Results 1,641-1,660 of 1,966 for speaker:Mary Henry

Seanad: Mental Health Legislation. (12 Oct 2006)

Mary Henry: I thank the Minister of State for his reply and additional remarks. I am afraid the position is as bad as I thought.

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Oct 2006)

Mary Henry: The new children's hospital will be the largest project undertaken by the State in the medical area for decades. Senator Brian Hayes and others have done us a great service in discovering that no scoring process was employed in the evaluation of the six sites chosen as possible locations for the new facility. The rage felt by people in Tallaght is shared by staff in St. James's Hospital who...

Seanad: Current Situation in the Middle East: Statements (18 Oct 2006)

Mary Henry: Please allow Senator Mooney to proceed without interruption.

Seanad: Current Situation in the Middle East: Statements (18 Oct 2006)

Mary Henry: I call Senator Norris. The Senator has nine minutes. The Minister of State has kindly agreed to reduce the time for his closing remarks to five minutes.

Seanad: Current Situation in the Middle East: Statements (18 Oct 2006)

Mary Henry: The Minister of State has indicated he will take just three minutes to reply.

Seanad: Current Situation in the Middle East: Statements (18 Oct 2006)

Mary Henry: If the Senator can be brief Senator Minihan will get a few minutes of the time.

Seanad: Business of Seanad (18 Oct 2006)

Mary Henry: Is that agreed? Agreed.

Seanad: Current Situation in the Middle East: Statements (Resumed) (18 Oct 2006)

Mary Henry: I thank the Minister of State for shortening his concluding remarks.

Seanad: Seanad Electoral Register (18 Oct 2006)

Mary Henry: I hope the Minister of State is correct in what he stated. As a Senator who is not running again it is important, from the point of view of my pension, that this Seanad continue for as long as possible.

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Oct 2006)

Mary Henry: Having seen, as a member of the Joint Committee on Health Children, the legal advice as to the reason the report on the Leas Cross case was not published, I wonder if it will ever be published. I wish this type of advice was sought before the commissioning of reports rather than on their completion. In a most disturbing report from Ethiopia a judge stated that a massacre took place after...

Seanad: Mental Health Commission Report 2005: Statements (19 Oct 2006)

Mary Henry: I thank Senator Browne for allowing me to speak first on this issue. The commission approached its new position in a most energetic manner and brought forward a strategic plan for 2004-05 which has six priorities. These are to establish the management, professional and organisational systems and infrastructure which will enable the commission to fulfil its statutory responsibilities; to...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Oct 2006)

Mary Henry: The Cathaoirleach and other Senators may have heard on radio this morning that Fr. Peter McVerry has published another report on the deplorable state in which people leave our prisons, particularly St. Patrick's Institution, and that they are more likely to become involved in crime after they have been in prison than they were before they went to prison. I have asked the Leader — I know...

Seanad: Energy Policy: Motion (25 Oct 2006)

Mary Henry: Senator MacSharry has been well trained on the party message. I commend Senator O'Toole on his tenacity in following this problem over the years. He has raised the issue on several occasions, as has Senator Brian Hayes. Having been involved in research within the universities, I hate to see the independent study by the energy research group in UCD, published in 2000, misused by the Minister...

Seanad: Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2006: Second Stage (26 Oct 2006)

Mary Henry: I welcome the Minister of State and the Bill. As Senator Glynn said, some of the issues in the Bill have been of concern to foster parents for quite some time and it is only right we should try to address them. The Minister of State's figures were very interesting. Some 4,250 of children in care — 84% — are in foster care. Are these children all in long-term foster care or are there...

Seanad: Official Languages Act 2003: Statements (1 Nov 2006)

Mary Henry: The Minister may have as much time as he wants. I am very interested in it.

Seanad: Housing Policy: Motion (1 Nov 2006)

Mary Henry: It is nice to be in agreement with the Minister in respect of several parts of the Progressive Democrats' motion, which parts I have also rejected. I was particularly interested in his comments on the national authority for water and sewerage services. When I became a Member of this House almost 14 years ago, the number of private water schemes polluted by e.coli amounted to 25%. I believe...

Seanad: Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (2 Nov 2006)

Mary Henry: Like Senator Browne, I feel that five years is a long time in the life of a child. Five years go by in a flash for an adult, but five years can be one third of a child's life, by the time he or she is fostered. I had hoped to get on the side of the angels by proposing a reasonable reduction, whereby the relevant period would be four years. At the same time, I recognise the Minister of State's...

Seanad: Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (2 Nov 2006)

Mary Henry: I thank the Minister of State for stating he will reconsider amendment No. 3 for Report Stage. Did the Minister of State and his officials consider the Medical Council's ethical guidelines on medical practice? They advise extreme care in getting the consent of older children and I do not wish to see a situation where the consent of everyone else is considered because much of this relates to...

Seanad: Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (2 Nov 2006)

Mary Henry: I thank the Minister of State for his explanation because it is important that foster children be granted the same position as other children and if this is achieved then I am satisfied.

Seanad: Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (2 Nov 2006)

Mary Henry: I listened to Senator Tuffy and the more we talk about this issue the happier I am that the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has appointed someone to report on the family courts. Senator Tuffy as a solicitor has more access to them than the rest of us. We have had to go on anecdotal evidence for so long on custody cases that we are in a situation of great ignorance. If the...