Results 101-120 of 704 for speaker:John Kelly

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Mar 2015)

John Kelly: -----but he comes in today to look at this passed.

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Mar 2015)

John Kelly: For the benefit of the House, Senator Mooney might tell Senator Leyden that I raised the issue here in the House yesterday with the Minister and I was the only dissenting voice.

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Mar 2015)

John Kelly: Since I was elected, I have been finding it difficult to figure out the rationale of decision makers in this country. In Dublin, we have the second best fire and ambulance service in the world. It is second behind Seattle. Now we have a city manager who wants to disassemble it. We have an inadequate ambulance service in this country, purely because of a lack of resources, not because of...

Seanad: Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2014: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (3 Mar 2015)

John Kelly: I welcome the Minister to the House. As a smoker, come vapour-come smoker, and now I do a bit of both vaping and smoking, I support almost everything in the Bill. I applaud him for taking on big business. There are other big businesses, right across the divide, that Governments should challenge as well. I agree with Senator Mooney that even if one life is saved, the Minister will have...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Feb 2015)

John Kelly: I support Senator Gerard P. Craughwell, not in the search for his stolen Honda 50 but on the issue of the impending firemen's dispute which may end up in strike action. For a long time both the local authorities and the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government have been cutting costs by reducing the number of firemen being sent out on calls. They produced a document...

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Feb 2015)

John Kelly: I support the call by Senator Comiskey regarding the way in which rates for small businesses, particularly those in rural areas, are assessed. I raised this issue on a previous occasion and made the point that there is a pilot scheme in place whereby rates are being assessed on the basis of the turnover and profits of such businesses. At that time, I highlighted the fact that there are pubs...

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Feb 2015)

John Kelly: I want to raise the issue of turf cutting on raised bogs, particularly in County Roscommon where three bogs, Callow Bog, the Float Bog and Bellanagare Bog, were designated. Many people might have been happy to take the compensation at the time it was offered but there are many who are not happy to do so. They were promised relocation to other bogs but it now appears, three years later, that...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Ambulance Service Provision (17 Feb 2015)

John Kelly: I welcome the Minister and thank him for taking this debate. I am rather concerned about what appears to be a serious lack of paramedics in the west of Ireland. I remember in 2006 or 2007, when Professor Drumm was in charge of the HSE and there was talk of closing the accident and emergency department in Roscommon County Hospital, he promised that we would almost have an advanced paramedic...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Ambulance Service Provision (17 Feb 2015)

John Kelly: I thank the Minister. I agree with him that the issue of poor call-out times for ambulances is an emotive one, particularly when things go wrong. I praised the ambulance staff and the paramedics in my contribution. I acknowledged that if the patient is lucky enough to have them arrive on time, he or she will receive a far better service from them. I would appreciate it if the Minister...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Ambulance Service Provision (17 Feb 2015)

John Kelly: I thank the Minister.

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Feb 2015)

John Kelly: I read an article in the Irish Examineryesterday which stated that the executive of Cork County Council has warned local authority members not to engage in any discussion about wind farm developments that are proposed for the country of Cork because the wind farm developers have threatened to sue Cork County Council if there is debate on them once they apply for planning permission. We are...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Rural Development Programme Projects (10 Feb 2015)

John Kelly: I thank the Minister of State for his response. It is important that it be set in stone that when rural men's clubs or men's shed projects apply to Leader for funding the response should not be a blanket "No" so that there is an opportunity for them to access funding. Much more needs to be done. I appreciate the Minister of State's response and ask that he relay to the Minister that this...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Rural Development Programme Projects (10 Feb 2015)

John Kelly: I am seeking funding for the rural men's shed projects and clubs. I do not know whether funding for these projects comes from the Departments of Health, Social Protection, the Environment, Community and Local Government or Agriculture, Food and the Marine. There is no doubt these men's sheds do fascinating work. I recently brought the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection to...

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Feb 2015)

John Kelly: I support the comments of Senator Ivana Bacik that we put pressure on the Minister for Justice and Equality to progress the Spent Convictions Bill 2012. This Bill seems to have come to a standstill while the Government is considering amendments; three years have passed. I cite the example of a person who was 17 years old 18 years ago and was involved in a brawl at a disco. He is now 35...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Feb 2015)

John Kelly: I agree totally with Senator O'Donovan. There is far too much red tape involved in the acquisition of medical cards, particularly in very straightforward cases such as that described by Senator O'Donovan. We need a broad debate on the future of the ambulance service. We need to know the plan for the ambulance service in rural Ireland. Following the closure of the accident and emergency...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Jan 2015)

John Kelly: I support what Senator Landy said about the fair deal scheme. We should have a debate on that scheme, which should be renamed "a raw deal" scheme for the elderly people because that is what they are getting now. It used to be when people applied for the fair deal, once it was sanctioned it was granted from the date of application, but now it is not. Now people have to wait between 11 and...

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

John Kelly: I welcome the Minister back to the House. I would welcome anything that would strengthen the viability of the postal network. As Senator Cullinane has said, the post office is an important part of rural Ireland and rural life so should be protected. My grandfather was a postmaster and he passed on his post office to my uncle who, in turn, passed it on to my sister. Therefore, I...

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Jan 2015)

John Kelly: I pay tribute and express my sympathy to the family of the late Mr. Michael Lambert of Clooneygrasson, Ballintubber, Castlerea, County Roscommon. He, a near neighbour of mine, was the oldest man in Ireland. He passed away yesterday at the age of 107. This man lived through two world wars and was married for 60 years. He lived a very healthy lifestyle right up to his death. In the past he...

Seanad: Water Services: Motion (21 Jan 2015)

John Kelly: I am flabbergasted listening to members of Fianna Fáil and their hypocrisy. It really is the dig out party. Privately, I believe Fianna Fáil supports water charges. Was it not going to introduce them to a greater extent than this Government has done? That was espoused by Councillor Paschal Fitzmaurice on Newstalk the other day. He said what the Government was introducing was...

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Jan 2015)

John Kelly: I support everything Senator Landy has said about banks and bank charges. It seems that cartelism is rife in this country, certainly within the banking sector. Oil prices are down at present but in some towns, petrol stations are selling diesel at €1.15 a litre and the competing petrol station is selling it at €1.16 a litre while in another town it costs €1.24 a litre...