Results 541-560 of 7,652 for speaker:Joanna Tuffy

Seanad: Order of Business. (2 Mar 2004)

Joanna Tuffy: I would like to raise with the Leader the call yesterday in Killarney by the Irish Hotels Federation for a certificate system to allow children in hotel bars after 9 p.m. This relates to the legislation passed in this House which bans children from being in bars after 9 p.m. The federation raised a valid concern about the difficulties and problems this will pose for the business. It will have...

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Second Stage. (2 Mar 2004)

Joanna Tuffy: I broadly welcome the Bill. Much of what the Labour Party sought in its 2000 policy document is contained in the legislation, including many necessary reforms. I agree with previous speakers that the legislation is important both for the public and the Garda. My experience of dealing with the Garda has been positive but there have been problems, as evidenced by reports in the media and...

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Second Stage. (2 Mar 2004)

Joanna Tuffy: I am merely raising the concerns and suggestions of the Human Rights Commission, which the Minister should consider. I welcome the proposals for joint policing committees. As a former local authority member, I welcome this move. Much work of this kind is already being done on an informal basis. Community gardaí often liaise with local residents' associations and public representatives....

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Second Stage. (2 Mar 2004)

Joanna Tuffy: That is welcome. The AMAI makes the point that most crime occurs in urban areas and cites the examples of Drogheda and Dundalk as large urban areas which should not be excluded from this process. Due to the informal involvement of residents' associations, they should have some involvement in the joint policing committees. The Labour Party proposed that special local authority strategic policy...

Seanad: Order of Business. (4 Mar 2004)

Joanna Tuffy: It is important that we discuss the Minister's guidelines on one-off rural housing. However, it is not only an issue for outside Dublin; it arises in County Dublin as well. Permission for many houses is turned down on the same basis as in counties outside Dublin.

Seanad: Order of Business. (4 Mar 2004)

Joanna Tuffy: I have not made a long speech. This issue applies to Dublin as well. There is also the issue of infill housing. Permission has been turned down where people have a site beside, or in, their gardens. We need clarification.

Seanad: Order of Business. (4 Mar 2004)

Joanna Tuffy: I hope sustainability will still be part of whatever guidelines are produced.

Seanad: Order of Business. (9 Mar 2004)

Joanna Tuffy: I support Senators Brian Hayes and O'Toole in their calls for measures to address the needs of victims in the criminal justice system. Without making any judgment on the case, the family of Brian Murphy raised valid concerns about their experience in the court. It is something that was discussed already in the House when the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, was...

Seanad: Order of Business. (9 Mar 2004)

Joanna Tuffy: ——we need to support all sides within it and make sure that it is fair and balanced. I would like the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Martin, to be invited to the House to discuss again the Hanly report on staffing proposals in the medical service. In particular, I would like the critique raised at a conference in Kildare over the weekend to be explored, which criticises some of...

Seanad: Civil Liability and Courts Bill 2004: Second Stage. (11 Mar 2004)

Joanna Tuffy: I have no difficulty with legislation the purpose of which is to penalise and try to prevent fraudulent claims. However, in this legislation, the balance is weighted against genuine plaintiffs and claimants and in favour of the defendant and the insurance industry. Senator Feeney said that we are all held to ransom by fraudulent claimants. The vast majority of claimants are genuine, and many...

Seanad: Civil Liability and Courts Bill 2004: Second Stage. (11 Mar 2004)

Joanna Tuffy: Exactly.

Seanad: Civil Liability and Courts Bill 2004: Second Stage. (11 Mar 2004)

Joanna Tuffy: I will raise additional points on Committee Stage. The Law Society has expressed concerns about mediation. It said that this would add additional costs to the system, as opposed to reducing costs, and would put pressure on the plaintiff to bow to the wishes of an insurance company. Pressure could be brought to bear on the plaintiff at that stage and this needs to be taken into account. I...

Seanad: Order of Business. (23 Mar 2004)

Joanna Tuffy: I also wish to condemn the killing yesterday of Sheikh Yassin which, apart from endangering the lives of Israeli citizens, maintains the never-ending cycle of violence which leads to loss of life on both sides. Although the House was not sitting at the time, it is important also to condemn the killing of ten people last week by two Palestinian suicide bombers in the city of Ashdod. Senator...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2004: Second Stage. (23 Mar 2004)

Joanna Tuffy: I thank the Minister for her presentation earlier, and I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Tim O'Malley, to the House. The Minister said there was a need for foreign workers, who are welcome, but the habitual residence test sends out a different message. I wonder if such a test is required. Perhaps the Government should have waited to see what measures were actually required to address...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2004: Second Stage. (23 Mar 2004)

Joanna Tuffy: When the Government wants, it can do so. I welcome the provision for payments after death. I dealt with a constituent recently who lost out on the six week payment covered by the provision. Under the legislation, she will not be paid retrospectively and I ask that such people should receive the payment retrospectively. There was an anomaly in the previous legislation which resulted in unfair...

Seanad: Agency for the Irish Abroad: Motion. (24 Mar 2004)

Joanna Tuffy: I welcome this debate because it reminds us that many of us have experience of emigration. It was only when I was thinking about this debate that I remembered that I am the daughter of Irish emigrants. My parents emigrated from Mayo after getting married in the 1960s and I spent the first five years of my life in England. They returned in the 1970s. Then, 20 years later, my sister and my...

Seanad: Private Security Services Bill 2001: Second Stage. (25 Mar 2004)

Joanna Tuffy: I welcome this legislation because, as the Minister and other Senators have said, there is rising public concern about the private security industry and some of the individuals involved in it. Bouncers, private investigators and persons engaged in surveillance have operated in an unregulated fashion, making the industry particularly attractive to criminal elements. It is important this...

Seanad: Private Security Services Bill 2001: Committee Stage. (31 Mar 2004)

Joanna Tuffy: I move amendment No. 18: In page 46, between lines 15 and 16, to insert the following paragraph: "21.—Where documents, information, observations or submissions are received under paragraphs 16 to 20, other than from the applicant for or holder of a licence, which are not by virtue of those provisions required to be transmitted for observations or submissions to such applicant or holder, a...

Seanad: Private Security Services Bill 2001: Committee Stage. (31 Mar 2004)

Joanna Tuffy: What does the Minister of State say about the issue of fairness? The licence holder or applicant could lose out because of something submitted about them, but will not have a final opportunity to respond to it. That would not be fair, given that the consequences are significant.

Seanad: Private Security Services Bill 2001: Committee Stage. (31 Mar 2004)

Joanna Tuffy: I apologise for being late this morning. Unfortunately I missed my amendments. I hope I might be allowed to re-submit them on Report Stage. I understand that in order to do that I must mention them at this Stage. It is important that I get the opportunity to re-submit them. They relate to the compilation of the authority. There is also an amendment on contempt of court and on the Freedom of...