Results 1-20 of 727 for at speaker:Shane Cassells

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 May 2024)

Shane Cassells: Many politicians have been expressing opinions and showing an interest in the business of the GAA in these Houses over the past week. To all those expressing opinions and asking that games be shown free to air and that GAAGO go be done away with, may I ask three questions? First, are they asking that all the GAA games, including the entire hurling and football championships, be shown free...

Seanad: Gambling Regulation Bill 2022: Second Stage (14 May 2024)

Shane Cassells: I thank the Minister of State for his work on the Bill. I am very happy that this is one of the most significant items of legislation to come before either House. It is in line with the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act 2022 - also delivered during the term of this Oireachtas - which was designed to regulate those other cowboys of the Wild West, namely the social media companies....

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: The Future of Local Democracy: Discussion (Resumed) (25 Apr 2024)

Shane Cassells: It is my pleasure as rapporteur of the committee to welcome everyone. I and my fellow members of the Seanad Public Consultation Committee team have had an extensive journey in the process we have gone through, listening to the voices of councillor representative groups, councillors themselves and other statutory bodies over several months. However, it is only fitting, as we come towards the...

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: The Future of Local Democracy: Discussion (Resumed) (25 Apr 2024)

Shane Cassells: I thank everyone for their contributions and service. We have to remember that everyone here today is a public representative. In respect of the points made by Dr. Clark and others with regard to full-time expectations, in the previous session we held with all of the former Ministers who had held the brief of local government over the past three decades, Noel Dempsey, who, in many ways,...

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: The Future of Local Democracy: Discussion (Resumed) (25 Apr 2024)

Shane Cassells: I welcome my Meath colleague Councillor Francis Deane to the Public Gallery. I served with him on both Navan town and county councils. I welcome also his wife, Fiona, and sister-in-law, Martina. It is great to see former councillor Sean O'Grady with us. I was part of a European initiative against drugs 22 years ago and there I first met Sean. I was mayor of Navan and slightly younger...

Seanad: Smartphone and Social Media Use: Motion [Private Members] (24 Apr 2024)

Shane Cassells: I very much welcome the debate and the opportunity to discuss this very important issue. I thank my colleagues for tabling the motion. It is very poignant. I welcome the intervention by the Tánaiste, who used his platform to discuss this and described it as a public health issue. That is exactly what it is. I particularly acknowledge the work of the Minister in dealing with this...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Culture and Governance Issues at RTÉ: Discussion (24 Apr 2024)

Shane Cassells: The point was made that the need for commercialisation infiltrates the modus operandi of RTÉ, which is how a position like the current one is arrived at, and that a purely publicly funded model would alleviate this. However, if we look to the BBC, which has had many of the same types of governance issues, it still has a scenario of overpaid presenters, with Gary Lineker being paid...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (11 Apr 2024)

Shane Cassells: I welcome Senator O'Hara. On Tuesday night, a very momentous occasion took place with the hosting of the women's international match between Ireland and England in the Aviva Stadium, which attracted a record crowd of 33,000 people. At a pre-match reception, FAI president Paul Cooke asked the people in the room to lobby their politicians and make sure to tell them they wanted increased...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Integration of LGFA and Camogie Association with the GAA: Discussion (10 Apr 2024)

Shane Cassells: I thank the Cathaoirleach. I welcome the witnesses and thank them for the work they do on behalf of all the associations. I will start with our iarUachtarán, Professor McAleese. It is such an honour to have the iarUachtarán at our committee today. I thank her and all of her committee for their work and for the 30,000 respondents who participated, which is a number of great...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Integration of LGFA and Camogie Association with the GAA: Discussion (10 Apr 2024)

Shane Cassells: Professor McAleese mentioned her three colleagues alongside her and how long the various associations have been in place. Thankfully, although this island is politically divided, most of our sporting organisations operate on a 32-county basis, with soccer being the only odd one out. When the Football Association of Ireland, FAI and the Irish Football Association, IFA, tried to have a merger...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Integration of LGFA and Camogie Association with the GAA: Discussion (10 Apr 2024)

Shane Cassells: How pronounced are the capacity issues as between female and male teams, at both intercounty and club levels?

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Integration of LGFA and Camogie Association with the GAA: Discussion (10 Apr 2024)

Shane Cassells: There was a significant event in Dublin last night with the women's international match between Ireland and England, with 33,000 fans in attendance. At an event prior to the game, the FAI president, Paul Cooke, called on FAI members to put pressure on politicians with regard to facilities for women's soccer in this country. A couple of weeks ago, John Prenty, CEO of Connacht GAA, referred...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Integration of LGFA and Camogie Association with the GAA: Discussion (10 Apr 2024)

Shane Cassells: That is a great way of looking at it.

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Integration of LGFA and Camogie Association with the GAA: Discussion (10 Apr 2024)

Shane Cassells: There are a lot of witnesses to try to get through. I thank Ms Magee for the work of GAA Scór. My own club, Navan O'Mahonys GAA, qualified for the Leinster final at the weekend. I will start with Mr. Parsons. The GAA president, Jarlath Burns, spoke about the costs of intercounty teams, which is north of €40 million, and described it as “unsustainable”. He is...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Mar 2024)

Shane Cassells: I join with the Cathaoirleach in welcoming the ambassador to the Chamber. Regarding the events yesterday and the resignation of the Taoiseach, I pay tribute to him and his service for the country. It is important to recognise that and the role he has played in this and other Governments. I wish to discuss an interesting piece of research that was launched today and circulated to us,...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Support for Development of Regional Film and Television Production: Discussion (20 Mar 2024)

Shane Cassells: ...like "Braveheart" through the section 35 grant to Ireland, in particular to Trim. Speaking of tax I wanted to touch first on scriptwriting, which is the most important. Mr. Kavanagh mentioned at the end of his statement the work being undertaken by the Department and the support of the Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, for the unscripted sector. He said it is intended to have this...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Support for Development of Regional Film and Television Production: Discussion (20 Mar 2024)

Shane Cassells: ...people who are buoyed by success are talking about the capacity of the studios we have and the potential for more capital investment in studios. Can I ask people within the sector if they feel that this is perhaps over-optimistic? Should we be consolidating rather than looking at further capital investment in that area?

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: The Future of Local Democracy: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Feb 2024)

Shane Cassells: I thank the Cathaoirleach and as rapporteur, it is a great pleasure to welcome all of our guests. As the Cathaoirleach has said, we already have had a number of witnesses before us including councillors from all over the country and public representative association bodies. These have included the Northern Ireland Local Government Association and councillors from Northern Ireland,...

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: The Future of Local Democracy: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Feb 2024)

Shane Cassells: I have a couple of quick questions. As I said at the outset, I knew there would be extremely insightful remarks from all four witnesses and I have a few questions to each of them. One is to Deputy Howlin regarding the statistics he quoted on spending. As I said to Mr. Dempsey before the meeting, Deputy Howlin would often make the point at the PAC that the Comptroller and Auditor General...

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: The Future of Local Democracy: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Feb 2024)

Shane Cassells: I thank the Cathaoirleach. As he said, I am the rapporteur for this report and the body of work we are doing in terms of public hearings on the future of local democracy. I very deeply welcome our guests to the Chamber. It is so fitting that they will be addressing members this evening and putting out their points of view. This matter is something I feel very passionately about. I have...