Results 601-620 of 915 for speaker:Tom Clonan

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Disability Services (16 Apr 2024)

Tom Clonan: Apologies. Can we start the clock now? I am here to speak about the despicable practice by HSE disability service managers who are refusing to allow disabled citizens to avail of independent enablers - the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, calls them "enablers" - to allow them to have autonomy and choice in personal assistance. I have two examples in CHO 6, where this seems to be a...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Disability Services (16 Apr 2024)

Tom Clonan: thank the Minister of State. I am disappointed to note that his response really does not answer the question or meet the needs of the people who have contacted me. It is essentially not the case that direct payments can only be made through a service agreement. It is common practice in community healthcare organisations all over the country, and west of the Shannon in particular, that...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (17 Apr 2024)

Tom Clonan: I wish to raise the prospect of Israeli retaliation against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Three individuals - Yoav Gallant, Benny Gantz and Benjamin Netanyahu - have presided over genocidal retaliation against the people of Gaza for the reprehensible attack on 7 October in which more than 1,000 Israeli citizens - innocent men, women and children - were butchered by Hamas. Israel's response...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Protection of Children in the Use of Artificial Intelligence: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Apr 2024)

Tom Clonan: I thank the witnesses for coming here today. I have listened very carefully and particularly to Senator Seery Kearney's questions. The Senator has covered a lot of ground that I would like to cover so some of my questions might be fairly specific. With regard to X, reference was made to child sexual exploitation and that X first of all removes material and then reports material NCMEC....

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Protection of Children in the Use of Artificial Intelligence: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Apr 2024)

Tom Clonan: Does X do mandatory reporting to law enforcement or does it wait for law enforcement to come to it?

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Protection of Children in the Use of Artificial Intelligence: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Apr 2024)

Tom Clonan: They are depressing figures. I commend Meta's success in identifying the posts and taking them down. It is dismaying. I thank the witnesses.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Local Level: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Tom Clonan: I thank the witnesses for coming in. I want to begin by clarifying. Did Ms Graham say she cannot compel bus companies to provide wheelchair accessible spaces?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Local Level: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Tom Clonan: If I recall correctly, my colleague said a 28-year-old woman was told there was no wheelchair accessible space on a bus going to the airport.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Local Level: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Tom Clonan: Will Ms Graham give me a list of all commercial operators who do not provide these services? They need to be named and shamed. That is completely and utterly unacceptable and absolutely beyond the pale. Imagine if a bus company said, "Thanks for the licence. By the way, we don't take people from the LGBTQI community. We don't take Muslims. We don't take black people. Have a nice day."...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Local Level: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Tom Clonan: Can you send me a list of the operators who refuse to do this?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Local Level: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Tom Clonan: So the National Transport Authority does not know which of the companies they give licences to are wheelchair accessible and which are not?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Local Level: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Tom Clonan: Can you communicate that information to me?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Local Level: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Tom Clonan: That is the first takeaway for me. There is a level of acceptance-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Local Level: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Tom Clonan: In your survey, will you ask them to indicate whether or not, in this 28-year-old woman's case, they would take her to the airport or not? It is completely unacceptable. On another small matter, I tried to search the list of wheelchair accessible taxis on the Transport for Ireland website. There is some problem whereby you cannot get into it. It keeps verifying whether or not you are a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Local Level: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Tom Clonan: Why is it taking five or six years?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Local Level: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Tom Clonan: You would get a first-year student who would do that for you in 24 hours.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Local Level: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Tom Clonan: This is not personal to any of the witnesses because, excuse the pun, with transport, we are all on a journey. However, there is a level of tolerance for ableism in Ireland that is shocking. I do not accept the phrases "We'll try", "We'll endeavour" or "We're on the way". You will do it. The new Taoiseach has said we will sign all the optional protocols to the UN convention and that the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Local Level: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Tom Clonan: Yes, those are the ones I saw.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Local Level: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Tom Clonan: I will finish on a positive note. I want to thank Irish Rail for that because that will go a huge way towards making it accessible. Mr. Gilpin also said that by 2028, the heavier-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Local Level: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Tom Clonan: I am delighted to hear that. I know that his hands are tied because Irish Rail is depending on funding from other agencies and so on. I will finish now, Chair. I am sorry for going on for so long. One of the things we lack here is ambition. I do not know what it is about Ireland. Whether it is a post-Catholic phenomenon or a post-colonial thing, there is this idea that if a person is...