Results 261-280 of 669 for speaker:Grace O'Sullivan

Seanad: Marine Protection: Motion (23 May 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: That is July. What we are talking about here are the MPAs. I will be pressing my motion because I believe we need to do this and show leadership. Here we are once again not taking action with regard to climate change. We are talking and talking. We are an island nation on the western fringe of Europe and we have more territorial waters than many states. We really have something so...

Seanad: Marine Protection: Motion (23 May 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: I thank everyone who spoke in favour of my motion today. All parties, apart from the Government, have supported the motion. It is in our long-term interest and the interest of the nation.

Seanad: Order of Business (22 May 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: Senators might notice that some of us are wearing our green ribbons in the Chamber today. I know Senator Devine works very hard on the areas of mental health, as does Senator Ray Burke.

Seanad: Order of Business (22 May 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: The green ribbon signifies our opposition to the stigmatisation of mental health here in Ireland and acts as a reminder of the damage that such stigmas have done to those suffering from mental health issues in the past and in the present. One would think at this stage that this would be clear and would not be a controversial issue. During the current debate on the referendum to repeal the...

Seanad: Order of Business (9 May 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: Ahead of this evening's debate on the Local Government Accountability Bill, will the Leader and his colleague, the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, explain why they are preventing the publication of a key report into possible corruption in local government, a report that the Minister admits has been sitting on his desk since last June? Allegations of...

Seanad: Order of Business (8 May 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: I echo the words of Senators Higgins and Warfield with regard to the announcement by Facebook that it will restrict foreign advertising on the eighth amendment for the duration of the referendum campaign. This is to be welcomed and we hope Google will follow suit. There may be a loophole, however, with regard to Internet ad-handling companies. These are Irish-based companies which can...

Seanad: Prohibition of Conversion Therapies Bill 2018: Second Stage (2 May 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: I commend our youngest Member, Senator Warfield, the Sinn Féin spokesperson on LGBTQI rights. He is the perfect person to bring this Bill through the House because he represents the younger people of Ireland. I hope that this legislation will lead to an opening up of our communities to become inclusive, to recognise the reality of the society we live in and, as the Leader said, to...

Seanad: Address to Seanad Éireann by Commissioner Phil Hogan (26 Apr 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: The Commissioner is welcome. Like him, I am from the south east. I thank him for his update on what the Commission is doing. The engagement between the Commission and national parliaments is positive and should happen more, so I am pleased to see that the Commissioner will be attending the Committee on Agriculture, Food and Marine later today to discuss issues in greater depth. I am...

Seanad: Forestry Sector: Statements (25 Apr 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: It was good to hear the Minister of State talk about ecosystem services with regard to forestry. The one thing the previous speakers and I all have in common is that we would like to see more forestry in the right places in Ireland, which would require an increase in Government support for forestry. Forestry is unsurprisingly a topic of great interest to me as an ecologist and to the Green...

Seanad: Housing: Statements (25 Apr 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: Here we are again making statements on housing. It is impressive to hear the Minister talk about the numbers of houses being built, etc., but if I talk to people in my constituency in Waterford or meet people here in Dublin, the word on the street is that we still have a housing crisis. The articles I read in the newspapers are still about those who are suffering because of affordability....

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: I was approached by Senator Boyhan to countersign amendment No. 43. Based on his experience as a councillor and the argument he put to me, it would be a shame if there were to be a barrier preventing councillors from having an opportunity to lodge a submission on behalf of their constituents. I speak to amendment No. 43, which is similar to amendment No. 42 that was tabled by my Labour...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: I move amendment No. 46:In page 58, line 9, to delete “This” where it firstly occurs and substitute “Section 28 of the Act of 2016 and this”. I agree with the Minister's comments on amendment No. 46.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Response to National Emergencies: Irish Water (25 Apr 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: I thank Mr. Grant and his team for attending. We must acknowledge that, with climate change, we will likely see many more unpredictable weather extremes. My question is for Mr. Gallen and is on providing information to customers. I am from Tramore, County Waterford, where the local radio station was incredible in supporting its listeners and notifying them of the information Irish Water...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Response to National Emergencies: Irish Water (25 Apr 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: I have just one short question about a response in the event of a nuclear accident given that the water systems here are more or less open. Could Mr. Grant give some idea as to how Irish Water would react in the event of a nuclear accident at one of the many nuclear power plants on the west coast of the UK?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Response to National Emergencies: Irish Water (25 Apr 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: Today is the 32nd anniversary of the Chernobyl accident, which is why I wanted to bring it up.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Water Supply Project: Discussion (25 Apr 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: I thank the witnesses for their presentations. We need security of supply but we need to be sure supply is available through diversification. I support Ms Kennedy's work very much because she has given us the opportunity not only to go with the flow but to do our job as legislators and take a hard look at what is being proposed. I have a number of questions for Mr. Grant. The new...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for Older People: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Apr 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: I want to follow up on Mr. John O'Mahony's and Mr. Derek Tynan's point about the Netherlands. I lived there for nine years. It strikes me, having lived there, that its methodology for densities is incredible. The problem here is cultural. We are used to older people living in their family homes and it is no longer smart living. It is inefficient in many senses. It is not efficient to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for Older People: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Apr 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: Great.

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Apr 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: I second Senator Byrne's request that the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport attend the House for a debate on supporting the participation women in sport. I was a surfer when I was growing up in Tramore, County Waterford, and I recommend more participation in sport. I welcome the Government's announcement last week of plans to construct 42 new schools in areas of need across the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Schools Building Programme Delays: Discussion (17 Apr 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: I hope that it is okay that I am speaking ahead of the other members of the committee. I must leave to attend a debate.