Results 3,001-3,020 of 4,295 for speaker:Catherine Noone

Seanad: Report of the Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Statements (17 Jan 2018)

Catherine Noone: -----for such an emotive and politically challenging issue. I commend the current Taoiseach, and I promise that I will not make political comments after this part. In a party like Fine Gael this issue is very difficult but he kept it front and centre. That fact must be acknowledged; I am sorry I am one doing it but it must be said. The committee was made up of a representative group of...

Seanad: Report of the Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Statements (17 Jan 2018)

Catherine Noone: -----at any time and in any way that we conducted our business. It is easy to say that something was biased. It is quite a challenge to reject such an allegation on an ongoing basis because once one has to explain one has lost. The allegation resonated and became quite difficult to withstand at times. All of us decided what witnesses to call and I, as Chair, did not decide to call any...

Seanad: Report of the Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Statements (17 Jan 2018)

Catherine Noone: On socioeconomic issues and having no restriction as to reason, the committee rejected the idea that terminations under socioeconomic grounds should be lawful beyond 12 weeks. We had to take account of the need to provide reproductive health care for women in Ireland and, in particular, those who have a crisis pregnancy and who feel that a termination is the only solution. Just to let the...

Seanad: Report of the Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Statements (17 Jan 2018)

Catherine Noone: I thank the Leader. In fairness, I will not be long.

Seanad: Report of the Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Statements (17 Jan 2018)

Catherine Noone: I am not trying to take advantage. I am conscious that the Minister needs to get out of here, so I am not going to go on. The Leas-Chathaoirleach need not worry.

Seanad: Report of the Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Statements (17 Jan 2018)

Catherine Noone: On socioeconomic issues and having no restriction as to reason, the committee rejected the idea that terminations under socioeconomic grounds should be lawful beyond 12 weeks. We had to take account of the need to provide reproductive health care for women in Ireland and, in particular, those who have a crisis pregnancy and where they feel that a termination is the only solution. In...

Seanad: Report of the Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Statements (17 Jan 2018)

Catherine Noone: We found that the current system of sex education needs an overhaul. I have to say that is putting it mildly. It is still too linked to religious education-----

Seanad: Report of the Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Statements (17 Jan 2018)

Catherine Noone: -----and there is no consistency in terms of the delivery of sex education in schools across the country. We need a far more mature approach to this as a society and in schools. I will not be much longer. There is an urgent need to bring sex education into the 21st century. I am not going to speak about counselling and obstetric care. It is obviously very important as well. I want to...

Seanad: Report of the Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Statements (17 Jan 2018)

Catherine Noone: It is not my fault he is not here.

Seanad: Report of the Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Statements (17 Jan 2018)

Catherine Noone: I am nearly finished. I thought Senator Craughwell's speech was excellent and I agree with his point about the US. The US needs to stay out of this. I think the term "pro-life" probably came from the US and we adopted it very readily but it has no place in the debate. We do no justice to the women of this country by continuing to allow this debate to be so polarised. The debate needs to...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Jan 2018)

Catherine Noone: I apologise for arriving late. I was listening to the Order of Business on the monitor. I want to raise a point that is relevant to the one raised by Senator Ray Butler about the self-employed and it is one I have raised on a few occasions. Members of the Oireachtas are not entitled to parental leave, be it maternity or paternity leave. That is a serious issue because we are trying to...

Seanad: Agricultural Issues: Statements (24 Jan 2018)

Catherine Noone: That is okay.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Television Licence Fee (25 Jan 2018)

Catherine Noone: I apologise to the Minister of State for keeping him waiting earlier. It was not my intention but I was delayed in traffic. I left it tight but the reality is that the traffic is much worse on certain mornings which is down to increased economic activity. Many people do not watch conventional television anymore. The idea of a television licence man knocking on doors trying to find...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Television Licence Fee (25 Jan 2018)

Catherine Noone: I am sorry, but I will have to stop.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Television Licence Fee (25 Jan 2018)

Catherine Noone: Thank you, a Leas-Chathaoirligh; it was really distracting. In a world where we no longer watch television in a conventional way - many watch it on mobile devices, etc., are not watching it as much and not just watching the national broadcaster - we really need to look at this issue. The television licence does not make much sense to me, but we need a national broadcaster. We should not,...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Television Licence Fee (25 Jan 2018)

Catherine Noone: It is great for regulating one's thyroid.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Television Licence Fee (25 Jan 2018)

Catherine Noone: I should have pointed out that what I am suggesting would avoid the evasion issue entirely because the telecommunications companies would collect the fee on behalf of the Government. Therefore, for a start one would be dealing with 20 organisations or however many telecommunications companies there are, rather than individuals. It is a very positive part of my suggestion. I agree entirely...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Television Licence Fee (25 Jan 2018)

Catherine Noone: Areas without broadband.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Television Licence Fee (25 Jan 2018)

Catherine Noone: Therefore, we are in agreement.

Seanad: Mandatory Reporting: Statements (25 Jan 2018)

Catherine Noone: I welcome the Minister to the House; it is always great to see her here. I congratulate her and her officials on all the work they do, especially in this area. As the Minister and Senator Freeman have said, it is a very significant milestone in child protection in Ireland. Two decades have passed since mandatory reporting was first suggested and it is difficult to understand why it took...