Results 1-20 of 3,697 for speaker:Lynn Ruane

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Misuse of Drugs (15 Jun 2016)

Lynn Ruane: I congratulate you on your election to the Chair, a Chathaoirligh. I thank the graduates of Trinity College for giving me the mandate to be here today. I also thank the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, for his time. To give a bit of background, I spent the past 15 years developing addiction programmes on local drugs task forces. I have been involved in drug research on drug trends and...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Misuse of Drugs (15 Jun 2016)

Lynn Ruane: I reiterate how the focus is on possession, which again mostly targets people who will be selling for their own use. As for N-bomb and clockwork orange, if one looked further into those cases, polydrug use is usually more the issue there than simply the use of N-bomb. Many of the recent deaths have been due to a toxic mix of alcohol, other drugs and this substance. It has not been proven...

Seanad: Poverty and Homelessness: Motion (15 Jun 2016)

Lynn Ruane: A couple of Senators referred to the hidden homeless. Last year I was with a young man in hospital when he died. We tried to encourage him to undergo treatment for cirrhosis of the liver. The man was aged in his early 30s and lived in a hostel. He chose to die in a hospital bed rather than have to live on the streets again. His fear was that if he went into treatment he would lose his...

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Jun 2016)

Lynn Ruane: As we approach the end of the 2015-16 academic year, the Cassells report which was due for publication eight months ago has still not been published. The higher education sector is at crisis point. Students are being charged a steadily increasing fee to attend college under the guise of a contribution charge. These increases and the corresponding decrease in State funding for higher...

Seanad: Mental Health: Statements (22 Jun 2016)

Lynn Ruane: I wish to speak about dual diagnosis which is not raised too often in debate. Working in the homeless sector I have become increasingly worried, especially in the past decade, that having made the transition from institution and asylum type treatment, a large proportion of people who were being cared for within that structure ended up on our streets due to a big gap in services. They were...

Seanad: Waste Management: Motion (22 Jun 2016)

Lynn Ruane: I have been listening to this conversation. Changing consumer behaviour has been mentioned. I am of the view it is positive reinforcement, not attaching charges to recycling, that will change behaviour, for example, a weight related monetary incentive at the end of the year. Something must be done to incentivise people. This situation is being handled the wrong way round. The Journal of...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Jun 2016)

Lynn Ruane: I will take a few moments to draw attention to the amendments proposed in the Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Bill, to be taken this afternoon. The legislation will go through-----

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Jun 2016)

Lynn Ruane: If other Senators want to understand the implications of the Bill, they are welcome to speak to me before it is discussed this afternoon.

Seanad: Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Bill 2016: Second Stage (23 Jun 2016)

Lynn Ruane: I apologise before I start speaking because I am extremely angry and disheartened at the legislation's short-sighted vision for tackling gangs. The legislation is an attack on the addict and does nothing to dismantle the drug trade at a high level. If one went out onto the street right now one will meet people with benzos in their pockets. It is dealing with the person lying in the...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Jun 2016)

Lynn Ruane: No.

Seanad: Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2016)

Lynn Ruane: I move amendment No. 1:In page 3, after line 28, to insert the following: "Amendment of section 3 of Principal Act 3. Section 3 of the Principal Act is amended by the insertion the following subsection:“(2A) That possession of the substances listed in Part 1 and Part 2 of the Schedule not be subject to prosecution for amounts equating to personal use.".". The relentless warfare on...

Seanad: Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2016)

Lynn Ruane: I thank the Minister of State. It is really positive that so many people in the Chamber view the system used in Portugal as a possible way forward. The Minister of State mentioned that an "us and them" scenario was created when projects were set up but I assert that it was created not by the setting up of the project but by the people who decided to oppose the scheme. As a result, people...

Seanad: Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2016)

Lynn Ruane: No. I will resubmit it on Report Stage.

Seanad: Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Bill 2016: Report and Final Stages (30 Jun 2016)

Lynn Ruane: I move amendment No. 1:In page 3, after line 28, to insert the following: "Amendment of section 3 of Principal Act 3.Section 3 of the Principal Act is amended by the insertion the following subsection:“(2A) That possession of the substances listed in Part 1 and Part 2 of the Schedule not be subject to prosecution for amounts equating to personal use.".". Since the UN Single...

Seanad: Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Bill 2016: Report and Final Stages (30 Jun 2016)

Lynn Ruane: I thank the Minister of State. On her request that we hold off on proposing amendments to legislation until public consultation, I suggest that she also takes that advice and holds off on amendments to legislation until there is public consultation. The Minister of State mentioned unintended consequences. I agree that lots of things have unintended consequences. I have spent many nights...

Seanad: Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Bill 2016: Second Stage (5 Jul 2016)

Lynn Ruane: Like Sinn Féin, I broadly support the Bill. I will deal separately with the regulation lowering the amount of cash suspected of being the proceeds of crime that may be seized from €6,500 to €1,000. I can just about handle the reduction in the threshold value of property subject to the Act from €13,000 to €5,000 in the Bill but I am concerned about the fact...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Mental Health Services Provision (7 Jul 2016)

Lynn Ruane: In the 1950s Ireland held the world record for the number of people detained in psychiatric institutions. Thankfully, the majority of the older style Victorian hospitals are now closed and the focus of mental health services is on treating people in the community as close to their homes as possible. In the 1980s, 24-hour supervised residences were opened to accommodate service users who had...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Mental Health Services Provision (7 Jul 2016)

Lynn Ruane: I thank the Minister of State for her response. It is a large area and the Minister of State has probably already met with Mental Health Reform.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Mental Health Services Provision (7 Jul 2016)

Lynn Ruane: I was going to ask for that to happen.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Mental Health Services Provision (7 Jul 2016)

Lynn Ruane: I thank the Minister of State.