Results 41-60 of 783 for speaker:Catherine Ardagh

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Second Stage (7 Dec 2023)

Catherine Ardagh: I thank the Minister of State for joining us today. I also join in commiserating with the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, on the loss of her mother.

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Second Stage (7 Dec 2023)

Catherine Ardagh: It is always a good day when the Social Welfare Bill comes before us. This is one of the biggest budgets in the history of the State. I say that every year. This year's budget is €2.3 billion. Senator Craughwell talked about the important issue of class K, as he has every year. I am glad Fianna Fáil is part of this Government. In the next few weeks we are going to see huge...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Budget 2024, Official Development Assistance, COP28 and Ongoing Humanitarian Situations: Dóchas (21 Nov 2023)

Catherine Ardagh: I will be brief because the witnesses have answered a lot of the questions from my colleague. I thank all of our witnesses for coming in today and taking the time to come into the committee. It is really interesting and great to get first-hand information on what is happening on the ground with the humanitarian crisis. Obviously, we are all listening to and checking our phones to see if...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (8 Nov 2023)

Catherine Ardagh: I thank the Cathaoirleach for representing us so well yesterday in Westminster at the opening of the House of Lords. We owe it to Senator O'Loughlin that we have a bank holiday on St Brigid's day. I commend her hard work in championing that cause. I want to raise the issue of the Road Safety Authority, RSA, and the abysmal figures we are seeing. There is a huge increase in the number of...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Oct 2023)

Catherine Ardagh: As chair of the Oireachtas cross-party group on cancer, it was great to learn at the weekend that the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, will finally legislate to allow women undergoing cancer treatment during their maternity leave to defer that leave until their treatment ends. I do not need to explain to anyone in this House how important...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)

Catherine Ardagh: I join other members in sending our condolences to the families of the Irish citizens who were killed and to the victims of the war in Palestine and Israel so far. Many people do not quite understand the difference between Hamas and ordinary Palestinians. Getting the Tánaiste’s insight into what is happening in the conflict has been helpful. There is a great deal of...

Seanad: Address to Seanad Éireann by An Taoiseach (28 Sep 2023)

Catherine Ardagh: I thank the Taoiseach for coming in to us today. It is great to have him in the Chamber. I just want to raise two big issues coming up to the budget. The first is disability and the hidden costs of disability. If someone has a child with a disability and he or she gets a diagnosis, there is a huge outlay in getting a private diagnosis because, as we all know, the assessment of needs...

Seanad: Crime and Policing: Motion (27 Sep 2023)

Catherine Ardagh: I thank the Fianna Fáil group for this excellent motion. I congratulate An Garda Síochána and the Naval Service on their great work yesterday along the east coast. Listening to Senator Lombard, you would think gangland crime and associated murders were non-existent now. The huge haul yesterday only shows that the gangland criminal drugs industry is alive and well....

Seanad: Crime and Policing: Motion (27 Sep 2023)

Catherine Ardagh: High visibility works. The Minister of State, Deputy Browne, and the Minister, while visiting Cherry Orchard about 18 months ago, put in place a plan to clamp down on the antisocial behaviour we had been reading about and attacks on gardaí. Since then, reports show that incidents of antisocial behaviour are not as prolific as they were at the time. On the issue of walking the streets...

Seanad: Crime and Policing: Motion (27 Sep 2023)

Catherine Ardagh: The Minister of State is Deputy James Browne.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Sep 2023)

Catherine Ardagh: I also wish to convey my sympathies to the family of Damien O'Reilly, in particular his fiancé Lisa, his children, Carly and Kyle, and his wider circle. Damien was a friend, and a colleague of many of us. He was a really happy-go-lucky guy and he will be sorely missed around this House by his colleagues and everyone in the Fianna Fáil Party. I also want to raise the issue of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Implementation of the Recommendations of the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces: Discussion (26 Sep 2023)

Catherine Ardagh: I thank the Chief of Staff and the Secretary General for their attendance. I commend them on all the efforts of Óglaigh na hÉireann in the context of the crackdown on drug smuggling into the country. As other members said, a lot of important, dangerous work is going on and I thank the Chief of Staff and the members of the Defence Forces for that. It plays a vital role in the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Implementation of the Recommendations of the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces: Discussion (26 Sep 2023)

Catherine Ardagh: I just asked what type of investment was going into recruitment and whether the Department was using online social media-type investment. I have never seen an ad asking me or my peers to enter the armed forces. What space is the Department working in regarding recruitment?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Implementation of the Recommendations of the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces: Discussion (26 Sep 2023)

Catherine Ardagh: I was here for the whole private session as well.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (13 Jul 2023)

Catherine Ardagh: I welcome the visitors from the university to the Public Gallery. I also join with my colleagues in thanking Martin Groves, Bridget Doody and all the team in the Seanad Office. People always describe the Seanad and the rest of the Oireachtas as being like a swan going along gracefully while underneath there is much going on that we do not see. I thank all the staff of the Oireachtas,...

Seanad: Care Payments: Motion [Private Members] (12 Jul 2023)

Catherine Ardagh: I welcome the Minister. I thank the Labour Party for tabling this motion. It is really important and timely because we have the budget discussions. As my colleague said, there are 500,000 or more carers in the country. I have a son who has level three autism. He is non-verbal and has severe, challenging behaviours. I am constantly up at two in the morning, but I have a privileged life....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Engagement with the Reserve Defence Force Representative Association (11 Jul 2023)

Catherine Ardagh: This issue is very interesting. I have a few questions. The attrition rate of 5%, which everyone mentioned, is obviously jaw-dropping. Mr. Richardson mentioned the medical reports that had to be commissioned. There seems to be a lot of duplication for reports in that there is a pre- and post-fitness test report. Many GPs around the country are on GP contracts. Has there ever been some...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Engagement with the Reserve Defence Force Representative Association (11 Jul 2023)

Catherine Ardagh: It is absolutely being strung along. The RDF needs to look for a commitment that this is happening, especially since that commission report was signed off in 2021. The space we are in at the moment as regards defence in Ireland has changed dramatically. My colleagues referenced the consultative forum. This concerns the public. When I say "public" I mean politicians because we are the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Engagement with the Reserve Defence Force Representative Association (11 Jul 2023)

Catherine Ardagh: Why is the first GP report not accepted?

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Cancer Services (13 Jun 2023)

Catherine Ardagh: In this Commencement matter, I call on the Minister for Health to provide an update on the pilot lung cancer screening programme and to indicate when a full programme will be rolled out nationally. Lung cancer is one of the biggest killers in Ireland, accounting for 22% of cancer deaths in males and 20% of such deaths in females. There are 2,500 new cases of lung cancer diagnosed every year...