Results 2,961-2,980 of 5,732 for speaker:Fidelma Healy Eames

Seanad: Suicide Prevention: Statements (12 Jan 2012)

Fidelma Healy Eames: There are many other factors. That is how complex it is. It is to do with societal change, societal pressure, etc. I wish to condemn the remarks of Mr. Brian Mooney in that regard. I really admire the man on other fronts. He is an eminent speaker and commentator in The Irish Times, but this is not professional. It is not fitting for this man because he is too good to be using that type...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Jan 2012)

Fidelma Healy Eames: That is a national issue.

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Jan 2012)

Fidelma Healy Eames: It is a national issue.

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Jan 2012)

Fidelma Healy Eames: More people refer to Lonely Planet guides when they go on holiday.

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Jan 2012)

Fidelma Healy Eames: In the context of cutbacks in budgets, we must be careful about the way we deal with the education of children in primary schools, especially concerning the restructuring of schools which is likely to emerge in the area of small rural schools. Let us look at the evidence. One size does not fit all. In this context I wish to welcome one measure, namely, the review the Minister for Education...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Jan 2012)

Fidelma Healy Eames: I am glad this was heralded in the newspapers today.

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Jan 2012)

Fidelma Healy Eames: I wish the Cathaoirleach and my fellow Senators a happy new year. I am pleased to join with Senator Ivana Bacik in marking how important it is for the Minister, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, to be in Vietnam to renegotiate the bilateral agreement. The House will recall the long and arduous hours we spent in the last session debating the new Adoption Bill, now enacted, and also the 20 families...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Jan 2012)

Fidelma Healy Eames: -----to be taught to all children in schools because it is really when children are well and healthy that they need to learn about suicide prevention. It is important that we do not abuse the airwaves when we have them.

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Dec 2011)

Fidelma Healy Eames: I wish to add my words of greeting and blessings to everyone in this House — to you, a Cathaoirligh, the Seanad staff and clerks, and to all my fellow Senators in this House. We soldier together here. We have our battles but, ultimately, we are all present with the intention to do our best by the country and the people, be it at Government level, party level or individual level. We must...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (15 Dec 2011)

Fidelma Healy Eames: It is interesting to listen to Senators' comments. I do not believe there is enough evidence to suggest that reducing child benefit for third and subsequent children is exposing children and families to poverty because the way the social welfare scheme is set out there are other measures within the system to pick up the slack, such as family income supplement. It goes back to my point in...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (15 Dec 2011)

Fidelma Healy Eames: I will revise the word "wonderful" in light of that interjection.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (15 Dec 2011)

Fidelma Healy Eames: It is positive that child benefit was maintained at €140 per child. It also says that all children are equal in the eyes of the social welfare code. If anything, I would be able to make a much stronger argument that the first child should receive more child benefit than any other child because this is where all the expenses are incurred and all the infrastructure is put in place around...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (15 Dec 2011)

Fidelma Healy Eames: I realise it is a tricky one——

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (15 Dec 2011)

Fidelma Healy Eames: I am just suggesting that.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (15 Dec 2011)

Fidelma Healy Eames: The point made by Senator van Turnhout about the birth rate is valid. Maintaining and encouraging the birth rate is critical. Her points were well made and I respect her comments in this regard. I had a chilling experience in the past two weeks. I was in Brussels attending an EU summit on China, and we know how high birth rates are there. There was an interjection from the Serbian...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (15 Dec 2011)

Fidelma Healy Eames: It is clear I am staying with section 8. We must encourage the maintenance of our birth rate and I would rather see families supported in a different way. Another speaker alluded to one of the measures. If we want to avoid high rates of leaving school early and intergenerational fall-out, it would be wonderful to see a school meals programme. It would be very positive as it would ensure...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (15 Dec 2011)

Fidelma Healy Eames: Exactly. I ask the Minister to consider this issue in a more holistic fashion and examine overall household income. It was put clearly to me earlier that the system is not set up that way. We must also consider the position of the child within the family, which the Minister indicated she would do, particularly with regard to the one-parent family. We must also consider how such children...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (15 Dec 2011)

Fidelma Healy Eames: It is a pity we are not taking sections 7, 11 and 14 together because they are all about the one-parent——

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (15 Dec 2011)

Fidelma Healy Eames: I accept that but it is a pity, given our time and the——

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (15 Dec 2011)

Fidelma Healy Eames: With regard to section 7, I am conscious there is a deadline of 1 January for discontinuance of the transitional measures that enable one-parent families to continue to be paid for a period of up to six months where a claimant's earnings exceed €425. We are only three weeks away from 1 January. Have these one-parent families——