Results 2,361-2,380 of 4,787 for speaker:Aodhán Ó Ríordáin

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: Travellers Towards a More Equitable Ireland Post-Recognition: Discussion (9 Jul 2019)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I thank the Chairman. Our guest speakers are all very welcome; this is a wonderful occasion, which one speaker has called historic, which it really is. I thank Senator Collette Kelleher and the civic engagement group for organising this meeting and being so persistent in pursuing the rights of the Traveller community in this House for the past three years that I have been here. Political...

Seanad: Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) (Amendment) Bill 2018: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (11 Jul 2019)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I thank the Minister of State and her officials for their engagement. I have met her officials to discuss certain elements of the Bill. I am glad that we have found solutions to meet some of the concerns of the Labour Party. Some of our amendments, as proposed by the Progressive College Network, were not accepted in the Dáil. There was disappointment with the stance taken by Fianna...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (International Co-operation) Bill 2019: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Jul 2019)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: On behalf of the Labour Party, I congratulate the Minister on the passage of this Bill. We in the Seanad and Deputy Sherlock in the Dáil are anxious to be as helpful as possible in this regard. The Minister knows, as he has reiterated it a number of times, that the lack of an administration in the North and a government in Stormont is deeply regrettable, especially at this crucial time...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (25 Sep 2019)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: Anybody who has an interest in politics or who has engaged in politics anywhere in the world will have found yesterday a particularly disturbing day, observing what is happening in the United States and in the United Kingdom, which we would all regard as being too great democratic institutions. On one side of the Atlantic, proceedings are being undertaken to potentially impeach a President,...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (2 Oct 2019)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: Often we stand in the Chamber and make political charges against each other. We spark off each other and this is the way of political theatre. In light of what the British Government is apparently proposing as a solution to its Brexit problem, the Houses of the Oireachtas must stand firm as a collective. It is deeply upsetting to everybody in Ireland to witness what is happening in the...

Seanad: Crime Policy: Motion (2 Oct 2019)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: The Minister will be aware of the situation on the north side of Dublin, which I have raised here constantly and consistently over the last year. It has spiralled out of control when murders, gun crime, pipe bombs, shootings outside shopping centres in daylight or murders outside primary schools are part of a list of incidents that have taken place in the Dublin 17, 13 and 5 in the past 12...

Seanad: Education (Student and Parent Charter) Bill 2019: Second Stage (2 Oct 2019)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I welcome the Minister to the House. Again, my party supports the Bill, in principle. We will work with the Minister and his officials in as constructive a manner as we possibly can as this Bill makes it way through the House. I have an issue with the Bill in that, as has been outlined by other speakers, the relationship many students and parents have with schools is a financial one. A...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (8 Oct 2019)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: Last week, we spoke about Brexit and President Trump but, unfortunately, every time I stand in this Chamber, things seem to have got worse on both fronts. We will have an opportunity to criticise the budget later, but we should take a moment to recall that it is not that long ago that budget day was a very traumatic day for Irish people, when there was great discomfort and unrest outside the...

Seanad: Budget 2020: Statements (8 Oct 2019)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: On a point of order, we all want to have a chance to speak. Colleagues should allow Senator Horkan to finish.

Seanad: Budget 2020: Statements (8 Oct 2019)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber. There is much political theatre on budget day. Members of the Opposition make all sorts of statements about the budgets that is presented and are expected to criticise everything, while the Government criticises everything they state. I earlier stated that, at least on one level, the Irish political establishment is in a happier space than it...

Seanad: Free Education (Prohibition of Fees and Charges) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (9 Oct 2019)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: Next Tuesday, 15 October 2019.

Seanad: Free Education (Prohibition of Fees and Charges) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (9 Oct 2019)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I appreciate the Minister's presence and that the Government is not opposing the Bill. I will again outline the motivations behind it. We are not trying to limit the funding available to schools but to pressure the State and the Department to increase capitation funding so that voluntary contributions will no longer be necessary. Arising from the passage of this Bill through the previous...

Seanad: Traveller Culture and History in Education Bill 2018: Report and Final Stages (16 Oct 2019)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I will speak to the Bill in a moment but I ask the Acting Chairman to allow me to thank the Minister for being on site in Artane this morning. It was very decent of him to do so. I was just coming from the school, which had suffered from an horrendous fire. That the Minister was present in person was of great comfort to the school. The school community and the children are devastated....

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Medicinal Products Reimbursement (22 Oct 2019)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath. I refer to the issue of FreeStyle Libre. Thousands of adults with type 1 diabetes will have to wait until next year to find out whether the HSE is prepared to lift restrictions on them accessing the new blood sugar monitoring technology known as FreeStyle Libre. This device has been credited with greatly improving the quality of life...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Medicinal Products Reimbursement (22 Oct 2019)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I thank the Minister of State for reading that reply. Its key line is: "The HSE intends that an update to the initial report, including details of the review, will be published after the review has been completed." Would the Minister of State accept that statement if he were in my place or if he were a person with type 1 diabetes aged over 21 and waiting more than 18 months for news of this...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (6 Nov 2019)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I rise to pay tribute to the memory of Ana Kriégel. Sentences were handed down yesterday to the two boys responsible for her murder. Comments have been made in the media this morning as to how Ireland should react to the fact that we have two child murderers guilty of this heinous crime. It is important we remember Ana as a beautiful, talented, loved young girl. The dignity with...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Nov 2019)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: First, we read today that more than 200 legal cases have been taken against parents due to school absenteeism issues and that more than 700 notices have been sent to parents across the country in the past year on the same issue. These are parents of children aged between six and 16, which is the legal requirement that children are to be in school who have missed 20 days or more. As the...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Nov 2019)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I am sorry. I am putting on the record of this House how important it is for all of us to understand the seriousness of inequality and the way rhetoric hurts children in particular who are from vulnerable communities. For the child of an asylum seeker, an immigrant, somebody in drug addiction or a Traveller, this sort of rhetoric will seep into their bones and possibly never leave them. I...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Nov 2019)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: The Senator will have to watch his tone.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Nov 2019)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: We are looking to the Deputy.