Results 201-220 of 248 for speaker:Alison Comyn

Seanad: Public Procurement: Statements (22 May 2025)

Alison Comyn: I thank the Minister of State for her time in the Seanad today. I welcome our special guests to the Visitors Gallery. They are guests of Deputy Hildegarde Naughton from Clarin College. Athenry. I welcome the students. I believe the group leader is Paul Casserly, so I probably have to address this to him. It is tradition in the Seanad that when we have a school group here, they have no...

Seanad: Public Procurement: Statements (22 May 2025)

Alison Comyn: Is that agreed? Agreed.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 May 2025)

Alison Comyn: As Ireland marks water safety awareness week this week, the recent tragic loss of three young lives to drowning serves as a stark reminder of the urgent need to prioritise water safety education in our schools. My condolences to the families of Emmanuel Familola and his friend Matt Sibanda, who lost their lives in Donegal, and of seven-year-old Alan Singh who, sadly, drowned in Sligo. It...

Seanad: Driving Test Waiting Times: Statements (20 May 2025)

Alison Comyn: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. As we have heard across the House today, Ireland is facing a critical challenge with driving test waiting times, which we know have reached unprecedented levels. I will not repeat some of the figures we have heard today but we know some test centres have waiting lists four times the RSA's target of ten weeks. This backlog is not just an...

Seanad: Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (20 May 2025)

Alison Comyn: I thank the Minister for coming to the House today. I wholeheartedly support Senator O'Loughlin's Bill. Catfishing, as we know, is a growing problem in our digital age where individuals create fake online identities to deceive others, often for financial gain, emotional manipulation or even more serious criminal purposes.It is not a frivolous or harmless activity, as we sometimes may think...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Business of Joint Committee (14 May 2025)

Alison Comyn: I am based in County Louth. Having been a journalist for nearly three decades, I obviously have a keen interest in making sure that the media is well regulated, particularly with respect to defamation and libel laws and moving those into social media as well. I have a great passion for the arts and culture. I look forward to promoting those, particularly in the north-east region. Given...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Local Authorities (13 May 2025)

Alison Comyn: I thank the Minister of State for responding to that.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Bus Services (13 May 2025)

Alison Comyn: We welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, to the House.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Bus Services (13 May 2025)

Alison Comyn: Before I bring Senator Ryan back in, I welcome to the Gallery the Probus retirement group, special guests of the Ceann Comhairle, Deputy Verona Murphy. I presume they are from the Wexford area. They are not. My father was once a very active member of Probus. I know what incredible work the organisation does. I send best wishes from everybody here in the House and wish you continued good...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Bus Services (13 May 2025)

Alison Comyn: I thank the Minister of State for his time in the House.

Seanad: Order of Business (13 May 2025)

Alison Comyn: I wish to be associated with Senator Nelson Murray’s comments welcoming Pope Leo XIV. He is a great Augustinian. We have a tremendous association in Drogheda with the Augustinians there. We hope to welcome him to Ireland soon. I will continue on the comments of my Meath colleague. As the sole Louth representative in the Seanad, it would be remiss of me, standing here in my...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Apr 2025)

Alison Comyn: Before I begin, I send my deepest sympathies to Andrew and Mary Rogers, the parents of Marie Claire Rogers, a young nurse who died tragically and very suddenly in Australia. She was just 24 years of age and was from Togher in County Louth. My sympathies are with her family, friends and teammates in Naomh Fionnbarra. There is a GoFundMe page set up to repatriate her back from Australia and...

Seanad: Protection of Retail Workers Bill 2025: Second Stage (30 Apr 2025)

Alison Comyn: I second the motion. I add my support for and admiration of Senator Fitzpatrick for this Bill. It is long overdue and something I am glad to support. We must protect our retail workers. They are on the front line. While they are, unfortunately, dwindling now because so much has gone online, we really have to look after the staff we have. From looking at some of the statistics yesterday,...

Seanad: Diverting Young People from Criminal Activity: Statements (30 Apr 2025)

Alison Comyn: I thank the Minister of State for attending the House today. I welcome the opportunity to talk about how we can best serve the young people of all our communities and try to steer them away from criminal activities to find a more positive and productive path. Far too many young men and women are tempted into following nefarious paths and keeping them in education and out of trouble is...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (29 Apr 2025)

Alison Comyn: I second the amendment to the Order of Business. I admit that I stand here as a woman torn. I have somewhat divided allegiance because I live in a place that straddles two counties, Louth and Meath. I speak, of course, of the senior championship game which took place over the weekend. Louth saw off Kildare, so commiserations to my colleague, Senator Fiona O'Loughlin, and Meath saw off...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Community Development Projects (8 Apr 2025)

Alison Comyn: I thank the Minister for attending the Seanad to hear this important message from the people of Drogheda and south Louth more widely. The Moneymore Townland Community Hub is set to become a vital space for families, children and young people, a safe, secure and purpose-built facility where the community can come together and access essential front-line services, which are currently being...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Community Development Projects (8 Apr 2025)

Alison Comyn: I thank the Minister for attending and responding. We are at a very advanced stage and the plans are ready to be submitted. I would like to invite the Minister to come down at some stage to see those plans and to see just how vital this will be to the community. I thank the Minister for his further consideration on that.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (8 Apr 2025)

Alison Comyn: I thank the Leader and support the Order of Business he has proposed. I will raise a couple of topics. We have a lovely bit of sunny weather but with that, unfortunately, came a rise in public order incidents in the Drogheda area over the weekend. I received a number of disturbing videos of serious public order incidents in daylight. We are talking about 2 p.m. This raises something I...

Seanad: Childcare: Statements (2 Apr 2025)

Alison Comyn: I thank the Cathaoirleach and an tAire. I will be sharing my time equally with an Seanadóir Lorraine Clifford-Lee.

Seanad: Childcare: Statements (2 Apr 2025)

Alison Comyn: I thank the Minister for taking the opportunity to hear our statements on childcare. When I was knocking on doors last year during the election campaign, we heard time and again from young families and workers about the struggle for good, affordable childcare. We also heard about the cost of fees, early years in childcare waiting lists and staff shortages.We all know there are several areas...