Results 341-360 of 447 for speaker:Brendan Kenneally

Seanad: Finance Bill 2005 [Certified Money Bill]: Second Stage. (22 Mar 2005)

Brendan Kenneally: I welcome the Minister of State. I also welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Finance Bill 2005. I compliment the Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, on the way he is putting his stamp on his new portfolio and the way in which he is going about his work. His style obviously contrasts with that of his predecessor, Charlie McCreevy, whom I also compliment. He held the post...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2005 [Certified Money Bill]: Second Stage. (22 Mar 2005)

Brendan Kenneally: There is no tax on food in supermarkets.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2005 [Certified Money Bill]: Second Stage. (22 Mar 2005)

Brendan Kenneally: VAT on food in restaurants is a different issue, which I will now discuss. There is no VAT on food sold in supermarkets. I accept there is 12% tax on food in restaurants and this is an issue that could perhaps be examined. We all know, particularly since the introduction of the euro, that it is much easier to compare prices when one goes abroad than it was before. Restaurant meals are much...

Seanad: Higher Education Review: Statements. (22 Feb 2005)

Brendan Kenneally: I thank Senator MacSharry for sharing his time with me and welcome the Minister to the House. I had wished to speak about the issue of fees in regard to third level funding but there is inadequate time to do so. Some sort of incentive is required whereby third level institutions which are performing well are rewarded. I do not agree with much of the OECD report. However, I agree with a...

Seanad: Future Development of An Post: Statements. (3 Feb 2005)

Brendan Kenneally: I am happy to contribute to this debate this afternoon. I have received representations from people in County Waterford about the diminished and unsatisfactory nature of the service provided by An Post. I have a great deal of sympathy for the staff of An Post because they have been given a raw deal, almost from the time the new body was established. It is no secret that the new body has been...

Seanad: Fishing Industry: Motion. (8 Dec 2004)

Brendan Kenneally: I welcome the opportunity to speak on the motion and to support the Government amendment. The sea fishing sector has faced a great deal of difficulty over the past number of years due to declining stocks in EU waters. Whether people like it or not, we must regulate the sector to address the problem. If we do not do so, the fish will disappear and there will be no industry. A number of years...

Seanad: Book of Estimates 2005: Statements. (24 Nov 2004)

Brendan Kenneally: I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Estimates. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy de Valera, to the House. The Estimates have become far more important than in the past. I have been a Member of the Oireachtas since 1989. For a long period, even though we had the Estimates and the Finance Act, everybody watched out for the budget. Over the years the Estimates have...

Seanad: Book of Estimates 2005: Statements. (24 Nov 2004)

Brendan Kenneally: I also said we should widen the tax bands.

Seanad: Hospital Services. (17 Nov 2004)

Brendan Kenneally: I thank the Cathaoirleach for allowing me to raise this matter and I welcome the Minister of State to the House. This is an important matter for the people of Waterford and the south east region. I have never seen a region so united on any issue as the people of the south east are on this one. The Irish Society of Medical Oncologists has made the following submission to the National Cancer...

Seanad: Order of Business. (9 Nov 2004)

Brendan Kenneally: It would be useful to have a debate with the relevant Minister, whether the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment or the Minister for Finance, arising from a decision in the Italian High Court yesterday. The Italian director of consumer affairs took a case against the banks claiming they were treating their customers inequitably by applying only a yearly interest on deposits but...

Seanad: National Sports Facilities: Statements. (3 Nov 2004)

Brendan Kenneally: I welcome my good friend the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Deputy O'Donoghue, back to the House. I am glad of the opportunity to participate in the debate. It would be impossible to speak about sporting facilities in Ireland without raising the vexed question of Croke Park. I am not going to tell the GAA what it should or should not do — that is not my business — but, like most, I...

Seanad: National Sports Facilities: Statements. (3 Nov 2004)

Brendan Kenneally: The Cathaoirleach does not have to say it, as he has already said so. A few years ago I recall a game of American football in Croke Park and games cannot get more foreign than that. Therefore a precedent has already been set for those type of games being played there. It will be detrimental if an Irish soccer team or an Irish rugby team has to play abroad because no grounds are available in...

Seanad: National Sports Facilities: Statements. (3 Nov 2004)

Brendan Kenneally: What is going on over there is ridiculous and one wonders why one should help such an organisation.

Seanad: National Sports Facilities: Statements. (3 Nov 2004)

Brendan Kenneally: Somebody rightly made the comment that the GAA is an amateur organisation run by professionals and the FAI is a professional organisation run by amateurs. That was proved today. In light of what happened in Lansdowne Road, I was a strong advocate of the Abbotstown project and I was disappointed when it did not proceed. While the stadium aspect is not going ahead the National Aquatic Centre is...

Seanad: Dumping at Sea (Amendment) Bill 2000 [[i]Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil[/i]]: Report and Final Stages. (28 Oct 2004)

Brendan Kenneally: There has been much debate and media attention about illegal dumping. There have been instances of domestic and commercial waste moving from the Republic of Ireland through the North and on to Scotland and elsewhere. I accept that this legislation has not yet been enacted. However, under the Dumping at Sea Act 1996, have prosecutions been taken in respect of people involved in moving domestic...

Seanad: Dumping at Sea (Amendment) Bill 2000 [[i]Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil[/i]]: Report and Final Stages (Resumed). (28 Oct 2004)

Brendan Kenneally: I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House this morning. I am not sure if it is his first time in the House since he was appointed Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources but it is certainly his first time here on official marine business. He will not have to read into that brief because he has significant knowledge of it. Civil servants...

Seanad: Order of Business. (27 Oct 2004)

Brendan Kenneally: It would be useful to invite the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources to the House — I realise he is new to his brief and has not yet come before us — to discuss the charges levied by mobile telephone operators which are much higher here than in any of our European neighbours or, as far as I can gather, any other country in the world. We have debated the matter at...

Seanad: Disabled Person's Grant Scheme. (21 Oct 2004)

Brendan Kenneally: I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this matter and the Minister of State, Deputy Noel Ahern, for his attendance. The disabled person's grant scheme has been successful over the years and particularly helpful to some of the most vulnerable in society. Like all schemes, however, there comes a time for review and that time has arrived. There should be less bureaucracy in the operation of...

Seanad: Order of Business. (2 Jul 2004)

Brendan Kenneally: A House debate on electricity generation would be timely. Some people may not be aware that there could be a difficulty later this year regarding the capacity of the ESB and other suppliers to meet demand. A couple of years ago, a new company, EirGrid, was set up to take over the running of the national grid. That has not yet been done. The idea was to create competition and reduce prices but...

Seanad: Maritime Safety Bill 2004: Second Stage. (30 Jun 2004)

Brendan Kenneally: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and wholeheartedly welcome the Bill. The Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources is to be congratulated on bringing forward this legislation which represents a decent effort to curb activities of mechanically propelled watercraft and which will regulate an element of our leisure sector which needs to be brought into line with...