Results 581-600 of 1,311 for speaker:Sheila Terry

Seanad: Adoptive Leave Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (26 May 2004)

Sheila Terry: I move amendment No. 1: In page 4, line 17, after "placement" to insert ", or earlier by agreement,". This amendment seeks to make the Bill more user-friendly and clear. There may be circumstances in which it would be better for both parents and employers to begin adoptive leave just before the placement date. The provisions of the Bill in this regard are rigid. The amendment seeks to provide...

Seanad: Adoptive Leave Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (26 May 2004)

Sheila Terry: I will take on board what the Minister has stated before Report Stage. I was about to take exception to Senator Walsh's comments that this was an imposition on employers. I was even more surprised that the Minister endorsed what he said.

Seanad: Adoptive Leave Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (26 May 2004)

Sheila Terry: At this stage, when we are dealing with equality issues, we should not even be mentioning such ideas. A very small number of people adopt children each year. Any privileges that are extended to them are done so by right. We should not speak of this as an imposition on employers, it is a right. Employers have to accept that and I take exception to the tone of language employed here when...

Seanad: Adoptive Leave Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (26 May 2004)

Sheila Terry: I move amendment No. 2: In page 4, line 18, to delete "16" and substitute "18". We should have taken amendment No. 2 with amendment No. 1 because it reiterates that the leave period granted to adoptive parents should be 18 weeks. In view of the fact that I am reconsidering whether the two weeks prior to placement should be granted, I will withdraw the amendment.

Seanad: Adoptive Leave Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (26 May 2004)

Sheila Terry: I move amendment No. 3: In page 4, line 19, after "period" to insert "shall be reviewed annually and". I welcome the fact the Minister has the power to extend the period of adoptive leave. if this is to be properly utilised, the Minister should be obliged to review the period from time to time. In this amendment I propose that he should review it on an annual basis.

Seanad: Adoptive Leave Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (26 May 2004)

Sheila Terry: The Minister should not take my comment out of context.

Seanad: Adoptive Leave Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (26 May 2004)

Sheila Terry: The Minister will be obliged to review this matter from time to time. I was simply trying to make it an obligation to review it annually. That was not too much to ask but I will withdraw the amendment.

Seanad: Adoptive Leave Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (26 May 2004)

Sheila Terry: I move amendment No. 5: In page 5, line 35, after "meetings" to insert ", including any overseas meetings, familiarisation visits, interviews or assessments,". This section, and indeed the Bill, takes no account of parents who adopt children from outside the country. That is the position for most adoptive parents due to the small number of babies that are put up for adoption here....

Seanad: Adoptive Leave Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (26 May 2004)

Sheila Terry: It is neither reasonable nor fair not to provide some leave. I may be asking for too much but there should be some recognition of the difference between adopting a child and the birth of a child to natural parents. I ask the Minister to consider this amendment before the next Stage. Perhaps we should be talking about unpaid leave. There must be a recognition of the situation as it exists...

Seanad: Adoptive Leave Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (26 May 2004)

Sheila Terry: They are all part of the adoption process.

Seanad: Adoptive Leave Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (26 May 2004)

Sheila Terry: They have had time off.

Seanad: Adoptive Leave Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (26 May 2004)

Sheila Terry: How many are foreign adoptions and Irish adoptions?

Seanad: Adoptive Leave Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (26 May 2004)

Sheila Terry: That is important information.

Seanad: Adoptive Leave Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (26 May 2004)

Sheila Terry: That information is relevant to today's debate.

Seanad: Adoptive Leave Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (26 May 2004)

Sheila Terry: It is important we are given the statistics regarding the number of foreign adoptions vis-À-vis Irish adoptions. It is obvious from the statistics given that the number of adoptions has grown considerably since 1995. However, very few Irish babies have been adopted into Irish families since 1995 because, thankfully, mothers in difficult situations are now able to keep their babies. The...

Seanad: Child Trafficking and Pornography (Amendment) Bill 2004: Second Stage. (27 May 2004)

Sheila Terry: The Minister of State is welcome to the House to present a Bill which is simple, yet extremely important in that it provides protection for Members of these Houses in the carrying out of their duties and any future work in that area. As the Minister is aware, the Bill is being presented to us in the expectation that the evidence will be admissible but lawyers are still arguing in a particular...

Seanad: Order of Business. (2 Jun 2004)

Sheila Terry: I also want to highlight the fact that there is now a great lack of trust in some of our financial institutions. I agree fully with Senator Mansergh and what he said. If we cannot have trust in the people who are at the top of these institutions, how can we have full confidence about what is happening to our money? Many customers feel aggrieved at what is going on and I again link that to how...

Seanad: Order of Business. (2 Jun 2004)

Sheila Terry: They are not enforced.

Seanad: Order of Business. (2 Jun 2004)

Sheila Terry: That is not good enough.

Seanad: Adoptive Leave Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (2 Jun 2004)

Sheila Terry: My amendment encapsulates all that I said on Second and Committee Stages. If we are dealing with equality, to which this amendment refers, we should offer and provide full equality to adoptive and natural parents. I requested that we provide leave for adoptive parents, or potential adoptive parents, prior to the placement of the baby. I tabled amendments which the Minister for Justice,...