Results 181-200 of 1,894 for speaker:Maire Devine

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Support Services for Family Law Courts: One Family (30 Nov 2016)

Maire Devine: It was a fairly brave step to push through those barriers I would imagine because 44 years ago divorce was still rare and society was conservative.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Support Services for Family Law Courts: One Family (30 Nov 2016)

Maire Devine: It would have been strange for it not to have been under the church at the time but we have moved along. It was a very brave step by the women at the time to take on that conservatism. I imagine those accessing support services for children experience financial poverty and family breakup. The greatest moral scandal of our time is homelessness. When parents split up, one parent may not be...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2016: Second Stage (1 Dec 2016)

Maire Devine: Services.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2016: Second Stage (1 Dec 2016)

Maire Devine: Public services.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2016: Second Stage (1 Dec 2016)

Maire Devine: Property tax, water charges.

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Dec 2016)

Maire Devine: I want to highlight yet again the Midlands Regional Hospital in Portlaoise. Following the tragic preventable deaths of infant babies in this hospital over the past number of years, HIQA produced a report setting out hundreds of recommendations to restore safe and quality services. An updated report, published in the past few days, stated that some progress had been made but there remain...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Dec 2016)

Maire Devine: It has not worked.

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Dec 2016)

Maire Devine: No, because the Senators are all very cosy together.

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Dec 2016)

Maire Devine: The Senator-----

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Dec 2016)

Maire Devine: Neither does Senator Buttimer.

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Dec 2016)

Maire Devine: It was Senator Buttimer who opposed it.

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Dec 2016)

Maire Devine: There were no lectures.

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Dec 2016)

Maire Devine: It is Senator Buttimer who is good at the lectures.

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Dec 2016)

Maire Devine: Do not get defensive.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2016: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2016)

Maire Devine: Section 10, amendment No. 2 is about public officeholders.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2016: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2016)

Maire Devine: We should hurry up.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2016: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2016)

Maire Devine: This is a learning curve but I will allow the Bill to go through in order that it will not delay payment increases. Sinn Féin has tabled a motion on the gender gap, which will be debated in the Dáil tomorrow. We will learn a little more and I seek cross-party support, particularly from Fianna Fáil given Senator Ardagh has eloquently defended women and referred to the gender...

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Dec 2016)

Maire Devine: I will briefly mention value for money in the context of medication and drugs. The UK Competition and Markets Authority has fined the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer £84.2 million for the 2,600% overnight price increase in respect of the drug Epanutin, which is used to treat epilepsy. This price increase cost the National Health Service and British taxpayers millions. I do not know if we...

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Dec 2016)

Maire Devine: "Is it little more than a fiction that Parliament and Government are sovereign? [...] Are Governments nowadays to be compared to the totally deaf Beethoven in his later years, just being allowed to go through the motions of conducting the orchestra while the real control is being exercised elsewhere?" This is a quote from T.K. Whitaker, dated over 30 years ago. I too wish him a happy...

Seanad: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2016: Second Stage (8 Dec 2016)

Maire Devine: The greatest deficiency and most damaging factor in the Irish health system is the absence of universal health care. There is an incurable reliance on a two-tier system. The Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil parties are responsible for building this inadequate health service over decades which has led to our poorest citizens suffering and dying because of their inability to pay. Disturbingly,...