Results 61-80 of 1,934 for speaker:Tom Shehan

Seanad: Order of Business (31 Mar 2015)

Tom Shehan: The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform should release funds for recruitment in the public sector. I will bring it down to the health service and make it parochial. We are always talking about how we can enhance our tourism product and, in fairness to the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, he has brought forward many initiatives. The trajectory in the tourism scheme is...

Seanad: Order of Business (31 Mar 2015)

Tom Shehan: The Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Heather Humphreys, has been trying to obtain funding, but we must direct this request to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to make funding available to recruit staff. The Muckross House Visitor Centre has been closed for the past three years. If we are trying to build and grow our tourism product, that is not the way to...

Seanad: An Bille um an gCúigiú Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (Aois Intofachta chun Oifig an Uachtaráin) 2015: An Dara Céim - Thirty-fifth Amendment of the Constitution (Age of Eligibility for Election to the Office of President) Bill 2015: Second Stage (31 Mar 2015)

Tom Shehan: We will now take Second Stage of the Thirty-fifth Amendment of the Constitution (Age of Eligibility for Election to the Office of President) Bill 2015. No. 4, a motion pursuant to section 23 of the Referendum Act 1994 on the proposal to amend the Constitution contained in the Thirty-fifth Amendment of the Constitution (Age of Eligibility for Election to the Office of President) Bill 2015,...

Seanad: An Bille um an gCúigiú Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (Aois Intofachta chun Oifig an Uachtaráin) 2015: An Dara Céim - Thirty-fifth Amendment of the Constitution (Age of Eligibility for Election to the Office of President) Bill 2015: Second Stage (31 Mar 2015)

Tom Shehan: Senator Keane, without interruption.

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Second Stage (24 Mar 2015)

Tom Shehan: I welcome the Minister to the House. I wish to speak about a case I have been dealing with for a number of years and it disturbs me every time it comes across my desk. In 2006, a young mother committed suicide and left two children after her, one aged 18 months and the other aged three years old. That day her sister went to collect those children in another province and brought them home....

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Mar 2015)

Tom Shehan: Before I begin, I wish to confirm to the House that I understand the separation of powers between the Judiciary and the State. I call on the Leader to arrange an all-day debate on several matters. The first of those matters is sentencing. Some of the sentences handed down by members of the Judiciary are an absolute joke. The second matter to be discussed during the all-day debate I am...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Mar 2015)

Tom Shehan: The case in question is in the public domain in any event.

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Mar 2015)

Tom Shehan: A couple from the part of the country in which I live travelled to Australia recently in order to visit their daughter. Both were very badly injured when they were involved in a car accident that involved one fatality. The person who caused the accident was incarcerated within seven weeks. If the accident had occurred in this country, it would not be dealt with by the courts in under two...

Seanad: Regulation of Lobbying Bill 2014: Committee Stage (5 Feb 2015)

Tom Shehan: The Senator should not believe everything he reads in the newspapers.

Seanad: Regulation of Lobbying Bill 2014: Committee Stage (5 Feb 2015)

Tom Shehan: The Senator should be querying it with the journalist who wrote it.

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Feb 2015)

Tom Shehan: I wish to ask the Leader the whereabouts of the Coroners Bill and when it can be expected in the House. This is one area that badly needs modernisation as it is an antiquated service or exercise. It needs to be made more humane. Could the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport come to the House to have a debate on road safety? There has been a significant change in the profile of road...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Broadband Service Provision (3 Feb 2015)

Tom Shehan: I thank the Minister. He has really grasped this area of the provision of broadband. It is great that we will have broadband in the first half of 2015, I believe, in Dingle. The Government's roll-out plan for the other rural areas will take anything up to two years. Can anything be done to expedite that? The rest of the country outside of urban areas will wait an additional two years...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Broadband Service Provision (3 Feb 2015)

Tom Shehan: I welcome the Minister to the House. I raise this matter to seek a date for the commencement of the provision of fibre-optic broadband infrastructure in County Kerry, specifically in Dingle. Public representatives have been heard complaining all the time that the IDA is not inviting potential foreign direct investors to Kerry or having site meetings there to attract foreign direct...

Seanad: Regulation of Lobbying Bill 2014: Second Stage (29 Jan 2015)

Tom Shehan: Next Tuesday.

Seanad: Regulation of Lobbying Bill 2014: Second Stage (29 Jan 2015)

Tom Shehan: Tuesday next at 2.30 p.m.

Seanad: Regulation of Lobbying Bill 2014: Second Stage (29 Jan 2015)

Tom Shehan: I welcome the Minister. I agree with Senator Byrne that it is about time the Bill was passed. As the Minister acknowledged, some tweaking will be required as the legislation will be not deal appropriately with every vested interest from the outset. Will a charge be applied for registration? If so, will a fee scale apply? In other words, will fees be charged on a pro ratabasis in the sense...

Seanad: Regulation of Lobbying Bill 2014: Second Stage (29 Jan 2015)

Tom Shehan: I am also afraid that such lobbyists would charge accordingly. It is long before time that legislation on lobbying was enacted. Several attempts have been made to do so. I hope the legislation will create greater openness and transparency for elected representatives, public officials senior civil servants. I concur with Senator Byrne that a public register of all lobbyists should be made...

Seanad: Broadband, Post Office Network and Energy White Paper: Statements (27 Jan 2015)

Tom Shehan: I agree with my colleague, Senator Ned O'Sullivan, as well as Senator John Whelan. Last week in a commencement debate I asked the Minister to make contact with the energy regulator on the decrease in fuel costs. Approximately 40% of our energy is being generated by gas, the price of which has dropped by 27% or 28%. As Senator Ned O'Sullivan said, in Britain the Minister has asked the...

Seanad: Broadband, Post Office Network and Energy White Paper: Statements (27 Jan 2015)

Tom Shehan: I am only halfway there. For this project, the university asked Eircom how much it would cost to provide a 100 Mbps broadband connection in Dingle and was informed it would cost €36,000 upfront and €16,000 per year. The Government will have to do a lot more to help designated yellow areas in terms of broadband coverage. If one is lucky enough to live in a blue area then, by...

Seanad: Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes: Motion (27 Jan 2015)

Tom Shehan: Is amendment No. 1 agreed to? The amendment was proposed and seconded.