Results 441-460 of 4,168 for speaker:Susan O'Keeffe

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Mar 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: Like Senator MacSharry, I refer to the high salaries earned by banking executives although I point out that there were different rules for people who were close to Fianna Fáil during the last Administration. We should not forget that. I thank Senator Conway for yesterday's debate on restorative justice although I was disappointed that there were so few people here. It was a very...

Seanad: Mobility Allowance: Statements (21 Mar 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: Rural Ireland is not just two words. It is a real place where 40% of the Irish population live. We are increasingly hearing the expression "rural Ireland" in the context of a place where all problems occur. We all know people who are having difficulty accessing their homes in their own cars because of poor roads and infrastructure. People living in rural Ireland are suffering to a far...

Seanad: Mobility Allowance: Statements (21 Mar 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: As I recall, Senator Moloney stated on the Order of Business that even if there is no Minister available we should have the debate.

Seanad: Mobility Allowance: Statements (21 Mar 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: Yes. I do not see this event today as a slap back to Senator Moloney for asking for that debate, which I think is what Senator MacSharry was suggesting. As a member of the Joint Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions I am concerned at the approach being taken by the Department of Health as set out in the presentations to that committee by the Ombudsman, Ms Emily O'Reilly. The...

Seanad: Mobility Allowance: Statements (21 Mar 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: Like Senator Ó Clochartaigh, I have concerns about the Department of Health's calculation. It may have given the absolute worst-case scenario, which people are paid to do. However, in reality the additional cost will not be anywhere near ¤100 million. That statistic is, I suppose, being used as a tactic in the war over whether we should be abolishing those particular schemes. The...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (27 Mar 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I echo Deputy Healy-Rae's concerns about this case. Obviously, Mr. O'Sullivan has had an extremely traumatic experience. The drug Roaccutane has been on the market for 30 years, and there have been a number of events such as those described. The matter this committee should be considering is oversight in so far as it relates to the Irish Medicines Board. I see from the petition that Mr....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (27 Mar 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: This petition is from Mrs. Neary, who is concerned that data on the tissue of patients who attend public hospitals can be used for medical research purposes without proper patient consent. That is one aspect of her petition. This is obviously a very complex matter concerning how tissue is controlled, who has access to it and where consent is, or is not, given for its use. She has raised...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Mar 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Jimmy Walsh for the enormous effort and dedication he has shown to this House through his journalism. I wish him well in his retirement. I hope he will write his memoirs because such observations on this House would make interesting reading. I have told him that I look forward to seeing his memoirs. I am sure he will always be welcome in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (17 Apr 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I thank Mr. Callanan for his petition. We would be interested in examining his petition further but we believe he has further information that would be of benefit to this committee in its deliberations, and without that further information we are caught in terms of what has happened previously with him. We will be requesting Mr. Callanan to furnish us with the additional information to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (17 Apr 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: Can I ask whether it is appropriate - forgive me, but I do not know - for the petitioner to forward his recommendations to the Law Reform Commission? In closing the petition we might say that to him if it is appropriate.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (17 Apr 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: This is a complex matter because new regulations for the diving industry are almost finalised. It is something with which not many of us are familiar - certainly not myself, as I have never been involved with diving in any way. This committee has made clear that we must be made aware of previous action taken by petitioners. In this case the petitioner appears to have lobbied in the United...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (17 Apr 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I ask that my apologies be passed on to the committee.

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Apr 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I again call for an independent inquiry into the death of Savita Halappanavar. We have all seen the great pain experienced at the inquest into her death, the aim of which is to find out the cause of her death. The reason I again call for an independent inquiry is to find out exactly what happened in the hospital and how the death occurred in a modern hospital of a woman miscarrying at 17...

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Apr 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: The event will start at 12.30 p.m. and there will be 45 students representing a number of counties, including Dublin, Galway, Wicklow, Roscommon, Kilkenny, Westmeath and Sligo. We are very lucky that the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, will be here at 1.30 p.m. to hear the students' views on the leaving certificate examination and what they think should be done...

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Apr 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: The Senator is very ill-informed.

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Apr 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: It is hot air rather than a gale.

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Apr 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: The Senator should not have quoted them.

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Apr 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: Senator Ó Domhnaill chose to put them on the record of the House.

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Apr 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: That is another personal attack.

Seanad: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Second Stage (18 Apr 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I welcome the Minister to the House. I welcome the content of the Bill. I appreciate that the European framework and legislation make it difficult for the Minister and will raise challenges in the future as to how the Department and the Government continue the battle against smoking. The Minister has always been passionate on this topic and this comes from personal experience. We are...