Results 281-300 of 747 for speaker:Garret Ahearn

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Medical Cards (16 Feb 2023)

Garret Ahearn: I thank the Minister of State for taking this Commencement matter. The Minister of State is in a neighbouring constituency quite similar to mine. She was with us recently and I thank her for that positive visit to Cashel. I have raised this because of the frustration in my office, and I am sure in hers and others across the country, of people who are not getting medical cards, even though...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Medical Cards (16 Feb 2023)

Garret Ahearn: Out of the many of the responses I have heard in this Chamber, the last minute was one of the most frank and honest responses I have had on a Commencement matter. I thank the Minister of State for that. If we could keep her in the Department of Health for a couple of years she could sort out all of the problems there. On a serious note and as the Minister of State herself said, people in...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (16 Feb 2023)

Garret Ahearn: I ask for a debate with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, on Irish Water on a couple of fronts. The staffing of Irish Water and the moving of staff to it from local authorities is not going quite well, to say the very least. It could have been predicted a number of years ago that this would not go quite well because of differing terms and...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Feb 2023)

Garret Ahearn: I want to let the House know there is a protest starting at 12 noon today at the front of Leinster House in Kildare Street. It is a group of hedge growers who are protesting about the amount of hedging that has been cut in recent years with the instruction or acceptance of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The group that is here today has written to the Minister for...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Feb 2023)

Garret Ahearn: This is what people ask me all of the time: how can it be that when the wholesale prices go up, the bills go up straight away, but we are told by Electric Ireland that when wholesale prices come down, and they are now lower than they were before the war, it cannot be done for 18 or 24 months? It cannot always be the Government that people fall back on.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Feb 2023)

Garret Ahearn: These companies and these people need to step up at this time of crisis.

Seanad: Domestic Violence (Amendment) Bill 2023: Second Stage (15 Feb 2023)

Garret Ahearn: I commend my colleague, Senator Martin, on this amending legislation, which I fully support. I agree with comments made by Senator Chambers. It is hard enough to convince people, particularly women, to report a crime but it is worse if, at the end of the process, they and the public see justice has not prevailed. It is disheartening for the individual, at the very least. It will put...

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

Garret Ahearn: I echo Senator Murphy's comments. It is impossible not to be touched by the text message he received. One cannot help but be affected when one sees videos of little children being dragged out of rubble. Those are the good stories, the ones being saved. It is an awful thing. More than 11,000 people have died so far and the figure is still rising. We all have troubles and difficulties in...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Medicinal Products (2 Feb 2023)

Garret Ahearn: I will not rehearse what Senator Seery Kearney said, but I echo both every single word and the passion with which she spoke. I have been raising this matter since April 2021. In other words, for almost two years. It seems that either no one is listening or that people are moving to some degree but are doing so while kicking and screaming. We are getting to the point where Hyperemesis...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Medicinal Products (2 Feb 2023)

Garret Ahearn: I thank the Minister of State for the response, but this is the response I would have received a year ago. There are women listening to the debate today to hear what answer is going to be given from the Department. Basically, the response today is a load of rubbish. How many Ministers are there in the Department of Health? People will ask me today why no Minister from the Department of...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó (Atógáil) - Order of Business (Resumed) (1 Feb 2023)

Garret Ahearn: I suspect the Leader is quite similar to me in that, as the parent of a young child, she has seen the work done by childcare providers across the country. Sometimes we have an old perception that they just mind children for a couple of hours until the parents return. In fact, they are educators and they do phenomenal work. Many times when my child comes home I am amazed at what he has...

Seanad: UL Hospitals Group: Motion (1 Feb 2023)

Garret Ahearn: I thank my colleagues, Senators Maria Byrne and Conway, for bringing forward this motion. As the Minister knows, this matter is the biggest issue in the region of counties Clare, Limerick and Tipperary. It has been the biggest issue for the last couple of months. I listened to what was said by Senator Boyhan. He was very critical of previous Governments so he must have forgotten that he...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (25 Jan 2023)

Garret Ahearn: I welcome the news today from Germany on what seems to be the Chancellor's change of strategy with regard to giving tanks and weapons to Ukraine and allowing other countries to do the same. Germany has been put under considerable pressure with regard to this over the past number of days and weeks, especially from the Baltic countries about showing solidarity and support to Ukraine. It has...

Seanad: Election of Cathaoirleach (16 Dec 2022)

Garret Ahearn: Today, I am thinking of all of the councillors and former councillors throughout the country, including my father, who are watching television today. They will be saying what most councillors say when Senators excel in their role, which is that they would not be there only for their votes. Many councillors are thinking this today. It is their wisdom in voting for Senator Buttimer to be a...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (13 Dec 2022)

Garret Ahearn: I also compliment the Cathaoirleach and all the team here, including Martin Groves and Bridget Doody and everyone who put the event yesterday together. It was a very memorable day and there were fantastic contributions by all, especially by all the current Senators. Hyperemesis gravidarum is a very debilitating condition for women during pregnancy. It is essentially, for want of a better...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (17 Nov 2022)

Garret Ahearn: I join with others to pass my sympathies to Bridget on the sad passing of Pat. It is difficult for her and it is a difficult time coming up to Christmas as well. Our thoughts are with her. I agree with Senator Seery Kearney and others on Commencement matters. Senator Boyhan was correct in saying that it is more about the content than the people. He is correct because there are some...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (17 Nov 2022)

Garret Ahearn: -----when they are going through the worst period they have ever gone through in 100 years. Chief executives and councils had a meeting recently, and it seems they came home from it with this idea. It should not be about-----

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: School Accommodation (16 Nov 2022)

Garret Ahearn: I also welcome the class from Swords. A day will come as the teachers know, when it will be a compliment rather than an insult to be classed as younger than you are. In time, they will see that as a big compliment. I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber and thank him for taking the matter. I hoped the Minister, Deputy Foley, would be able to take it but obviously she is busy. It...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: School Accommodation (16 Nov 2022)

Garret Ahearn: I thank the Minister of State for his detailed response. He is correct. As I stated, significant funding has been allocated to school building across the country. In that regard, County Tipperary has been no different from the Minister of State's own county of Limerick, or anywhere else. He is correct that in the area there are two special schools - Scoil Chormaic Special School and Scoil...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Issues Facing Small Businesses: Discussion (16 Nov 2022)

Garret Ahearn: I apologise for the fact that I have only arrived to the meeting. I was listening online earlier and then I was speaking in the Seanad, so I heard most of the contributions at the start of the meeting. I thank the witnesses for their contributions and for the representations they make for small businesses, particularly in rural areas. As Mr. McGrane is aware, I am from County Tipperary. I...