Results 41-60 of 265 for long speaker:Jim O'Callaghan

Paternity Leave and Benefit Bill 2016: Report and Final Stages (13 Jul 2016)

Jim O'Callaghan: ...over recent years. We now have a very broad interpretation of what is the family. Nonetheless, the most important aspect of any family is in respect of the upbringing of children. For too long we have placed a great emphasis upon mothers to bring up children. This Bill now recognises that fathers have a crucial role to play but, more important, it allows the State to give recognition...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Budget 2024 Expenditure Ceiling and Resource Allocation for the Department of Health and HSE: Discussion (14 Nov 2023)

Jim O'Callaghan: ...pressures, in tandem with a backlog in the increase of non-pay costs, as fixed contracts have expired. The HSE is seeing more contracts with price increases where it has held back new arrangements as long as possible. I would have thought it was clear from this minute that Mr. Dormer's Department was aware of the increased expenditure on the part of the Department of Health and the HSE...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Leaving Certificate Reform: Discussion (5 Oct 2021)

Jim O'Callaghan: I thank the guests for coming before the committee today. The meeting has gone on for a long time and I do not want to delay it much longer. I will first ask Mr. Dennehy and Mr. Gillespie a question. One of the suggestions put forward by Ms Neville in her presentation on behalf of secondary school students was that the terminal exam of the leaving certificate be spaced out over a longer...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Impact of Covid-19 on Reopening of Schools and State Examinations: Update (2 Mar 2021)

Jim O'Callaghan: ...will the remainder of national school classes. The Minister will appreciate that for children in first to fourth year at secondary level, a return date of 12 April, which is six weeks away, is a long time to wait. Can she offer an assurance to those students and their parents that if things improve, the return date will be kept under review? The Minister would acknowledge that children...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Departmental Transformation Programme: Department of Justice and Equality (6 Nov 2019)

Jim O'Callaghan: ...by the Dáil. Many Bills are a result of our requirement to transpose EU directives or decisions. For instance, yesterday we transposed a decision from October 2009. Why does it take such a long time for decisions and directives to be transposed? Given the new systems in place, will things happen more speedily?

Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Bill 2016: Report and Final Stages (6 Jul 2017)

Jim O'Callaghan: ...this House. However, for the first time serious legislation dealing with the rights of victims has been put before the Oireachtas and has got through Dáil Éireann today. I hope it will not be long before it is fully enacted and in law. For many years the criminal law has concentrated on the rights of the accused and on the obligations of prosecutors when it comes to...

Finance Bill 2020: Second Stage (Resumed) (5 Nov 2020)

Jim O'Callaghan: ...and Richmond. I want to address four issues related to the Finance Bill and the budget. The first concerns youth unemployment. The biggest threat to this country's economy in the short and long terms is long-term youth unemployment. We are aware from other economies, our history and the history of other countries that it can destroy not only an economy but also a society. I welcome...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Right to Die with Dignity: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Nov 2017)

Jim O'Callaghan: ...promote assisted suicide can be viewed in the context of the development of the liberal tradition and of the autonomous individual. Obviously the state interfered with individuals' rights for too long. We have seen that in Ireland and how that has developed. However, if one looks at it as being the liberal tradition based on self-autonomy why can one not extend that and say that if a 22...

Coroners (Amendment) Bill 2018: From the Seanad (10 Jul 2019)

Jim O'Callaghan: ...to attempts to expand the function of the coroner in his or her court. I suspect there will be some applications by lawyers to get the coroner to state questions of law to the High Court. In the long term, that will probably have the effect of expanding the parameters of the role of the coroner.

Tracker Mortgages: Motion [Private Members] (25 Oct 2017)

Jim O'Callaghan: ...the orthodox fashion. Furthermore, fraudulent charges were put atop their ordinary mortgage repayments. The second reason people are so irritated is that banks have got away with too much for too long in this country. Even people with short memories will remember that the banks were bailed out by the State. People with long memories will remember the ICI issue. It is the combination...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Gambling Legislation (29 Nov 2018)

Jim O'Callaghan: ...been made on this? Where is the draft legislation? The Government and Fine Gael have been talking about this since 2011, which is seven years ago. It is hard to understand why it is taking so long for a Government Bill to be introduced in this House. The current situation is untenable and unfair. It is not simply unfair to people who are in the business of gambling who need to be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: General Scheme of the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (22 Sep 2021)

Jim O'Callaghan: ...witnesses physically present or who give evidence from within the parliamentary precincts is protected, pursuant to both the Constitution and statute, by absolute privilege. They are reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice that they should not criticise or make charges against any person or entity by name or in such a way as to make him, her or it identifiable or otherwise...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Síochána Oversight and Accountability: Minister for Justice and Equality (13 Jun 2018)

Jim O'Callaghan: I thank the Minister and his officials for their attendance. I commend him on one issue which he has not mentioned. This committee had, for a long while, advocated that the Minister abide by the recommendations in respect of the Magdalen laundries made by the Ombudsman and in the reports prepared previously by Mr. Justice Quirke. I acknowledge that the Minister ultimately followed the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Gambling Legislation (29 Nov 2018)

Jim O'Callaghan: ...and I think it got through Second Stage in this House. It is now the responsibility of the Government to ensure that Bill gets through or its own legislation is promptly produced. We have waited too long and we need adequate answers.

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 26 - Education (Revised) (31 Jan 2024)

Jim O'Callaghan: ...going to be downsides to them. Yet, one of the issues that I would hope that any future inquiry would look at is the impact on children of primary and secondary schools being closed for such a long time. There is also an issue with regard to protecting the health of teachers. I am not asking the Minister for an answer on this. It might be helpful if the Department at some stage gave...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Mortgage Arrears Resolution (Family Home) Bill 2017: Discussion (25 Oct 2017)

Jim O'Callaghan: I thank Deputy Michael McGrath and acknowledge the considerable work he has put into this legislation on which I know he has been working for a long time. As I said to the Chairman beforehand, following pre-legislative scrutiny, the Bill will proceed to Committee Stage. Before Deputy Michael McGrath and committee members start to do a huge amount of work on amendments, we need certainty as...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Local Authority Housing (24 Nov 2020)

Jim O'Callaghan: ...behind it. I was concerned by what was stated by Dublin City Council at the time. It indicated that it would take between 12 and 15 years to carry out the refurbishment work. That is far too long. The problems there need to be resolved immediately, especially the dampness. It is unfair to ask people to live in those conditions when we have given a commitment that we can fix it.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Civil Partnership Legislation (30 Jan 2019)

Jim O'Callaghan: ...that spouse, a child or a person under 17 years of age. The reason it is of significance to the Oireachtas is we now find ourselves in a society where not everyone gets married. People are in long-standing relationships with partners who, for all intents and purposes, have the same relationship as married people. Alternatively, people are in civil partnerships. It seems to create an...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2022)

Jim O'Callaghan: ...done very well as a country in terms of the funding we have and how we use it to get such a high quality of third level. I also suspect we are running out of road and we need to get a strategy and long-term policy in place for the future funding model. That is especially so since we are trying to encourage so many people to get into third level. I will start by asking Mr. Brownlee...