Results 1,241-1,260 of 2,078 for speaker:Mary Seery Kearney

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Dec 2022)

Mary Seery Kearney: I thank the Cathaoirleach. I welcome everyone. This is an extraordinary moment for me. I begin by expressing my sympathy to Private Seán Rooney’s family and friends and the family of Private Shane Kearney who are no doubt frightened and desperate to see their family member. To all our peacekeepers in Óglaigh na hÉireann, I express my sympathies today. It is a very...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Jan 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: I am delighted to see Senator Buttimer in the Chair. I congratulate him on his role and wish him the very best. I also congratulate the new Leader. I look forward to working with both of them. However, I am beginning their tenure with a complaint that the Commencement matter I tabled this morning stating the need for the Minister for Health to provide a timeline in bringing the amendments...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Jan 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: With all due respect, it is not about the scheduling of the committee. It is about the delivery of the draft amendments. There is a difference.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Jan 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: Perhaps it is a question of semantics.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Jan 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: I thank the Cathaoirleach.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Jan 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: If I could interrupt the Minister of State for a moment, I would like to welcome a group into the Chamber from the Centre for Democracy and Peace Building, including people from its Northern Ireland fellowship programme. You are very welcome.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Jan 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: Getting notions

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Jan 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: I am loath to halt the Senator in a view that I have much sympathy with but I ask him to report progress.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Equality Issues (26 Jan 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: I thank the Minister of State for being here. In late December I received an email from a person called Jennifer Hoey who offered a good observation she made in the course of her own studies, to the effect that in the Equal Status Act 2000, "'sexual orientation' means heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual orientation". In her submission she asks whether it would not be more inclusive to use...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Tax Reliefs (26 Jan 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: I am delighted to welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. Her appointment is well deserved.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Tax Reliefs (26 Jan 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: I applaud the Minister of State for her sensitivity to Senator Conway's requirements on font. I thank the Senator for calling that out and appreciating it. We are all learning on a daily basis. It is very welcome that the Minister of State is noting the issue of accessibility to the scheme. People like amputees do not have access to it despite their need.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Jan 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: I rise today to raise an issue of some concern. Hyperemesis gravidarum is a very debilitating illness that women contract during pregnancy. It can run for the entirety of the pregnancy with illness and vomiting beyond which any of us would ever have imagined. The treatment is a medication called Cariban, which a GP prescribes as soon as a person presents with this severe debilitating...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Equality Issues (26 Jan 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: I thank the Minister of State. Her response addresses an issue on which our equality legislation always needs to lead out, namely, framing language for those who are perhaps a little nervous, cautious or afraid of offence. I am one of those. I am conscious that I am not affected by these aspects, so I am very tender in how I approach my language. This can lead to an uncertainty that could...

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee Stage (31 Jan 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: I am hesitant about what I am going to say. I have checked and double-checked my thinking on it to make sure I am accurate. While I have great sympathy for the points made by Senators Warfield and Higgins, I believe the amendment is about substituting the 26 weeks for one week in the context of ceasing employment. I note the Minister nodding, so it must be right. If I end my employment...

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee Stage (31 Jan 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: I said I have sympathy for it.

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee Stage (31 Jan 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: The provision of section 6 that provides for someone who is residing in the same household as the employee in question and who requires serious medical care or support is broad enough to encompass anything suggested in this amendment if this situation arose. If someone is coming out of hospital, to use the Senator's example, the term "resides" is loose enough to encompass these categories...

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee Stage (31 Jan 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: We are in danger of being overly compassionate here. We need to provide certainty for employers. If we are too broad in the provisions, we will end up with a situation whereby any person could, at any time, seek to avail a protected category of leave - that is the entitlement we are providing for here - in respect of any other person. That would leave employers in a precarious situation...

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee Stage (31 Jan 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: This could be achieved by clarifying that it is sufficient for a medical practitioner or a person of medical standing related to the individual for whom the care is required to state, without disclosing any private information in respect of the individual, that a level of care consistent with the Bill is required.Can that be construed? A medical certificate has a specific meaning in all of...

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee Stage (31 Jan 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: This could be done by a pro formaunder a statutory instrument, similar to the likes of the temporary agency worker or the organisation and working time regulations. There are set forms that would hit the standard that is required. There is no reason why that could not be done by a statutory instrument afterward.

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee Stage (31 Jan 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: I will support the Minister’s amendment. However, I would like to raise some of the concerns that have been raised by Women’s Aid in respect of the non-paid element. If you require domestic violence leave, you are at a particularly vulnerable and precarious time of your life. To oblige a situation whereby an individual is minus their income, as well as everything else, brings...