Results 21-40 of 764 for speaker:Kathryn Reilly

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2011: Second Stage (23 Jun 2011)

Kathryn Reilly: I welcome the Minister to the House. This is my first time to address her in her new role. I met her in her previous capacity as Labour Party finance spokesperson. I congratulate her on her appointment. Sinn Féin will not be supporting this Bill. It does not want to be misrepresented as being opposed to the restoration of the minimum wage. The Bill, as originally drafted, had two main...

Seanad: School Transport (23 Jun 2011)

Kathryn Reilly: I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to discuss the important issues of the primary school transport schemes. The removal of school transport because of the changed criteria for qualification will result in considerable disruption to the lives of children and families. These changes to the primary school transport scheme criteria and the introduction of new charges due to...

Seanad: School Transport (23 Jun 2011)

Kathryn Reilly: Yes.

Seanad: School Transport (23 Jun 2011)

Kathryn Reilly: I thank the Minister of State for his reply. On the remote area grant, are families being made aware of it? I have heard serious concern in Cavan and my local area. I attended a rural school. Is the remote area grant being widely publicised? How easy is it to get the grant? We have to consider what will happy if a family car is not available or a parent is at work. If families cannot...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Jun 2011)

Kathryn Reilly: I wish to reiterate some comments made by previous speakers. Members learned today that Bord Gáis Éireann and the Dublin Airport Authority approved €1.9 million and €2.1 million, respectively, in bonuses last year. Other semi-State bodies such as EirGrid, Bord na Móna, An Post and the Irish Aviation Authority also paid bonuses but refused to disclose how much. The aforementioned...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Jun 2011)

Kathryn Reilly: Finally, I ask that the debate on primary school transport, which initially was scheduled for tomorrow but has now been rescheduled for this evening, be extended. It is unacceptable that although we are heading into a crisis, only one hour and 15 minutes have been allocated to debate this issue. The litany of cuts that will take effect in September will have a massive impact on children,...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Jun 2011)

Kathryn Reilly: If the Cathaoirleach will give me a chance, I wish to propose an amendment to the Order of Business.

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Jun 2011)

Kathryn Reilly: I propose an amendment to the Order of Business that statements on school transport be extended until 8 p.m.

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Jun 2011)

Kathryn Reilly: Yes.

Seanad: School Transport: Statements (28 Jun 2011)

Kathryn Reilly: I thank Senator Daly for sharing time with me. Fortunately, I had this discussion last week with the Minister of State but I would like to have a few issues clarified concerning it. Last week, the Minister of State said that the changes implemented this year are expected to produce a saving in the order of €3.5 million and there will still have to be another €13.5 million in savings...

Seanad: Whistleblower Legislation: Motion (29 Jun 2011)

Kathryn Reilly: Our history is littered with examples of how poor government gives way to bad practice. Those who had the power to protect became the abusers of those who were the most innocent in our society. Senator Susan O'Keeffe said we cannot legislate to make people tell the truth. However, we need to ensure the legislation we put in place facilitates as much as possible that truth and transparency...

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Jun 2011)

Kathryn Reilly: I welcome Senator Jim D'Arcy's comments on Fine Gael, the united Ireland party. Sinn Féin is currently hosting a number of regional conferences around the country on the issue of a united Ireland. I am sure his constituency colleague, Deputy Adams, or Councillor Sharkey, will extend an invitation for him to attend one of those conferences.

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Jun 2011)

Kathryn Reilly: I am sure we can arrange something. Earlier this week, I spoke about semi-State bodies like EirGrid paying bonuses last year. According to the company's 2010 annual report, the chief executive, Mr. Dermot Byrne, was paid a bonus of €23,000. I welcome the fact that this year the company will not pay any bonuses. I wish to highlight, however, that a bonus was paid to the CEO the year that...

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Jul 2011)

Kathryn Reilly: I welcome the Cathaoirleach of Cavan County Council, Seán McKiernan, to the Chamber. I echo the sentiments of other Senators on welcoming back our Special Olympics athletes. As a Cavan person I would like to pay special tribute to John McKiernan from Bawnboy in County Cavan, who is coming home today. As previous speakers have said, there will be celebrations. I ask the Leader for...

Seanad: Food Safety Standards: Statements. (5 Jul 2011)

Kathryn Reilly: I thank all Senators for facilitating me in contributing to this debate. I welcome the Minister of State to the House. The legislative proposals in the European Parliament this week mean we need a debate on food labelling at another stage. It is important to have a debate on food labelling when experts from across Europe are gathering in Dublin for the Society for Applied Microbiology...

Seanad: National Car Test Centres (6 Jul 2011)

Kathryn Reilly: I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport. I am seeking to obtain an update on the investigation into fraud at National Car Test, NCT, centres and to discover what the Department has done to ensure that no car passes the NCT fraudulently. In recent days I was approached by a concerned individual who bought...

Seanad: National Car Test Centres (6 Jul 2011)

Kathryn Reilly: I have two brief comments. First, in regard to the RSA and the discussions with PricewaterhouseCooper and the AA who audit and supervise the NCT service, I would be interested to find out further information on how they perform that audit and how they look for fraud. I read that they use the same car, bringing it to all the centres to ensure the service is uniform. My fear is that if...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Jul 2011)

Kathryn Reilly: I second the amendment proposed by Senator Cullinane and echo the comments of Senator Daly in asking the Leader to bring the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources to the House before the recess to discuss the proposal by Bord Gáis to increase electricity prices later this week. These increases will further exacerbate the difficulties experienced by a large number of...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Jul 2011)

Kathryn Reilly: I ask the Leader to bring the Minister into the House to discuss this issue. I would like to know what the Minister intends to do to combat fuel poverty and how he believes the potential increases in electricity prices will affect the SME sector. When the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources comes to the House to discuss electricity prices, perhaps we can also discuss...

Seanad: Finance (No. 3) Bill 2011 (Certified Money Bill): Second Stage (13 Jul 2011)

Kathryn Reilly: Senator Thomas Byrne stated that it was Fianna Fáil which brought forward the legislation originally and I want to use a famous Fianna Fáil phrase to describe this legislation, "A lot done, a lot more to do."