Results 441-460 of 1,073 for speaker:Emer Currie

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Provision of Bus Services in Dublin: Discussion (8 Nov 2022)

Emer Currie: What about reliability?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Provision of Bus Services in Dublin: Discussion (8 Nov 2022)

Emer Currie: I am just going to make one point. We have been on the journey with the NTA. We met about those concerns at the time. It was said that there was not the same amount of traffic on the roads, so the buses were coming faster and arriving earlier, which is why they were not showing up. We have heard those reasons and we have heard about recruitment. We are encountering a different set of...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2022: Second Stage (7 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: I concur with my colleague on the overall description of the success of the Bill. I want to raise two aspects of it. I cannot stay as I have to head out to Hartstown for a meeting; that is why Senator Burke has kindly given me some of his time. The first thing I want to raise is the hot school meals. This is one of the best initiatives this Government has introduced because it is...

Seanad: Childcare Services: Motion [Private Members] (7 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: I welcome any opportunity to debate childcare. The motion and the response to it are interesting to read through. They show that there has been progress. We have to acknowledge the national childcare scheme. The numbers show we are moving from being the highest in Europe. We are beginning to address that and we are on a journey. We are also lifting more children out of poverty through...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Health Services Staff (14 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: I thank the Minister of State for taking this Commencement matter. Not a week goes by now without us, as public representatives, hearing about shortages of GPs and the pressures on them. This is especially acute in areas where there are high numbers of Ukrainian people in crisis accommodation. We are all very aware of the unwelcome and unsavoury agitation by far-right individuals in...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Health Services Staff (14 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: I thank the Minister of State. She knows full well about some of the barriers in the HSE with connecting qualified people to positions. This is why I am raising the issue. I am aware of what is happening with language support, which is positive. We have to look at the costs. I have raised practical issues. All of this information is great. The Minister of State and I know that when it...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Health Services Staff (14 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: May I say one more thing?

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Health Services Staff (14 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: I thank the Cathaoirleach. The voluntary hospital at St. Vincent's is already carrying out observerships and it would be great if the HSE could catch up.

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Second Stage (14 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: I welcome the Minister to the House. I will focus on the work-life balance aspect of this Bill and the transposition of the directive, which the Minister has overseen. Additionally, I will comment on the inclusion of the right to request remote working, which is now contained under this legislation and was inherited from the Tánaiste's Department. It is a good move to have all this...

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Second Stage (14 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: I am sorry, Acting Chair, I did not hear the bell.

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Second Stage (14 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: I am concerned about the amendment to section 13E, which relates to the termination in certain circumstances of flexible working arrangements. It seems quite hefty. I would also like to know whether the decision can be overturned by the WRC or if it is just a case of providing compensation. I will stop now as I have gone way over time.

Seanad: Local Government (Maternity Protection and Other Measures for Members of Local Authorities) Bill 2022: Second and Subsequent Stages (15 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: I congratulate the Minister of State. We really appreciate all the work he has put into this. He has made it and the Moorhead report a priority from the moment he took office. In that spirit, I thank the councillor representative groups – AILG and LAMA – and Women for Election, which do an excellent job.I see the Minister of State is very much supportive of their work with...

Seanad: Local Government (Maternity Protection and Other Measures for Members of Local Authorities) Bill 2022: Second and Subsequent Stages (15 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: Okay. There were questions in the Irish Examineryesterday from a former Senator, Councillor Joanna Tuffy, about Article 28A of the Constitution. I will follow up with any other questions I have for the Minister of State afterwards.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement (Resumed): Mr. John Bruton (8 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: We are under time pressure, so I cannot thank Mr. Bruton as enthusiastically as I would like. I thank him for his work in building those stepping stones to the Good Friday Agreement, to peace on our island and as a member of our party, Fine Gael. I thank him personally for our interactions over the years. It is great to see him have this opportunity to take a 360 degree view. He has laid...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement (Resumed): Mr. John Bruton (8 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: I thank Mr. Bruton for answering my question and separating the calls for an immediate border poll from calls to genuinely do the groundwork on what the future could look like.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement (Resumed): Mr. John Bruton (8 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: I have questions about what Mr. Bruton said about reconciliation and how it must be done in the first place by the people of Northern Ireland themselves, with the active support of Dublin and London Governments. Where does he see politicians coming into that in the North? He has heard, and I would agree, that society is ahead of the politicians when it comes to reconciliation and the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement (Resumed): Mr. John Bruton (8 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: There was. One of the deliverables is a civil forum. It has never been implemented. It is one of the things that we focus on.

Seanad: Election of Cathaoirleach (16 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: I am so happy for the Cathaoirleach that he has achieved this position. They say that it takes a village to raise a child, but it takes an army to get to this point in your career. In listening to everything that people have said about him today, I felt like we were on that journey with him. I had forgotten all the milestones, challenges and brave things he has done over the years. It...

Seanad: Election of Leas-Chathaoirleach (16 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: I spoke about Senators Mark Daly and Joe O’Reilly earlier today but I do not want to let the opportunity pass to thank them both once again. I am delighted that Senator Daly has put his name forward for the role of Leas-Chathaoirleach. In a way, he is easing us out of having him as Cathaoirleach of the Seanad. As I have the pleasure of occupying the office next door to that of my...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement (Resumed): Mr. Gerry Adams (15 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: I want nothing more than reconciliation on our island, orange and green, but also between different shades of green. When I read Mr. Adams's submission, I found aspects of it to be an outstanding work of revisionism and not reconciliation. To describe the actions of the IRA between 1972 and 1988 as some sort of parallel route to peace and justice is wild. In the document, the he says that...