Results 61-80 of 1,307 for speaker:Robbie Gallagher

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Inland Fisheries (20 Oct 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit go dtí an Teach. The Minister of State is very welcome and I thank him for his attendance here this morning. I welcome the fact the board of Inland Fisheries Ireland, IFI, has agreed to defer indefinitely its decision to cease trout production at its hatcheries in Mullingar and Roscrea. The decision came as a result of massive opposition...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Inland Fisheries (20 Oct 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: I thank the Minister of State for his response and I acknowledge his input and contribution in respect of this issue to date. I outlined previously the benefits to our economy both from an employment perspective and an income generation perspective. I very much welcome the ongoing discussions between the various parties. Is there a timescale for those negotiations? When will we be...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Oct 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: I raise the issue of the minor works grants for schools. School principals around the country are dismayed and concerned that there was no mention of the minor works grant in this year's budget. For schools, this grant has always been a vital part of school funding. Its removal a number of years ago has caused difficulties for school management with regard to basic repairs in schools, be...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Agricultural Colleges Courses (25 Oct 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit go dtí an Teach seo inniu fosta. There are already 460 students completing part-time and distance education programmes in Ballyhaise Agricultural College, County Cavan, and there is a commitment that an additional 105 students will start those programmes before the end of 2016. There are 605 students on a waiting list in Ballyhaise...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Agricultural Colleges Courses (25 Oct 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: I understand. Perhaps the Minister might have a look at the specific case and the fact that some education providers' contracts are expiring at the end of the year and people cannot complete the courses they commenced.

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Oct 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: I wish to raise the issue of children with arthritis waiting for appointments. The number of children waiting more than 18 months to see an expert in juvenile arthritis has increased from 22 to 110 between January and the end of August this year. That is a 400% increase in the number of children and teenagers waiting at least 18 months. Figures released up to the end of August reveal that...

Seanad: Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (26 Oct 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit go dtí an Teach. I welcome the Minister of State and thank her for the briefing she provided yesterday. It was well attended and I found it most informative. Any opportunity we have to discuss overconsumption of alcohol is to be welcomed. Unfortunately, Irish people have become famous worldwide for all the wrong reasons when it comes to our...

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Oct 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: I would also like to raise the issue of the ASTI dispute and the disappointing fact that over 500 of our schools remain closed this morning. This is very disappointing and I am sure it is very stressful for the students involved, particularly those who will sit exams shortly, and their parents. It is very disappointing that it has come to this and I would appeal to the Minister for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Children with Special Educational Needs: Discussion (27 Oct 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: One of the advantages of being almost last to speak is that many of the questions have already been answered. I welcome the witnesses and thank them for the informative and helpful presentations. It is very encouraging to hear that there has been such positive feedback from the pilot to date. School principals raise the issue of class size as an impediment to identifying children with...

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Nov 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: I join colleagues in wishing the President-elect, Mr. Trump, best wishes in office. It has come as a bit of a surprise to the majority of us, similar to the Brexit vote. Perhaps there is a message for all of us that a large cohort of people feel disenfranchised and disconnected from the general populous. We would be foolish to ignore this and I address that remark to all politicians. To...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Report of the Expert Group on Future Funding for Higher Education: Discussion (10 Nov 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: I welcome the members of the deputation. I wish to acknowledge the extraordinary contribution the university heads have made to the social and economic fibre of the country to date. That is without question and it has to be acknowledged. It would be remiss of us not to compliment those involved in the Cassells report on their work. They have set out the position and what lies ahead in a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Report of the Expert Group on Future Funding for Higher Education: Discussion (10 Nov 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: I welcome the witnesses. Many of the macro issues we discussed this morning are covered in their presentation as well. It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the role the ITs have played in rural Ireland and in the regions. In many cases, without the presence of the ITs those regions would be less well off from an economic and social perspective. I am very familiar with the ones...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Brexit Issues (15 Nov 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: I want to raise the issue of Brexit and, in particular, the effect it is having on the mushroom industry in Monaghan and elsewhere. The mushroom industry provides a stark warning to the rest of the country's economy about Brexit and the damage a sustained weakness in sterling can inflict. It really is the canary in the coalmine for the Irish agribusiness. Ireland's mushroom industry, the...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Brexit Issues (15 Nov 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: I thank the Minister of State for his comments and I am heartened by his sincerity in trying to find solutions to this acute problem. The industry is one in which we have achieved worldwide recognition. We are a world beater in the production of mushrooms. The aid scheme we are seeking would be a temporary measure to get people over the hump. The €1.5 million in EU funding through...

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Nov 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: I want to raise the issue of broadband provision in rural areas and the great urban-rural divide that exists in this respect. A report issued today by Switcher.ie, a price comparison website, shows broadband speeds in rural Ireland are 36 times slower than in towns and cities. This is a serious issue. Longford and Monaghan, to name but a few, were listed as black spots. To give a practical...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Nov 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: I wish to raise the issue of gender imbalance in the primary teaching sector and the message that sends out to our children. An interesting statistic that highlights this problem shows that in the early 1960s, nearly 40% of all primary teachers were male. Today that figure is less than 15%. We need to get a grip on this issue because what kind of message are we sending out to our school...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Nov 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: Brexit requires an all-island approach in order to safeguard the interests of all the people who live on this island.

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Nov 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: That is fine, but I would like to repeat the request because I have heard no progress in that regard.

Seanad: Order of Business (22 Nov 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: I welcome last week's announcement by the Minister for Education and Skills that schools will be paid the minor works grant. I raised this matter shortly after the budget. Schools deserve to know at the start of the year what their grants will be. It is very difficult for boards of management and school principals to plan the year ahead when they do not know what funding they will get....

Seanad: Horticulture Industry: Statements (22 Nov 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit go dtí an Teach. The horticulture sector contributes between €350 million and €400 million to agricultural output at farm gate level and provides over 6,000 jobs in the production sector and a further 9,000 jobs in the amenity services sector. In recent years, this sector has been put under increasing pressure from the large...