deputy Harney, to this House where we both started in the Oireachtas together on the same day. We will not say how long ago. In some ways the Bill is probably going much further than people might expect, but in other ways it does not go far enough. A number of anomalies arise when one...

Written Answers — Registration of Title: Registration of Title (24 Apr 2007)

John Ellis: Question 131: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if maps will be issued for a person (details supplied) in County Leitrim. [14386/07]

Written Answers — Registration of Title: Registration of Title (24 Apr 2007)

John Ellis: Question 140: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if a case for a person (details supplied) in County Leitrim will be finalised. [14475/07]

Rail Freight: Motion (Resumed) (7 Mar 2007)

John Ellis: I welcome the opportunity to make a contribution to the debate on the Private Members' motion. I wish to share my time with Deputy Wilkinson.