Results 1-20 of 6,877 for speaker:Ruth Coppinger

Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner’s Pension and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025: Report and Final Stages (2 Jul 2025)

Ruth Coppinger: I move amendment No. 21: In page 23, between lines 30 and 31, to insert the following: “Review of provisions of Act 20. The Minister shall, not later than 12 months after the commencement of this Act, carry out a review of the operation of this Act, and in particular the impact of the definitions of “civil partner”, “widow” and “widower”...

Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner’s Pension and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025: Report and Final Stages (2 Jul 2025)

Ruth Coppinger: I move amendment No. 22: In page 23, between lines 30 and 31, to insert the following: “Review of provisions of Act 20. The Minister shall, not later than 12 months after the commencement of this Act, carry out a review of the operation of this Act.”.

Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner’s Pension and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025: Report and Final Stages (2 Jul 2025)

Ruth Coppinger: This shows part of the problem with the changes the Minister is making to the Bill. When he says that the Department is not going to carry out investigations or be intrusive, I do not mean any offence but the Department does carry out investigations into other aspects of social welfare. We debated a lot of the issues in the groupings of amendments. I am a bit perplexed as to why the...

Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner’s Pension and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025: Report and Final Stages (2 Jul 2025)

Ruth Coppinger: I am sorry; what are they?

Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner’s Pension and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025: Report and Final Stages (2 Jul 2025)

Ruth Coppinger: Amendment No. 1 is different from the others in that it is asking for due diligence to be done before a Bill is brought in. It should be the norm. The Minister is acting as if it is unusual to ask for a report on the impact of a Bill. He should have done that previously. TDs from Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and other TDs will troop into the House tonight without having a clue what they...

Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner’s Pension and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025: Report and Final Stages (2 Jul 2025)

Ruth Coppinger: I move amendment No. 1: In page 5, between lines 17 and 18, to insert the following: “(3) Before this Act comes into operation the Minister shall publish a report which outlines the following: (a) the degree of financial dependence that families with divorced or separated parents have on those parents; (b) an overview of the legal issues with not providing the same level of...

Middle East: Statements (2 Jul 2025)

Ruth Coppinger: "War is a relic of barbarism only possible because we are governed by a ruling class with barbaric ideas." That was said by James Connolly as he looked at the conflagration that was the First World War. How apt it is now. We have been here previously. People are saying this is something new but, unfortunately, it is a feature of history, including the world wars, the Holocaust,...

All-Island Strategic Rail Review: Statements (Resumed) (2 Jul 2025)

Ruth Coppinger: There are many rail issues in Dublin West. I will briefly mention them and then make some general points. In Ashtown, there is just development after development and high-rise apartments flying up regularly. It is happening at such a rate that the rail service the area does have is jam-packed and dangerous, according to many residents. Either a stop will have to be put on planning...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Special Educational Needs (2 Jul 2025)

Ruth Coppinger: I am glad a meeting is taking place today and, hopefully, things can be resolved. However, I would be extremely concerned if other parents were offered these places and would then have to be told they do not have alternatives. It is a real problem situation. The issue is that, according to the school, it did not have sanction for these two classes by the February deadline and, therefore,...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Special Educational Needs (2 Jul 2025)

Ruth Coppinger: To clarify, St. Mochta’s school in Clonsilla has 900 to 1,000 students. The management agreed to take on a huge cohort under pressure of school places in Dublin West. Six pupils enrolled in that school have approval from the NCSE for special or autism class provision, but they were not on the list that was sent to the school last Friday. We have a bizarre situation where these...

Review of Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004: Statements (1 Jul 2025)

Ruth Coppinger: There are some positive points in the review, in that children who were appropriately placed felt included and that their needs were being met. It shows that if the resources were put in, many other children and teenagers could feel that. Unfortunately, I have to emphasise the problems. In the review, 60% of parents had experienced difficulty finding a place in an appropriate setting...

Animal Health and Welfare (Welfare of Pigs) Bill 2025: First Stage (1 Jul 2025)

Ruth Coppinger: The foxes and the pigs are taking over.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (1 Jul 2025)

Ruth Coppinger: Would the Minister of State, Deputy Harkin, not respond?

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (1 Jul 2025)

Ruth Coppinger: I did not dismiss them.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (1 Jul 2025)

Ruth Coppinger: This is a terrible deflection. I did not mention that. I said there were not enough.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (1 Jul 2025)

Ruth Coppinger: Does the Minister remember the promise of €200-per-month childcare that vanished into thin air, which he and Fine Gael promised before the election? The problem is that there is no childcare available to parents in any case. In the Blakestown area of Dublin West, we hear that Ready, Steady, Learn, a not-for-profit early learning childcare service catering for 43 children, could...

Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2025: Second Stage (26 Jun 2025)

Ruth Coppinger: Perhaps I could comment on the general maintenance of the Special Criminal Court and the idea of maintaining trials without juries. It is ironic that we talked last month about the counselling notes issue and the Minister said it would be unconstitutional because of the pressing right to a fair trial in our Constitution, yet we can have non-jury trials. How does he match that up? Rape...

Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2025: Second Stage (26 Jun 2025)

Ruth Coppinger: The problem with this legislation is defining who are the terrorists in the world right now. The biggest terrorists in the world right now are Israel, the US and Russia. There are many other terrorist states also but they are the big three. To the best of my knowledge, the Government has only condemned one, which is Russia. We are trading and dealing with Israel. We are the second...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (26 Jun 2025)

Ruth Coppinger: Last night, the "Natasha" documentary on RTÉ charted what happened to Natasha O'Brien. It was a valuable documentary. I want the Tánaiste to take seriously the case of a woman who has spoken to me and who was abused by an Army member. He used his Army position, military surveillance, Army guns and even a grenade to threaten her and her family. He told this woman that he was...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (26 Jun 2025)

Ruth Coppinger: Every day people in Gaza play what is called "the hunger games". After two months without a shred of food, milk, medicine or flour coming into the territory, they brave Israeli army bullets at feeding stations that have been set up, for the chance of a bag of flour, a tin of food or whatever for their starving families. We had indelible images from the Holocaust. These will be the...