Results 481-500 of 4,168 for speaker:Susan O'Keeffe

Seanad: Domestic Violence: Motion (8 May 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: Senator, please.

Seanad: Domestic Violence: Motion (8 May 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I call on Senator Kathryn Reilly to second the amendment put by Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh. I should have done so before calling the Minister of State - I apologise.

Seanad: Order of Business (9 May 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I ask that the Seanad take up the clear invitation of the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, to have a debate on the provision of early childhood care and how it should be funded. The Minister has made it clear he wants such a debate and we should take him up on his offer and invite him to the Chamber for a specific debate on the funding of early childhood care and...

Seanad: Fodder Crisis: Statements (9 May 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I welcome the Minister to the House. Unlike Senator O’Donovan, I am delighted in a way that the Minister has been elsewhere. Between the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, the Common Fisheries Policy, CFP, the horsemeat crisis, the Presidency and a million other issues, I suspect the Minister has been quite busy. I was disappointed that he was unable to attend the Seanad in the middle...

Seanad: Fodder Crisis: Statements (9 May 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: That is the point.

Seanad: Fodder Crisis: Statements (9 May 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: The Minister stated that he was looking to the future. He is probably trying to determine how to go about this. Perhaps the net should be thrown wider to include people who might not normally be consulted by his Department or associated with its work. Could the environmental pillar groups be included so that they might share their concerns about climate change, how fertiliser is used and...

Seanad: Fodder Crisis: Statements (9 May 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: If that is the case-----

Seanad: Fodder Crisis: Statements (9 May 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: That is good news. When we receive calls, we try to ask people whether they have made mistakes. It is always difficult to know where the error occurs. People are desperate. I thank the Minister for the clarification. The Minister has quite a number of challenges on his plate, but the language used to date has restricted the issue to a fodder crisis. The problem is wider than that. If we...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Sale of Coillte's Harvesting Rights: Discussion (Resumed) with IMPACT (14 May 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I do not have a question per se but wish to add my comments. I thank the witnesses for their contribution today and for the report they have produced. They have summed up the argument very well through their collaboration with Mr. Peter Bacon and other organisations. Most of us sitting here are very concerned to ensure that we do not sell our soul for tuppence ha'penny. The witnesses have...

Seanad: Seanad Bill 2013: Second Stage (15 May 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I thank Senators Katherine Zappone, Feargal Quinn, John Crown and others who have worked to produce the Bill. I acknowledge the huge effort made at a time when other things are happening. They have contributed well to the debate on the future the Seanad. Like other Government party Members, I will be voting for the legislation that will allow the issue to be put in a referendum to the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (15 May 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: This particular matter is a significant one. While the petitioner has had difficulties, there is a public interest issue in a broader sense, which is the committee's focus. Having read the petition, I would like to invite him to appear before the committee and to notify him that the Minister is considering legislation that might impact on this matter. If the petitioner is to inform the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (15 May 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: This process can be off-putting for people who have difficulty engaging with it. It is up to us to recognise such moments and ask whether a matter of public interest arises. Of course, one does. The drug in question has been around for a long time and has been associated with many difficulties, for example, reports of people experiencing serious illnesses and committing suicide. The...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 May 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I cannot follow that. The concerns about the fodder crisis were well expressed and I share them. I am certain the Minister is working extremely hard to try to resolve them, albeit, as other Senators have pointed out, he is not Superman. It is probably best that he carries on trying to work out the dilemmas and that he continues to respond to the crisis. I am not sure that bringing him in...

Seanad: Address to Seanad Éireann by Mr. Jim Higgins, MEP (16 May 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: Deputy Higgins is very welcome. The last times our paths crossed, we were watching the debacle of the dustbin recount in Castlebar. Perhaps we should not revisit the last European elections. What was the winning slogan that was provided by the young girl from Donegal? I would like to hear it, if Deputy Higgins can recall it. Like Senator Keane, I would be interested to know what is being...

Seanad: Decade of Centenaries Programme of Commemorations: Statements (22 May 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I extend the same welcome to those who have made that long journey. I thank the Minister and welcome him to the House. As others have said, it is a good start. It is great to hear about the Century Ireland project, which is a thoughtful and good place to start what will be a very intense period of commemoration and thought-provoking memories for many people. It is also good to see the...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (22 May 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I seek clarification. On the notices that must be clearly visible from every public place, is one notice sufficient on the grounds that notices are often placed in a way that they are not noticeable and therefore one would not see them? My other query relates to feral cats and their potential poisoning. The issue was raised with me and I wonder whether there is any clarification in regard...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (22 May 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I join others in thanking the Minister for his patience and, as Senator Ó Clochartaigh has said, his capacity to listen and with his officials take on board the suggestions. It has been a very collaborative exercise and the Bill is strengthened as a result. The Minister has shown his own personal passion which shines through and has made an enormous difference in passing the Bill in a...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Unlicensed Money-Lending) Bill 2013: Second Stage (22 May 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I join other Senators in acknowledging Senator MacSharry's concern and his efforts in this regard. Nobody in the House would have a difficulty in the broad area of moneylending, especially illegal moneylending. People have outlined very clearly that it is a criminal activity that causes grief, not just with financial worry for families but also...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (23 May 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I join others in condemning the events in Woolwich yesterday. It seems in an attempt to try to break through the constant noise of violence and violent acts that a new low has been reached whereby something like this could happen in broad daylight. Of course, the perpetrators have succeeded in breaking through. As Senator Hayden stated, if it is the case this video is on YouTube, they have...

Seanad: Address to Seanad Éireann by Ms Margareta Wahlström (29 May 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: We are known as the country of the thousand welcomes, so I would like to add mine to all of the others and welcome Ms Wahlström to this House. We are honoured to have her here today. An issue that is dear to Ms Wahlström's heart and which she mentioned earlier is that the idea of disaster is not real for many countries. It is not real in the way the internet was not real 20 years...