Results 281-300 of 3,673 for speaker:Ciarán Cannon

Seanad: Water and Sewerage Schemes (1 Dec 2010)

Ciarán Cannon: I find it strange that the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government is requiring Galway County Council to carry out an assessment of the impact of discharges from the treatment plant on a special area of conservation. The sewage is completely untreated and 70,000 gallons are being discharged into the same bay every day. Somehow the Minister and his Department consider it...

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Dec 2010)

Ciarán Cannon: I am sure many of us will recall the "Prime Time Investigates" documentary during the week on crime which focused predominantly on Limerick. My son and I watched the programme together and we were horrified at the sense of despair and utter hopelessness of so many young people in that part of the country. They had deserted society simply because it seemed to have deserted them. In the...

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Dec 2010)

Ciarán Cannon: It is now.

Seanad: Water Services: Motion (12 Jan 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: We must be very clear about what we are addressing. We face two distinct issues: the micro-management of our water services and the macro-management of our water service infrastructure nationally. These are two different things. Senator Ellis is quite correct to point out that in respect of salt supplies and the gritting of roads during the most recent cold spell, the National Roads...

Seanad: Water Services: Motion (12 Jan 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: This is the Government's own policy. It has spent the past hour criticising us for the same policy. I do not intend to dwell on it further but it is important that those speaking on a matter as important as providing the country with a sustainable and properly functioning water service should be aware of their own policy on the matter. A rather farcical situation arose in County Galway last...

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Jan 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: My wife and I own a rural pub in east Galway. Having spent more than two years as an Oireachtas Member, I am beginning to realise what an invaluable opportunity I have every week to talk to our customers, friends and others who own similar small businesses in east Galway. John B. Keane once remarked that there was no better way of assessing the mood of the people than by standing behind the...

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Jan 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: Like me, Senator Ó Brolcháin will be aware of the closure in recent weeks of two iconic businesses, Zhivago music and the Cellar Bar, which have traded in the heart of Galway city for more than 40 years. These companies benefited from some of the greatest footfall available to businesses in this country. They were not fledgling businesses with inexperienced owners at the helm. On the...

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Jan 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: I am about to ask several questions which I hope the Leader will take seriously. Does he see what is happening in the business world? Does he agree that a change of Government is required if any type of business recovery is to commence? I am heartened by the commitment given by Senator Boyle that the election will take place in March. It is a commitment to which I will hold him. Several...

Seanad: Climate Change Response Bill 2010: Second Stage (Resumed) (19 Jan 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: I welcome the Minister of State. The subject of climate change ten or 15 years ago was easily framed as a kind of radicalist and environmentalist issue, which is no longer the case. I give credit where it is due to the Green Party for bringing climate change right to the heart of political debate in this country. While the importance of the subject may have dawned on us at some point, the...

Seanad: Climate Change Response Bill 2010: Second Stage (Resumed) (19 Jan 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: The proposals in the Bill run counter to the ambitions set out in Food Harvest 2020. The legislation must recognise Ireland's role in meeting increasing global food demand in an environmentally sustainable manner and guard against the negative global consequences of carbon leakage in other regions. The economist, Dr. Colm McCarthy, recently wrote an interesting article about the legislation...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2011 (Certified Money Bill): Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Jan 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: I move recommendation No. 4: In page 7, before section 2, but in Chapter 2, to insert the following new section: 2.—The Principal Act is amended in section 531A(1) by substituting the following for the definition of "aggregate income": "'aggregate income for the year of assessment', in relation to an individual and a year of assessment, means the aggregate of the individual's relevant...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2011 (Certified Money Bill): Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Jan 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: Has the Minister conceded that the imposition of the USC on the employer's contribution is inequitable? Did I hear him correctly?

Seanad: Finance Bill 2011 (Certified Money Bill): Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Jan 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: I would just like to outline the context behind this amendment. These PRSAs were introduced in 2003 by the Pensions Board in an attempt to increase pension coverage across the whole working population. The idea was the lower paid and the self-employed would start making some provision for their pensions. The intention also was for PRSAs to supplement the State pension and to avert what...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2011 (Certified Money Bill): Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Jan 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: As the Minister might expect, I am not happy with that response. TASC produced a report on the success or otherwise of PRSAs only a couple of weeks ago. It concluded that the scheme has not been successful and there has been a high dropout rate. It was somewhat disconcerting to hear the Minister state earlier that - I apologise if I do not quote him accurately - sometimes a Minister for...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2011 (Certified Money Bill): Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Jan 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: It would be helpful were the Minister simply to answer yes or no.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2011 (Certified Money Bill): Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Jan 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: I thought he would not.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2011 (Certified Money Bill): Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Jan 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: That may be a pity.

Written Answers — School Completion Programme: School Completion Programme (22 Mar 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: A decision was taken in Budget 2009 to discontinue the Children at Risk Fund. The Project to which the Deputy refers was among a number of projects evaluated by my Department to determine future funding arrangements and possible mainstreaming of appropriate projects. As a result of this evaluation, funding of €133,000 issued to the Project in December 2010 for the 2011 calendar year and...

Written Answers — Local Employment Services: Local Employment Services (22 Mar 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: The individual to which you refer is a client of the Local Employment Service. I understand that he was to get back in contact with his Local Employment Services Officer in relation to the Sports Management course he is interested in pursuing, but to date he has not done so. I have been informed that he has not as yet made an application for this course and should he wish to do so he should...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (22 Mar 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: Given the major financial constraints facing the country, it is not my intention at this stage to reverse the changes to school transport as announced in Budget 2011.