Results 721-740 of 873 for speaker:Averil Power

Seanad: An Bille um an gCeathrú Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (Comhionannas Pósta) 2015: Céim an Choiste - Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Marriage Equality) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2015)

Averil Power: I am a little out of breath after running up. I was watching this debate on the monitor in the office and I felt compelled to come down and reply. Senator Norris has rightly debunked the use of the word "conscience". I do not understand why anyone would use that language to justify denying a fellow citizen - a fellow human being - a service solely on the grounds of their sexual...

Seanad: An Bille um an gCeathrú Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (Comhionannas Pósta) 2015: Céim an Choiste - Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Marriage Equality) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2015)

Averil Power: The effect of what the Senator argued is that some people should be allowed to deprive others of a service from a shop or business solely because they object to the sexual orientation of a couple or an individual. They may ground their objections in a matter of conscience. They can call it what they like, but the effect is to deny people a service purely because of who they are, because of...

Seanad: An Bille um an gCeathrú Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (Comhionannas Pósta) 2015: Céim an Choiste - Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Marriage Equality) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2015)

Averil Power: This is a very dangerous proposition. It is couched in language like "conscience", but it is actually nothing more than a licence for prejudice and discrimination. I am glad the Minister is resisting it. I am also somewhat disappointed that all kinds of extraneous issues are being dragged into this debate on Committee Stage. The Bill is about one thing and one thing only, namely, the...

Seanad: An Bille um an gCeathrú Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (Comhionannas Pósta) 2015: Céim an Choiste - Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Marriage Equality) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2015)

Averil Power: The Senator is avoiding a reply.

Seanad: An Bille um an gCeathrú Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (Comhionannas Pósta) 2015: Céim an Choiste - Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Marriage Equality) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2015)

Averil Power: I wish to respond to Senator Rónán Mullen who took issue with me stating that what he was arguing for was for a service provider to be able to deny somebody a service because of their sexual orientation, yet he was clearly arguing that two married couples presenting in a cake shop or wherever, one a heterosexual married couple the other a same sex couple, one can be denied a...

Seanad: An Bille um an gCeathrú Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (Comhionannas Pósta) 2015: Céim an Choiste - Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Marriage Equality) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2015)

Averil Power: I support what Senator Hayden has said about the deeply unfair remarks that were made about the Minister. Equally, the comments that were made about the Constitutional Convention, of which I was a part, were deeply disrespectful to the citizens involved, who gave a huge amount of their time to engage with this issue. They engaged with it in a very genuine and open way. Many of them changed...

Seanad: An Bille um an gCeathrú Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (Comhionannas Pósta) 2015: Céim an Choiste - Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Marriage Equality) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2015)

Averil Power: I am quite happy to respond to that point.

Seanad: An Bille um an gCeathrú Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (Comhionannas Pósta) 2015: Céim an Choiste - Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Marriage Equality) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2015)

Averil Power: I will not respond directly to that point, but I will say that the Iona Institute and other groups that are arguing against marriage equality are the same groups that made submissions in favour of section 37 of the Employment Equality Act 1998, which has been debated in this House, as has the legislation I introduced here to change it. The same people argued that people should be able to be...

Seanad: An Bille um an gCeathrú Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (Comhionannas Pósta) 2015: Céim an Choiste - Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Marriage Equality) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2015)

Averil Power: Fine.

Seanad: An Bille um an gCeathrú Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (Comhionannas Pósta) 2015: Céim an Choiste - Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Marriage Equality) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2015)

Averil Power: I will say that there is a coalition of people, including Members of this House, one of whom is no longer present in the Chamber but spoke earlier in this debate, who have argued for exactly the same thing. Those people need to be open and honest about their arguments. They do not like to use the word "equality". They like to use the word "difference". Those who argued against the...

Seanad: An Bille um an gCeathrú Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (Comhionannas Pósta) 2015: Céim an Choiste - Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Marriage Equality) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2015)

Averil Power: I am talking about the word "equality". The language that was used here was the language of difference. Those who argued that women should not serve on juries because we were functionally different would not accept that we were unequal. They said "well, women are just different". The same logic has been used to justify apartheid in America and elsewhere and to justify the prevention of...

Seanad: An Bille um an gCeathrú Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (Comhionannas Pósta) 2015: Céim an Choiste - Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Marriage Equality) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2015)

Averil Power: He has been here consistently during recent days.

Seanad: An Bille um an gCeathrú Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (Comhionannas Pósta) 2015: Céim an Choiste - Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Marriage Equality) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2015)

Averil Power: On a point of order, no one accused the Senator of that.

Seanad: An Bille um an gCeathrú Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (Comhionannas Pósta) 2015: Céim an Choiste - Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Marriage Equality) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2015)

Averil Power: It is.

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Mar 2015)

Averil Power: I share the sentiments expressed on the subject of greater rights for unmarried fathers. We have done a great disservice to unmarried fathers and their children by not giving them any right whatsoever. Our law seems to be based on the requirement that they either prove themselves in court or otherwise to the mother, meaning that it is in her gift to recognise the parentage of the father...

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Mar 2015)

Averil Power: I move amendment No. 56: In page 43, after line 39, to insert the following:"(5) The Minister shall, by way of regulation, make provision for the establishment of a national register of joint guardianship statutory declarations.".I have already outlined the rationale for this amendment. I appreciate that the Minister gave a commitment to initiate a pilot scheme, but there should be a...

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Mar 2015)

Averil Power: Amendments Nos. 60 and 63 are related and may be discussed together by agreement.

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Mar 2015)

Averil Power: Amendments Nos. 61 and 62 are out of order.

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Mar 2015)

Averil Power: I echo those comments. It is very important that children's interests are considered in a consistent way in these cases. One of the difficulties is that some judges are very good and very experienced in listening to children, even young children because it is possible to ascertain their views and feelings in an age-appropriate way, while other judges are quite reticent about that. There is...

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Mar 2015)

Averil Power: I wish to pick up on a point made by Senator Rónán Mullen who referred to the Child Trends research. That research was considered by the Constitutional Convention. The author of that research wrote to the chairman of the convention and said his own research could not be used to imply that children reared by same-sex parents do less well than those raised by heterosexual parents....