Results 561-580 of 13,291 for speaker:Joe McHugh

Seanad: Order of Business. (1 Feb 2006)

Joe McHugh: I am disgusted the matter was not dealt with by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government or the Minister for Agriculture and Food and that the buck is being passed.

Seanad: Special Educational Needs. (1 Feb 2006)

Joe McHugh: I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science with special responsibility for children, Deputy Brian Lenihan, to the House. I submitted this matter in the aftermath of a meeting with parents in Letterkenny, which is home to the Letterkenny branch of dyslexia workshops. Over 55 parents comprise the branch. They set up this workshop in light of deficits in the...

Seanad: Special Educational Needs. (1 Feb 2006)

Joe McHugh: The Minister of State must assure parents. The holistic way in which special needs education is being addressed sounds good in general but it does not deal with the specific deficits experienced by parents who may have found their children in primary or secondary schools that do not have the teachers in place with the skills to deal with dyslexia. It is a bigger issue that must also be...

Seanad: Order of Business. (8 Feb 2006)

Joe McHugh: I will outline a snapshot of what appeared in the newspapers over the weekend: terror attacks, a man attacked at home, an armed robbery, theft and burglaries under investigation, bicycles stolen, an armed gang robbed a shop owner, an attempted car theft, a house ransacked, a windscreen smashed, a pier damaged, windows smashed, a vehicle broken into, cinema theft, an attempted break in, the...

Seanad: Order of Business. (9 Feb 2006)

Joe McHugh: The Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, recently introduced measures in the budget for alternative and renewable energy. Although these measures must be welcomed, in a global context they are paltry and do not go far enough. Donegal people are not impressed. Our Ulster colleagues in the Six Counties can avail of generous grants for micro-scale rooftop wind energy devices. The system is even...

Seanad: Order of Business. (15 Feb 2006)

Joe McHugh: I welcome the call for a debate on early school leavers. It is also important to point out that the statistics produced by the ESRI are not startling. We are well aware that people leave school early and it will always be an issue. In Donegal during the 1980s and 1990s young girls left school at the age of 16 because of the attraction of earning money at Fruit of the Loom in Buncrana. The...

Seanad: Order of Business. (15 Feb 2006)

Joe McHugh: I am. I appreciate the indulgence of the Cathaoirleach. We must upskill the young people who leave school and enter this vulnerable sector. In Donegal, FÁS came in to upskill people after Unifi and Fruit of Loom closed down. At that stage the horse had bolted and it was too late. Upskilling should be done when people are in the vulnerable job sector, such as when these young men are in the...

Seanad: Order of Business. (22 Feb 2006)

Joe McHugh: A report was published today by the National Youth Council of Ireland, in conjunction with the Equality Authority, on inequalities relating to the stereotyping of young people. Among the issues which emerged was that young people believe their stereotyping by adults is as unequal as it ever was. There were concerns that the media stereotypes young people into categories related to crime,...

Seanad: Order of Business. (22 Feb 2006)

Joe McHugh: I want an early debate on how we can proactively involve and engage young people in the democratic process. We need to do so sooner rather than later because, if we do not, issues concerning young people, such as the road carnage referred to by Senator Ryan, will not be addressed. If young people are disenfranchised from the process or do not live up to their responsibilities, we have to find...

Seanad: Third Level Education: Statements (Resumed). (22 Feb 2006)

Joe McHugh: Any attempt to address the anomalies in the supply of professionally trained doctors or the restrictions at entry level, including the Fottrell report, has to be welcomed. In my first year of teaching at secondary level, I encountered a student who excelled in her first year with A grades in every subject. Already ahead of her peers at that stage, she continued to perform well throughout...

Seanad: Order of Business. (23 Feb 2006)

Joe McHugh: It is now clear that scientific advice from Teagasc on nutrients for grasslands, tillage and other crops was not fully reflected in the legislation brought forward in December 2005. That is why there is an impasse. In the meantime the Teagasc authority and the Minister for Agriculture and Food have asked scientists from Teagasc to review the current standing of that advice. Last Monday a...

Seanad: Order of Business. (23 Feb 2006)

Joe McHugh: New technological advancements are also recommended, such as the development of organic manure, for which we must have higher grants for people wishing to invest.

Seanad: National Drugs Strategy: Statements. (1 Mar 2006)

Joe McHugh: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and acknowledge the personal interest he has taken in this area. He knows what is happening on the ground and is an advocate of action to prevent drug abuse. It would be remiss of us not to refer to what occurred in Dublin last Saturday. On today's Order of Business there were many comments on what might be the underlying causes of last Saturday's...

Seanad: National Drugs Strategy: Statements. (1 Mar 2006)

Joe McHugh: I was in national school when the previous government was in power. It was that long ago.

Seanad: National Drugs Strategy: Statements. (1 Mar 2006)

Joe McHugh: The Senator should stop playing politics and discuss the issue. He is talking of events in 1996 and 1997, more than ten years ago.

Seanad: Order of Business. (2 Mar 2006)

Joe McHugh: I agree with Senator Ulick Burke's call for a debate on the BMW region. We receive quarterly reports which indicate high levels of poverty, labour market inequities or infrastructural deficits. That is the way it is in the north west and we do not need any more reports to tell us that. The Government should use mechanisms such as the county and city development boards to address what is...

Seanad: Order of Business. (2 Mar 2006)

Joe McHugh: There is a tenuous link between the county development boards and central Government. We do not need Ministers coming along willy-nilly and throwing out the goodies at their discretion. It must go through the local authorities and county development boards. While we have a central Government based on the British model, we should nevertheless strive towards devolved government at a regional...

Seanad: Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Bill 2005: Second Stage. (2 Mar 2006)

Joe McHugh: Ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh an Aire inniú. I welcome the Minister to the House. I was unsure whether I was listening to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform or the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources because there were many references to law and reform in the Minister's contribution. I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak on the Sea-Fisheries...

Seanad: Order of Business. (8 Mar 2006)

Joe McHugh: Will the Deputy Leader organise a debate on health matters as a matter of urgency? I acknowledge that every Member will have a parochial interest in this regard, similar to myself. How can the Minister for Health and Children justify the provision of only four beds in the accident and emergency ward of Letterkenny General Hospital to service a population of more than 136,000? In addition,...

Seanad: Order of Business. (8 Mar 2006)

Joe McHugh: I am inviting her there today.