Results 461-480 of 605 for speaker:John Whelan

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Mar 2012)

John Whelan: I extend the sympathy of the House to the family of the late Jim Stynes, a giant of a man on and off the field. It is appropriate that he is being afforded a state funeral in Melbourne. We can look to him as an excellent role model. However, the person who most concerns me this morning is not a role model. The chief executive of Bank of Ireland drew down a staggering €831,000 in payments...

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Mar 2012)

John Whelan: They have to stand up to the banks. This bank would not be in existence if not for the taxpayer.

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Mar 2012)

John Whelan: It avoided nationalisation by the skin of its teeth. If Richie Boucher is sufficiently talented to be worth this absurd and obscene amount of money -----

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Mar 2012)

John Whelan: With respect, this is in the public domain.

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Mar 2012)

John Whelan: That is an excellent suggestion. I will refer to him hereafter as "Rich". It is very rich that we are calling on pensioners, widowers, the unemployed and those in mortgage arrears to pay the household charge, which I support, when we appear to be totally helpless in preventing this type of salary to be drawn down in a bank.

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Mar 2012)

John Whelan: What happened to the salary cap?

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Mar 2012)

John Whelan: In fairness, a substantive point can be made without naming individuals. Senior bankers lobbied Dublin City Council for planning permission. They helped to drive their banks onto the rocks. I call on the Leader to ask the Minister for Finance to outline the actions the Government intends to take on this matter. This is happening in a year when senior Bank of Ireland executives withdrew...

Seanad: Infectious Disease Screening Service (14 Mar 2012)

John Whelan: I thank the Minister for coming to the House to address this issue, about which I will make every effort to avoid scaremongering or being sensationalist. Although it had been my understanding that tuberculosis, TB, was a disease that largely had been eradicated from the community, it has been brought to my attention that it is re-emerging and that its incidence in the community is again on...

Seanad: Infectious Disease Screening Service (14 Mar 2012)

John Whelan: I thank the Minister for his thorough and comprehensive response. I am heartened and reassured by the information he has provided on the measures that have been put in place by the Department of Health and the HSE. What has been instituted appears to be wholly comprehensive. I will relay the Minister's reply to the parents and other members of the community who brought their concerns on...

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Mar 2012)

John Whelan: I am pleased Senator O'Brien has given me the opportunity to address the school building programme. I had not intended to raise it.

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Mar 2012)

John Whelan: It is uncanny that Fianna Fáil still has not learned to see the wood for the trees. It is €1.5 billion for 200 new schools and 49 major extensions. It will lead to 15,000 construction jobs, which is not to be scoffed at by the country's builders-----

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Mar 2012)

John Whelan: Portlaoise is due to get seven new primary schools. For 30 years, and under the Fianna Fáil regime, children have been taught in prefabs in Portlaoise in which their parents went to school. It is nothing sort of a scandal that generation upon generation-----

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Mar 2012)

John Whelan: I commend the perseverance of people like the parish priest of Portlaoise, Fr. John Byrne.

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Mar 2012)

John Whelan: He persevered against the odds.

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Mar 2012)

John Whelan: I just want to commend the Minister, Deputy Quinn. It bewilders me that Senator Darragh O'Brien has joined the ranks of certain elements in the INTO that have managed to complain about this.

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Mar 2012)

John Whelan: I would like to inform the House that the Minister announced last week that a separate fund of €35 million would be provided to replace prefabs in small rural schools.

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Mar 2012)

John Whelan: It is an absolute outrage.

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Mar 2012)

John Whelan: I do. I would like to ask him to establish how it is possible to have strong local government and strong local services, such as libraries, good secondary roads, street lighting and fire stations, if local authorities are not being funded. Many Sinn Féin spokespeople have taken to the airwaves to appeal to people. It is lovely to hear them say they will not pay the household charge out of...

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Mar 2012)

John Whelan: It is absurd in the extreme.

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Mar 2012)

John Whelan: I do.