Results 21-40 of 1,308 for speaker:Maria Byrne

Seanad: Action Plan for Education: Statements (6 Oct 2016)

Maria Byrne: I welcome the Minister to the House and commend him on his commitment to education. This action plan activates the commitments contained in the programme for a partnership Government. I welcome the fact that the action plan contains commitments to the monitoring of actions, with published timelines. Progress will be assessed each year. Ireland is among the top five countries in Europe in...

Seanad: Budget 2017: Statements (11 Oct 2016)

Maria Byrne: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, and I thank him for his words of wisdom earlier. It was great to listen to the budget earlier. The first announcement I would like welcome is the forecast that GDP will grow by 4.2% in 2016 and 3.5% in 2017, and the fact that we have over 2 million people in employment. Being parochial about it, we have had five job announcements over...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Higher Education Grants: Wake Up SUSI (13 Oct 2016)

Maria Byrne: First, I welcome the Wake Up SUSI campaign here this morning. I met members of the Limerick branch of the campaign in Limerick recently and was inspired by the many stories I heard. It is strange that all these courses appear on the CAO yet students are not informed so they go into the application process blindfolded and do not realise that they will not be eligible to receive any of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: State Examinations: Motions (13 Oct 2016)

Maria Byrne: I agree with my colleague, Deputy Daly. He has articulated it well. This is setting a precedent and we could be supporting one group above the other. We must be cautious as well as fair to all involved. I support the Deputy's amendment.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: State Examinations: Motions (13 Oct 2016)

Maria Byrne: I second that proposal.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: State Pension (Contributory) Eligibility (18 Oct 2016)

Maria Byrne: I thank the Cathaoirleach. I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank him for coming here today. My Commencement matter refers to the many ladies who were covered by the marriage bar. They were in public sector employment but were forced to leave work through no fault of their own. Up to the abolition of this measure in 1973, women in a number of public sector bodies were...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: State Pension (Contributory) Eligibility (18 Oct 2016)

Maria Byrne: I thank the Minister of State-----

Seanad: Commencement Matters: State Pension (Contributory) Eligibility (18 Oct 2016)

Maria Byrne: -----for his response. The fact that the homemaker's scheme is being considered and included is to be welcomed. I hope we will see something happen in the near future.

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Oct 2016)

Maria Byrne: I would like to be associated with the vote of sympathy to the late Anthony Foley. I knew Anthony well because he was born in Limerick and went to St. Munchin's College. He was a member of Shannon rugby club but I am afraid I support a club on the other side of the river. There has been great rivalry and banter for many years between the clubs. Anthony brought joy and commitment to sport...

Seanad: Recognition of Irish Sign Language for the Deaf Community Bill 2016: Second Stage (19 Oct 2016)

Maria Byrne: I thank Senator Mark Daly for bringing this Bill to the House today. A few years ago, when I served on it, I brought a similar proposal to Limerick City Council. It was one of the first local authorities in the country to pass such a proposition. I welcome all the members of the deaf community here today and thank them for the professional campaign they have run over the past number of...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Oct 2016)

Maria Byrne: I also raise the issue of Shannon Airport, but for a totally different reason. It follows from the proposed Garda strikes which are to take place every Friday in the month of November. I ask the Leader to talk to the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to find out what plans he is going to put in place in terms of the immigration unit which staffs many airports. There is a fear that...

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Oct 2016)

Maria Byrne: I wish to raise an issue that has been brought to my attention in recent days. It is not a question of the closure of bank branches but the fact that there will be no tellers in a number of Bank of Ireland branches in different areas from now on. A lot of vulnerable people who are not used to dealing with bank cards and who have dealt with bank tellers all of their lives are now being told...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Business of Committee (27 Oct 2016)

Maria Byrne: Is the committee room available then?

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Nov 2016)

Maria Byrne: I wish to raise the issue of a new library for Mary Immaculate College in Limerick. The college is to the forefront of teacher training and many Members would have constituents who are students there.In 1978, when the library was built, 250 seats were provided for 750 students. Approximately 3,500 students currently attend the college, with the figure expected to rise to more than 5,000 by...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Bill 2016: Second Stage (16 Nov 2016)

Maria Byrne: I thank the Minister for coming to the House to outline his proposals. The plan is a very positive one. I was a member of a local authority which was fortunate enough to be in a position to build public housing in recent years when other local authorities were not. The benefit of the housing plan can also be viewed from the perspective of job creation. There have been a number of welcome...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Wild Atlantic Way (17 Nov 2016)

Maria Byrne: I call on Fáilte Ireland to include Limerick city in the Wild Atlantic Way route before the commencement of the 2017 tourism season. I also ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to put his weight behind my proposal. In 2015 I submitted a motion on this issue to my local authority, Limerick City and County Council, which received unanimous support. While we subsequently...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Wild Atlantic Way (17 Nov 2016)

Maria Byrne: I thank the Minister of State for his positive response. It is something I have beaten the drum about for a while. I am delighted to hear the Minister of State is willing to take my point of view on board and is working on some initiatives on tourism attractions. I await his positive response in the near future.

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Nov 2016)

Maria Byrne: I welcome the statement by some of the major employers in Limerick and the mid-west region that they have no intention of pulling out of the mid-west region. Most of them are American-based companies about which there has been a good deal of scaremongering. However, the heads of companies such as Cook Medical, Uber and Northern Trust came out yesterday to state they are delighted they...

Seanad: Commencement Matters (Resumed): Cancer Screening Programmes (24 Nov 2016)

Maria Byrne: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy. I am delighted that she is here to speak on such a relevant topic. The BreastCheck programme is currently available to women between the ages of 50 and 69. According to the BreastCheck website, "the Department of Health and Children chose this age group for screening as there is a greater proportion of women at risk of...

Seanad: Commencement Matters (Resumed): Cancer Screening Programmes (24 Nov 2016)

Maria Byrne: I thank the Minister of State for her response. I too would encourage all women to avail of the service but I also urge the Minister of State to keep it under review and take the statistics into account because there are people being diagnosed at a younger age, which is frightening. I would like the Minister of State to monitor that.