Results 9,721-9,740 of 24,567 for speaker:Róisín Shortall

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jul 2013)

Róisín Shortall: On a point of order, is there any possibility that in light of what has transpired the Minister would accept the amendment? There are 155 amendments.

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jul 2013)

Róisín Shortall: I echo Deputy Tóibín's comments on the complete absence of any kind of generosity or collegiality in the handling of this legislation. The Opposition tabled 155 amendments. Everybody in the House has put considerable work into this important legislation and yet not a single Opposition amendment has been allowed throughout the entire debate. It displays an extraordinary arrogance...

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jul 2013)

Róisín Shortall: The Minister thought that was provided for and it turned out he was wrong.

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jul 2013)

Róisín Shortall: He did not even allow that minor change to insert "and/" into the Bill. It indicates the kind of knife-edge on which the Bill was agreed between the two parties in Government. Clearly the political imperative was that there would be no changes irrespective of the arguments made because it had been hammered out somewhere else. That is really regrettable and like the shambles of last night,...

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jul 2013)

Róisín Shortall: The shambles of the failure of the Government to order business yesterday-----

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jul 2013)

Róisín Shortall: -----and people sitting until 5 a.m.

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jul 2013)

Róisín Shortall: I think the comment by the Minister, Deputy Howlin, might suggest that being up to 5 a.m. did not suit him.

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jul 2013)

Róisín Shortall: This amendment is about the reporting and notification mechanism in the legislation, which is really important for most people. As was discussed at the hearings and on Committee Stage, legislating in this area is a new departure in many ways. I have already said I do not believe it is the intention of the Minister or the Government to introduce any kind of liberal regime, but because of the...

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jul 2013)

Róisín Shortall: Apart from a blanket “No”, will the Minister explain why he would be against making statistical information available relating to the stage of gestation at which terminations take place and the outcome for the woman and for the unborn? This is standard statistical information that should be made available to the health authorities, as well as the Houses of the Oireachtas....

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jul 2013)

Róisín Shortall: This amendment considerably weakens the reporting arrangements. The Bill states the Minister shall arrange for a report to be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas in accordance with section 20(1). This subsection is fairly detailed and would provide much important information. Unfortunately, for some unknown reason the Government proposes to amend this so that the reporting would be...

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jul 2013)

Róisín Shortall: What amendment are we dealing with?

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jul 2013)

Róisín Shortall: It is not actually a technical amendment. We were given to believe that there would be a notification process that collected data under a number of different headings, and there would be a reporting mechanism on that data, which is really important data and many people would be interested in seeing it on an annual basis. It is pretty critical to this Bill. That was the understanding, but...

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jul 2013)

Róisín Shortall: In fairness, the issue is the scope of the report and not the report itself.

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (11 Jul 2013)

Róisín Shortall: I move amendment No. 160:In page 18, after line 13, to insert the following:"Review of Legislation 24. The operation of this legislation shall be reviewed by the Oireachtas after a period of three years from its commencement.".

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Invalidity Pension Waiting Times (16 Jul 2013)

Róisín Shortall: 647. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the average waiting time for the issuing of payment to applicants who have had invalidity pension appeals upheld; the number of upheld appeals awaiting processing; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35329/13]

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Recruitment (16 Jul 2013)

Róisín Shortall: 949. To ask the Minister for Defence his plans to engage in further recruitment campaigns for Army personnel. [34786/13]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Home Help Service Provision (16 Jul 2013)

Róisín Shortall: 1148. To ask the Minister for Health the number of home help hours allocated to the Health Service Executive Area 6 and Area 7; the corresponding allocation for home care packages; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35520/13]

Child and Family Agency Bill 2013: Second Stage (17 Jul 2013)

Róisín Shortall: I, too, thank the Technical Group for sharing time with me. I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate on this important Bill. At the outset, I would like to comment on the publication of this legislation. As the Minister will be aware, a large number of groups, organisations and individuals have a keen interest in this area and have been working with her and her Department in...

Child and Family Agency Bill 2013: Second Stage (17 Jul 2013)

Róisín Shortall: This approach will not deliver continuity of service, integration or the local first line of defence we should be working towards. I have set out some of the pitfalls in the approach being taken to the new agency. It is important that the Minister is open and serious about addressing these potential pitfalls during the passage of the legislation. The Children's Rights Alliance has also...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Card Eligibility (17 Jul 2013)

Róisín Shortall: 272. To ask the Minister for Health the changes that have been made to the criteria applying the way discretionary medical cards are awarded in the cases of persons with cancer. [35821/13]