Results 1-20 of 4,792 for speaker:Neale Richmond

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Personal Injury Claims (3 Jul 2025)

Neale Richmond: I thank the Senator sincerely for raising this timely and pertinent matter. Before I deliver the reply on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Burke, it would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the Senator's long-standing personal, professional and political commitment in this area. It is an area to which she brings a great level of familiarity, and one that I would imagine is the rival of any...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Personal Injury Claims (3 Jul 2025)

Neale Richmond: I will ensure the relevant Departments look to see if the SME test should be applied. I am not ruling that out. I just wanted to be frank and direct to make sure I was not misleading the Chamber about what can be achieved by the SME test on this compared with other areas of policy or legislation where it may be applied. However, the case the Senator has laid out, not only here this morning...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Further and Higher Education (3 Jul 2025)

Neale Richmond: I am grateful to Senator Clonan for raising this issue. The importance of the National Educational Psychological Service, which he raised, is not lost on this Government. It provides a critical service to almost 1 million children and young people and almost 100,000 staff who work in our primary, post-primary and special schools daily. The Government has set its commitment to double the...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Further and Higher Education (3 Jul 2025)

Neale Richmond: It is important to say that I am replying on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth, as opposed to the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. The Senator will understand the need for the Department of Education and Youth to make sure there are qualified psychologists coming into NEPS in particular. That goes to the heart of the issue at play. I...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Control of Dogs (3 Jul 2025)

Neale Richmond: I thank Senator Andrews for raising this matter. I ask him to bear with me. I have a slightly lengthy answer which I will deliver on behalf of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Heydon, who has asked me to take this Commencement matter. The Control of Dogs (XL Bully) Regulations 2024, SI 491 of 2024, that banned XL bully dogs came into force in two stages beginning...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Control of Dogs (3 Jul 2025)

Neale Richmond: I will make three points in very brief reply to the Senator. First, with regard to the use of the word "type" and how it came to be and the need to separate, there is an XL breed but then, within the breed, there are types of dogs. That is the differentiation that was sought because there is a very specific thing at play here. In terms of the training in respect of identification and those...

Presidential Voting Rights: Motion [Private Members] (24 Jun 2025)

Neale Richmond: I really appreciate the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I can confirm the Government is of course not opposing this motion. From my time in this Chamber and before that in the Upper Chamber, I know we all share a long-standing desire to deepen the connections between Ireland and the global Irish, but especially on this island. I know there are very few of us in the Chamber who...

Healthcare (Transparent Payments) Bill 2022: Second Stage [Private Members] (19 Jun 2025)

Neale Richmond: I thank the cosponsors for bringing the Bill to Second Stage and all the Deputies for an engaging discussion on the issue. It is an important matter and, as previously stated, the Government fully supports transparency in the relationship between the pharmaceutical industry and healthcare professionals regarding transfers of value to healthcare professionals or organisations. It is clear...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Antisocial Behaviour (19 Jun 2025)

Neale Richmond: I sincerely thank Deputy O'Donoghue for raising this timely and important issue. At the outset, and before I get into the specifics, I condemn any incidents of racially motivated abuse. I know the Deputy shares that view, as does everyone in this House. It is important to say that sometimes because we can tend gloss over it. Such behaviour is a scourge that we must all stay united in our...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Antisocial Behaviour (19 Jun 2025)

Neale Richmond: I really appreciate the opportunity to come back in. I cannot stress enough how important it is that any of these issues that are brought to the attention of the House are solved by all of us. None of us can claim responsibility. None of us can shoulder all the blame. If we work together, however, we can alleviate the impact of what is happening. Community gardaí play such an...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: School Funding (19 Jun 2025)

Neale Richmond: I had to check my phone because in the Deputy's new guise as Oireachtas AI committee chairperson, I had to see if he had been reading my phone for the correspondence I have just had with the principal of a local national school in my area on more or less this exact point. This is an issue that regularly comes up for every Member of this House and I thank the Deputy for giving me the...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: School Funding (19 Jun 2025)

Neale Richmond: I will address three points in response. I will come to a broader point, but the first is that if there are specific schools, the FSSU on behalf of the Department plays a crucial role in seeing where there are funding gaps. In order for the Department to assess the current financial situation, the school needs to engage with the FSSU for the purpose. The Department will refer this school...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Sports Facilities (19 Jun 2025)

Neale Richmond: I sincerely thank Deputy Ó Muirí for raising this topic, which he knows is extremely close to my heart. He has years of experience of involvement, in his local community of Clontarf and beyond, in this specific area and this is a great opportunity to delve into it a little bit. Since 2020 the Department of education has invested more than €6 billion in our schools...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Sports Facilities (19 Jun 2025)

Neale Richmond: I fully empathise, especially with the comparison with Manor House School. I happen to know the pitch quite well from previous exploits as a really bad coach. I appreciate a pitch of that size represents serious capital work that is obviously way beyond the schemes laid out that are open at the moment. However, we have seen examples where there have been what I would not call...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: EU Directives (19 Jun 2025)

Neale Richmond: I thank the Senator raising this important matter and for her ongoing advocacy and engagement, in a very constructive manner, on a key issue of importance not just to Ireland and Europe but to the wider world.It is extremely important. The increased focus on burden reduction, or simplification, at EU level is inherently linked to efforts to enhance European and Irish competitiveness in the...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: EU Directives (19 Jun 2025)

Neale Richmond: It is clear that this is a moment of change in the EU. It is clear that the need for Europe to become more competitive is existential. However, in just over 12 months Ireland will take over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union and our role in the simplification of the competitiveness agenda will be pivotal. Our role is not only to deliver on that agenda but also, as the...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Residential Institutions (19 Jun 2025)

Neale Richmond: I am grateful to Senator Boyhan for raising this important issue. To clarify for the Chamber, before I get to the specifics, as Senator Boyhan will appreciate, the mother and baby institutions payment scheme opened for applications in March 2024. It provides payments and health benefits to people who spent time in any of the mother and baby or county home institutions that were identified...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Residential Institutions (19 Jun 2025)

Neale Richmond: As of 8 June more than 6,500 applications had been received for the payment scheme. More than 5,200 payments had been processed and completed or were in the process of being made. More than 5,800 notices of termination had issued applicants, over 82% of which contained an offer of benefits. The value of financial payments to date is more than €65 million, a not insignificant amount...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Road Safety (19 Jun 2025)

Neale Richmond: I thank the Senator. This is our first official engagement. He should not tell the world we had dinner together last night. Let us keep it official as far as possible. As the Senator is aware, the Minister for Transport has responsibility for overall policy and Exchequer funding in relation to the national roads programme. Once funding arrangements have been put in place with Transport...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Road Safety (19 Jun 2025)

Neale Richmond: I am more than happy to take that up with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and would suggest that the Senator puts those concerns in writing to TII, as I think he already has. A lot of this is about getting people together in the one discussion. There are multiple local authorities involved, a State institution and the Department over all with the budgetary and policy purview. I completely...