Results 1,401-1,420 of 1,730 for speaker:Aisling Dolan

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022: Second Stage (13 Jun 2023)

Aisling Dolan: I welcome the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and congratulate her and her family. It is great to have her here. She is present to discuss the Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022. The Minister is aware – we can also see that here today - words have power. As the Minister has noted very clearly, hate crimes are on the increase. The Garda stated...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022: Second Stage (13 Jun 2023)

Aisling Dolan: Thank you, a Leas-Chathaoirligh. It cannot be the case that we live in a society that does not allow people to live without that fear. As the Minister outlined, there has been public consultation on the Bill she has brought before us, which started in 2019. I know that she has engaged with different stakeholders and officials in her Department on the Bill. The Minister has compared the...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022: Second Stage (13 Jun 2023)

Aisling Dolan: May I continue?

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022: Second Stage (13 Jun 2023)

Aisling Dolan: Will the Minister get a chance to respond?

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022: Second Stage (13 Jun 2023)

Aisling Dolan: I look forward to the Minister's response when she comes back to the Chamber. I understand that people want to give more time to the process, but it has been ongoing since 2019. We must put the legislation in place. We need to have something in place as soon as possible. The Minister is giving the Bill time. She will come back to the Chamber and will engage on amendments. It is very...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Jun 2023)

Aisling Dolan: I would like to raise two issues this morning; first, the retained fire service and the challenges for retained firefighters. I know that colleagues have raised this during the week. We have had people presenting on the issue as well, and people who have travelled to stand outside the gates of Leinster House. In my local area, retained firefighters provide an essential service, in...

Seanad: Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Second Stage (15 Jun 2023)

Aisling Dolan: I welcome the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, to the Chamber to speak about this fantastic legislation. Ireland is world class in delivering on food and farming, with grass-fed farms. This is the next step to bring us up and ensure there is transparency at all stages. I welcome this new Bill. As the Minister mentioned, 9% of exports come from the farming sector. Nearly 170,000 people work...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 Jun 2023)

Aisling Dolan: It is an honour that Maura Healey, the Governor of Massachusetts, will be visiting Ireland and will speak in Seanad Éireann next Tuesday. She is the first woman to hold that position in Massachusetts. She is one of the first openly gay candidates to run for and to be elected to office. Ireland has incredible ties to Boston, Massachusetts. So many Irish people feel that it is a home...

Seanad: Veterinary Medicinal Products, Medicated Feed and Fertilisers Regulation Bill 2023: Second Stage (20 Jun 2023)

Aisling Dolan: I welcome the Minister. I thank him for bringing forward this Bill. It is great to see how his Department is embracing the digital side of things. It would be great to see that across a number of other Departments. Antimicrobial resistance is a crucial issue. We see the regulations pharmacists and chemists have to look at in order to try to manage antimicrobial resistance, especially in...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Jun 2023)

Aisling Dolan: Today we have a fantastic announcement from the higher Education Authority, HEA, on the extension of third level courses. A number of university courses have been shortlisted to progress to the next stage both in healthcare and in veterinary. We know that recruitment is a challenge particularly in regional areas. Recruiting GPs and experts in regional and rural areas has always been a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Key Issues in Higher and Further Education: Discussion (21 Jun 2023)

Aisling Dolan: I welcome the Minister and his Department officials. It is exciting to see the HEA expression of interest. It is nearly 1,400 places on courses, if I have counted correctly. The Minister said it involves 11 institutions across medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry and veterinary. My interest is in the focus on balanced regional development. How do we ensure students are based in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Key Issues in Higher and Further Education: Discussion (21 Jun 2023)

Aisling Dolan: I thank the Minister for staying with us as I know it is a busy time for him. On some of the things the Minister mentioned, he spoke about pre-entry nursing and apprenticeships, and the importance of people, students and young people, knowing there are all of these different routes to getting the career they would like. In the years ahead, when one thinks about the future and how the world...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Key Issues in Higher and Further Education: Discussion (21 Jun 2023)

Aisling Dolan: I appreciate the Minister is doing the national review of State supports for PhD researchers. As I mentioned before, I was a research contract for a good bit. We need some flexibility here. I agree in that we get a lot of Exchequer and non-Exchequer funding for awards that are for four or five years. We build excellent research teams. These research teams may stay in college, and they...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Key Issues in Higher and Further Education: Discussion (21 Jun 2023)

Aisling Dolan: It is pretty amazing.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Key Issues in Higher and Further Education: Discussion (21 Jun 2023)

Aisling Dolan: That is incredible.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Key Issues in Higher and Further Education: Discussion (21 Jun 2023)

Aisling Dolan: I thank the Minister. I appreciate his response. On the opportunity around lifelong learning, whether it is about engaging part time or it involves lone parents, maybe the age of 65 is too low. I know of many people who have retired and have gone back to do PhDs and postdocs in their 70s. If we expanded that age limit, what figures would come back? Even locally, I know that. People at...

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

Aisling Dolan: I welcome everyone back. A lot of families have had bereavements in the past while, so I thank everyone for their sympathies in that regard. I highlight the investment that has happened in my local area and the importance of doubling the bed capacity in Portiuncula University Hospital. It has been crucial. Almost 12 beds have been opened in the hospital. The single capacity is being...

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022: Second Stage (26 Sep 2023)

Aisling Dolan: The Minister is very welcome to the House to speak on the Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022. I am a member of the joint policing committee in Roscommon, which covers the brand-new division of counties Roscommon, Longford and Mayo. It is a huge geographic area. While the population is different from that of urban centres, fleet numbers and vehicles for Garda divisions...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: School Accommodation (27 Sep 2023)

Aisling Dolan: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, who has responsibility for special education and inclusion. There is little to no capacity available for national school places in Ballinasloe town. What is the strategy from the Department of Education for school places for children in Ballinasloe now and for the next five years? What happens when home tuition grants have to be put in...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: School Accommodation (27 Sep 2023)

Aisling Dolan: Eglish National School is trying to get a bus to bring 23 children to school. It co-ordinated and got letters from principals from the surrounding schools, so it is not just Ballinasloe urban area and the three primary schools there. Scoil Náisiúnta Naomh Treasa in Killure, County Galway, St. Catherine's National School in Aughrim, County Galway, Newtown National School in Creagh,...