KENNY WELCOMES PUBLICATION OF PAROLE BOARD ANNUAL REPORT
Posted on October 24, 2013 3:55 PM
Labour TD and member of the Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Sean Kenny, has welcomed the publication of the Annual Report of the Parole Board for 2012. "The Board's Chairman, Mr. John Costello and the members of the Board play an important role in evaluating prisoner suitability for release and this helps communities by ensuring that prisoners that are eligible for parole back into society, are able to be reintegrated in the best way possible. The Board also tries to encourage more prisoners to participate in the parole process and meets with groups of prisoners to explain the parole process. The...
REPORTS INTO REMOVAL OF CHILDREN FROM THEIR PARENTS ARE WELCOME AND WARRANTED - KENNY
Posted on October 24, 2013 11:46 AM
Labour TD and member of the Oireachtas Justice Committee, Sean Kenny, has welcomed the news that the HSE and the Garda Commissioner have been instructed to provide a report on the cases in Dublin and Athlone, which saw children taken away from their parents. "I am very disturbed by what I have heard in relation to both these cases and I am glad that reports have been asked for, and will be provided to the Minister for Justice and Minister for Children. I understand that the HSE report will also be sent on the Children Ombudsman." "Making allegations or raising...
END OF DUBLIN.IE E-MAIL DISAPPOINTING - KENNY
Posted on October 23, 2013 5:38 PM
Labour TD and member of the Oireachtas Communications Committee, Sean Kenny, has said he is disappointed at the announcement by Dublin City Council that it will cease offering an email service on Dublin.ie from February 2014. "Dublin.ie's email service was introduced in 2002 with the first version of the Dublin.ie web site. The intention was to provide a digital starting point for members of the public who were new to email and wished to establish a presence on a locally hosted website. Over the years, more than 30,000 accounts were created." "Dublin City Council has acknowledged that the ceasing of...
STRONG OUTLOOK FOR DUBLIN SAYS KENNY- 80% OF TOURISM ACCOMODATION PROVIDERS SEEING MORE TRADE THAN 2012
Posted on October 21, 2013 5:14 PM
Dublin Bay North Labour TD Sean Kenny has said that the outlook for tourism in Dublin is strong. "The Fáilte Ireland Tourism Barometer is a survey of tourism businesses. It is intended to give insights into the performance of the tourism sector up to this point in time and also to forecast the performance of the tourism sector over the remainder of the season and coming year." "I was very happy to see when reading the survey that there is a strong feeling that the tourism sector appears to be looking upwards and that expectations are positive for the rest...
KENNY WELCOMES CONSULTATION ON ENERGY EFFICIENCY DIRECTIVE
Posted on October 17, 2013 3:59 PM
Sean Kenny, the Dublin Bay North Labour TD and member of the Oireachas Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources has welcomed the invitation made by Minister Pat Rabbitte to members of the public and interested parties to send written submissions on the implementation of the Energy Efficiency Directive in Ireland. "I think this is an important opportunity for anyone interested in energy efficiency, particularly homeowners, as well as businesses, to carefully read the consultation and take the opportunity to submit their views on this matter. If we reduce energy efficiency in the economy, the benefits will be seen in...
PYRITE LEGISLATION A PRIORITY - KENNY
Posted on October 16, 2013 2:25 PM
Labour TD Sean Kenny has welcomed the announcement that the Government has approved Exchequer funding for a pyrite remediation scheme to be implemented. "The scheme is valued at €10 million, initially to get it kick-started. Additional funding will be allocated over the next two years from the Capital Stimulus Programme in early 2014." "While the Government did not cause the pyrite problem, it took responsibility to provide solutions for owners of homes affected with pyrite who have been left with no way of dealing with the problem after the withdrawal of cover for pyrite damage by HomeBond in the summer...
GARDAI SAY BURGLARIES ARE DOWN 14% THIS YEAR IN DONAGHMEDE - KENNY
Posted on October 16, 2013 11:42 AM
Local Donaghmede Labour TD Sean Kenny, who is also member of the Oireachtas Committee on Justice, has said that he has been informed by the Gardaí and the Minister for Justice in a reply to a Parliamentary Question, that, as part of the measures to tackle burglary under Operation Fiacla, a second Garda operation, called Operation Acer, is in force in the Dublin Metropolitan Region, including the Coolock Garda District which covers the Donaghmede area. "Operation Acer provides both preventative and detection aspects and focuses on geographical areas and specific targets. It is an intelligence driven operation and, in the...
LAST OF THE BAILOUT BUDGETS SEES FREE GP CARE PROVIDED FOR UNDER 5s - KENNY
Posted on October 15, 2013 7:59 PM
Dublin Bay North Labour TD Sean Kenny has said that free GP services for children aged five and under is a first step in securing universal access to primary care for all citizens, and eliminating the two-tier health system. "In line with the Programme for Government, the Government is allocating €37 million to fund the roll out of Free GP Care for children aged 5 and under. This is a first step in our programme to provide Free GP Care for everyone and I am very pleased that despite the economic restraint the Government has been forced to operate under,...
