Results 261-280 of 3,935 for speaker:Martin Browne

Written Answers — Department of Health: Substance Misuse (17 Jan 2024)

Martin Browne: 1647. To ask the Minister for Health the number of WTE posts provided for the Substance Misuse Team in Clonmel, County Tipperary; the number of vacancies at the service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1120/24]

Committee on Public Petitions: Business of Joint Committee (14 Dec 2023)

Martin Browne: We will now go into private session.

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (14 Dec 2023)

Martin Browne: I remind members of the constitutional requirement that members must be physically present within the confines of the place in which Parliament has chosen to sit, namely, Leinster House, in order to participate in public meetings. I will not permit a member to participate where he or she is not adhering to the constitutional requirement. Therefore, any member who attempts to participate...

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (14 Dec 2023)

Martin Browne: That was agreed at our previous meeting. The petitioner was waiting for the reply from the ombudsman. Has she received a reply?

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (14 Dec 2023)

Martin Browne: The petitioner was not satisfied with the reply given by the ombudsman, which suggested that the financial sanction could deplete the resources used to operate the system in which it operates and that, rather than sanction Tusla, a system of continuous improvement would bring about corrections to failings outlined by HIQA. The petitioner says the continuous improvement is not designed to...

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (14 Dec 2023)

Martin Browne: We will get the reply back from the ombudsman and give it to the petitioner.

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (14 Dec 2023)

Martin Browne: Would we be better off bringing in the group first to hear its concerns and solutions again before we bring in the ombudsman?

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (14 Dec 2023)

Martin Browne: We will invite the group in and they can put their case to us. We will have their side of it before we ask the ombudsman to come before us. Is that agreed? Agreed. I will ask the secretariat to organise to invite the group in as early as possible in the new year. We will put this matter on the work programme. We will listen to their side of it.

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (14 Dec 2023)

Martin Browne: Petition No. P00024/23 is "Electric Scooter Safety, Standards and Requirements". This is from Mr. Alexander-Marckus Edwards and relates to the recent press releases which state that powered personal transportation, PPT - in other words, electric scooters - should conform to a weight limit, including battery, and a power limit of 500 W and 25 kg respectively. The petitioner alleges that...

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (14 Dec 2023)

Martin Browne: There has already been correspondence with the petitioner to which he has replied. The secretariat received the petitioner’s response to the correspondence from the Department of Transport via JCPP-r-1307/2023, appendix B, on 20 October 2023. The petitioner believes that the Department of Transport's considerations do not consider the inherent dangers of riding an electric scooter or...

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (14 Dec 2023)

Martin Browne: The petitioner is going against what the Deputy is saying. In summary, the petitioner believes it is safer for electric scooters to be heavier with shorter stopping distances. He argues that it is safer if they are more powerful, as it reduces the chances of the scooter getting stuck on a pothole, have wider wheels to avoid tram tracks and are faster to avoid getting hit by a car when a...

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (14 Dec 2023)

Martin Browne: We could invite him to appear before us for half a session for a debate on scooters. We can divide a meeting into two halves - one with this petitioner and possibly the second half with the Department.

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (14 Dec 2023)

Martin Browne: Will the Deputy propose that we invite the petitioner to appear before the committee early in the new year and put his case? We can invite the Department to appear before us as well in the second session. Is that agreed? Agreed. Petition No. P00030/23 is "Create a walking and cycling greenway on the closed railway from Sligo to Athenry" from Mr. Brendan Quinn. This petition relates to...

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (14 Dec 2023)

Martin Browne: The secretariat received a response from Galway County Council regarding an update of the state of the greenway because, as the Deputy noted, there are two sides to it. Galway County Council does not want to go into it until the all-Ireland strategic review is completed because there is a push from one side to have a greenway and a push on the other side to reopen the railway corridor in the...

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (14 Dec 2023)

Martin Browne: We will go with the recommendations if members are happy to do so. We need to get the petitioner before us in the new year. Petition No. P00043/23 is the "Invincibles Reinterment Campaign" from Mr. Aidan Lambert. The National Graves Association is requesting that the Government oblige the Office of Public Works to carry out the necessary excavation works to recover the remains of Joseph...

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (14 Dec 2023)

Martin Browne: That was one of the replies. One of the others referred to the fact that the bodies were buried in quicklime and that there may be the remains of executed prisoners in the same area. As we said at the private meeting earlier, with the technology nowadays I cannot see how that would be a major problem. If a skeleton is found, DNA tests can identify who is who. I note there are three...

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (14 Dec 2023)

Martin Browne: That may be the case. We will write to the three bodies asking who they feel is responsible. We will write to the OPW to get a breakdown on how much it would cost, going on past experience, to exhume the bodies.

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (14 Dec 2023)

Martin Browne: Our next business is No. P00038/23; that a general election be held soon. Mr. Flakner Zeke is the petitioner. I will provide a brief summary on this. The petition is "That a general election be held soon to enable the people of Ireland to choose a new Dáil which will nominate a new Taoiseach." That has changed from "To hold a general election where the people of Ireland will elect a...