Results 841-860 of 1,729 for speaker:Maria Byrne

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Sep 2022)

Maria Byrne: I rise today to welcome two things, the first of which is the fact that the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, has released more than €2 million and we will see 25 affordable homes being built at Brú na Gruadán in Castletroy. This is most welcome news. It is an area where affordable housing will be really welcome and will help so many people in terms of setting up their new...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 Sep 2022)

Maria Byrne: I will raise an issue I raised previously relating to the Revenue Commissioners. They must be the only public service that is not open to the public. Every other public service building in this country is open but all the Revenue Commissioners' offices are still closed. People cannot go into their premises for an appointment. I have written to them and have got the Department to contact...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Medical Cards (21 Sep 2022)

Maria Byrne: I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to discuss this important topic. My concern is around the rent-a-room scheme. There has been so much encouragement for people to join the scheme. I come from County Limerick, where there are three third level institutions. This morning I received a response from one of them to say that unfortunately, they have no accommodation for the...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Medical Cards (21 Sep 2022)

Maria Byrne: I thank the Minister of State for the comprehensive response. I am a little disappointed because the Minister has not stated that he will carry out a comprehensive review but rather that a comprehensive review is required. He has not committed to anything and that is really disappointing. In this day and age, when students do not have accommodation and when older people face increased...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Sep 2022)

Maria Byrne: I wish to raise two issues. First, I wish to congratulate Shannon Airport on being shortlisted as being an age-friendly airport. That is good. The airports in the west were both shortlisted. I wish them both the best of luck with that, particularly as the services they provide to older people are phenomenal. It would be good to see the other airports offering the same level of service....

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (22 Sep 2022)

Maria Byrne: I wish to draw attention to the fact that 18 September was International Equal Pay Day. I attended a meeting of the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage this morning that was also attended by the Minister of State, Deputy Burke. The committee was engaged in pre-legislative scrutiny of a Bill concerning maternity leave and maternity pay for councillors. In the adjoining...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Sep 2022)

Maria Byrne: I have been contacted by a number of small businesses. They were customers of the two banks leaving Ireland. They have changed over to one of the pillar banks and are trying to get access to credit. The three pillar banks are all saying that they must have 12 months trading. They will not accept bank statements from the banks that the businesses were with previously. Can anything be done...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Sep 2022)

Maria Byrne: Would it avoid issues such as the tracker scandal? Would it help to alleviate those kinds of issues into the future?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Sep 2022)

Maria Byrne: The State has shareholdings in the three pillar banks. It was said that those shareholdings would be reduced. Will the Minister give an update on the State's plans to pull out or to reduce its shareholdings?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Sep 2022)

Maria Byrne: That is great. I thank the Minister.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Local Government (Maternity Protection and Other Measures for Local Authority Elected Members) Bill 2022: Discussion (22 Sep 2022)

Maria Byrne: I thank the Minister of State for coming before the committee to discuss this all-important issue this morning. I compliment him and his team, especially Laura Mannion, on their level of engagement with councillors, and I have been hearing about this from councillors throughout the country. I served for 17 years on a local authority, and when I first started off there, were three females...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Banking Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Sep 2022)

Maria Byrne: I thank the Minister. I believe the SEAR legislation is due to come into law shortly. I wonder when that will happen. What impact it will have on the banks?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues at the Emergency Department of University Hospital Limerick Raised in the HIQA Report: Discussion (21 Sep 2022)

Maria Byrne: I thank Professor Cowan and the management team for their opening statement and for coming before the committee in such numbers. None of us wants to be giving out about the hospital. We are all here to try to resolve the issues for the greater good. From the responses of the witnesses, I know they and the team are committed to resolving the issues. What stood out for me in the report was...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues at the Emergency Department of University Hospital Limerick Raised in the HIQA Report: Discussion (21 Sep 2022)

Maria Byrne: Another concern I have is that the HIQA inspection was conducted midweek. The high numbers are at weekends. Has the HSE looked at the cause of the high numbers at weekends? There is not enough patient flow. People tell me they feel they are there unnecessarily. The blood clinic used to finish earlier on Fridays. After 5 p.m. on Fridays, people who present to a GP are sent to the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues at the Emergency Department of University Hospital Limerick Raised in the HIQA Report: Discussion (21 Sep 2022)

Maria Byrne: I thank Professor Lenehan. I spoke to two people who spent a weekend in the hospital who felt there was nobody there to discharge them. I am glad to see it is being worked on. They felt they were unnecessarily taking up a bed because there was no one to discharge them. One person had to wait 14 hours until discharge was signed off. I know people are being pulled and dragged to other...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues at the Emergency Department of University Hospital Limerick Raised in the HIQA Report: Discussion (21 Sep 2022)

Maria Byrne: I thank Dr. O'Connor for that answer. Professor Cowan mentioned that several people had retired, including consultants, nurses and others. Nurses have said they could not continue to work because of exhaustion and have retired. Is there planning to account for proposed retirements in respect of consultants and nurses? I am aware it is not possible to foresee people resigning before their...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues at the Emergency Department of University Hospital Limerick Raised in the HIQA Report: Discussion (21 Sep 2022)

Maria Byrne: Great. A matter was raised with me recently concerning a person in unit 5B in hospital who required an electrocardiogram, ECG, scan. There was an eight-to-ten week waiting time to have the results read. The person who contacted me was concerned with the health of their loved one. Is it the norm that it would take this long for a scan to be read? The patient in this case ended up having a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues at the Emergency Department of University Hospital Limerick Raised in the HIQA Report: Discussion (21 Sep 2022)

Maria Byrne: Reference was made earlier to the other services. I refer to the different clinics, such as on Lord Edward Street, and the pharmacies. Is there an educational aspect to this endeavour? I ask because I see people going not into the small injuries units but into the accident and emergency department instead. How do we get this message across? Is more funding required to educate people...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues at the Emergency Department of University Hospital Limerick Raised in the HIQA Report: Discussion (21 Sep 2022)

Maria Byrne: I thank the witnesses.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues at the Emergency Department of University Hospital Limerick Raised in the HIQA Report: Discussion (21 Sep 2022)

Maria Byrne: Can I ask two additional questions? I am replacing Senator Kyne today.