Results 61-80 of 80 for going forward speaker:Claire Kerrane

Select Committee on Social Protection: Proposed Regional Employment Service: Discussion (16 Jun 2021)

Claire Kerrane: ...This proposal would erode the community ethos and the not-for-profit model so well fostered by the likes of the LES and job clubs for so many years. I am disappointed about how this has been put forward. The LES and job clubs were led to believe that they would be pleasantly surprised and now they may not even be in a position to tender for what has been put forward, if they would even...

Principles of Social Welfare Bill 2021: Second Stage [Private Members] (20 May 2021)

Claire Kerrane: I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to go ahead. I welcome the Bill and commend an Teachta Sherlock on bringing it forward. There are some really interesting elements to the Bill and, overall, it aims to improve our social protection system. That system is quite complex and can be difficult to navigate for some people. One of the principles of the Bill is that the social...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Pre-Budget Submissions and Considerations (Resumed): Irish Local Development Network (19 May 2021)

Claire Kerrane: ...first relates to food poverty, which appears to be a growing issue. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul was before the committee last week and its representatives flagged this as an issue that is going to grow as we emerge out of the Covid pandemic. With regard to the food banks set up by the Irish Local Development Network in conjunction with FoodCloud in 22 counties, mostly counties...

Social Welfare (Payment Order) (Amendment) Bill 2021: First Stage (5 May 2021)

Claire Kerrane: ...-parent families in the State, as well as working alongside the organisations that represent them, SPARK and One Family. For far too long in this State lone-parent families have not been listened to by the Government. In fact, decisions taken by successive governments have actively made life harder for lone parents and their children. A prime example of that is the 2012 changes to the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Rural Development Strategy: Engagement with Minister for Rural and Community Development (20 Apr 2021)

Claire Kerrane: ...- to the possibility of rolling out additional services to the post offices, which we all would very much support. What is happening with that? We have heard much talk about additional services going in. I would appreciate an update from the Minister on where we are at with that or where we are going. I was surprised that there were not timelines in relation to the 150 commitments....

Caring for Carers: Motion [Private Members] (31 Mar 2021)

Claire Kerrane: While preparing to bring forward this motion, I thought about the many carers whom I have met and know. We all know many carers in our own communities and perhaps even in our own families. We know carers who are on their own, lone parents who look after a child and who battle to get domiciliary care allowance for that child, for which it can take years to qualify. Last year, the appeals...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Roadmap to Social Inclusion: Discussion (23 Mar 2021)

Claire Kerrane: ...roadmap was published and then the general election was announced very soon thereafter. I suppose the opportunity for a much wider discussion on the elements of the roadmap and the proposals put forward in it kind of fell away. Of course, as has been referenced, Covid then came along and made a bad situation worse in terms of poverty and deprivation. We must bear in mind that the...

Social Welfare Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2020)

Claire Kerrane: ...x201d;. This amendment calls for a review of the income limits or earning disregards that apply to people who are at work while on the carer's allowance. There was a commitment in a previous policy proposal put forward by the Government in 2016 which said the Government would look at allowing those on the average industrial wage to be able to apply for and qualify for the carer's...

Social Welfare Bill 2020: Second Stage (9 Dec 2020)

Claire Kerrane: ...66 in January. Up until recently, they did not know whether they would get their pensions in January. This measure is a welcome certainty for them. The issue not addressed in this Bill is the ongoing practice of 65-year-olds having to sign on the dole at retirement, in many cases after a lifetime of work. I received an email last week from a colleague's office in Dublin about a...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response Final Report: Motion (19 Nov 2020)

Claire Kerrane: ..., especially in the midst of a global pandemic, we do so based on age. I raised this issue with the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, when this report was discussed at the committee some weeks ago. The report states that 23% of taxi drivers, as an example, are 66 years and over. People working beyond pension age in many cases are doing so because they cannot afford to...

Rural and Community Development: Statements (18 Nov 2020)

Claire Kerrane: ...the rural life that so many people enjoy so they can live, work and raise their families there. We must ensure that future generations can live and work in our rural towns and villages. The schoolgoing children of today should not be forced to emigrate after school or college, as many of my generation were. Workers should not be forced into their cars to commute for hours on end or...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Further Revised) (11 Nov 2020)

Claire Kerrane: ...the work placement and experience programme included in No. 5. Can she give us more detail on that? Will the work placement be like the youth employment support scheme, YESS, where employers come forward and it works that way? Will there be an increase in payment for people who take part in that? I have been contacted by a number of people over the age of 66 who could not get the PUP or...

Child Poverty: Motion [Private Members] (30 Sep 2020)

Claire Kerrane: I too welcome this motion and commend the Social Democrats on bringing it forward. Before we ever heard of Covid-19 the Government was telling us about low unemployment, plenty of jobs and Ireland being the fastest growing economy in the EU but what good is any of that when we have children going hungry, are cold in their own homes and some who are without any home living in bed and...

European Union (Common Fisheries Policy) (Point System) Regulations 2020 (S.I. No. 318 of 2020): Motion [Private Members] (29 Sep 2020)

Claire Kerrane: I commend my colleague, Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn, on bringing forward this motion on behalf of the many fishing families across the State, who I am sure will be watching this evening and listening to all contributions. I visited Arranmore Island recently as part of my role as party spokesperson for the islands. It was the first of a number of island trips I hope to make in the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Regional Development (17 Sep 2020)

Claire Kerrane: ...of Ireland were not downgraded to the status of a region in transition for no reason. It did not happen by accident and we all know this is the result of decades of underinvestment by previous Governments and this Government in infrastructure west of the Shannon. We are the only region in Ireland that has been downgraded by the EU Commission and that is because we are lagging behind....

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Regional Development (17 Sep 2020)

Claire Kerrane: ...for Public Expenditure and Reform. As I said, we are looking at the impacts of Brexit and at the fact that we are no longer designated as a developed region, which is so serious for our region going forward. The level of investment and infrastructure that is required has not been there and that needs to change. We need a multibillion infrastructural plan specifically for this region....

Future of School Education: Motion [Private Members] (28 Jul 2020)

Claire Kerrane: I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion and I commend my colleague, Deputy Ó Laoghaire, on bringing it forward. I will focus on the rural perspective when it comes to reopening schools post-Covid-19. A glaringly obvious issue with the plan for reopening schools that the Minister has brought forward is the fact that there is no recruitment of primary school teachers in it....

Maternity Leave Benefit Extension: Motion [Private Members] (14 Jul 2020)

Claire Kerrane: ...That will do nothing for mothers today whose maternity leave is ending next week and who have nobody to look after their children. Where is such a mother supposed to put a six-month-old baby? Who is going to look after it? Grandparents cannot step in, while crèches are not taking babies under one year of age, and I have not heard anything from the Government on that matter. The...

Maternity Leave Benefit Extension: Motion [Private Members] (14 Jul 2020)

Claire Kerrane: ...between the start of March and end of November, if they wish to avail of it; and —ensure this extension is reviewed at the end of November and continued for further mothers, if necessary.” I am very proud to bring this motion forward as my very first motion in this House. Having a baby is one of the most exciting times in a person's life. I know this because just a few...

Covid-19 (Communications, Climate Action and Environment): Statements (27 May 2020)

Claire Kerrane: ...on the wage subsidy scheme and left the majority of seasonal and contract workers with nothing. These seasonal workers were given a couple of days' notice in writing and were told their jobs and income were gone. This was a disgraceful way for Bord na Móna to treat the employees. In a very selective way, Bord na Móna decided who would be kept on or let go, whose wages would be...