Results 501-520 of 2,011 for speaker:Frances Black

Seanad: Local Government Funding: Statements (5 Dec 2019)

Frances Black: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and apologise for being a little late. I have raised the issue of local government and councillors' conditions consistently in recent years, as have several colleagues from all parties and none. It feels as if there is a form of consensus but concrete action in that regard, set out in a clear timetable, is missing. The process so far has been...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (10 Dec 2019)

Frances Black: I attended a briefing held by Deputy Gino Kenny and the Endometriosis Association of Ireland in the audiovisual room earlier today. I was horrified to hear the stories of what some women have gone through and their horrendous pain and fatigue. Some remained undiagnosed for years. As it was a woman's health issue, the way these women were treated was awful. Endometriosis is estimated to...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (7 Jul 2020)

Frances Black: I did not get a chance last week to say I am humbly honoured to have been re-elected to the Seanad. I express my appreciation to all the councillors who voted for me and assure them of my support in their struggles to get proper terms and conditions in recognition of the great work they do in all parts of the country. I wish the new Minister with responsibility for housing well. He has...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 Jul 2020)

Frances Black: Over the past few days I have been inundated with accounts of the hardship being suffered by people in the entertainment business, including performers and many of their staff and crew. They have all asked me to highlight the crisis in their industry. Since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, all venues have been forced to close with the resulting loss of hundreds, if not thousands, of...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (17 Jul 2020)

Frances Black: Last week I spoke about the impact of Covid-19 on the arts sector. Since then I have been inundated by people on the matter. It is very upsetting to be honest. I have been inundated by people from every part of the arts industry, theatre workers, actors and many musicians who have contacted me. We are all aware that working in the arts is precarious at the best of times but since the...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (23 Jul 2020)

Frances Black: I highlight my disappointment and surprise at the Taoiseach's reply to a question from Deputy McDonald last Tuesday on the rights of the Palestinian people. With formal annexation of the West Bank now explicitly promised after 50 years of occupation, my goal has been for Ireland to take a more meaningful stance against this, to move beyond condemnation and to offer leadership.I do not want...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (18 Sep 2020)

Frances Black: I wish to raise two issues today. The first is that of the Debenhams workers. We cannot forget about them and their appalling treatment by Debenhams. The workers have been picketing the stores since April for a just redundancy settlement of four weeks' redundancy per year of service. The workers are showing great resilience in their fight for fairness and have rightly rejected as...

Seanad: Withdrawal Agreement Between the United Kingdom and the European Union: Motion (23 Sep 2020)

Frances Black: I welcome the motion and I am delighted to be back in the Chamber. We should not be partisan on this issue, and I have said consistently that we need to give credit where it is due. We have strong debates and disagreements in this House, but it is important that we always recognise the huge amount of time and energy that has been put into Brexit, by the Minister, the entire Department of...

Seanad: Withdrawal Agreement Between the United Kingdom and the European Union: Motion (23 Sep 2020)

Frances Black: Those who continue to label this process divisive and dangerous are simply encouraging the spread of fear and anxiety. It must be remembered that the majority of the people on this island voted in favour of the Good Friday Agreement that brought peace to this island. This was an agreement based on international law. The union with Britain since 1998 is maintained as a result of a...

Seanad: Withdrawal Agreement Between the United Kingdom and the European Union: Motion (23 Sep 2020)

Frances Black: This Government has the ability to stand up for international law by passing the Occupied Territories Bill, which imposes sanctions for breaches of these laws. It is time for consistency and all breaches of law must be condemned. I am confident that the Irish Government and its EU partners will remain strong in their promise that there will be no hard border on the island of Ireland. The...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (25 Sep 2020)

Frances Black: I wish to put on the record my agreement with Senator Craughwell regarding the men of Jadotville. I watched the Netflix film of the battle the other night. If anybody in this House does not understand what happened at Jadotville, I highly recommend that he or she watch that film. They are absolutely inspiring men and they should be honoured. While the economic consequences of the Covid-19...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Business of Joint Committee (29 Sep 2020)

Frances Black: Senator Frances Black, Independent.

Seanad: Ireland-China Relations: Motion (8 Oct 2020)

Frances Black: I apologise as I missed the Minister of State's speech. I thank Senator Mullen for introducing this wonderful motion. What is happening to the Uyghur people of China is horrendous and Ireland has an obligation to highlight human rights abuses wherever they occur. As a member of the UN Security Council, we have a forum to raise the issue of the denial of human rights of the Uyghur...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Sláintecare (14 Oct 2020)

Frances Black: I have a specific question relating to alcohol harm in this country. There is no doubt that Ireland has one of the highest levels of alcohol-related harm in Europe. If one looks at the evidence, three people a day die from an alcohol-related issue. Alcohol problems in Ireland are rated third, following heart disease and cancer. Alcohol is a factor in half of all suicides each day and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Sláintecare (14 Oct 2020)

Frances Black: That would be great.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in Acute and Community Care Settings: Discussion (21 Oct 2020)

Frances Black: I thank all the witnesses for their submissions. While I was aware of the pressure on our health workers, I have learned a great deal today about just how bad that pressure is and about how indebted we are to our front-line workers. Thanks are important but they are just not enough. If gratitude is to be given meaning it should lead to an overdue reassessment of who we value most in...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (22 Oct 2020)

Frances Black: I support Senator Boyhan's amendment to the Order of Business. Yesterday at the Joint Committee on Health, we heard from representatives from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, the Irish Hospital Consultants Association and the Irish Medical Organisation and it was shocking to hear what they had to say. We heard about the disgraceful treatment of student nurses during this...

Seanad: Electoral (Civil Society Freedom)(Amendment) Bill 2019: Second Stage (22 Oct 2020)

Frances Black: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and wish him well in his new role. I commend my colleagues, Senators Ruane and Higgins, on this Private Members' Bill which is absolutely fantastic. I would consider myself an activist. I am the founder of a charitable organisation and understand how difficult it is to raise funds, particularly in the absence of Government funding. Civil...

Seanad: Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related Matters) Records, and another Matter, Bill 2020: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (23 Oct 2020)

Frances Black: I speak to amendment No. 7. Our duty is to ensure that survivors of these institutions are satisfied with their treatment in this legislation. I do not want to see them retraumatised by being denied access to their statements, and I am sure neither does the Minister. He is a good man. I will read a letter I received today from an independent councillor, Francis Timmons, who was in a mother...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Covid-19 and Review of Budget 2021: Minister for Health (4 Nov 2020)

Frances Black: I thank the Minister for appearing before the committee. I imagine it is a busy and difficult time, dealing with this awful pandemic. I am also delighted to see the Ministers of State, Deputies Mary Butler and Frankie Feighan. The issue I am going to bring up today will involve all three Departments, and that is the issue of mental health. While I know it is not the Minister's specific...