Results 81-100 of 151 for speaker:Joanne Collins

Seanad: Balanced Regional Development: Statements (17 Jun 2025)

Joanne Collins: I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak on balanced regional development, but the very idea of balanced regional development is at odds with our current national development plan. The plan seeks to put half of Ireland's population in the Dublin region. That means half of us will live, work and commute in a tiny corner of the country, while the rest of the country is left...

Seanad: Food Promotion and New Markets: Statements (18 Jun 2025)

Joanne Collins: I am pleased to contribute to this debate that goes directly to the future of our agricultural industry, family farms and rural communities. The agri sector, the agrifood sector in particular, is Ireland's largest and most important indigenous industry. It directly supports more than 170,000 jobs across 135,000 farms, 2,000 fishing vessels and more than 2,200 food enterprises. It is a...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (19 Jun 2025)

Joanne Collins: I want to raise today an issue in County Limerick. County Limerick has one tier 2 town, which is Newcastle West. We all know the situation with housing at present and the lack of it in the country. Planning permission was granted in 2023 for 93 houses to be built in Newcastle West and they were commenced in 2024. Work had commenced on a total of 81 of the 93 houses, but several weeks ago...

Seanad: Offences against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 and Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009: Motions (24 Jun 2025)

Joanne Collins: I second the amendment.

Seanad: Offences against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 and Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009: Motions (24 Jun 2025)

Joanne Collins: I second the amendment.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Water Supply (1 Jul 2025)

Joanne Collins: I welcome the Minister of State. County Limerick's main county town is Newcastle West. It is a tier 2 town under the national development plan. Irish Water has advised that there has been no connection to sewerage or water as of a couple of weeks ago, when I received an email, because of construction going ahead on a site with 93 houses. Some of them had been earmarked as social and...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Water Supply (1 Jul 2025)

Joanne Collins: I thank the Minister of State for outlining all that. He can remove the seven four-bedroom homes from his list because that is the development I am speaking about. Those are seven affordable and social homes that will not be in Newcastle West. What the Minister of State outlined is great and it is great that the Government is trying to make a dent in housing but, like he said, 2031 is...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (1 Jul 2025)

Joanne Collins: I raise an issue that has been coming across my desk the past couple of weeks. It concerns parents of foster children and the back to school allowance, which is going to means tested. They have made the argument to me that they do not just put a roof over these children's heads. They give them love and stability and make them a part of their family. A lot of these children end up in State...

Seanad: Sea Fisheries: Statements (2 Jul 2025)

Joanne Collins: I welcome the Minister of State. Ireland is surrounded by some of the richest and most bountiful fishing waters in the world. Despite this, our native fishing and seafood industry is in a steep decline. What should be a cornerstone of our coastal economy is now a sector in deep crisis that has been battered by quota cuts, fuel price hikes and increases in costs, all compounded by decades...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Dog Control and Sheep-Worrying: Discussion (2 Jul 2025)

Joanne Collins: I thank all the witnesses for attending. It is great to see so many organisations agreeing on one important point. To go back to the controlling powers, it is not possible to have 100,000 dog wardens, but prevention is definitely better than cure. Do the witnesses agree that we need to increase the number of dog wardens? Looking at them county by county, apart from in Dublin and Cork, the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Dog Control and Sheep-Worrying: Discussion (2 Jul 2025)

Joanne Collins: They are giving their dogs a good run of the land.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Dog Control and Sheep-Worrying: Discussion (2 Jul 2025)

Joanne Collins: I have never been asked at the veterinary practice whether my dog is microchipped or whether I have a licence. It is not something people are asked, so it would be a good to-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Dog Control and Sheep-Worrying: Discussion (2 Jul 2025)

Joanne Collins: It always comes back to the owner of the animal, as the animal does not know any better.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport: Issues Facing the Road Haulage Industry: Irish Road Haulage Association (2 Jul 2025)

Joanne Collins: I thank the witnesses for attending. I know the role truck drivers play and how they keep this economy going. I am slightly biased because I married a truck driver, so I also understand the down side of it. It is quite good for some marriages because we are like ships passing in the night. On the shortages, which is a massive issue, I know some of the hauliers who have South Africans...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport: Issues Facing the Road Haulage Industry: Irish Road Haulage Association (2 Jul 2025)

Joanne Collins: I find it is for the love of driving. It is like being a nurse or doctor - people do it for the passion. They do not do it for the hours or the pay cheque. Once people get into it, it is quite difficult to get out. As Mr. Hyland said, if people try to leave, they will be offered more money.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport: Issues Facing the Road Haulage Industry: Irish Road Haulage Association (2 Jul 2025)

Joanne Collins: There seems to be an awful lot of red tape involved on every side of it. I have heard lots of conversations at home about the CPC courses and how people go into a room and sit down in front of somebody who has never driven a truck.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport: Issues Facing the Road Haulage Industry: Irish Road Haulage Association (2 Jul 2025)

Joanne Collins: There is an awful lot of ticking the box when it comes to these things. I agree that an ombudsman is needed. The RSA is involved from the very start to the very end. Where is the oversight? There is oversight of some shape or form for every other Department and industry in this country. I do not see why there should not be one for this area. I will touch on fuel and the quality of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport: Issues Facing the Road Haulage Industry: Irish Road Haulage Association (2 Jul 2025)

Joanne Collins: Again, it is oversight.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 Jul 2025)

Joanne Collins: I wish to address an issue related to the provision of public swimming pools in County Limerick. On the N69, Askeaton swimming pool, which has been closed since 2023, is scheduled to reopen, thankfully, this autumn under the management of Swim Ireland. Other than that, the county has been without a swimming pool for the past two years due to this issue. On the N21, where there is a large...

Seanad: Pregnancy Loss (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025: Second Stage (9 Jul 2025)

Joanne Collins: I stand in full support of Sinn Féin's , not just as a legislator but as someone who has lived the reality that this Bill seeks to recognise. I commend my colleague, Senator Ryan, on the work she has put into this Bill and the thoughtfulness that is in it. Miscarriage is common, painful and too often invisible. I know this because I went through it myself. When I miscarried, I was...