PRIORY HALL INTERVENTION VERY WELCOME AND HOPEFULLY DEFINITIVE - KENNY
Posted on October 10, 2013 6:21 PM
Dublin Bay North Labour TD, Sean Kenny, has welcomed the announcement by the residents of Priory Hall that they are looking forward to moving on within the framework of the proposals that have been put forward by the Government to end the two year long nightmare that those who own apartments in the Priory Hall complex have been through. "Senior officials in the Department of the Environment were asked to initiate dialogue that includes representatives of Dublin City Council, the Irish Banking Federation, NAMA, the former residents of Priory Hall, and other stakeholders and to report back to the Government...
DNA BILL STRENGTHENS INVESTIGATIONS WHILE PROTECTING RIGHTS - KENNY
Posted on October 9, 2013 10:43 PM
Speaking on the Criminal Justice (Forensic Evidence and DNA Database System) Bill 2013 I am glad to speak on this legislation today. Legislation that governs issues surrounding DNA and crime is a sensitive issue, one that involves balancing the need to conduct effective criminal investigations with the need to protect human rights and civil liberties. The enactment of this legislation will fulfil a key commitment that was made in the Programme for Government. When it is up and running, the database will have the capacity to link crimes and to identify suspects in relation to unsolved crimes. This will enable...
KENNY QUESTIONS COMMISSIONER HAWKES ON KEY EURO DATA PROTECTION ISSUES
Posted on October 9, 2013 4:04 PM
Dublin Bay North Labour TD and member of the Oireachtas Justice Committee Sean Kenny today asked Data Protection Commissioner, Mr. Billy Hawkes, questions concerning biometric passports, data theft and fraud and the controversial issue of surveillance by intelligence agencies. "In terms of biometric passports, I Mr. Hawkes stated that there were measures being put in plact that would treat biometric data as sensitive personal data and needs to be protected." This is something I very much agree with; while biometric data in a passport will make passports more secure, the data involved is so personal that extra measures to protect...
KENNY WELCOMES NEW POSTCODES FOR NORTHSIDE DUBLIN
Posted on October 8, 2013 5:42 PM
Dublin Bay North Labour TD and member of the Oireachtas Communications Committee Sean Kenny has welcomed news that the green light has been given by Government to a new modern postcode system for Ireland which will make it easier for post, parcels and other services to reach local households. "The new postcode system, championed by my colleague Minister for Communication Pat Rabbitte, is the most advanced of its kind in Europe and the first in the world to use unique identifier codes." "Under the new system, every household and premises across Dublin Bay North will now get its own easy-to-remember...
KENNY WELCOMES FUNDING FOR BURROW NATIONAL SCHOOL IN SUTTON
Posted on October 4, 2013 12:56 PM
Dublin Bay North Labour TD Seán Kenny has welcomed the provision of funding for mechanical works at the Burrow National School in Sutton. "The Burrow National School needs this funding as they continue to provide primary education to our local children." "I warmly welcome the funding. It is vitally important that the country maintains its educational facilities at primary level, in order to accommodate the increasing numbers of pupils over the next few years. We have to plan ahead for this, and this funding is a part of that planning." "Minister Quinn unveiled a five year plan Schools Capital Programme...
NEW LEGISLATION RESTORES LABOUR PARTY PROGRESSIVE INNOVATIONS IN FREEDOM OF INFORMATION AND REMOVES FIANNA FÁIL'S MUZZLE
Posted on October 3, 2013 1:29 PM
Speaking on the Freedom of Information Bill 2013 The purpose of this Bill is to provide for the commitments in relation to freedom of information contained in the Programme for Government by removing the main substantive restrictions in access to official information introduced in 2003 by Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats. Freedom of Information (FOI) will be extended to all public bodies and will provide a framework for the extension of FOI to non-public bodies in receipt of significant funding from the Exchequer. The legislation also provides an opportunity for a necessary consolidation that modernises and updates the legislation....
KENNY CALLS FOR VOTER REGISTRATION OVERHAUL FOLLOWING POLLING CARD FIASCO
Posted on October 3, 2013 10:49 AM
Dublin Bay North Labour TD Seán Kenny has today called for a complete overhaul of the voter registration system following the recent use of a wrong database file by Dublin City Council for the issuing of polling cards for Friday's referenda. "The first major difficulty for many people who wish to register to vote is the actual mechanics of voter registration. In the US, many States link their voter registration lists with driving licence registration. In Ireland, local authorities manage both voter registration and driving licence registration, and the two systems could be combined. In addition a PPS number could...
HOWTH EAST MOUNTAIN PATHWAY PLANNING ISSUE BEFORE THE COURTS AGAIN - KENNY
Posted on October 2, 2013 4:18 PM
Dublin Bay North Labour TD Sean Kenny has said that the issue of the erection of a gate on a traditional walkers' pathway on Howth Head is before the courts once more. "An Bord Pleanala previously found in favour of local residents to keep the pathway open, but this decision is the subject of a judicial review on the part of the landowner which means that the courts are considering the matter and how it had been treated in the past." "This essentially means that nothing further will happen on the pathway until the judicial review process has been completed."...
