Results 1-20 of 30 for speaker:Maria McCormack

Seanad: National Biodiversity Week: Statements (14 May 2025)

Maria McCormack: I will share time with Senator Collins, if that is okay.

Seanad: National Biodiversity Week: Statements (14 May 2025)

Maria McCormack: Yes.

Seanad: National Biodiversity Week: Statements (14 May 2025)

Maria McCormack: On behalf of the Sinn Féin group, I extend my condolences to the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, on the loss of his sister. I am happy to talk about biodiversity. In Laois, and nationally, we have a real opportunity to tackle biodiversity and the climate crisis in a meaningful way. We must follow on from the work our colleague, Senator Noonan, did when he held the brief. In...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (7 May 2025)

Maria McCormack: I am wearing a pair of shorts, not as a fashion statement but in solidarity with the camogie players of Ireland who are simply asking for a choice. I acknowledge the Laois camogie players who are in the Chamber. During their match with Kilkenny on Monday, they took a stand by wearing shorts in protest of the outdated skort rule, just like the Dublin and Kilkenny players the day before, who...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Apr 2025)

Maria McCormack: I want to talk about special education places once again and existing commitments to schools regarding prefabs that have been in place for years and in respect of which there is still no movement. I am going to talk particularly about County Laois. I have mentioned St. Francis School before. It has been waiting on its modular build since 2021. Forty-five children are on a waiting list...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Ambulance Service (29 Apr 2025)

Maria McCormack: I raise serious concerns about the current state of the National Ambulance Service, particularly its impact on rural communities like those in County Laois. Recently, I met local paramedics who were very honest about the chaos they face daily. Let us be clear, a decade ago regional ambulance control worked far better with quicker response times with local knowledge that saved lives....

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Ambulance Service (29 Apr 2025)

Maria McCormack: Yes, that is fine. I have permission from the family to mention names.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Ambulance Service (29 Apr 2025)

Maria McCormack: It was 10.30 p.m. before Lauren's mother was finally admitted to Beaumont Hospital, which was more than eight hours after the first emergency call. Tragically, Lauren's mother passed away shortly afterwards. One year later, the family still awaits a full response to their complaint. It is just not acceptable. We know the National Ambulance Service is in crisis. We are all listening to...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Ambulance Service (29 Apr 2025)

Maria McCormack: I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I respect he is taking this Commencement matter on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, but Laois and Offaly are not the one county or the one constituency and they are not the one region for the National Ambulance Service. We had regions ten years ago - I think there were 11 regions - and now we have one dispatch centre. Having...

Seanad: Revised National Planning Framework: Motion (29 Apr 2025)

Maria McCormack: Statutory planning frameworks are an important part of the planning system. If we get them right, they provide a clear framework for the social, economic, cultural and environmental development of the State and the entire island. However, if the plan is not right, it will be an impediment to development. While I welcome that we will have a debate and a vote on the revised draft planning...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (10 Apr 2025)

Maria McCormack: I raise the urgent concerns about the state of the National Ambulance Service, particularly in County Laois. There are concerns about response times, patient safety and the well-being of front-line staff. Paramedics in Laois are doing heroic work in impossible conditions. Despite significant population growth in Laois, 8% since 2016 and a 25% rise in those aged over 65 years, the county...

Seanad: Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2023: Report and Final Stages (10 Apr 2025)

Maria McCormack: We are happy with everything in this Bill except for the vulture funds which I must comment on because there were promises made. These are mortgage prisoners and they are still very unhappy. There is great progress with this Bill. My colleague, Deputy Doherty, did a lot of work and the Government accepted some of the amendments. However, we need to put on record there are still mortgage...

Seanad: Flooding: Statements (9 Apr 2025)

Maria McCormack: I thank the Minister of State for coming to speak to us about flooding issues. We have known for many years now that the effects of climate change will bring about more dramatic weather events and certainly, as we have seen in the past year, we have had our fair share of storms recently. The severe damage throughout the country from Storm Éowyn should serve as a wake-up call for the...

Seanad: Prohibition of Advertising or Importuning Sex for Rent Bill 2025: Second Stage (9 Apr 2025)

Maria McCormack: I welcome this Bill tabled by Senators Harmon, Stephenson, Noonan and Cosgrove. This will be the third Bill of its kind introduced in the Oireachtas in an attempt by Opposition parties to highlight the horrendous behaviour of some predatory landlords seeking sex in lieu of rent. I wish to acknowledge Ms Ann Murphy, who first highlighted this in the Irish Examiner, and thank her for all her...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (8 Apr 2025)

Maria McCormack: St. Francis School is a special school in Portlaoise. It got a new school building in 2021. Because it took so long for the new school to be built - 14 years - as a result of all of the hoops that had to be jumped through, when it opened in 2021, it did not have the capacity it needed. The principal made accommodations by turning 19 classes into 12. Since 2021, the school has been...

Seanad: Disability Services: Statements (8 Apr 2025)

Maria McCormack: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I wish her well in her role. We do really need her to succeed in it. I want to highlight a serious and ongoing issue that I hope she will give serious attention to, which is the continued exclusion of people with disabilities from the planning and design of public projects. Time and again, infrastructure schemes are rolled out nationwide...

Seanad: Housing: Statements (2 Apr 2025)

Maria McCormack: Yes.

Seanad: Housing: Statements (2 Apr 2025)

Maria McCormack: As the Sinn Féin spokesperson for housing, I am glad to have the opportunity to speak to the Minister today. It is one of the most pressing issues for people, especially for families throughout the country and in my constituency of Laois. My constituents tell me they feel there has been a real lack of political will from the Government for far too long. It has been unable to find an...

Seanad: Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2023: Second Stage (26 Mar 2025)

Maria McCormack: I welcome the Minister of State. I definitely will not take the ten minutes. Sinn Féin will be supporting the Bill. We welcome this debate, notwithstanding the delay with the Bill moving from the Dáil to the Seanad. The Minister listened to my colleague Deputy Pearse Doherty and made amendments in the Dáil. As reported in today's edition of the Irish Examiner, the...

Seanad: Special Education Provision: Motion (26 Mar 2025)

Maria McCormack: I second the motion and call for a clear commitment. I thank the Minister of State for attending. I rise not just as a Senator but as a mother and someone who listens carefully to families across this country, especially in my county of Laois, who are in crisis. There is a severe lack of special school and autism spectrum disorder, ASD, school placements in this State. This is not just...