Results 201-220 of 1,307 for speaker:Maria Byrne

Seanad: Technological Universities Bill 2015: Second Stage (30 Jan 2018)

Maria Byrne: Tomorrow at 10.30 a.m.

Seanad: Order of Business (31 Jan 2018)

Maria Byrne: I wish to highlight the fact that the Central Applications Office, CAO, deadline is tomorrow and I encourage all students who wish to continue to third level education, be it in institutes of technology, universities or any form of third level education, to think long and carefully about it. It has been reported that the largest number of job vacancies in 2017 were in the banking and...

Seanad: Emergency Department Waiting Times: Statements (31 Jan 2018)

Maria Byrne: I thank Senator Nash for sharing his time. I know that the facts surrounding University Hospital Limerick and the issues there have already been highlighted to the Minister. An 84 year old gentleman and his family contacted me yesterday. He spent 70 hours on a trolley, and he had heart failure and other complications before he was actually put into a bed. There are issues of which the...

Seanad: Technological Universities Bill 2015: Second Stage (Resumed) (31 Jan 2018)

Maria Byrne: Next Tuesday.

Seanad: Technological Universities Bill 2015: Second Stage (Resumed) (31 Jan 2018)

Maria Byrne: Tomorrow morning at 10.30 a.m.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: School Accommodation (1 Feb 2018)

Maria Byrne: I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for coming to the House to discuss this important issue. Approximately 7,000 children in Ireland have Down's syndrome. Having spoken to the family members of many children with Down's syndrome, I know those children are the life and soul of their families. They are very sociable. They certainly keep the members of their families on their toes....

Seanad: Commencement Matters: School Accommodation (1 Feb 2018)

Maria Byrne: I am disappointed. There are two children in the one class, one of whom is on the autism spectrum. Certainly if the Down's syndrome child had any variation of autism he would be entitled to the July provision. I would like the Minister of State to relay to the Minister, Deputy Bruton, and the Department the fact that it does not add up. They bring a teacher in to work with one child who...

Seanad: Education (Welfare) (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second Stage (6 Feb 2018)

Maria Byrne: I welcome the Minister. I commend her and my Labour Party colleagues on bringing forward the proposal. The fact that the Bill is receiving more or less unanimous support shows that people are putting children at the centre of what this is all about. It demonstrates the importance of lifelong learning. The Bill covers those aged from six years to 16 years of age, but it is very important...

Seanad: Education (Welfare) (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second Stage (6 Feb 2018)

Maria Byrne: Next week.

Seanad: Education (Welfare) (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second Stage (6 Feb 2018)

Maria Byrne: Tomorrow at 10.30 a.m.

Seanad: Technological Universities Bill 2015: Committee Stage (7 Feb 2018)

Maria Byrne: I so move.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Carer's Allowance Delays (8 Feb 2018)

Maria Byrne: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Andrew Doyle, to the House. I acknowledge this is not his area of expertise but I appreciate that he is here to consider my worthy request. Many people applying for the carer's allowance are coming to my office. A lady whose ten-year old daughter is very ill told me it took 17 weeks for her application to be assessed. The husband of a woman with...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Carer's Allowance Delays (8 Feb 2018)

Maria Byrne: I thank the Minister of State. It is good that the Department has acknowledged there are problems in certain areas. I note that it is putting additional staff into certain areas to alleviate those problems. We will have to monitor this. We will note in our own offices the expediency with which the applications are being processed. I appreciate that the Department is aware of the matter...

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Feb 2018)

Maria Byrne: I would like to refer to the bus crash that took place in Limerick yesterday. I wish to pay tribute to all involved, including the ambulance services, the fire services, An Garda Síochána, the council, the mid-west community health care units, John the Baptist Community School and the teachers for their very fast response. Counselling and support was offered to all families and to...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Motor Insurance Costs (13 Feb 2018)

Maria Byrne: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy D'Arcy, and thank him for coming to the House today. I am looking for an update on the report on the cost of motor insurance. Many people, especially the self-employed, have come to my office to tell me about the significant increase in their insurance premiums. I know the Minister of State set up a committee and a working group was drawn together to...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Motor Insurance Costs (13 Feb 2018)

Maria Byrne: I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive reply. I will just give him a small example. A person in their early 50s came into my office recently whose premium had previously been a little more than €800. This person had received a bill for close to €1,200 despite having a no claims bonus and having never had a crash in 30 odd years of driving. Some of the companies...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Motor Insurance Costs (13 Feb 2018)

Maria Byrne: I thank the Minister of State.

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Feb 2018)

Maria Byrne: I wish to raise two issues to do with Limerick, but possibly more. They are different issues. First, I congratulate the four students from Scoil Ide who won the Intel Mini Scientist Competition. They were up against 145 schools and more than 8,000 students. In terms of education, science, technology, engineering and mathematics, STEM, subjects are always being promoted. That was...

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Feb 2018)

Maria Byrne: It is a very positive development that the STEM subjects are being highlighted at primary school level. On a different note, I had the pleasure of visiting Troy Studios in Limerick last Monday along with some of my colleagues where "Nightflyers", which will be released on Netflix in the summer, is being filmed. It is a very good news story in that more than 400 people are employed in Troy...

Seanad: Housing: Statements (Resumed) (20 Feb 2018)

Maria Byrne: I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for coming to the House to discuss the housing issue. It was the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, not the Minister of State, who was in Limerick recently when close to 100 houses were opened. I compliment the Minister and the Minister of State on that achievement. The Minister of State was involved in the planning stages. It was a very good...