Results 421-440 of 2,967 for speaker:Séamus Healy

Public Services Pay and Pensions Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (7 Dec 2017)

Séamus Healy: I am speaking in opposition to this section. There are significant punitive and draconian measures included in the Bill which are disproportionate and without precedent. They include the freezing of increments for three years and a nine-month delay in pay restoration. There is also the unequal two-tier system of payment for public servants, which affects in particular those employed after 1...

Permanent Structured Cooperation: Motion (7 Dec 2017)

Séamus Healy: I too oppose this proposal. It is very clear that there is an attempt to bulldoze this through the Oireachtas and bounce us into PESCO, which is effectively a militarised Europe. This issue was initially raised on 14 November. It was cleared by the Cabinet on 21 November. However, it was never raised at the Business Committee which sets the agenda for the House, usually two weeks in...

Business of Dáil (6 Dec 2017)

Séamus Healy: I too wish to oppose the Chief Whip's proposal on this matter. It is an attempt to rush the matter through the House and present the public with a fait accompli. Although obviously an issue for the House, as I said yesterday it is not just an issue for the House. It is also an issue for the public. There needs to be full public debate, discussion and scrutiny on the issue which cannot be...

Public Service Pay and Pensions Bill 2017: Committee Stage (5 Dec 2017)

Séamus Healy: A series of important amendments have been ruled out of order, which makes a complete nonsense of the Oireachtas. The rule which states Members may not submit amendments which might effect an increase, or even a decrease, in the financial charge on the Exchequer is extraordinary and should be reviewed. In fact, it should be taken out altogether because it inhibits reasonable, proper and...

Public Service Pay and Pensions Bill 2017: Committee Stage (5 Dec 2017)

Séamus Healy: The response from the Minister of State is incredible. He dealt with none of the issues raised by any speakers nor any of the queries about Ministers who, in recent years, declared the emergency over. He did not address wealth in this country, the reduction in pensions, the increase in pension contributions, which is in effect a cut in pay, or the pay apartheid introduced by the Government....

Public Service Pay and Pensions Bill 2017: Committee Stage (5 Dec 2017)

Séamus Healy: That is because the Government wants to pay for PESCO.

Public Service Pay and Pensions Bill 2017: Committee Stage (5 Dec 2017)

Séamus Healy: I move amendment No.1:In page 8, between lines 14 and 15, to insert the following:“(3) Subsection (2) of section 12 of the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2013 is repealed.”. There is significant opposition among trade unionists and trade unions to this anti-trade union legislation. The punitive and draconian consequences mapped out in the Bill are...

Order of Business (5 Dec 2017)

Séamus Healy: There needs to be a public debate.

Order of Business (5 Dec 2017)

Séamus Healy: It is not just a question of debating it in the Chamber or in the committee. It needs a public debate and there needs to be adequate time, several months, to do that.

Order of Business (5 Dec 2017)

Séamus Healy: We are in the run-up to Christmas and this cannot be done properly between now and Christmas. It should be deferred until the new year and given adequate time for a public debate on the issue.

Order of Business (5 Dec 2017)

Séamus Healy: I agree with the concerns expressed by previous speakers. We are seeing an attempt to bulldoze a very significant provision through the House without adequate debate. In fact, not only do we need debate in this House, there also must be widespread public debate on the issue. To proceed as proposed would be hugely damaging to our neutrality and result in its further erosion. It would...

Public Service Pay and Pensions Bill 2017: Second Stage (29 Nov 2017)

Séamus Healy: The Public Service Pay and Pensions Bill is anti-trade union legislation. It includes oppressive measures which are not included in the recent public service pay agreement. It also includes punishments for trade unionists whose unions do not agree to the new industrial relations agreement proposed by their employers. Among these is an increment freeze which is essentially a punishment pay...

Social Welfare Bill 2017: Second Stage (Resumed) (28 Nov 2017)

Séamus Healy: I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Social Welfare Bill 2017. Women, in particular, are being discriminated against and being treated unfairly and unequally by our social welfare system, specifically in the rules and regulations governing the State pension entitlement. The averaging of bands and minimum contribution changes made by the former Minister, Deputy Burton, in 2012 mean that...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: IDA Ireland Data (28 Nov 2017)

Séamus Healy: 96. To ask the Taoiseach the amount of financial assistance aid and grants that have been provided to a company (details supplied) over the past seven years; the amount of financial assistance, aid and grants planned to be provided to this company in each of the years 2018 to 2020; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50075/17]

Leaders' Questions (23 Nov 2017)

Séamus Healy: More than 1,000 children under the age of 16 years suffer with juvenile arthritis, which differs from adult arthritis in that it is caused by the immune system inflammably attacking the body's own joints. The cause of juvenile arthritis is multifactorial but includes genetic disposition and environmental factors. Severe pain is associated with the condition and, because children are...

Leaders' Questions (23 Nov 2017)

Séamus Healy: I thank the Tánaiste. Children suffering from juvenile arthritis are entitled to a quality health service, something that they do not have at the moment. These children and their families are demanding that funding for a third rheumatologist and a multidisciplinary team be included in the 2018 HSE national service plan. Some 70% of children presenting with this disease are from...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (21 Nov 2017)

Séamus Healy: 207. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the construction of a new school building for a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48966/17]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Psychological Services (21 Nov 2017)

Séamus Healy: 313. To ask the Minister for Health the position regarding child psychology services in south Tipperary; the number of approved psychology posts; the number of posts filled; the number of posts vacant; the number of children on the waiting list; and the length of time they have been waiting. [48719/17]

Housing (Homeless Families) Bill 2017: Second Stage [Private Members] (15 Nov 2017)

Séamus Healy: The Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar, must issue a public apology to homeless families, children and individuals. The Taoiseach's dishonesty is breathtaking, and he and his Government are homelessness deniers. He deliberately and dishonestly abused an OECD report to deny and downplay the housing and homelessness emergency. The OECD report specifically states that its findings must not be used...

Housing (Homeless Families) Bill 2017: Second Stage [Private Members] (15 Nov 2017)

Séamus Healy: Everybody who has spoken so far has spoken on the wider issue of housing and homelessness.