Results 1-20 of 152 for speaker:Natasha Newsome Drennan

Middle East: Statements (2 Jul 2025)

Natasha Newsome Drennan: So far today, over 40 Palestinians have been slaughtered by Israeli airstrikes. In the past two days, over 250 Palestinians have been killed. A large number of these people were murdered while seeking aid from aid stations. Even Israeli media is reporting accounts from soldiers operating near these stations that they are being ordered to shoot civilians seeking aid. In the West Bank,...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (2 Jul 2025)

Natasha Newsome Drennan: Throughout Kilkenny, there are major ongoing issues with the school transport scheme. In Gowran, the Department advised last year that another school bus be added due to the increase in the population, but still no additional bus service has been allocated. In my own area of Ballyhale, families like my own have been pushed to send children to school outside of their parish, despite the...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (2 Jul 2025)

Natasha Newsome Drennan: Bus Éireann needs to engage with people.

Nursing Homes: Motion [Private Members] (2 Jul 2025)

Natasha Newsome Drennan: I thank the Labour Party for tabling the motion. All of us here at some stage will have to think about whether our parents will be in need of nursing home care. It is a very difficult and uncomfortable conversation for any family. It is something we would all like to think our parents will not need but this simply is not how life goes. We put immense faith in these nursing home...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Bus Services (26 Jun 2025)

Natasha Newsome Drennan: 231. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when a bus service (details supplied) was last put out to tender; the duration of same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35070/25]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (26 Jun 2025)

Natasha Newsome Drennan: 232. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the current plans for Bus Éireann to follow through for a proposed bus service (details supplied). [35071/25]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (26 Jun 2025)

Natasha Newsome Drennan: 233. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the due diligence in place between his Department and Bus Éireann to ensure public funds are spent for the purposes they are approved for. [35072/25]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Delays in Departmental Scheme Payments: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Jun 2025)

Natasha Newsome Drennan: I thank the witnesses for coming in. ACRES obviously is a massive issue but as with any new scheme, issues come with it on the Department's end and on farmers' end. Is it not a stage where the Department knows a scheme is coming in and there will be IT and administrative issues? It really would be better to hold off longer. The Department knows a scheme is going to be up in 2027 and the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Delays in Departmental Scheme Payments: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Jun 2025)

Natasha Newsome Drennan: The issues with the payments were not down to money but to IT issues. However, we know that going ahead, for 2025 the scheme is €74.6 million short on last year's money. Where is that going to come from? Are we going to see more issues? Are we going to see worse issues when the money is not there to meet the demand?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Delays in Departmental Scheme Payments: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Jun 2025)

Natasha Newsome Drennan: The total budget for agriculture is already down a small bit. Money for ACRES has been taken out and put into organic farming, young farmers, all of these other schemes. For the farmers who went into the ACRES scheme in good faith and with all the issues that have been there already, I just cannot understand how that has been cut. It is ridiculous.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Delays in Departmental Scheme Payments: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Jun 2025)

Natasha Newsome Drennan: According to the figures I received, the funding is down by that much. The whole figure is down as well. What we see is money going into other sections. The money is less than last year and we have 300,000 ha added into the scheme as well. It seems the Department needs more, not less.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Delays in Departmental Scheme Payments: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Jun 2025)

Natasha Newsome Drennan: With TAMS, it is not reachable for every farmer to come up with the money first before receiving the 60% under the scheme. With all the storms we had, where our electricity was gone, I would like to see better supports for the idea of harvesting water and having extra schemes. Due to the issues throughout the country with the storms, will there be anything better done on this end?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Delays in Departmental Scheme Payments: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Jun 2025)

Natasha Newsome Drennan: Is there an upfront amount that could be paid back or something like that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Delays in Departmental Scheme Payments: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Jun 2025)

Natasha Newsome Drennan: Those who had problems were not even all elderly.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Delays in Departmental Scheme Payments: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Jun 2025)

Natasha Newsome Drennan: With the figures the officials gave us for ACRES for 2023, there are 278 farmers who got nothing. I am assuming that is what that means. They got no payment at all. Out of those, how often was the issue with the farmer and how often was it with the Department? I am assuming if you got paid in 2024 you had no issues, but how many of the 278 who were at fault have been contacted? Has the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Delays in Departmental Scheme Payments: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Jun 2025)

Natasha Newsome Drennan: It is not a part the farmer has forgotten to do.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Delays in Departmental Scheme Payments: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Jun 2025)

Natasha Newsome Drennan: Is it only recently the people affected like that have seen it flagged that the officials are trying to do this or was it flagged back in December 2023 that the Department has an issue here?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Delays in Departmental Scheme Payments: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Jun 2025)

Natasha Newsome Drennan: Then once that is cracked they will get their 2024 payments and it will all flow in together.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Delays in Departmental Scheme Payments: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Jun 2025)

Natasha Newsome Drennan: A lot of the schemes finish in 2027. With new schemes going forward, how does Mr. Savage see the administrative and IT sides of this being worked and worked smoothly so farmers actually understand it and the Departments understand it as well? New schemes get complicated as they go on. How does Mr. Savage see it being fixed so we do not have these issues in future?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Delays in Departmental Scheme Payments: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Jun 2025)

Natasha Newsome Drennan: Whose fault is it that everything has run so quickly and as if we do not have any time left? With the next system it needs to be better and to be there in advance. Whose fault is it that these schemes come out and are thrown at people at the last minute?