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Results 41-60 of 605 for speaker:John Whelan

Seanad: Commencement Matters: General Practitioner Services (24 Mar 2015)

John Whelan: I acknowledge and thank the Minister of State for a positive and constructive response. It is heartening and positive news for the people of Borris-in-Ossory and surrounding areas that the HSE has managed to secure a replacement and that a new GP will take up duty imminently. I welcome that. However, it would be easier to recruit GPs to rural areas and other communities which are not as...

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Mar 2015)

John Whelan: On this day a few years ago, I was born in Portlaoise General Hospital. My own children and my granddaughter were also born there. It is a fine hospital with dedicated staff. Now its reputation and the public's confidence in the hospital are being dragged into an unsavoury row between the HSE and HIQA. I commend the Minister for Health, Deputy Leo Varadkar, on the forthright, common-sense...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Irish Prison Service (3 Mar 2015)

John Whelan: I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this matter today. It is a matter of great urgency. I am particularly heartened to see the Minister for Justice and Equality here. The Minister has a reputation for being considerate, caring, courteous and credible,and I appeal to those attributes. I ask her to intervene personally, as the Minister responsible, in a festering dispute between the...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Irish Prison Service (3 Mar 2015)

John Whelan: I have every confidence in the Minister and I trust her bona fides and perspective in the matter. I urge her to hold a direct meeting with the POA at the earliest opportunity. I accept that I used strong language but I do not do so lightly. It is informed by ongoing representations I am receiving from prison officers in Portlaoise and across the country. I do not want to be inflammatory...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Feb 2015)

John Whelan: And what about Bertie Ahern's pension?

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Feb 2015)

John Whelan: I support my colleagues, Senators Kelly, Noone and Barrett, so the Seanad robustly rejects and resents any interference or attempt to silence democratic representation. It is our job to interfere, to engage and to represent the community and public interest. We will not be told by officials in Cork County Council that we cannot make robust representations on planning issues, particularly...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Feb 2015)

John Whelan: Let us see it in court. We will see how that pans out. We will not back down. Similarly, the House will not back away from speaking loudly and rejecting IAG's proposal to buy Aer Lingus. As Senator Barrett stated, the board will appear before the transport committee today and tell us how the proposal is a great idea, but it has skin in the game and its members stand to make a financial...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Feb 2015)

John Whelan: We must look past that vested interest and put community, national and strategic long-term interests first for towns and cities like Waterford and Cork, the midlands, Mayo, Limerick, Shannon and so on. We will not sell out. People would like to silence us, but we will not be silenced. We have an expert in Senator Barrett, an independent and credible economist who has nothing to gain from...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Court Accommodation Provision (12 Feb 2015)

John Whelan: I appreciate the personal interest shown by the Minister of State and his receptive response to the concerns of people of Portlaoise and County Laois. I am heartened that there is agreement in principle that the courthouse is in the wrong place and must be moved. If the main impediment is identifying and securing a suitable site, all stakeholders and interested parties should work towards...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Court Accommodation Provision (12 Feb 2015)

John Whelan: I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this Commencement Matter which concerns a matter of grave urgency. No town should have to endure the terrifying scenes visited on Portlaoise’s main street on Thursday last. They have led to a local outcry and I have been inundated with hundreds of representations. For many, the incident was the last straw. Up to 60 people were involved in a...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Feb 2015)

John Whelan: I ask the Leader to arrange a debate in due course with the Minister for Justice and Equality on the operations of the Courts Service. Last week, my colleague, Senator Denis Landy, raised concerns regarding reforms that intimated the courthouse in Carrick could be lost or closed as part of rationalisation. I have good news for him. There is a courthouse in Port Laoise he can have. It is...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Waste Management (10 Feb 2015)

John Whelan: I welcome the Minister. It is my view, and it is well-founded, that our country has had a sorry and pitiful experience and relationship with many of its regulators and watchdogs. That is particularly the case with the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, which is charged with protecting the environment and local communities. My specific question pertains to a debate conducted in the...

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Feb 2015)

John Whelan: Two weeks ago, the Cathaoirleach was kind enough to permit a Commencement debate in this House on access to expensive drugs and medicines for people who urgently require them. I also the acknowledge the role of my colleague, Senator Thomas Byrne, in that debate. I thank the Taoiseach for yesterday's intervention, as he phoned Ms Mary Gorman in Ballinakill and confirmed to her that the...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Feb 2015)

John Whelan: Respectfully, I remind the Leader of a few debates that we have requested here in the House over recent weeks. I know he does his utmost to get the relevant Minister to attend. I ask him to reconsider the following matters and put them on the schedule at the earliest juncture. The first matter is what I believe is the abuse of our bail laws and the ongoing issue of reoffending and serious...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Feb 2015)

John Whelan: I am looking for a debate. We should discuss this at every opportunity because the more information we have and the better informed we are, the better. I remind Members that there is already a veto in existence. This Parliament has a veto on any sale of the Heathrow slots, and we do not need British Airways to have any fanciful notion that it could extend such a veto to the chambers of...

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

John Whelan: I welcome the Minister and the Bill. I am delighted to see that, broadly speaking, it has cross-party support. It is a good day’s work and is long overdue. It is good to see the Minister getting through the Dáil and being open minded about amendments. It might not be the last piece of the jigsaw but it is a key piece of the reform agenda to ensure openness, transparency and...

Seanad: Possible Sale of Aer Lingus: Statements (28 Jan 2015)

John Whelan: I also commend the Minister for making himself available in respect of this important issue at such short notice to give the Seanad a chance to express its views even at this early juncture. What the Minister is hearing around the room today is the Seanad's unanimous rejection of this attempt by what is effectively British Airways to take over Aer Lingus, our national airline. We were not...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Jan 2015)

John Whelan: Back in 2008, at the outset of the banking and financial crisis, I said the fear of losing one's home was even more traumatic and stressful than the prospect of losing one's job, even though the two often go hand in hand. I understand the Taoiseach has wisely chosen to meet the practitioners from the insolvency services which is welcome and long overdue. Unfortunately, the insolvency...

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

John Whelan: I ask the Minister to address this issue also.

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

John Whelan: I welcome the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy White, to the House. I wish to make the best use of this time and use the opportunity to air topics of concern. Perhaps the Minister will take questions on the broad remit and extensive range of issues in his ministerial portfolio. At the outset I commend the Minister for what is an inspired choice of securing...

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