Results 1-20 of 235 for going forward speaker:Michael Collins

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services (9 Apr 2024)

Michael Collins: ...for Health the reason money was allocated to provide only for a lump sum payment in respect of money due to Section 39 workers in the past year and no funds allocated to sustain the increase going forward. [15121/24]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (14 Feb 2024)

Michael Collins: I welcome the IFA and the ICMSA here to the meeting today. A lot has been said here today about the situation. In relation to farming any way and the dairy sector, the goalposts are changing almost every day of the week and no dairy farmer can plan. That is what they tell me anyhow; I am more on the suckler side of it. I meet dairy farmers every day of the week. I worked with them down...

Misuse of Drugs (Cannabis Regulation) Bill 2022: Second Stage [Private Members] (31 Jan 2024)

Michael Collins: ...have also been recognised in Ireland since the 1990s. The proposed Bill, while aiming to reduce criminal charges and potentially bring economic benefits, could inadvertently contribute to these ongoing issues. It should worry us all, for instance, that cocaine use in Ireland has been on the rise, with the country having the highest usage of cocaine in the European Union in 2022. There...

Housing and Homeless Prevention: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (23 Jan 2024)

Michael Collins: I thank Sinn Féin for putting forward this motion. In November, Ireland had 13,514 people, including 4,105 children, in emergency or homeless accommodation, according to the Department of housing. The homelessness crisis in Ireland is growing due to this Government's lack of action. This is causing distress for many people, especially children, and is now considered a national...

Digital Services Bill 2023: Second Stage (13 Dec 2023)

Michael Collins: ...this Dáil and throughout the country. It is hugely important. There is a huge difference between freedom of debate and people inciting hatred. Sadly, in this country, quite a lot of people have got away with inciting hatred and this has led to serious consequences. That is through media outlets no matter where they came from but it can be tackled. During the rioting in Dublin...

Immigration: Motion [Private Members] (6 Dec 2023)

Michael Collins: ...in this Dáil until now. Inward migration has been left run out of control. In a recent Red C poll that was made very clear when more than 70% of people said we have done enough. However, this Government has ignored all concerns and rolled on as if the people of Ireland should not be listened to. We all know now that recent statements by the Taoiseach that we should slow the flow...

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Second Stage (23 Nov 2023)

Michael Collins: ...here with us today but we will try and speed this up. I offer great congratulations to the Minister and her family. It is a beautiful thing to hear a child crying inside here, as we did a moment ago. It is a lovely sound and the Minister probably has many hours of that ahead of her. I wish her the best of luck. If I could ask for indulgence, I must welcome Doireann Walsh, a student...

Health (Termination of Pregnancy Services) (Safe Access Zones) Bill 2023 (Bill 54 of 2023): Report and Final Stages (15 Nov 2023)

Michael Collins: I do not support this Bill and I will not be supporting it going forward. The right to protest and the freedom to exercise one's religion are pillars of a democratic society. By eroding these rights through restrictive measures, we risk sliding down a slippery slope towards an authoritarian regime that is far stronger than what I would ever have expected. I believe in the basic right of...

Funding for Persons with Disabilities: Motion [Private Members] (17 Oct 2023)

Michael Collins: ..., both workers and users. I also met people working in CoAction. I have spoken on the phone to workers and service users in the past week. Until yesterday, many workers were worried about going out on strike because of the people they care for. They showed respect to the people they care for who were going to be affected by the forced strike by section 39 workers. Those workers and...

Financial Resolutions 2023 - Financial Resolution No. 4: General (Resumed) (11 Oct 2023)

Michael Collins: ...most of the details of the budget beforehand, so it was easy for us to criticise it if there were criticisms to be made, and there were. There are green shoots in the budget also, but I look to the Government to address the crisis the hospitality sector is going through. Cafés, restaurants and bars throughout the country are struggling, especially in rural areas. They depend on...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (4 Oct 2023)

Michael Collins: ...'s mind. Let us think for one minute about being aged 70, 80 or 90-plus, being in a nursing home and getting an eviction notice. This happened in August to 48 residents of a 68-bed nursing home in Belgooly in west Cork, which is run by a group called Aperee Living. Many patients in the nursing home were notified before their families were that they must be out within six months, which...

