Results 1,101-1,120 of 1,311 for speaker:Sheila Terry

Seanad: Order of Business. (9 May 2006)

Sheila Terry: I join with Senator Tuffy in highlighting the trafficking of women portrayed in the "Prime Time" programme last night. It was a shocking programme in terms of the way so many vulnerable women are taken from their own country and trafficked to Ireland to become the property of pimps. Most of those are men but I was surprised to learn that some women were involved in the organisation of these...

Seanad: Order of Business. (9 May 2006)

Sheila Terry: I am dismayed that the Government is not taking this issue seriously. We must have specific legislation dealing with the sexual exploitation of women. Senator Tuffy outlined well the way the United Nations has highlighted our deficiencies in this area and that gardaí, as highlighted in last night's programme, are not trained in this area. We must introduce legislation that will protect these...

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (10 May 2006)

Sheila Terry: I welcome the Minister of State and the amendment. It will facilitate parents who work for a single employer. I recognise employers' difficulties in facilitating parental leave, but we want to encourage them to take it on board. They will now be obliged to provide it. We want to improve the situation, which will hopefully happen in coming years. It is a good amendment and I happily support it.

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (10 May 2006)

Sheila Terry: I welcome the amendment, which is a significant step forward in providing equality for same sex couples. Is this a Government amendment or was it tabled by the Opposition?

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (10 May 2006)

Sheila Terry: I acknowledge that the Government has recognised the difficulties of many same sex couples in their daily lives. I welcome the amendment and hope it is a signal from the Government that it will take on board the fuller aspects of Fine Gael's civil partnership proposals, which are widely accepted by the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network, GLEN, and other organisations. I also hope that the...

Seanad: Order of Business. (17 May 2006)

Sheila Terry: The Leader may have seen last night's "Prime Time" which presented a worrying report on the effect on babies of mothers drinking alcohol while pregnant. We are unsure whether the results are true. There is some doubt about the findings. However I would be interested in the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children coming here to give us the opportunity to debate the issue of prenatal...

Seanad: Ageism Policy: Statements. (17 May 2006)

Sheila Terry: I welcome the Minister of State who is taking this debate, the holding of which I very much support. I congratulate the Equality Authority on taking on board the campaign of Say No To Ageism. It is timely and it should be run on an annual basis. Our population is ageing. The performance of a country and a Government can be judged on how well they look after their older people. The...

Seanad: Order of Business. (31 May 2006)

Sheila Terry: I support Senators Brian Hayes and Ryan in calling for this important issue to be debated in this House today. We are all extremely concerned about the ramifications of the recent court judgments for the young people of this country. When I listened to the radio yesterday afternoon and this morning, I sensed the concern, anger and fear of parents and the other law-abiding citizens of this...

Seanad: Public Hospital Land: Motion. (31 May 2006)

Sheila Terry: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I support the motion. While we are all interested in providing additional hospital beds and I am supportive of any individual who would like to build a private hospital, our objection is that the Government proposes to provide public land to developers to build such hospitals. These lands are in public ownership and the people have a right to...

Seanad: Order of Business. (7 Jun 2006)

Sheila Terry: The national pay talks resume this afternoon in Government buildings. While broad agreement has been reached between the social partners on pay and employment standards, pensions are proving to be a stumbling block. I welcome the fact that the Irish Congress of Trade Unions is at last paying attention to the issue of pensions in light of one of the biggest banks in the country stating that...

Seanad: Order of Business. (8 Jun 2006)

Sheila Terry: Like Senator Morrissey, I wish to raise the action taken by the driver testers today whereby they cancelled the driving tests of 1,300 young people. It is a disgrace and shows utter disregard for the effort and, indeed, anguish many people go through to sit the test. They only learned in the past couple of days that their tests have been cancelled. This action shows utter disregard for those...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed). (21 Jun 2006)

Sheila Terry: I wish to raise the level of customs duty charged on gifts coming into Ireland from the US. I understand why duty is charged on goods bought by an Irish person from the US, but it is unacceptable for somebody in the US who sends a gift with a value of in excess of €45 to a family member in Ireland to be so charged. What can a person buy for €45 today? I bought clothes for my grandchildren...

Seanad: A Strategy for Cancer Control in Ireland: Statements. (28 Jun 2006)

Sheila Terry: I welcome the Minister of State and many of the aspects of A Strategy for Cancer Control in Ireland. One hopes the proposals will be implemented as soon as possible and one could ask why we have been waiting so long for them to be implemented. The Minister of State and everybody else will know very well that it is far cheaper to prevent cancer than to treat it, irrespective of the fact that...

Seanad: Order of Business. (29 Jun 2006)

Sheila Terry: I was just thinking about how Senator Finucane rightly expressed his anger over what happened to the train, yesterday. It is about time that many of us got angry and demanded better services. I am also thinking of An Post. Every summer the same thing happens with our postal service. Postmen have to take holidays, but no system is put in place to ensure that the post is delivered every day....

Seanad: Order of Business. (29 Jun 2006)

Sheila Terry: Will the Leader inform the Minister of the situation?

Seanad: Order of Business. (30 Jun 2006)

Sheila Terry: I agree with Senator Mansergh's comments about the frontloading of the provision of infrastructure. While Senator Finucane raised the matter of sewerage treatment plants around the country, the lack of public transport in Dublin is the issue of concern to me. This morning I had to bring two people to the airport at 5 a.m. While there was not much traffic around at that time, once I reached...

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Second Stage. (30 Jun 2006)

Sheila Terry: Firewomen are employed.

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Second Stage. (30 Jun 2006)

Sheila Terry: I welcome the Minister of State to the House to deal with this important Bill, for which we on this side of the House have waited a long time. It is regrettable the Bill has taken this long but I congratulate the Minister and his officials on the work they have done preparing the legislation. I agree with many of its provisions and I hope they will make a difference to our society. It is...

Seanad: Order of Business. (3 Jul 2006)

Sheila Terry: In recent days, we have heard about the concerns of those who took out equity-based SSIAs. The return they will receive on those investments will not be quite as good as they first expected. I wish to use that example in the context of the old chestnut of pensions. It is a very good example to examine when we discuss making mandatory the payment of contributions to pension schemes. One in...

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (3 Jul 2006)

Sheila Terry: Deer.