Results 2,041-2,060 of 2,149 for speaker:Emer Currie

Seanad: Organisation of Working Time (Reproductive Health Related Leave) Bill 2021: Second Stage (24 May 2021)

Emer Currie: I thank the Labour Party Senators for bringing the Bill forward. I acknowledge anyone in this House or in the other House who has been affected by this issue. All Senators know the anguish many people and families suffer in trying to have a child, as well as the physical or psychological pain of miscarriage, IVF and other fertility and reproductive treatments. It is so common. Every time...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: School Facilities (18 May 2021)

Emer Currie: I welcome the Minister of State. My Commencement Matter concerns a licence agreement for a green field beside a school in Dublin 15, St. Patrick's National School in Diswellstown. The agreement is with Park Developments Group. It is a local agreement between the school and developer for the use of the land. It is zoned for community infrastructure and will not be used for housing. The...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: School Facilities (18 May 2021)

Emer Currie: I thank the Minister of State for that response. I am glad to hear that the Department is committed to this project and understands the urgency behind it. This issue has been going on since December 2019 so I sincerely hope a resolution and an agreement can be found and I hope Park Developments will come to an arrangement with Fingal County Council and the Department. The school would like...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Shared Island Unit: Department of the Taoiseach (Resumed) (18 May 2021)

Emer Currie: I am here.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Shared Island Unit: Department of the Taoiseach (Resumed) (18 May 2021)

Emer Currie: That is alright, I can barely see myself. I am in one of these booths in the convention centre for the first time and it feels a bit odd. I just managed to get the lights on. My question relates to the North-South Ministerial Council. It is obviously dependent on having a nationalist and a unionist Minister attend and we have seen non-attendance in the last number of months, thought...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Shared Island Unit: Department of the Taoiseach (Resumed) (18 May 2021)

Emer Currie: If there is time, I will ask another question.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Shared Island Unit: Department of the Taoiseach (Resumed) (18 May 2021)

Emer Currie: It is great to hear the dialogue series is progressing. I share Senator Ó Donnghaile's view that awareness is a bit low around this and I would prefer to see more insights coming out of this and the sharing of progress. Is one of the outputs of the series that there could be an appetite to progress the North-South consultative forum and there could be engagement with enough groups for...

Seanad: Young People: Motion (17 May 2021)

Emer Currie: Apologies for cutting the Senator short. I wish to commend my colleague, Senator Seery Kearney, on putting forward this motion, and on her hard work and commitment in this area and her empathy for young people. I feel it too. I feel it for my own children who are now aged six and eight. There is a massive about of mother's guilt for when we were both working full-time and they were...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Future of Ireland: Discussion (11 May 2021)

Emer Currie: I welcome Mr. Lunn and Reverend Karen. It is nice to meet them. I read the briefings with interest. What is nice about today is we get a chance to engage at a human level with personal stories and opinions. That is positive. I would like to see more of that in this committee because it is about reaching out to people in their day-to-day lives and experiences in considering the future. I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Future of Ireland: Discussion (11 May 2021)

Emer Currie: Last night, I read out the names of the victims of the Ballymurphy massacre. I felt it was important to do so and to acknowledge what an important day this is for all of us. While we are all here talking about the future, the past weighs heavily on us this morning. Today is an opportunity to hear the truth about what happened.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (10 May 2021)

Emer Currie: I want to talk about a youth strategy for this summer as a spectrum of support is required. We have seen the awful video filmed at Howth Junction train station. There were various incidents in Dublin 15 over the weekend that could have been even more serious. On the other hand, children are hanging around in public spaces because they have nothing else to do. There is a spectrum here and...

Seanad: Good Friday Agreement: Motion (10 May 2021)

Emer Currie: I, too, welcome the motion. Tomorrow, a coroner will deliver the findings of the inquests into the deaths of ten people from Ballymurphy in Belfast in August 1971. That period was a tumultuous time and the political landscape had been changing dramatically since 1968. The British Army that had arrived on the streets in August 1969 was supposed to protect Catholics. Instead, an element...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Health Services Staff (7 May 2021)

Emer Currie: Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach Gníomhach. I am very grateful to the Minister of State for attending today. To put this very simply, we need more psychologists in Ireland. Why, if we are in chronic need of more psychologists, do we put so many barriers in the way of getting them? It is not because we do not have the talent, commitment and ambition. I am aware the...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Health Services Staff (7 May 2021)

Emer Currie: I thank the Minister for that response. He correctly mentioned the Psychological Society of Ireland, a fantastic organisation in setting out good standards and best practice. I have worked with it regarding a charity called Social Anxiety Ireland. If it is setting out the academic and professional requirements, it will be done with best practice and standards at its core. I am glad to...

Seanad: Business and Covid-19: Statements (30 Apr 2021)

Emer Currie: I welcome the Tánaiste and commend him on launching his pathway out of the pandemic which successfully combines hope and caution. The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, summed up our health approach quite nicely on Wednesday when he said that we need to keep the numbers low and the vaccines high. I would add that we need to continue to limit...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Stardust Fire (26 Apr 2021)

Emer Currie: I thank the Senator and apologise for the confusion. We had the Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, down to speak. I apologise again and thank the Senator for her commitment with regard to this very sensitive issue.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Apr 2021)

Emer Currie: I wish to speak about litter and the preparation for what we hope will be an outdoor summer. I live in a small rural part of Dublin 15 which has looked a bit like a rubbish tip in recent months as people literally throw their rubbish out of their cars. It is now spreading to some of our public parks and other public spaces across the city and throughout the country. We are heading for a...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Special Educational Needs (19 Apr 2021)

Emer Currie: I will bring the Minister of State back to October 2018, when I first met representatives of the Autism School Dublin 15 committee, which campaigns for a dedicated special school. They spoke about how autism spectrum disorder units would not meet the complex needs of all their children, many of whom are non-verbal, have behavioural challenges and might be flight risks or suffer from violent...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Special Educational Needs (19 Apr 2021)

Emer Currie: I thank the Minister of State. I am very appreciative of the work that has been done to date and the action that has been taken. However, there is a strong feeling that a separate site is what is needed for this school and, in fact, that is what parents were led to expect. When we look at the numbers for the area, they are only going in one direction. I know how difficult it is to get a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Working Group on Unification Referendums: Discussion (30 Mar 2021)

Emer Currie: I have a question regarding different rules concerning standards in public office. We have two sets of rules on the island when it comes to managing political parties and campaigns. What are the witnesses' views on that aspect? We saw how the Brexit campaign went in the UK and how much money was spent on it. How could that aspect be managed to ensure fairness? The report states that...