Results 1,401-1,420 of 1,729 for speaker:Maria Byrne

Seanad: Irish Film Board (Amendment) Bill 2018: Second Stage (18 Dec 2018)

Maria Byrne: I welcome the Minister, Deputy Madigan, to the House. I welcome also the Bill and that for which it provides, in particular the tax relief up to 2024. The Minister has visited Troy Studios in Limerick. It has been a good news story not only for Limerick but for the region as well. It provides employment for people from the surrounding counties and an excellent apprenticeship programme....

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Rare Diseases (12 Dec 2018)

Maria Byrne: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is a disease that would not be very widely known yet about 500 people in Ireland suffer from it. It is a soft tissue disease where patients suffer a lot of pain and where their joints might be rubbing off each other. Many children have been diagnosed with this disease. I spoke to the chairperson of the representative...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Rare Diseases (12 Dec 2018)

Maria Byrne: I thank the Minister of State. I am disappointed, not with the Minister but with the response. First, there is a two and a half year long waiting list for these children and the adults involved. This is not addressed in the response from the HSE. Second, they need an upright MRI scan to be recognised. As I said, it is reckoned there are approximately 500 people in Ireland, between adults...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Rare Diseases (12 Dec 2018)

Maria Byrne: That is great. I thank the Minister of State.

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Dec 2018)

Maria Byrne: I want to raise the importance of the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition. It is coming up in January. Schools from throughout the country and which are in the localities of Senators are entering the competition. I sit on the Joint Committee on Education and Skills. I note that science, technology, engineering and maths, STEM, subjects, including physics, maths and biology, are...

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Dec 2018)

Maria Byrne: I was at the launch of the Threshold report earlier and it was interesting. The Minister announced that he will bring it to Cabinet next Tuesday.

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Dec 2018)

Maria Byrne: The PricewaterhouseCoopers report on rents in Dublin refers to vulture funds buying up properties as they are being built, which affects all of us around the country and is something that makes rents prohibitive for people in the rental market. Limerick has not been included as a rent pressure zone, RPZ, but it needs to be included and I call for the Minister to come to the House for a...

Seanad: Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) (Amendment) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (5 Dec 2018)

Maria Byrne: I propose that, notwithstanding the order of the House, this item adjourn no later than 5.40 p.m.

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Dec 2018)

Maria Byrne: I welcome the good news that "Nightflyers", a series made in Troy Studios in Limerick, was released yesterday in the US. The Irish embassy in the US tweeted and congratulated the film-makers on the premiere, which was shown on 2 December. It is a series of ten films made in Limerick. It is important to acknowledge the number of people involved in the apprenticeship and training scheme...

Seanad: Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2018)

Maria Byrne: I fully support the sentiment of the Minister with regard to zero hours. The Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) (Amendment) Bill 2018 will be before the Seanad tomorrow and I am aware that all of the Senators who are members of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Education and Skills have been contacted by teachers and different people who have not been given...

Seanad: Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2018)

Maria Byrne: Next Tuesday.

Seanad: Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2018)

Maria Byrne: Tomorrow at 10.30 a.m.

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Nov 2018)

Maria Byrne: I welcome the recommendation from the European Parliament Committee on Employment and Social Affairs relating to the European Globalisation Fund. In the past, the European Globalisation Fund has been used for companies where there were redundancies of more than 500 people. The committee recommends that number be brought down to accommodate companies where 200 employees or more are made...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Eye Care (28 Nov 2018)

Maria Byrne: I, too, welcome the Minister of State. I am concerned about the provision of eyesight tests for children in primary and secondary schools, especially given that nowadays children spend an awful lot of time on consoles, iPads, phones and other forms of digital media. According to a report launched recently by a cancer society, there are concerns that children are developing digital myopia or...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Eye Care (28 Nov 2018)

Maria Byrne: I thank the Minister of State. While I understand what he has said, I continue to be concerned about the amount of screen time to which children are exposed. The cancer society has shown that screen time is linked not only with short-sightedness but also cancer.This issue must be kept on the agenda because children are destroying their eyesight. There should be an awareness campaign or...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Nov 2018)

Maria Byrne: I welcome Maire Ardagh to the Gallery. I served with her on a regional assembly for several years. I know her late husband, Seán, will be honoured today in the Dáil. I am sure there will be a nice tribute to him. I congratulate Senator Ruane on her award yesterday. She has been commended by nearly every Member for her well-deserved award. I wish her all the best for the...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Nov 2018)

Maria Byrne: I apologise and withdraw it. Businesses in Murroe have closed down. With this construction project, a significant number of jobs will be created in the village. The village will also be developed as the driver of the area. The all-weather pitch will benefit all the villages in the surrounding area. We have further investment in urban regeneration developments. Funding has been given to...

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Nov 2018)

Maria Byrne: I raise the report that was published this morning on the 51 private water connections where E. coli was found. This is very serious. I realise that at this stage many houses and group schemes are on the main connection but Irish Water will have to investigate all of the connections. The report states that more than 700 connections were not assessed. This is very important because E. coli...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Uptake of Apprenticeships and Traineeships: Discussion (Resumed) (20 Nov 2018)

Maria Byrne: I thank the Chairman. I thank the four witnesses for their informative opening statements. I would like to begin by raising an issue that came up here last week as well. I refer to the disparity in the female take-up of apprenticeships. This is a huge issue because the percentage is small. There was a skills and apprenticeships day in Limerick and the mid-west last week. It was very...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Uptake of Apprenticeships and Traineeships: Discussion (15 Nov 2018)

Maria Byrne: As I had to go the Seanad Chamber to attend to quorum duties, I apologise if I ask any question that has been asked already. I thank the four delegates for their very informative presentations. To follow up on what Deputy Catherine Martin said about an apprenticeship expo, I know that in the mid-west there was recently an apprenticeship day. Free buses were provided which collected...