Results 201-220 of 704 for speaker:John Kelly

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (13 May 2014)

John Kelly: I call on the Leader for a debate on the rental assistance scheme operated by the local authorities. While it is a good scheme, it is not the panacea we all thought it was going to be because it has its flaws. A lady in my area worked for years in a service industry and was never unemployed but for the last couple of years. She has a 16 year old son who is being bullied at school and who...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (13 May 2014)

John Kelly: I am almost finished. The only option that is open to her, as has been advised to her by the local authority, is to present as homeless in Galway as she would be put into a homeless shelter. That is not appropriate for a mother and her 16 year old son, who is in school. She is effectively caught in an unemployment trap that she cannot get out of. This is why I am calling for a debate. We...

Seanad: Order of Business (8 May 2014)

John Kelly: I wish to support my colleague, Senator Landy, in welcoming the terms of reference that were issued by the expert group regarding the issue of overhead pylons versus the placing underground of cables. I also urge the expert panel to take submissions from all the community groups nationwide that have invested a great deal of time and money in fighting the pylon issue. It has been interesting...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Medical Card Eligibility (7 May 2014)

John Kelly: I appreciate that the Minister of State is taking this matter on behalf of another Minister of State and that this is a written response from the HSE for that Minister of State to read out. I have already pointed out the failings in some of its answers. It receives material which is then lost. It would be better to lift the moratorium and recruit staff than to bring in a foreign company to...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Medical Card Eligibility (7 May 2014)

John Kelly: I thank the Minister of State for taking this Adjournment debate. Like many other Deputies and Senators, I have grave concern over what is happening with medical cards of late. I had grave concerns when responsibility for issuing medical cards was first centralised in the PCRS. I spent 28 years dealing with medical cards as a community welfare officer. I have never previously experienced...

Seanad: Services for People with Disabilities: Motion (7 May 2014)

John Kelly: I welcome the Minister of State to the House, particularly when we are supporting this worthy motion. I have the greatest admiration for people with disabilities, people in wheelchairs and people who are living independently. We should do everything in our power to protect them. I spent about seven years back in the 1980s raising money for the Irish Wheelchair Association doing walks in...

Seanad: Order of Business (7 May 2014)

John Kelly: Earlier today I heard calls from the INMO for the lifting of the moratorium on recruitment. It is now time this is done. I have raised this issue ad nauseamin the House in the past. Why do we have all of these problems with people losing their medical cards as Senators Henry and MacSharry have mentioned? Apparently there has been absolute bedlam at the primary care reimbursement service,...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Mar 2014)

John Kelly: Like others I pay tribute to the late Nicky McFadden and I offer my sympathy to her family. I knew Nicky from the hustings down through the years, and the only way I could describe her is that she was a lovely person. I am three years in this House looking for justice for Father Niall Molloy. All I have ever got was the Minister skirting around the edges, despite pre-election promises that...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Mar 2014)

John Kelly: I support my colleague, Senator Whelan. I agree with everything he said. The following question needs to be answered. Can we trust EirGrid and the wind energy sector?

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Mar 2014)

John Kelly: Up to this we were told cables could not go underground, then we were told they could go underground. We were told the EirGrid project was not about wind, then we were told it was totally about wind. We were told the midlands project was totally for export, and now that it seems to be dead in the water we are told it will go ahead anyway. The people of Ireland and I have lost trust in both...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Mar 2014)

John Kelly: They are very worried. They have great respect for Judge Catherine McGuinness and Mr. Colm McCarthy of the expert review group, but they also believe a medical expert needs to be brought in. They believe community groups should be able to feed into that process and I agree with them. On my way to Dublin today I listened on radio to talk of e-cigarettes and how dangerous they might be. I...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Mar 2014)

John Kelly: Like Senator Landy, I compliment the Government on the job creation efforts that have been put in place in recent years. I hope the trend of more than 5,000 jobs per month being created continues. I agree with Senator Landy that there are more than 3,000 jobs available in the catering sector and that employers are having great difficulty filling these positions. I was listening to a vox pop...

Seanad: Inland Waterways: Statements (26 Feb 2014)

John Kelly: I too thank the Minister for taking this debate, which Senator Whelan and I had called for. I do not think the Minister gets enough praise for the fact that he is prepared to come to this Chamber to listen to Members who express the fears that those in the Visitors' Gallery, among others, have about future mooring charges. Consultation takes place in Government but Ministers do not usually...

Seanad: Mental Health Services Provision: Motion (19 Feb 2014)

John Kelly: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch to the House. I welcome the people from Ballinasloe who are in the Visitors Gallery. I wish to express my sympathy for the situation in which they find themselves because as a Roscommon man, I have been in that position and know what they are going through. People have better things to do with their time. Many of those in the Visitors...

Seanad: Mental Health Services Provision: Motion (19 Feb 2014)

John Kelly: What would result from a rethink of Government policy? I am sure the nurses and people of Ballinasloe would know, but Members may not know that if there was a rethink on the closure of St. Brigid's hospital in Ballinasloe it would directly impact on Roscommon. The threat facing those who represent the people of County Roscommon is that if the unit in Ballinasloe is saved, the hospital in...

Seanad: Mental Health Services Provision: Motion (19 Feb 2014)

John Kelly: That is why it is particularly difficult for me to support this motion. The people of Roscommon have already suffered enough with the loss of the accident and emergency unit in Roscommon hospital. The Fianna Fáil Party has supported the policy of a Vision for Change but now wants to cherry pick from it. The unions were agreeable to that policy document.

Seanad: Mental Health Services Provision: Motion (19 Feb 2014)

John Kelly: This motion sets out to embarrass certain members on this side of the House.

Seanad: Mental Health Services Provision: Motion (19 Feb 2014)

John Kelly: I will not be supporting this motion but I will not be voting against it because I have concerns about the other side of the coin.

Seanad: Mental Health Services Provision: Motion (19 Feb 2014)

John Kelly: The Government's amendment to the motion must have something for the people of Ballinasloe. I attended many of the meetings that took place in Ballinasloe and also several meetings with the Minister, and other meetings with Oireachtas Members and county councillors. There are grave concerns about the voting mechanism that selected the closure of the unit in Ballinasloe over Roscommon...

Seanad: Mental Health Services Provision: Motion (19 Feb 2014)

John Kelly: The major problem is the roll-out of the community mental health teams. I spoke to the Minister last week on the appointment of 78 new staff. The HSE gave me documentation that shows that not even 44 appointments have been made. During the period of the threatened closure of the accident and emergency unit in Roscommon I, as the then mayor of Roscommon, contacted Professor Drumm, the then...