Results 21-40 of 195 for going forward speaker:Martin Conway

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Thalidomide Victims Compensation (18 Oct 2022)

Martin Conway: I know the Minister of State is going to meet Ms Finola Cassidy after this Commencement matter. I appreciate that and thank him for doing so. I also thank him for his reply. There is no time here. Six of the women who took this drug are in their 90s. These people, sadly, do not have an enormous amount of time left. I know what is involved in organising a State apology. It needs to...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (12 Oct 2022)

Martin Conway: ...people to play sport.They have struggled, particularly during the pandemic, to keep their centres heated and maintained. The announcement by the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, of a small grant will go a long way towards helping community centres. We should acknowledge the work done by the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, in ensuring that all households benefit from the credit scheme. I...

Seanad: Road Traffic and Roads Bill 2021: Second Stage (6 Oct 2022)

Martin Conway: .... There has to be some way of forcing them off footpaths. Technology will have to be used to make that happen. Last summer I was standing at a set of traffic lights at Grand Canal Dock and I got the fright of my life when a scooter whizzed past. It was not really anything to do with having vision impairment, even though I do. I would imagine it can be daunting for any old person or...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Charitable and Voluntary Organisations (29 Sep 2022)

Martin Conway: ...the former Minister of State with responsibility for higher education, Mary Mitchell O'Connor, who invested initially to set up Bookshare, but the problem is that it needs to be sustainable going forward and there is no funding for it. I have spoken to the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science about this matter on a number of occasions and I know he...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Sep 2022)

Martin Conway: ...the work she did in securing not just increases to the old age pension and welfare payments in general but also for the once-off payments that are needed this month, next month, at Christmas and going forward into next year. In education, the announcement of free schoolbooks is particularly significant because this country has been an outlier when it comes to access to and availability of...

Seanad: New Innovations for People with Disabilities (Digital Assistive Technology): Statements (22 Sep 2022)

Martin Conway: ...spoken about to be a pilot because funding comes with success. If something is seen as successful, one would want to be a brave Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform not to provide the funding to keep it going. As Senator O’Donovan said, €4 million will be seen as small money in the future. I have no doubt that each and every one of the projects that she has listed...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Covid-19 Pandemic (15 Sep 2022)

Martin Conway: ...for us, as policymakers, to have that information. I would also like to know the Government's intentions with regard to long Covid clinics. Are the people who are now running these clinics going to have the certainty of a commitment of funding going forward, in 2023 and beyond? How many long Covid clinics is it proposed to open in other parts of the country? People suffering from long...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 Jun 2022)

Martin Conway: ...1,000 homes in Country Clare that have been directly impacted by mica. Those people deserve to be in the scheme the same as people in other counties deserve to be in it. I fear this problem is only going to get worse as people identify mica as a problem in their homes. The Cabinet decision is a welcome one. We look forward to the legislation, which I am sure there will be much debate...

Seanad: Covid-19: Statements (6 Apr 2022)

Martin Conway: ...note the Minister's predecessor, the Minister, Deputy Harris, was quite sick with it. Quite a number of people I have engaged with have been quite sick with it. Many Members of the Oireachtas who got it, like the Minister, Deputy Harris, were quite sick with it. It has most definitely not gone away. Certainly, the public awareness in terms of following public health guidelines has...

Seanad: Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022: Second Stage (23 Mar 2022)

Martin Conway: ...made on the more important issue of delivery of services for people with disabilities. We have seen the bringing together of services and the engagement the Minister of State has had with the NGO sector. We have seen incremental wins; not the type of wins we would like, but certainly incremental wins. I consider disability a whole-of-government issue where the Departments of Education,...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (8 Mar 2022)

Martin Conway: Like some who have already spoken and, I have no doubt, others who are going to speak, I acknowledge that today is International Women's Day. We men have a role to play in trying to achieve the type of equality that women deserve. I am talking about real equality in sport, culture, arts, business, education and politics. The inequality women have experienced over many decades has largely...

Seanad: Mental Health and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services: Statements (24 Feb 2022)

Martin Conway: ...examples with the Brandon report into what happened in Donegal along with what is happening in Kerry.I am sure there have been other pockets around the country. However, that cannot take from the good work done by the services when people access them and the many people who have been helped and supported by the services. The problem is there are not enough services and positions have...

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Second Stage (22 Feb 2022)

Martin Conway: ...in this Bill. The Acting Chair, Senator Cassells, worked in local media for many years. In those days, there was integrity, decency and a sense of responsibility. All of that has, unfortunately, gone out the window when it comes to social media. There are absolutely good elements to social media. Many people have connected in and through social media in a way that would have only...

Seanad: Report of Joint Committee on Agriculture and the Marine: Motion (16 Feb 2022)

Martin Conway: ...negative effect on the lives of communities and people. This does not happen all the time but it happens some of the time. We have a responsibility to ensure the structures that are in place going forward in terms of forestry achieve a number of things. First, they must encourage people to engage in the industry of planting and forestry. This is essential from an environmental and...

Seanad: Human Rights in China: Motion (1 Dec 2021)

Martin Conway: ...say I have huge regard for the record on Taiwan of President Joe Biden and previous US Administrations. Whatever the purpose or reason for it, at least it is there as a counterbalance to what is going on. I sincerely hope we will change our attitude on our foreign policy and, in the first instance, re-establish diplomatic relations with Taiwan and open our economic office in Taiwan, which...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (23 Nov 2021)

Martin Conway: ...of the Covid-19 certificate needs to be extended. It is appropriate that it would be extended because it is a very effective way of protecting public health. I cannot understand why a person can go into hairdressers, for example, without showing a Covid-19 certificate, given that he or she spends so long in the company of the hairdresser. I cannot understand why the Covid-19 cert is not...

Joint Committee On Health: General Scheme of the Mental Health (Amendment) Bill 2021: Mental Health Commission (16 Nov 2021)

Martin Conway: Okay. The legislation, hopefully, will go a long way towards dealing with the legacy issues. I have no doubt that, as we move forward, the legislation will probably require amendment. Unfortunately, that is the nature of it. I thank the representatives for their engagement, the work they have done and their accessibility to the committee. The report the commission launched yesterday was...

Seanad: Budget 2022: Statements (Resumed) (13 Oct 2021)

Martin Conway: The Minister of State is very welcome. I will start by acknowledging the contribution of my good friend and colleague, Senator Ruane. The points she made are very pertinent and the Government must listen. A knee-jerk response is not what is needed; we need a multi-annual and intensive programme to deal with the communities that Senator Ruane spoke about. The issues she referred to will...

Seanad: British Government Legacy Proposals: Motion (13 Oct 2021)

Martin Conway: ...on all sides. It is true that the Good Friday Agreement probably did not address matters in the detail that we would have liked in terms of what happens with a truth and reconciliation process going forward. The Good Friday Agreement, however, was extremely important at the time. It was probably as good a deal as could have been achieved to bring peace to this country, both North and...

Seanad: Health (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 2021: Motion (6 Oct 2021)

Martin Conway: .... As I said, if prior to Christmas this Act needs to be extended further, the Minister should by all means do it. We wish him well. We are seeing much brighter days and we are all looking forward to 22 October, depending on what comes between now and then, but it is looking good. We can be reasonably positive and optimistic that, as we move towards Christmas, we will see a significant...