Results 241-260 of 1,966 for speaker:Mary Henry

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

Mary Henry: I listened to his programme for many years even though, thank goodness, I did not have much to do with emigration. We should not be too modest or parochial about who will listen to and look at these programmes. RTE should lift its sights rather than remembering the people in Dagenham, many of whom are dead. RTE is now broadcasting to a totally different generation of Irish people. When I...

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

Mary Henry: RTE needs to look up. This radio station will broadcast not just to the Irish communities in the United Kingdom, or to elderly people. It should be regarded as showing the Irish face. English is a second language for many people. Why not aim at them? I accept the Minister's arguments and will withdraw the amendment but I hope this station will not be regarded as addressing only a few...

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

Mary Henry: Will the Minister explain why it was not necessary to mention 2FM and Lyric FM in the Bill?

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

Mary Henry: I also support the amendment. I had not identified the necessity in this regard because I had taken it for granted Irish channels would appear near the top of the guide.

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

Mary Henry: On the free-to-air British channels that are easily received in most areas of the country, will one of these multiplexes take care of them? I do not suppose the Minister is in a position to force them to do so but I would have thought that was important. Will there be any competition among the various groups that will set up these multiplexes so that we will know what each is offering? I...

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?

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

Mary Henry: I move amendment No. 4: In page 4, line 30, after "television" to insert "and digital radio mondiale". The Government amendments are welcome but I would prefer if the Minister accepted our amendments because they are more specific. It is not enough to insert "a sound broadcasting service", we must specify what we want. This service will not just be for people in Britain, where there are many...

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: 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 (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: 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. (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: 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 (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: 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.