Results 161-180 of 704 for speaker:John Kelly

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Jul 2012)

John Kelly: Will the Leader call on the Minister for Justice and Equality to put in place extra security in rural Ireland over the summer recess when this House and the Dáil are not sitting and to ensure there is a greater Garda presence particularly where there are small rural post offices? It is too late when the horse has bolted in this instance.

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Sep 2012)

John Kelly: I commiserate with the Cathaoirleach on Mayo's loss on Sunday. We were all rooting for Mayo but it was unfortunate that it came up against a very strong Donegal team. I congratulate Donegal on winning the all-Ireland. The only regret I have, which I am sure the Cathaoirleach has, is that we did not have the best player in the country on display in Croke Park. Andy Moran was out through...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Sep 2012)

John Kelly: I call on the Leader to allocate some time for a broad debate on the proposed property tax in advance of any announcements being made on it because we have form here with successive Governments in that issues can be overlooked. When the second home charge was introduced, the first thing property owners were told was that if they paid rates, they would not be liable for the second home charge...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Beverage Exports: Discussion with Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (25 Sep 2012)

John Kelly: I welcome the delegation. How big a factor do commercial rates play in sustaining jobs in the sector? Several years ago there were 72 licensed premises in the small west of Ireland town in which I live but there are only eight today. I see pubs closing on a regular basis. Is this a big issue for publicans and has a submission been made to the Minister? A national review of commercial...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Sep 2012)

John Kelly: I ask the Leader to bring the following matter to the attention of the Minister for Health because the problems related to medical card assessments have not gone away. I know for a fact that families who submitted comprehensive information to the primary care reimbursement service, PCRS, have had some of their documentation selected but not some documentation that would favour their...

Seanad: Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill 2012: Second Stage (26 Sep 2012)

John Kelly: I will be as brief as possible. I welcome the Minister and support the Bill. However, like other Members, I will move swiftly along and raise a couple of issues with the Minister. One of the issues relates to Government policy on co-sharing of services. I spoke to the Minister a number of months ago about the possible use of fire stations for the co-location of ambulances and ambulance...

Seanad: School Transport: Statements (26 Sep 2012)

John Kelly: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. Senator Ned O'Sullivan called this a timely debate and it is only now we are seeing the repercussions of the blunt instrument introduced. I contacted the Minister of State about a number of cases. One involves a woman who came from Galway to a rural part of Roscommon and enrolled her twins in a school in Glenamaddy. She did not have children...

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Sep 2012)

John Kelly: Like every other Senator, I pay tribute to Deputy Shortall. She was a principled Minister of State and I hope that her resignation does not mean the fine work she was trying to achieve for front-line services will be lost. I was amazed at the weekend to see what was going on in my own town. I spoke to 17 year old girls and I said to them when I was their age, if girls their age drank, they...

Seanad: Smarter Travel: Statements (27 Sep 2012)

John Kelly: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and hope he is winding down from the celebrations of the past week. However, knowing Donegal people, I think the celebrations will continue for months. The aim of smarter travel is to get us to think about how we travel and our travel choices. It is about considering how our travel decisions impact on ourselves and others. We all know that...

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Oct 2012)

John Kelly: I fully support the eloquent case made by my colleague, Senator John Whelan, in regard to the provision of child benefit. There is a general acceptance among the public that wealthy people should not be in receipt of this payment or, at the very least, that it should be means-tested.

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Oct 2012)

John Kelly: I remind Senator Darragh O'Brien, for whom I have great respect, that the social welfare budget is costing taxpayers ¤21 billion per year. The reason it is so high is that the Senator's former leader prepared for three general elections by increasing social welfare provision, including child benefit, year on year. He even promised to increase the State pension to ¤300 per week.

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Oct 2012)

John Kelly: How much worse would our current situation be if the State pension had been increased to ¤300?

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Oct 2012)

John Kelly: Yes, when I am finished making this point. I also remind Senator Darragh O'Brien that his party in government chose to deal with the issue of increasing child care costs by way of the provision of a ¤1,000 payment per child under six years of age. While this sounded like a good idea at the time, within two days of the announcement it transpired that there was an obligation to make this...

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Oct 2012)

John Kelly: It was soon discovered, moreover, that such workers were also entitled to child benefit payments even, once again, where their children were not living in this country.

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Oct 2012)

John Kelly: A review of child payment provision would be worthwhile and timely. There is a great deal of money tied up in that payment which should not have been lost to the economy.

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Oct 2012)

John Kelly: I compliment my party colleague, Senator Ivana Bacik, on her proposal yesterday for a new initiative of a purple flag area which would indicate a crime free zone in an urban area. It is a great idea and we should fully support it. I would like to take it a step further in an effort to outlaw crime in the country. It is time we had a debate in the House on the availability to serial...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Oct 2012)

John Kelly: -----but certainly the people I deal with fully support the idea.

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Oct 2012)

John Kelly: The Senator's party was in government for ten years.

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Oct 2012)

John Kelly: It is no thanks to Senator Leyden.

Seanad: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Second Stage (11 Oct 2012)

John Kelly: I welcome the Minister of State. I have called for the re-evaluation of rates three times in this House and I welcome some movement on it. However, I must agree with some Senators that we are not going far enough in this Bill. The reality is that there is a world of difference between life and business in the larger towns and cities and that in rural areas. For four days of the week in...