Results 141-160 of 1,195 for speaker:Erin McGreehan

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Jun 2021)

Erin McGreehan: Last Saturday was World Sickle Cell Day and I commend the Sickle Cell Society Ireland on its fantastic event on the day. Its informative conference featured international experts and created awareness of this inherited blood disease. Sickle cell disease is a red blood cell disorder. People with the condition do not have enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen around the body. The...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: General Scheme of the Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2021: Discussion (15 Jun 2021)

Erin McGreehan: I am in Leinster House. I thank the witnesses for their contributions. I wish to ask Mr. Gloster a question. He mentioned how he almost felt that Tusla's capacity had been overwhelmed by the work it had to do in respect of adoptees. Do Tusla and the Adoption Authority believe that they have the capacity to work under this Bill? Some of the adoptees I have met feel traumatised by what...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Engagement with Ireland's Future (Resumed) (15 Jun 2021)

Erin McGreehan: It is always great to discuss the future of Ireland. I have a question out of pure curiosity for Reverend Karen on her road to Damascus and becoming a member of this group. I am very curious about it. Can she say she is a unionist any more? She has come to the right side of the road and has now become a nationalist. I would love to know from her point of view how has she reconciled this...

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (Resumed) (25 Jun 2021)

Erin McGreehan: The Minister is very welcome to the House. It is a privilege for me to speak on this Bill. This is the beginning of something exciting and is working towards a cleaner and more sustainable future. It will strengthen the statutory framework for governance of climate action by the State in order to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. It will drive the implementation of that suite of policies...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Environmental Policy (28 Jun 2021)

Erin McGreehan: I wish to share time with Senator Martin.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Environmental Policy (28 Jun 2021)

Erin McGreehan: The Minister of State is very welcome. I suppose one could say that Senator Martin and I have serious bees in our bonnets about this issue. We want a ban on the importation of non-native bees into this country. As the Minister of State well knows, it is not only us but many Irish beekeepers, bee enthusiasts and those of us who care deeply about our native biodiversity. I have spoken to...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Environmental Policy (28 Jun 2021)

Erin McGreehan: I was told there was told there was a great buzz about this today. The best bee for this country is the native Irish bee. The European Commission has stated, in a question about the protection of our native bee species, "Ireland can, however, decide at national level whether or not to give legal protection to this sub-species and to take the necessary conservation measures to protect it,...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Jun 2021)

Erin McGreehan: I welcome the launch of the "Love this place, leave no trace" campaign this morning. I urge members of the public, when they are using public amenities, beaches or parks, to leave no trace and to respect the beauty that we have here. When we visit places, we expect to find them in good condition and we want to leave them that way for the next person. I also ask that people bringing their...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (29 Jun 2021)

Erin McGreehan: I congratulate the Cathaoirleach on one year in his position. Today is a great day for me and an incredible way to mark my first year in this House with the announcement of the funding to bring the Narrow Water bridge project to tender. As someone from the area, I have seen that things have not always been so simple in the Cooley Peninsula and on Carlingford Lough. Long gone are the days...

Seanad: National Maternity Hospital: Statements (2 Jul 2021)

Erin McGreehan: I count myself as a Christian and a republican and I really think Senator Mullen's comments are regrettable when you consider the past and the history of this country or when you think of what Dr. Noël Browne was forced to do. He was forced to resign because of the hierarchy of this State back 70 years ago. It is 70 years later and we are still dealing with the Catholic Church taking...

Seanad: National Maternity Hospital: Statements (2 Jul 2021)

Erin McGreehan: We will agree on that Senator Keogan. However, this State is a republic. As we enter into the next 100 years of this republic, when we start investing in our State care and hospitals, we should own everything to do with our hospitals. I feel really deeply worried and concerned about how this conversation has gone in the last five minutes but I am not going to rehash the arguments that have...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Cross-Border Co-operation (5 Jul 2021)

Erin McGreehan: I thank the Acting Chairperson. It is very nice to see her in the Chair today. The Minister of State is very welcome to the House. I am grateful he is taking this Commencement matter. The shared island unit is one of the many commitments in the programme for Government that has interested and excited me. The historical significance of the unit is underestimated. For the first time in...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Cross-Border Co-operation (5 Jul 2021)

Erin McGreehan: I thank the Minister of State. We are all on the same page. I thank the Minister of State for delivering the message from An Taoiseach and I thank An Taoiseach for all his work. He has been dedicated and he is a huge driver of an all-Ireland conversation. I very much welcome the North-South school exchange programme. It is very positive and good news. I hope it will be expanded into...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (5 Jul 2021)

Erin McGreehan: We all know we are going through our centenary celebrations or commiserations, whatever way you want to look at it. We are entering a new century of the two jurisdictions of this island. I have great ambition for this entire island. I ask for the Seanad to take up a leading role in our North-South dialogue. We often complain in this House that we do not have enough Northern voices. Maybe...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Community Employment Schemes (6 Jul 2021)

Erin McGreehan: As a mother who had to leave the workforce because of the lack of childcare I look forward to more being done in getting women back into the labour market.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (6 Jul 2021)

Erin McGreehan: I wish to highlight the lack of proper action with regard to the recommendations for Drogheda published last March in the Guerin report. As we know, Drogheda has experienced serious drug crime and serious problems with drug feuds. For far too long, the people of Drogheda have been left behind, ignored and failed. Drug crime in Drogheda, as well as the heartache, tragedy and hardship the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Engagement with Irish Central Border Area Network (22 Jun 2021)

Erin McGreehan: I wish to ask one brief question. As former member of the east Border region, I am innately aware of the importance of the work done by ICBAN and the Northern and Western Regional Assembly. They advocate for economic development. More importantly, it is about the personal relationships that are built up across the Border. We all know that the Border region, from the west to the east, has...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (12 Jul 2021)

Erin McGreehan: After a wonderful weekend of sport, I want to look ahead and think of Friday week, when the Olympic Games begin. We have an incredible Team Ireland going to Tokyo to wear our green and represent this island proudly and well. I hope the Leader and the Cathaoirleach will write a letter to Team Ireland to wish them the best of luck from us in this House. Representing one's country at any...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Younger People in Nursing Homes: Discussion (24 Jun 2021)

Erin McGreehan: The witnesses are very welcome. Like the other committee members, I am very concerned about this issue. I have a few questions I would like to run through. One of the witnesses mentioned earlier that there was funding for recruitment and that it had started this week. That funding was supplied six months ago. What was the delay in that recruitment process? All of a sudden the HSE is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Younger People in Nursing Homes: Discussion (24 Jun 2021)

Erin McGreehan: On that point, the fair deal funding is not supposed to be used for the under-65s. We are breaking our own rules by using it for the under-65s. Surely some flexibility can be found to create a better instrument to get that money. We are already breaking rules in using it for people under the age of 65. Are we breaking our rules in moving people on out of hospital and putting them into a...