Energy (Windfall Gains in the Energy Sector) (Cap on Market Revenues) Bill 2023: Second Stage (21 Sep 2023)

Michael Collins: ...Union rule from October 2022. This limit will affect certain types of electricity production and will cover the period from December 2022 until June 2023. People are concerned because it took our Government almost a year to make this law while other countries did so much faster. It is hoped this new tax will bring in a lot of money but we do not yet know exactly how much. High energy...

Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Second Stage (20 Sep 2023)

Michael Collins: ...my learned colleague Deputy O'Donoghue, whose area we are talking about. I have serious reservations as to the costing of the mayor for the county. From where will the money come? Will the Government put up its hands and say it will fully fund the mayor for the five years of the term or will the local council have to pay? Obviously, the money is coming from taxpayers, so it has to be...

Housing and Homelessness: Motion [Private Members] (11 Jul 2023)

Michael Collins: There are many reasons we have a housing crisis and we have put forward many of those in motions recently at every opportunity available to us. Planning permissions are a very significant issue, as are sewerage issues, where housing developments are being objected to and where county development plan decisions are taken out of the hands of councillors. All of these decisions are feeding...

Health (Termination of Pregnancy Services) (Safe Access Zones) Bill 2023: Second Stage (Resumed) (11 Jul 2023)

Michael Collins: ...the Seanad on 10 February 2022, he acknowledged that introducing a law to create exclusion zones outside abortion facilities would push up against civil liberties, yet he persisted in bringing forward this Bill before this House. In the same intervention in the Seanad he publicly admitted that he was rejecting the advice of An Garda Síochána that a Bill such as this was...

A5 Route Upgrade: Motion [Private Members] (4 Jul 2023)

Michael Collins: I will give 100% support to this Sinn Féin motion. I thank its Members for bringing it forward. The A5 route linking the North and South is a critical piece of infrastructure and a major route for people living and working in the Border counties and across the north west. The A5 route from Aughnacloy to Derry is in urgent need of upgrades to improve safety and reduce fatalities. I...

Youth Justice Strategy: Statements (21 Jun 2023)

Michael Collins: ...country. I commend everyone. I have tried to involve myself in the Garda Youth Awards through Community Alert for many years, as have my colleagues. I congratulate Ms Caitlin O'Sullivan from Goleen, among others, who won awards for their work. Only for the Garda Youth Awards, the young people would go unnoticed. The same goes for those in communities who arrange activities for young...

Retained Fire Services: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (13 Jun 2023)

Michael Collins: ...motion tonight. I thank the fire brigade personnel who were in the Public Gallery but who have walked out in disgust at the Minister's speech which was shocking, after promising that he would come forward with something tonight. I thank the firefighters in west Cork, Schull, Castletownbere, Bantry, Dunmanway, Bandon, Kinsale and Skibbereen. The fire station in Clonakilty is run down...

Government Commitments on Offshore Renewable Energy: Motion (Resumed) (24 May 2023)

Michael Collins: ...where they can and cannot fish in their own waters? The Government is talking about massive areas of water being designated and covered in concrete. I ask that that be addressed. We want to move forward together and make sure this works and there are no serious objections to it but if the Government railroads over a sector that depends on the water and on the Atlantic Ocean to provide...

Hospital Waiting Lists: Motion [Private Members] (23 May 2023)

Michael Collins: I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion. Waiting lists are scandalous. It is scandalous that people are suffering as a result of waiting lists. I have a double amputee in a hospital in west Cork who cannot go home because they cannot get home help, so it is in every area of health that the Government has failed the people. The previous Government collapsed on the basis of...