Results 3,321-3,340 of 3,697 for speaker:Lynn Ruane

Seanad: Public Service Pay and Pensions Bill 2017: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2017)

Lynn Ruane: I thank the Minister of State for his time this afternoon. Unfortunately, I was not able to stay until the end of the Second Stage debate on Tuesday but I read the record and I agree with something the Minister of State said. I commend him on the achievement of unwinding the financial emergency measures in the public interest, FEMPI, legislation in an orderly and controlled manner....

Seanad: Public Service Pay and Pensions Bill 2017: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2017)

Lynn Ruane: I move amendment No. 3:In page 17, between lines 19 and 20, to insert the following:“Report on the impact of teacher pay differentials 25.The Minister shall, within six months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before the Houses of the Oireachtas a report on the impact of the differential pay scale introduced for new entrants to teaching and shall examine the...

Seanad: Public Service Pay and Pensions Bill 2017: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2017)

Lynn Ruane: I oppose this section as it is basically the same as the previous section. It relates to non-covered public servants. All the arguments that applied to the previous section would apply to this section as well. The principle is linked to section 22, which entrenches discrimination between cohorts of public servants based on union membership and their level of support and opposition for the...

Seanad: Public Service Pay and Pensions Bill 2017: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2017)

Lynn Ruane: I move amendment No. 6:In page 32, after line 16, to insert the following:“Report on union membership 46. The Minister shall, within six months after the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before the Houses of the Oireachtas a report on the following—(a) the impact of the measures contained in this bill on union membership, (b) the potential measures that could be taken to...

Seanad: Public Service Pay and Pensions Bill 2017: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2017)

Lynn Ruane: I accept most of what the Minister of State has said, especially that relating to the Department's intentions. Unfortunately, however, sometimes policy has unintended consequences. Whether it is the intention of a Department or a particular policy to discriminate in a particular way or to discourage union membership or not, unfortunately the impact of some of these decisions is that people...

Seanad: Public Service Pay and Pensions Bill 2017: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2017)

Lynn Ruane: Then it would be a very positive report.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Completion of the Examination of the Report and Recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly and Preparation of a Draft Report in accordance with the Terms of Reference of the Joint Committee (13 Dec 2017)

Lynn Ruane: I have no issue with Deputy O'Connell's motion. I have an issue with the way the motions are grouped because my two motions are excluded even though they seek to include socio-economic as a health ground. We have heard lots of evidence about how some countries and jurisdictions, that have access to abortion on health grounds, also include socio-economic but do not name it as a ground. I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Completion of the Examination of the Report and Recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly and Preparation of a Draft Report in accordance with the Terms of Reference of the Joint Committee (13 Dec 2017)

Lynn Ruane: Rather than vote on the two motions separately, we can just remove the word "physical" because there would be no distinction between physical and mental health, as per the previous vote. So rather than vote twice on my two motions, I suggest that we have one vote but we remove the word "physical".

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Completion of the Examination of the Report and Recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly and Preparation of a Draft Report in accordance with the Terms of Reference of the Joint Committee (13 Dec 2017)

Lynn Ruane: I echo pretty much what Deputy Smith has said. We have not set gestational periods on any other recommendation relating to health and fatal foetal abnormalities, apart from the limit of up to 12 weeks. Earlier, Senator Mullen spoke about a category of people. He said people with disabilities are a category of people and that we are looking to introduce abortion because they are a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Completion of the Examination of the Report and Recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly and Preparation of a Draft Report in accordance with the Terms of Reference of the Joint Committee (13 Dec 2017)

Lynn Ruane: I move motion No. 24:That the committee would recommend that the termination of pregnancy should be lawful on socio-economic grounds, with a gestational limit determined by the woman in consultation with a doctor Although this is now a standalone ground, it is hard to speak to it without acknowledging how the majority of the committee voted on the woman's health ground. I struggle to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Completion of the Examination of the Report and Recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly and Preparation of a Draft Report in accordance with the Terms of Reference of the Joint Committee (13 Dec 2017)

Lynn Ruane: I have one more point. Many people have spoken to me about the socio-economic ground as if it is only a financial issue. The suggestions is that these women just do not have enough money for an extra child. People do not really understand the impact of class on a woman's situation. It is not always about finances. There is a multitude of factors. I hoped this would pass as an indicator...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Completion of the Examination of the Report and Recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly and Preparation of a Draft Report in accordance with the Terms of Reference of the Joint Committee (13 Dec 2017)

Lynn Ruane: Can I make an amendment that, if people are concerned about that, if they look back-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Completion of the Examination of the Report and Recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly and Preparation of a Draft Report in accordance with the Terms of Reference of the Joint Committee (13 Dec 2017)

Lynn Ruane: If they are concerned about the fact there is no gestational period. That does not meant there are no medical guidelines or best practice. If that needs to be put in at the end, so be it. Deputy O'Connell's first motion, which we voted on, stated "Provision for gestational time limits for the termination of pregnancies be guided by the best available medical evidence and be provided for in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Completion of the Examination of the Report and Recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly and Preparation of a Draft Report in accordance with the Terms of Reference of the Joint Committee (13 Dec 2017)

Lynn Ruane: While it would be fair enough to elaborate on the amendment, I do not think any doctor is ever going to carry out an abortion on someone who is eight months pregnant. That is just not the same thing that I would intend here. If there is a line that can better suit the intention-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Completion of the Examination of the Report and Recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly and Preparation of a Draft Report in accordance with the Terms of Reference of the Joint Committee (13 Dec 2017)

Lynn Ruane: That might not pass and it might be separate.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Completion of the Examination of the Report and Recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly and Preparation of a Draft Report in accordance with the Terms of Reference of the Joint Committee (13 Dec 2017)

Lynn Ruane: We could add in that "the provision for gestational time limits for the termination of pregnancies be guided by the best available medical evidence and be provided for in legislation".

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Completion of the Examination of the Report and Recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly and Preparation of a Draft Report in accordance with the Terms of Reference of the Joint Committee (13 Dec 2017)

Lynn Ruane: Yes. When I came to this meeting I had decided to withdraw my motion because I hoped that members would support my other two motions. I am afraid that the provision of access up to 12 weeks will rule out a lot of women who will need to access an abortion at 13, 14 and 15 weeks. They will not be catered for in any shape or form.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Completion of the Examination of the Report and Recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly and Preparation of a Draft Report in accordance with the Terms of Reference of the Joint Committee (13 Dec 2017)

Lynn Ruane: It is important to elaborate it again. The last question was very much linked to rape even though it does say "without restriction". It is important to have it as stand-alone matter as well in order that it can never be misconstrued that it was only passed in relation to rape and that it actually encompasses everything. It is important to vote on it again as a stand-alone matter, that is,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Completion of the Examination of the Report and Recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly and Preparation of a Draft Report in accordance with the Terms of Reference of the Joint Committee (13 Dec 2017)

Lynn Ruane: No.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Completion of the Examination of the Report and Recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly and Preparation of a Draft Report in accordance with the Terms of Reference of the Joint Committee (13 Dec 2017)

Lynn Ruane: Yes.