Results 261-280 of 1,354 for speaker:Robbie Gallagher

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (22 Mar 2023)

Robbie Gallagher: I request that the Deputy Leader ask the Minister, Deputy Ryan, to come into the House at the earliest opportunity to discuss the report published yesterday by the so-called independent commission on the North-South interconnector. As Members will be aware, this is a high-powered electricity connection which will link the networks in the North and the South. We have been talking about this...

Seanad: Location of Victims' Remains: Motion (22 Mar 2023)

Robbie Gallagher: I welcome the Minister of State to discuss this very important issue. Death is an unwelcome and uninvited guest that calls to all homes from time to time, bringing with it a sense of loss and heartache. When that death comes in a sudden manner it adds a different layer to the grief. When that death comes violently it adds another layer on top of that again for the families concerned. Then...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Local Authorities (8 Mar 2023)

Robbie Gallagher: The Minister of State is welcome back to the House. I would like to raise the ongoing delays with taking-in-charge applications that residents of housing estates and local authorities are encountering. The taking in charge of residential estates is the statutory responsibility of the planning authority under section 180 of the Planning and Development Act 2000. However, Uisce Éireann,...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Local Authorities (8 Mar 2023)

Robbie Gallagher: I thank the Minister of State for his response. I appreciate he is just taking this matter on behalf of someone else but, unfortunately, the response does not even mention the question in hand. We are wasting everybody's time in many regards with this very disappointing response. It leaves me in a situation whereby I do not know where to go from here. Will the Minister of State follow up...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Local Authorities (8 Mar 2023)

Robbie Gallagher: I thank the Minister of State.

Seanad: Sex Offenders (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (8 Mar 2023)

Robbie Gallagher: I also welcome the Minister of State to the House. I just listened to Senator Clonan and I commend him on tabling the amendment. I look forward to the Minister of State’s response. From where I am sitting he seems to have identified a serious gap that needs attention.

Seanad: Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Bill 2019: Second Stage (7 Mar 2023)

Robbie Gallagher: I welcome the Minister to the House and at the outset, I would like to give credit to him for this legislation and I am delighted to speak on behalf of the Fianna Fáil group, along with my colleague Senator Clifford-Lee. Fianna Fáil believes in the delivery of fundamental public health services to the highest standard through investment, innovation and reform. It is critical that...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Ambulance Service (1 Mar 2023)

Robbie Gallagher: The Minister of State is very welcome to the Chamber. Unfortunately, I am again raising the issue of ambulance delays which, sadly, has become a perennial issue. Ambulance and emergency responses are critical to the survival of many patients. Therefore, initiatives to solve the problem, or at the very least alleviate it, are crucial. In recent years communities have fundraised to purchase...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Ambulance Service (1 Mar 2023)

Robbie Gallagher: I thank the Minister of State for his response.I welcome the fact that new positions are being created which is vitally important. It is also vitally important that citizens in communities the length and breadth of the country have confidence in our health service, particularly our ambulance service, so that in the event of an accident happening, or somebody being taken unwell, that, based...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (1 Mar 2023)

Robbie Gallagher: There are 42,300 people on a public waiting list for eye care in this country. The National Treatment Purchase Fund figures released in December last year showed 33,268 were on the outpatient eye care waiting list, with more than 12,100 of those waiting longer than a year. There were 9,108 people awaiting inpatient eye procedures, with nearly 1,000 waiting more than a year. These figures...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Pharmacy Services (23 Feb 2023)

Robbie Gallagher: I welcome the Minister of State to the House to discuss the role community pharmacies could have as key players in providing healthcare to our communities. We are all aware of the pressures experienced by many GPs across the country. GPs are oversubscribed, we do not have enough GPs and people cannot get added to a GP list. We are well aware of this issue in many parts of the country,...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Pharmacy Services (23 Feb 2023)

Robbie Gallagher: I thank the Minister of State for her comprehensive response. I am very heartened by it. It would appear that the Department of Health's door is certainly open for discussion as to how best we can utilise our community of pharmacists, with a view to alleviating pressure on our GPs and accident and emergency departments. I am heartened by that. We can take a lead from best international...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (22 Feb 2023)

Robbie Gallagher: I wish to raise the plight of some 44,500 HSE workers, including hospital porters, doctors, physiotherapists, caterers and others who are still waiting on increases in their pensions.Thousands of retired nurses, social workers and many others are missing out on pension increases due to a problem with the HSE updating its computer system. Under the Building Momentum pay deal, these retirees...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Feb 2023)

Robbie Gallagher: Last week in the House I raised the plight of workers at the Nuremore Hotel and Country Club in Carrickmacross. These workers and their families have been left high and dry by their employer, who appears to have disappeared into thin earth and people are finding it very hard to contact him. These workers have no work and are owed wages, holiday pay and redundancy payments. I commend them...

Seanad: Domestic Violence (Amendment) Bill 2023: Second Stage (15 Feb 2023)

Robbie Gallagher: I welcome the Minister of State. On behalf of the Fianna Fáil group, I welcome this legislation. I commend my friend and colleague, Senator Martin, on bringing forward this worthwhile Bill. The Bill, as Senator Martin outlined, seeks to amend the Domestic Violence Act 2018 to protect victims of coercive control. We look forward to the Minister of State bringing forward further...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Departmental Programmes (14 Feb 2023)

Robbie Gallagher: The Minister is very welcome to the Chamber this afternoon. A number of years ago the Nuremore Hotel and Country Club in Carrickmacross hit the headlines for hosting Mr. Jack Charlton and the Irish soccer team back in the heady days of the successful Irish soccer teams we used to have. Hopefully, it will not be long before we have such days again. Unfortunately, today the hotel is hitting...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Departmental Programmes (14 Feb 2023)

Robbie Gallagher: I thank the Minister for his response. It is news that this investor programme will be closed down as and from tomorrow at the close of business. In more general terms, what motivated that particular decision? My main concern is the workers attached to the hotel and what recourse the State has through the Department of Justice or others in respect of non-compliance with commitments given...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 Feb 2023)

Robbie Gallagher: I echo the comments of my learned colleague from County Louth about how a decision made by his party might not have been the wisest. I acknowledge his acceptance of that and the need to consider restoring town councils. They should never have been abolished in the first place. I would encourage such a debate. I refer to the ongoing discussions about possibly restoring the 9% VAT rate to...

Seanad: Moving Towards Zero Tolerance of Violence against Women: Statements (9 Feb 2023)

Robbie Gallagher: I wish to share time with Senator Casey. We will take three minutes each.

Seanad: Moving Towards Zero Tolerance of Violence against Women: Statements (9 Feb 2023)

Robbie Gallagher: I too welcome the Minister to the House this afternoon. This is the first opportunity I have had to address him. I wish him well in his new brief and compliment him on the enthusiastic manner in which he has handled it to date. I wish him well in his work. Fianna Fáil welcomes this debate on the important topic of zero tolerance for violence against women. It is imperative that the...