Results 81-100 of 1,072 for speaker:Emer Currie

Seanad: Family Leave Bill 2021: Second Stage (12 Mar 2021)

Emer Currie: I welcome the Minister. It has been so long since I have seen him. There are many positives to focus on in this Bill and there are areas to build on as well. On the positive side, it extends parental leave from two to five weeks' paid leave, and that will include the first two years of the child's life in order to cover the parents who had children during Covid lockdown and restrictions....

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (22 Mar 2021)

Emer Currie: I agree with Senators' remarks on that matter. The Covid numbers at the moment are worrying, and it is natural that the Government will feel it could send mixed messages by lifting some restrictions. We are all familiar with the expression "if you give them an inch, they will take a mile", but I think we are at the stage that if we do not try to give people an inch, they will run a mile. I...

Seanad: National Development Plan: Statements (22 Mar 2021)

Emer Currie: It is lovely to see the Minister in the House again. Even though the cost of the Covid crisis, financially, economically and socially, has been monumental, I am still optimistic about the future. We have the same raw ingredients that pulled us out of the last recession, including one of the most educated workforces in the world and the youngest population in Europe. Our cost of borrowing...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: The EU and Irish Unity - Planning and Preparing for Constitutional Change: Discussion (Resumed) (23 Mar 2021)

Emer Currie: I spoke last time as well but do not need an excuse to speak again. I welcome Mr. Bassett and Professor Harvey. It is lovely to see them again. I am interested to hear what they thought of the debate last night. I came away from it feeling very positive that we were having a mature debate or discussion about a united or shared island. We have a tendency to see things in a less nuanced...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: The EU and Irish Unity - Planning and Preparing for Constitutional Change: Discussion (Resumed) (23 Mar 2021)

Emer Currie: That is okay.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: The EU and Irish Unity - Planning and Preparing for Constitutional Change: Discussion (Resumed) (23 Mar 2021)

Emer Currie: I am sure others will also cover the questions I had.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Mar 2021)

Emer Currie: Lá lus an chromchinn sona daoibh. I hope everyone knows what that meant. I thank the Irish Cancer Society for everything it does. My mum had oral cancer over ten years ago and we are very lucky to have her. She lives with chronic pain but she is with us and she fights every day because she wants to see her grandkids grow up and she wants to give out to her own kids. She wants to be...

Seanad: Living with Covid-19: Statements (29 Mar 2021)

Emer Currie: I am sharing time with Senator Carrigy. I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I will be measured in what I suggest. I ask her to be realistic about both the numbers and the restrictions. The numbers are volatile and people are struggling, as can be seen with slipping compliance to the rules, so I ask her to be conservative but compassionate. I back increasing the travel...

Seanad: Matters Arising from the Withdrawal of the UK from the EU: Statements (29 Mar 2021)

Emer Currie: I apologise for not being here earlier. I was at a shared island conversation organised by Young Fine Gael. I thought it was a brilliant conversation and the more of these conversations we have, the better. I am not interested in shutting down these conversations. It is good that we, as an island, begin to really see and engage in conversations in the North and on what is actually...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Working Group on Unification Referendums: Discussion (30 Mar 2021)

Emer Currie: I have a question regarding different rules concerning standards in public office. We have two sets of rules on the island when it comes to managing political parties and campaigns. What are the witnesses' views on that aspect? We saw how the Brexit campaign went in the UK and how much money was spent on it. How could that aspect be managed to ensure fairness? The report states that...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Special Educational Needs (19 Apr 2021)

Emer Currie: I will bring the Minister of State back to October 2018, when I first met representatives of the Autism School Dublin 15 committee, which campaigns for a dedicated special school. They spoke about how autism spectrum disorder units would not meet the complex needs of all their children, many of whom are non-verbal, have behavioural challenges and might be flight risks or suffer from violent...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Special Educational Needs (19 Apr 2021)

Emer Currie: I thank the Minister of State. I am very appreciative of the work that has been done to date and the action that has been taken. However, there is a strong feeling that a separate site is what is needed for this school and, in fact, that is what parents were led to expect. When we look at the numbers for the area, they are only going in one direction. I know how difficult it is to get a...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Stardust Fire (26 Apr 2021)

Emer Currie: I thank the Senator and apologise for the confusion. We had the Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, down to speak. I apologise again and thank the Senator for her commitment with regard to this very sensitive issue.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Apr 2021)

Emer Currie: I wish to speak about litter and the preparation for what we hope will be an outdoor summer. I live in a small rural part of Dublin 15 which has looked a bit like a rubbish tip in recent months as people literally throw their rubbish out of their cars. It is now spreading to some of our public parks and other public spaces across the city and throughout the country. We are heading for a...

Seanad: Business and Covid-19: Statements (30 Apr 2021)

Emer Currie: I welcome the Tánaiste and commend him on launching his pathway out of the pandemic which successfully combines hope and caution. The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, summed up our health approach quite nicely on Wednesday when he said that we need to keep the numbers low and the vaccines high. I would add that we need to continue to limit...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Health Services Staff (7 May 2021)

Emer Currie: Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach Gníomhach. I am very grateful to the Minister of State for attending today. To put this very simply, we need more psychologists in Ireland. Why, if we are in chronic need of more psychologists, do we put so many barriers in the way of getting them? It is not because we do not have the talent, commitment and ambition. I am aware the...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Health Services Staff (7 May 2021)

Emer Currie: I thank the Minister for that response. He correctly mentioned the Psychological Society of Ireland, a fantastic organisation in setting out good standards and best practice. I have worked with it regarding a charity called Social Anxiety Ireland. If it is setting out the academic and professional requirements, it will be done with best practice and standards at its core. I am glad to...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (10 May 2021)

Emer Currie: I want to talk about a youth strategy for this summer as a spectrum of support is required. We have seen the awful video filmed at Howth Junction train station. There were various incidents in Dublin 15 over the weekend that could have been even more serious. On the other hand, children are hanging around in public spaces because they have nothing else to do. There is a spectrum here and...

Seanad: Good Friday Agreement: Motion (10 May 2021)

Emer Currie: I, too, welcome the motion. Tomorrow, a coroner will deliver the findings of the inquests into the deaths of ten people from Ballymurphy in Belfast in August 1971. That period was a tumultuous time and the political landscape had been changing dramatically since 1968. The British Army that had arrived on the streets in August 1969 was supposed to protect Catholics. Instead, an element...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Future of Ireland: Discussion (11 May 2021)

Emer Currie: I welcome Mr. Lunn and Reverend Karen. It is nice to meet them. I read the briefings with interest. What is nice about today is we get a chance to engage at a human level with personal stories and opinions. That is positive. I would like to see more of that in this committee because it is about reaching out to people in their day-to-day lives and experiences in considering the future. I...