Results 41-60 of 97 for speaker:Nessa Cosgrove

Seanad: Revised National Planning Framework: Motion (29 Apr 2025)

Nessa Cosgrove: I move amendment No. 1: To insert the following after “That Seanad Éireann”: “, subject to a clear prohibition on the development of a Liquid Natural Gas terminal,”. While generally perceived as a document which sets the agenda for accelerated housing delivery, the draft revised national planning framework is concerned with all aspects of life, including...

Seanad: Protection of Retail Workers Bill 2025: Second Stage (30 Apr 2025)

Nessa Cosgrove: I welcome the Minister to the House. I thank Senator Fitzpatrick for bringing this Bill forward. As a party that always stands up for workers, the Labour Party welcomes the Bill and the sentiment of it. It is poignant that it is union week, and it is coming up to May Day. I am proud to say that my Labour Party colleague Ruairí Quinn brought in a public holiday on 1 May to celebrate...

Seanad: Diverting Young People from Criminal Activity: Statements (30 Apr 2025)

Nessa Cosgrove: I welcome the Minister of State. I have worked as a professional youth worker for the past 25 years. This is an area close to my heart. As Senator Kelleher said, mol an óige agus tiocfaidh sí. These are children we are talking about. I do not think anyone wakes up in the morning and says, "Do you know what, I am going to get involved in crime." If we review the statistics of...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Cancer Services (7 May 2025)

Nessa Cosgrove: The Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor, is very welcome. Imagine going to the GP for a routine check-up, the equivalent of a national car test, NCT, when you reach a milestone birthday. The GP measures and weighs you, takes your blood pressure and temperature and listens to your pulse. It is, I assume, a thorough examination. The GP reassures you. Everything is clear and you...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Cancer Services (7 May 2025)

Nessa Cosgrove: The Minister of State's final comment on expanding the age range for mammograms and the introduction of a breast density check was good news, but this is a matter of urgency. As I outlined in those stories, six months for a diagnosis can make a significant difference. I know that there is a review. I invite the Minister of State and the Minister for Health to a briefing we are having in...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (7 May 2025)

Nessa Cosgrove: Last Friday I met with representatives from the Sligo, Leitrim and Roscommon IFA. These farmers wanted to draw attention to a number of serious matters that are potentially impacting on their ability to continue farming. The most pressing issue of all, and the reason I need to raise this today, is that farmers are required to sign and submit their basic income support scheme payment forms...

Seanad: Higher Education: Motion (7 May 2025)

Nessa Cosgrove: I commend the motion. I am delighted we are having this discussion. Where I live in Sligo, the Atlantic Technological University, ATU, is fantastic. It has become a technical university. It is a huge investment into the area and we are all very proud of it. On transport infrastructure, I raise the issue of connectivity between all the ATU campuses - Galway, Mayo, Sligo and Donegal. If...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Agriculture Industry (14 May 2025)

Nessa Cosgrove: I thank the Minister for taking this Commencement matter this week as it is a matter of urgency. As the Minister knows, farmers are required to sign and submit their basic income support scheme forms by tomorrow, Thursday, 15 May, to be entitled to receive their annual payments from the Department of agriculture. Part of this submission is a declaration that the farmer is compliant with...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Agriculture Industry (14 May 2025)

Nessa Cosgrove: I thank the Minister for his reply. I knew there was a lot of progress on it since 30 April. I am delighted. However, there is still uncertainty among the farmers I represent. If the deadline for submissions is tomorrow, can something be addressed tonight? I know the Minister has only recently taken over his brief. Is there some way there will be a guarantee so people do not feel they...

Seanad: National Biodiversity Week: Statements (14 May 2025)

Nessa Cosgrove: I will not even need five minutes. The Minister of State is very welcome. I take this opportunity to give praise to my colleague Senator Noonan. I am delighted he is part of our group because, as Minister of State, he placed biodiversity and the threat of biodiversity loss firmly on the agenda within policies. His legacy will always be there and I thank him for that. Other speakers...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 May 2025)

Nessa Cosgrove: I, too, commend my colleague Senator Stephenson on bringing this forward. I wish to speak about healthcare workers and read out the names of just five nurses who have been killed: Omar Khorsheed, Mohammed Lubbad, Mohammed Al Azzaiza, Ahmed Moshtaha and Somaya Temeraz. We have all said that the people of Gaza are at very risk of extermination. The UN said two hours ago that 14,000 babies,...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 May 2025)

Nessa Cosgrove: I second the amendment.

Seanad: Driving Test Waiting Times: Statements (20 May 2025)

Nessa Cosgrove: As all previous speakers said, the current waiting times for driving tests are unacceptably long. This is having a very real impact on the lives of young people. I will not repeat what other Senators have said. Young people in rural constituencies like mine are unable to leave home, whether to go to college or work, because of the scarcity of town centre housing and its cost.The expansion...

Seanad: Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025: Second Stage (21 May 2025)

Nessa Cosgrove: The Minister is very welcome. I am delighted to support the Bill introduced by my Sinn Féin colleagues. The idea that socioeconomic disadvantage is inherited is not a new or radical idea. A 2022 report from the ESRI indicates, "Past research strongly indicates that individuals who experience poverty in childhood face an increased risk of experiencing poverty as adults." To state the...

Committee on Children and Equality: Business of Joint Committee (22 May 2025)

Nessa Cosgrove: I wish the Chair well. It is great to see a female in the position of Cathaoirleach. There are more females on this committee than males, which is probably indicative of the workforce in the early years sector. The caring sectors are predominantly female. Part of our work will be to examine the gender pay gap. It is important that the committee discusses that. Ten years after the...

Seanad: Local Democracy Task Force: Statements (27 May 2025)

Nessa Cosgrove: I welcome the Minister of State. I would also welcome the establishment of a task force. As other Senators have said, recent research into the role of a 21st-century councillor carried out by the AILG revealed, as any of us who have had the privileged position of being an elected county councillor, as I was for a short time on Sligo County Council, will know, that the role is multifaceted....

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: National Minimum Wage (28 May 2025)

Nessa Cosgrove: The minimum wage was established just over a quarter of a century ago, in April 2000, two years before the first euro notes and coins were circulated in Ireland. Just like the euro, the minimum wage has become an accepted and crucial element of our economy. At the time of its introduction, no political party represented in the Oireachtas opposed it. It was recognised as an essential tool...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: National Minimum Wage (28 May 2025)

Nessa Cosgrove: I thank the Minister of State for her response. It is great to hear her referring to the EU directive on the minimum wage. I will be continuing to try to bring forward the Bills I mentioned. Particularly in the construction sector at the moment, we need apprentices but it is very difficult for people to work on less than the minimum wage rate. It is true that the sub-minimum rates do...

Seanad: Dereliction and Building Regeneration Bill 2025: Second Stage (28 May 2025)

Nessa Cosgrove: I follow my colleagues in saying that the Government’s continued lack of urgency in dealing with the housing disaster - our most serious and seemingly intractable challenge - has been exposed again by the introduction by Fine Gael of this amendment. This Bill, which addresses dereliction and vacancy, should not be allowed to be delayed any longer. Dereliction and vacancy are twin...

Seanad: Situation in Gaza: Statements (29 May 2025)

Nessa Cosgrove: The Minister of State is welcome. It is very hard for me to come after that. All of us here know what needs to be done. I also disagree with the idea that the Opposition really does believe we are doing enough. We do not believe we are doing enough. The world has changed and is never going to go back to the way it was. We have been really brave over recent years. We know what it is...