Results 81-89 of 89 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...