Results 721-740 of 2,007 for speaker:Máire Devine

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Industrial Disputes (7 Nov 2018)

Máire Devine: I thank the Minister of State. If it is not a legal right, is it illegal to join a union of one's choice? It seems this is a dogfight, with SIPTU and the HSE cosily together on one side and, on the other, up to 500 members who have decided that they do not want to belong to that representative body and they have asked other people to represent them. They have represented them hundreds of...

Seanad: Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill 2018: Report and Final Stages (7 Nov 2018)

Máire Devine: We welcome the Bill which we have discussed at length in this House on different occasions and it is about time that changes take place in the HSE. The two patient advocates is a great idea but I take on board Senator Ruane's point about whether the high standard of professionalism omits and disqualifies others from being a member of that board. It is prudent and best practice to have these...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Nov 2018)

Máire Devine: It was with dismay I saw that there are 180 Committee Stage amendments to the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018. There is public disgust about these amendments. I am also disgusted about them. Let us take one in particular. It is impossible to carry out a burial of remains before 12 weeks. There are no remains. It is just menstrual blood. Are we going to follow...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Nov 2018)

Máire Devine: I am speaking for the public. I am speaking about the dismay and the last sting of eight dying wasps-----

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Nov 2018)

Máire Devine: I will leave the there. I also wanted to raise the statement issued by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, earlier to the effect that the nurses and midwives will be balloted on all-out strike action, commencing with a 24-hour all-out strike and building up over time. The ballot will be held over the next few weeks. At issue here are understaffing in the health service and...

Seanad: Accessibility Issues for Voters with Disabilities: Statements (6 Nov 2018)

Máire Devine: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit arís. It is good to see him back in the House. I also welcome the use of templates in polling stations in the recent referendums on the eighth amendment and on blasphemy, and the presidential election. It is a welcome move that allows those who are visually impaired to vote without assistance for the first time. It is allows the...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Oct 2018)

Máire Devine: I refer to the closure last Friday of the Authentic Food Company in Dundalk. Senator Nash raised the issue during the Commencement debate earlier. Staff in the company were treated deplorably by management. Its parent company has its headquarters in Manchester. A total of 180 people were employed at the facility in Dundalk, most of whom had given a lifetime of service to the company, yet...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Oct 2018)

Máire Devine: People need to vote "Yes" with the many bodies which have called for the removal of this law.

Seanad: Greyhound Racing Bill 2018: Committee Stage (23 Oct 2018)

Máire Devine: I welcome the Minister of State. Sinn Féin welcomes both amendments to section 9, particularly Senator Ruane's amendment. If we had a hospital board that did not have any medical practitioners or medical expertise on it, it would seem a bit-----

Seanad: Greyhound Racing Bill 2018: Committee Stage (23 Oct 2018)

Máire Devine: Yes, the Senator will, and we will have ample opportunity to listen to him prattle on. The point has been made by the two Senators who spoke on the amendments that what is proposed is a break-up of the old boys' club. I do not necessarily agree with Senator Norris who said that expertise rather than gender balance is important in terms of the board. I agree that expertise on the board is...

Seanad: Disclosures Tribunal Report: Statements (23 Oct 2018)

Máire Devine: Sergeant Maurice McCabe has become well known and he is now a household name in Irish society and beyond. He is the person most central in this tribunal. I am sure he wishes it were the case that none of this transpired. Unfortunately, the actions of his superiors meant he was drawn into one of the largest controversies involving An Garda Síochána in its history. He is to be...

Seanad: Disclosures Tribunal Report: Statements (23 Oct 2018)

Máire Devine: I have no problem with that. There is a good deal in the report about Tusla, the allegations of rape, Sergeant McCabe's family, society and its loss of strength of feeling. What Martin Callinan did to try to undermine and discredit Sergeant McCabe was truly disgusting. I could go on about Superintendent Taylor, who is equally damaged by the report. He has internalised guilt for wrongdoing...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Oct 2018)

Máire Devine: There is a giddiness around the House. Senators are very loud today.

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Oct 2018)

Máire Devine: The report that came out today entitled, Growing Up in Ireland: The lives of 13 year olds, informs us about what we need to do in policymaking, legislation and collecting data on a range of issues in the areas of health, physical development, social and emotional well being, schooling and learning, etc. Of significance in that report is obesity among children. Some 20% of children in that...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Construction Contracts (16 Oct 2018)

Máire Devine: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I raised this issue because of the delay and difficulties in which MDY Construction has found itself, and I seek clarification. In April, the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, attended, as did I, the turning of the sod at Dolphin Park, which would provide senior citizens with new, modernised units. The...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Construction Contracts (16 Oct 2018)

Máire Devine: I thank the Minister of State for his reply. There is a difficulty that most people would not understand. While FOLD Ireland is responsible for the development, I am sure the Government can get updates and influence to some degree a solution to this. If FOLD Ireland is to meet soon with the construction firm in question, does the Minister of State believe a solution will emerge which can...

Seanad: Resignation of Minister and Assignment of Department (16 Oct 2018)

Máire Devine: On a point of order-----

Seanad: Resignation of Minister and Assignment of Department (16 Oct 2018)

Máire Devine: Why not?

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Oct 2018)

Máire Devine: That is rubbish. It is just drivel.

Seanad: Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (16 Oct 2018)

Máire Devine: I move amendment No. 1:In page 7, line 18, after "and" to insert "five of". The amendment proposes that the section would state the chairperson, the deputy chairperson and five ordinary members of the board shall be appointed by the Minister. If that could be agreed it would provide a bit more clarity.