Results 101-120 of 1,608 for speaker:Micheál Carrigy

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

Micheál Carrigy: I thank my two colleagues for giving me time. I welcome the Tánaiste to the Chamber. I welcome yesterday's announcement of the reopening of the country. The Government had committed to this and I am glad that the path ahead is clear and realistic. I thank the Tánaiste for his leadership throughout the pandemic since March 2020. That point is made to me daily in my home county...

Joint Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht: General Scheme of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (5 May 2021)

Micheál Carrigy: I welcome the witnesses. Many of my questions have been already answered, but I would like to make a small number of points and ask a few questions. The report references a waiver of the broadcasting levy for the independent sector. Are there plans for a further waiver to help the sector? The issues of disinformation and gender-based harm were mentioned earlier and it was recommended...

Joint Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht: General Scheme of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (5 May 2021)

Micheál Carrigy: Unfortunately, being in politics, and particularly being a Government representative, I have received a lot of online abuse and threats, particularly from social media activists. It depends on what one puts up on social media. A concern in recent times has been the targeting of journalists for abuse. Recently, one national journalist has been writing stories that involve the Data...

Seanad: Education (Leaving Certificate Examinations) (Accredited Grades) Bill 2021: Second Stage (7 May 2021)

Micheál Carrigy: The Minister is very welcome. I acknowledge the work she has done in the Department. It has been a difficult year and she has been a steady pair of hands. Well done to her. I also acknowledge the difficult years students throughout the school system experienced in 2020 and 2021, especially those for whom the leaving certificate has been their primary focus for most of their lives.It is...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Community Development Initiatives (10 May 2021)

Micheál Carrigy: I welcome the Minister of State to the Seanad today and wish him well in his Department. Today, I seek to highlight the need for the Attic House CLG to be successful under the 2021 community development pilot programme. It has a proven track record of community service in Longford and is ideally located to pilot a community development initiative. This superb facility has a...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Community Development Initiatives (10 May 2021)

Micheál Carrigy: I thank the Minister of State and I appreciate he cannot make further comment. I acknowledge his comment about being aware of the strong work involved. It is an organisation I have been involved in for over ten years. When he is looking for a pilot programme, he should know this is already being done on a voluntary capacity, and I do not think there are too many programmes anywhere in the...

Seanad: Future of Banking in Ireland: Statements (10 May 2021)

Micheál Carrigy: I welcome the Minister. I concur with Senator Ahearn and thank the Minister for his leadership in his Department over the past 12 months. I believe that we urgently need to convene a forum and an open, transparent, public debate on the future of banking and financial services in Ireland. We spoke about a number of significant announcements by banks in recent months to close branches and...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (11 May 2021)

Micheál Carrigy: I wish to raise two related issues. The first concerns South Westmeath Hospice. Its current site at the St. Vincent's centre in Athlone is closed and the hospice is to be moved to a newly built nursing unit at Clonbrusk. The voluntary group which has raised more than €1 million to develop the current site was given assurances last October that the new building would mirror the old...

Joint Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht: General Scheme of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (13 May 2021)

Micheál Carrigy: No. My apologies to the Chairman. I did not think I would be able to make it to the meeting. I just got here by the skin of my teeth. I will look at the recording of the meeting at a later stage. I do not want to go back over issues that have already been covered.

Seanad: Loan Guarantee Schemes Agreements (Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland) Bill 2021: Second Stage (17 May 2021)

Micheál Carrigy: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy English, to the House. Today is an important day for our country and the business sector as retail fully opens up. I take this opportunity to wish all businesses, especially those in my home county of Longford and County Westmeath, every success. I thank the Minister of State and the Department for the support they have given to businesses, our local...

Joint Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht: General Scheme of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (19 May 2021)

Micheál Carrigy: I welcome our guests. As has been stated, we are setting a global benchmark with this proposed legislation so it is important that we get it right. I welcome the companies' opening statements and commitments. I also welcome the financial support that Facebook is giving to the National Anti-Bullying Research and Resource Centre, but I do not feel it is sufficient. Social media, as it...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 May 2021)

Micheál Carrigy: I wish to raise a couple of issues with the Deputy Leader. I seek a commitment from the ESB to provide funding of €500,000 to develop a community facility in Lanesborough, County Longford, following the closure of the Lough Ree power plant. I recently met Kieran Mulvey, the just transition commissioner, who has put proposals to the ESB to provide that funding for both Lanesborough...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Second Stage (Resumed) (24 May 2021)

Micheál Carrigy: The Minister is very welcome. I thank him for coming to Fine Gael's parliamentary party meeting the other evening. It was very informative and very positive and is something I would like to see more of across parties. Access to affordable housing is one of the most immediate and urgent challenges facing young people, middle income earners and families today in Ireland, including in my home...

Seanad: Organisation of Working Time (Reproductive Health Related Leave) Bill 2021: Second Stage (24 May 2021)

Micheál Carrigy: I commend the Bill and I commend Senators Bacik and Sherlock on bringing it forward. I commend my colleague, Senator Mary Seery Kearney, on speaking of her experience. It is sad it has taken until 2021 for this Bill to be brought forward. If the Bill is enacted, it will give an entitlement for up to 20 days of paid leave for women experiencing the trauma of early miscarriage and up to ten...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Sports Funding (1 Jun 2021)

Micheál Carrigy: I raise the issue of the sports capital programme. I am the treasurer of my local club, with which I have been involved for the past 30 years. I have also been involved in a number of successful applications for the sports capital programme. The programme was launched in 1998 and more than 10,000 projects have benefited from funding, bringing total allocations to approximately €1...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Sports Funding (1 Jun 2021)

Micheál Carrigy: I thank the Minister of State. The departmental officials might have taken me up wrong. This was not in any way a proposal that there would be no new applications. It is with regard to applications that are validated but may not have scored as highly as other applications.If, as a club, we were not successful, we would have to reapply and go through the whole system again. Department...

Seanad: Right to Housing: Motion (4 Jun 2021)

Micheál Carrigy: I welcome the Minister of State and support the motion. It highlights what the Government plans to deliver in the coming years. It is important to note that the Government takes the housing crisis seriously, is taking action and is willing to deliver social, affordable and private housing through whatever mechanism to deliver what is needed, namely, homes. It is important that the State...

Joint Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht: General Scheme of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (26 May 2021)

Micheál Carrigy: I welcome the witnesses. What they are saying, from what I have picked up from the conversation so far, is really to put the brakes on. As I read through both Mr. Herrick's and Dr. McIntyre's introductions, I picked out the words "overly vague", "confined", "concerned", "freedom of expression" etc. There are a significant number of queries and issues with the Bill, from what I take from...

Joint Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht: General Scheme of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (26 May 2021)

Micheál Carrigy: On that, it is something we raised when representatives from TikTok, Facebook and Twitter were before the committee. I put it to them that there was a responsibility on them to fund a campaign in all schools through the Department of Education with regard to online bullying. They committed to that. It is something the Oireachtas and I, personally, will keep pushing, that they follow up on...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 Jun 2021)

Micheál Carrigy: I wish all the businesses in the hospitality sector that have reopened over the past week or so the very best. I got the opportunity at the weekend to visit a number of them. I remind them that the outdoor service enhancement scheme is open from today. Through it, they can apply to their local authorities for funding. I look forward to visiting some of the businesses in Dublin Bay South...