Wooo

Victor

Naughtiness all round

http://home.eircom.net/content/irelandcom/breaking/6802547?view=Eircomnet

Dail suspended as TD refuses to leave chamber
From:ireland.com
Tuesday, 22nd November, 2005

The Dáil was suspended for a total of 25 minutes tonight after a Fine Gael TD refused to leave the chamber after being suspended for gross disorder.

Ceann Comhairle Rory O'Hanlon ruled Cork North Central TD Bernard Allen out of order and asked him to leave the House.

Mr Allen had repeatedly interrupted the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern during Leaders' Questions.

Mr Ahern was replying to Opposition questions on the shortage of oncologists in the south of the country.

Dr Seamus O'Reilly, who is based at Cork University Hospital claimed in a daily newspaper yesterday that a population of 580,356 had access to just one permanent medical oncologist.

Mr O'Hanlon adjourned the Dáil for five minutes but Mr Allen was still present in the chamber. The Ceann Comhairle suspended the House again for two periods of 10 minutes each when Mr Allen refused to leave the chamber.

Cork Labour TD Kathleen Lynch was also suspended after she continued to raise the issue and the Dáil was adjourned for a further five minutes. Cork South Central TD for the Green Party, Dan Boyle took up the issue when the Dáil resumed after its fourth adjournment.

Like the previous Cork TDs, Mr Boyle refused to take his seat and was ruled out of order by Mr O'Hanlon but was not suspended.

Greens leader Trevor Sargent accused Mr O'Hanlon of being discourteous towards his party colleague, who voluntarily left the chamber.

Labour TD Emmet Stagg also accused the Ceann Comhairle of instructing his staff to evacuate the press gallery while the issue was being debated, but Mr O'Hanlon denied this.

Earlier, Mr Ahern told the Dáil that 11 extra consultants and €80 million funding had been made available to the southern regions since the implementation of the National Cancer Strategy in 1997.

He added that work will begin in mid-2006 on a new €47 million oncology, cardiac and renal centre in Cork University Hospital which will include a dedicated 30-bed oncology ward.

A 10-bed medical oncology ward within CUH is also being planned. Mr Ahern also said that the national roll-out of the Breast-Check programme would begin in 2007.

http://home.eircom.net/content/unison/national/6796289?view=Eircomnet

Lords of Ring 'immobilise' council chat in Kingdom
From:The Irish Independent
Tuesday, 22nd November, 2005




KERRY county councillors are finding that it's not always good to talk.

One was put outside the door of the council chamber yesterday because his mobile phone went off during a meeting.

And the meeting was abandoned altogether when another councillor, found to be downloading text messages, refused to leave the chamber for 10 minutes.

In the first incident, Tom Fleming (FF) was asked to stay outside the door for ten minutes by mayor of Kerry Toireasa Ferris at yesterday's council meeting.

"Cllr Fleming remain outside for ten minutes," Ms Ferris commanded, and the councillor rose red-faced to leave. The incident occurred shortly before noon and Cllr Fleming remained outside for almost half an hour.

The meeting was abandoned shortly before 4pm when a second councillor refused to go quietly. Cllr Michael Healy-Rae's mobile phone was on silent mode and he was downloading messages when Mayor Ferris (SF) noticed the activity and asked him to leave the chamber for ten minutes.

He refused, saying his phone had not rung, and he was not interfering with the meeting. The meeting was then adjourned for a short time and abandoned altogether when Cllr Healy-Rae again refused to comply with the ten-minute ban.

"I have never interrupted a meeting in my life and in a personal and public capacity I have been more than helpful to the mayor. This is childish, nonsensical behaviour," said the independent councillor. There was a lot of serious business to get through," the independent councillor said after the meeting.

Phone ringing has been a problem in Kerry County Council meetings for almost two years.

A year ago senior officials at the council threatened to "block" the mobile phone signal into the meeting chamber of the council unless councillors switched off their phones.

PENALTY

Mayor Ferris wrote to each councillor last week warning them she would no longer tolerate their use of mobile phones in the chamber and would be imposing standing orders with a ten minute penalty attached to any breach.

At the lunch break yesterday, Cllr Fleming explained he had intended to comply with the mayor's warning and have his phone turned off before the meeting and had not realised it was not on the off-position.

The councillor explained he had had a number of lunchtime meetings and had not had an opportunity to download his messages.

Anne Lucey

Dave!

That is bloody ridiculous, are they children? You're running a f*cking country, grow the hell up.