Results 1,701-1,720 of 1,966 for speaker:Mary Henry

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2006: Second Stage (30 Nov 2006)

Mary Henry: I welcome the Minister of State and the Bill. Regarding the establishment of a new draft electoral register, none of us could have believed that the register was in the mess it proved to be. I am glad that the Minister took the initiative by trying to address the matter before the next election and that he gave the facilities and money to local authorities to do so. We should ensure that...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2006: Second Stage (30 Nov 2006)

Mary Henry: I thank Senator Bannon for summoning a crowd for my words of wisdom. I was talking about electronic voting. Events in Florida remind us that such systems are not infallible. We all remember the dreadful spectacle in Florida in 2000, when George W. Bush was first elected President of the United States, of a vote which lasted for six weeks, while there were discussions on hanging chads and...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2006: Second Stage (30 Nov 2006)

Mary Henry: We have a few. Some of my constituents are in prison, although I do not know about Senator Quinn's. They are in prison and other places of detention for serious crimes so why should they be given preferential treatment? Is it because they have a third level degree? Those in Mountjoy Prison or Portlaoise Prison were not in a position to vote. The governor of Mountjoy Prison, Mr. John...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Dec 2006)

Mary Henry: I add my voice to those who called for a debate on the report from UCD on our prison population. Perhaps we could combine that with a debate on the lack of access so many children have to psychologists at school, as Senator O'Toole mentioned, and the issue of access to child and adolescent psychiatrists. It is clear that poor educational attainment is a very important factor on the road to...

Seanad: Health (Nursing Homes) (Amendment) Bill 2006: Second Stage (7 Dec 2006)

Mary Henry: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. The legislation has been brought forward because we have legal advice once again that primary legislation is required to give these provisions a statutory basis. I support the Government's aim to keep people within the community and in their homes as they grow older, and this is what most people want. However, I have not found in practice that...

Seanad: Health (Nursing Homes) (Amendment) Bill 2006: Second Stage (7 Dec 2006)

Mary Henry: While I do not have a problem philosophically with public-private partnerships or with private nursing homes being set up, we must note that these are being set up to make a profit and that they are businesses. The people who received the tax breaks to set them up have set up businesses and it is a hard business in which to make a profit. Some nursing homes charge as little as €650 per...

Seanad: Genealogy and Heraldry Bill 2006: Second Stage (12 Dec 2006)

Mary Henry: I am delighted to support this imaginative and intelligent Bill. It is wonderful that it is getting such support from across the House.

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Dec 2006)

Mary Henry: A letter in today's edition of The Irish Times draws attention to the fact that judgment in a case involving five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor accused of having infected children with HIV in Libya is to be given next Tuesday. I and many other Senators have taken up this case. I would be grateful if the Leader would ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs to ensure it is closely...

Seanad: Irish Overseas Aid (15 Dec 2006)

Mary Henry: I thank you, a Chathaoirligh, for allowing me to raise this matter on the Adjournment. I thank the Minister of State for attending the House. Some 2,006 years ago, there were problems with the maternity services in Bethlehem. The story of the Blessed Virgin Mary giving birth in a stable and putting her new-born child in a manger is at the centre of our Christmas celebrations. Today,...

Seanad: Irish Overseas Aid (15 Dec 2006)

Mary Henry: I thank the Minister of State for his sympathetic response.

Seanad: Order of Business. (31 Jan 2007)

Mary Henry: I second the proposed amendment to the Order of Business. As somebody who attended the Irish Hospital Consultants Association's meeting after the Tánaiste's mud-wrestling speech, I must say he is a great man with words and has a great deal of influence on people. Could the Leader arrange a debate, as soon as possible, on the reports of the inspector of prisons and those of the visiting...

Seanad: Human Rights Issues: Motion (31 Jan 2007)

Mary Henry: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and was glad to hear his interesting speech. While no credible voice has been brought forward to suggest prisoners have been brought through Irish airports, there is considerable evidence that aeroplanes which were used for transporting such prisoners have been here, which is a problem because it means we are part of the process. We know torture...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Feb 2007)

Mary Henry: I welcome the fact that BUPA Ireland has been bought by another insurer. However, there are plenty of grey heads around the House and we should be anxious that community rating may disappear if any new entrant buying another company does not have to pay any financial recompense to established companies. The Minister for Health and Children has made this clear over the last few years and I...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Feb 2007)

Mary Henry: The report by the Law Reform Commission is entitled "Vulnerable Adults and the Law". The suggested legislation is entitled the scheme of mental capacity and guardianship Bill. It would bring us into a more decent and modern age if we included descriptions which were considered relevant, rather than the offensive terms used in a considerable body of current legislation.

Seanad: Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2006: Second Stage (Resumed) (1 Feb 2007)

Mary Henry: I thank Senator Norris for sharing his time with me. I welcome the Minister to the House and I also welcome the Bill. It must be a great change for him, a Minister charged with dangerous issues, to be getting such a welcome for a Bill on all sides. As with Senator Norris, I hope the Minister will see a way to extend the Bill to cover radio and I will support the amendment tabled by my...

Seanad: Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2006: Second Stage (Resumed) (1 Feb 2007)

Mary Henry: It is a most interesting programme on the arts and I now do not get an opportunity to hear it. I once told a doctor I was worried because I went to sleep in front of the television at 10 p.m. He stated, "For heaven's sake, so do I". That was the end of that conversation. A large number of people miss programmes broadcast late at night. I once thought Lyric FM was as good as BBC 3. Why...

Seanad: Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2006: Second Stage (Resumed) (1 Feb 2007)

Mary Henry: One could give numerous other examples. In general, our broadcasters have steered away from these nauseating reality TV shows which appear to specialise in the denigration of the person. It does not matter who the person is. A recent outcry about racism occurred with regard to a programme I do not watch, namely, "Celebrity Big Brother". I do not know whether it was racism. I think it was...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Feb 2007)

Mary Henry: Like Senator Maurice Hayes, I would like to see the debate on MRSA widened, as the bug is a serious issue. While poor hygiene allows MRSA to spread, the issue is one of the overuse and abuse of antibiotics. This ties into the issue of factory farming, particularly in respect of poultry because the feed used contains substances called growth promoters, which are antibiotics. While they are...

Seanad: Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (7 Feb 2007)

Mary Henry: Is there any control over the number of stations broadcasting on multiplex? I am not a technical person but believe that, if there are much more than five, there is considerable interference. While the amendments are reasonable, will multiplex channels become overloaded?

Seanad: Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (7 Feb 2007)

Mary Henry: Will small stations be able to transmit from the multiplexes or will they need to send their signals to hubs from which they will be selected? What will be the quality?