Results 61-80 of 1,308 for speaker:Maria Byrne

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Hospital Facilities (2 Feb 2017)

Maria Byrne: I thank the Minister of State for her reply and welcome what she has said. If the plan for the 90 replacement beds could go to the design stage at the same time as the design stage of the 96 acute beds, it would be very helpful for the region to get it that far. There is a shortage of funding but I am sure the funding will come down the line as things begin to improve. If it could be...

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Feb 2017)

Maria Byrne: The "Prime Time" television programme recently highlighted the primary school in Moyross that introduced mindfulness into teaching in the classroom. The effects were found to be mentally, emotionally, socially and physically stimulating for the children. Perhaps it is something that could be spread across all schools throughout the country, starting with primary schools and moving on to...

Seanad: Amendments to Councillors' Conditions: Statements (8 Feb 2017)

Maria Byrne: I am sharing with Senator Feighan.

Seanad: Amendments to Councillors' Conditions: Statements (8 Feb 2017)

Maria Byrne: Yes. I agree with all that has been stated already. I served as a councillor for the past 17 years -15 years on a city council and then two years on the amalgamated council - prior to being elected to the House. I welcome the fact that the Minister is bringing forward increases and that changes are coming is to be commended. I went full-time into politics in 2008 when I was on the city...

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Feb 2017)

Maria Byrne: An issue was brought to my attention by a businessman in Limerick, namely, an Aer Lingus advertisement in a local newspaper last week concerning flights between Shannon Airport and America and onward connecting flights. The advertisement referred to Hallowe'en, but when people went to make bookings they could not do so beyond 5 September because there are no connecting flights within the...

Seanad: Action Plan for Rural Development: Statements (9 Feb 2017)

Maria Byrne: I welcome the Minister to the House. I also welcome the plan. All the Departments are feeding into the one plan and will be working together in terms of delivery. It will affect more than 600 towns and villages. I live in a city but there are many towns and villages bordering it. To me, this plan is about balanced regional development for anywhere outside Dublin and supporting...

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Feb 2017)

Maria Byrne: I wish to raise a matter I raised previously concerning the changes being made within Bank of Ireland. As of last Monday, customers can no longer speak to any of the bank's team over the telephone. Customers were not informed about this change and have only heard about it on going into the bank's branches. The bank is encouraging people to transact their business online. A number of...

Seanad: Transport and Tourism: Statements (15 Feb 2017)

Maria Byrne: I welcome the Minister to the House. There has been a welcome increase of 12% in the number of overseas visitors. At the start of the end of recession, there were an additional 850,000 visitors and this year the additional number of visitors was 2.19 million. Many people are employed in the tourist sector, but I am very concerned about the skills shortage, in particular those with culinary...

Seanad: Recent Education Announcements: Statements (21 Feb 2017)

Maria Byrne: I welcome the Minister. I welcome the recently launched Action Plan for Education for 2017. The most important thing in it is that it is going to improve the learner experience and the success of learners. The introduction of the new model of allocating teachers to improve mainstream support for special needs children is important, because no matter what school one is in, there are always...

Seanad: Recent Education Announcements: Statements (21 Feb 2017)

Maria Byrne: Tomorrow at 10.30 a.m.

Seanad: Order of Business (22 Feb 2017)

Maria Byrne: I welcome the announcement this morning by the Government on the cut in fees to be paid by independent broadcasters. There are many community and local radio stations and many elderly people are so dependent on them to keep them company. In my area, there are three radio stations. There are two in different parts of the county and one based in Limerick city. The news is very welcome. The...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Feb 2017)

Maria Byrne: I wish Calvin Nash from Young Munster in Limerick who is to captain the Ireland under-20s team on Friday night against France and the rest of the team the very best of luck. I also welcome the good news that four new transatlantic flights to the United States have been announced from Shannon Airport. As many companies in the United States have hubs and connected companies in Ireland,...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Feb 2017)

Maria Byrne: I ask the Leader to bring in the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment to discuss the application by Irish Cement in regard to replacing fossil fuels with an incinerator and the proposed burning of tyres. A prominent group, Limerick Against Pollution, has been set up and Professor Anthony Staines addressed a well-attended public meeting last Friday at which many...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Mar 2017)

Maria Byrne: I raised the issue of Bus Éireann yesterday. The dispute appears to have escalated overnight and the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport will have to get involved. A strike by Bus Éireann will have a very detrimental effect on rural Ireland, although the Minister refuted that claim today. The Minister should take a trip on a bus to see the areas of the country covered by...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of Education (Amendment) Bill 2015 and General Scheme of Education (Parent and Student Charter) Bill 2016: Discussion (7 Mar 2017)

Maria Byrne: I thank everyone for their presentations. I wish to compliment my colleague, Deputy Jim Daly, on bringing this Bill forward. I am currently the chairperson of a board of management so I am looking at it from an interesting angle. Students represent the kernel of our discussion today. The children's ombudsman covers those up to 18 years of age, whereas this measure will cover all aspects...

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Mar 2017)

Maria Byrne: I rise today to support International Women's Day. A number of articles in today's newspapers are about how women are to the fore in terms of some of the top jobs. An issue raised by my colleague, Deputy Madigan, in the Dáil relates to the reference in the Constitution to a woman's place in the home and she is introducing legislation to try to get that changed. It is 2017 and that is...

Seanad: Tourism Industry: Motion (8 Mar 2017)

Maria Byrne: I welcome the Minister here today. I would like to compliment all working in both the tourism and hospitality sector, certainly for the fact that it brought over €8 billion into the economy in 2016. I take grave exception to what has been said to my left here today about the 9% VAT rate, as somebody who comes from the hospitality industry and who grew up in a business that was...

Seanad: Tourism Industry: Motion (8 Mar 2017)

Maria Byrne: I did not interrupt Senator Gavan. We have to look at the rural towns and villages. Many are dependent on our tourism industry. I know that the Minister has been responsible for promoting the Wild Atlantic Way and the Ancient East, and a previous Minister promoted The Gathering, which was really successful and brought many of our diaspora back to Ireland for many family gatherings. It was...

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Mar 2017)

Maria Byrne: I would like to be associated with the condolences to the young children who died in the fire this morning, and to the person who is in hospital. She will hopefully have a speedy recovery. I am alarmed at the figures released this morning about the interim applications to the Central Applications Office, CAO. The applications for nursing are down by over 9% and the number for teaching is...

Seanad: JobPath: Statements (21 Mar 2017)

Maria Byrne: I welcome the Minister to the House and thank him for his detailed presentation. There has been much discussion of JobPath, but I will speak from my own experience in terms of the people who come to my office who are long-term unemployed. My experience to date has been with Turas Nua because it operates in the Limerick area. I am aware that many positive changes have been made, certainly...