Results 321-340 of 669 for speaker:Grace O'Sullivan

Seanad: Technological Universities Bill 2015: Report Stage (21 Feb 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: I accept what the Minister of State said. I recognise that some institutions have been named in unsympathetic or unsuitable ways. It would be best to have it written into the legislation. I accept the Minister of State's point that there would have to be agreement between the Minister of the day who might not be the current incumbent and the institution concerned. In good faith, I will...

Seanad: Technological Universities Bill 2015: Report Stage (21 Feb 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: I cosigned this amendment. I support Senator Norris and have to say that the amendment is better worded than that which I brought through on Committee Stage. The institutions in question have an existing ethos and it is worth exploring it. The report that led to the founding of regional technical colleges, RTCs, in 1967, the Mulcahy report, is the North Star of these institutions.It...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Feb 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: I wish to raise the recently announced public consultation on the British Government's plan to develop a new reactor at Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset, England. Like my colleagues in the Civil Engagement group, I came to the Seanad from the world of activism. In my case it was ten years on Greenpeace ships combatting nuclear weapons and nuclear waste in the Pacific,...

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Feb 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: I wish the Cathaoirleach and all Senators a happy St. Valentine's Day. On that note, I ask Senators to support the people of Waterford in their request for 24-7 heart care. Last Saturday, more than 2,000 people walked on the streets of Waterford to demonstrate once again their absolute desire, request and hearty need for 24-7 cardiac care in Waterford. The Herity report has been completely...

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Feb 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: When people leave the catheterisation lab after being told they have multiple heart problems, they are stuck on a waiting list. There is no modular lab. I ask the Government to provide a modular lab at University Hospital Waterford, in addition to the mobile lab, to deal with these problems. This would ensure people are not sent out into the uncertainty of being left on waiting lists...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: I move amendment No. 13:In page 10, between lines 39 and 40, to insert the following:"(iii) the Water Framework Directive,". This Bill proposes to insert a new section 31S into the Planning and Development Act 2000. The new section provides for various policies, objectives and requirements to which the regulator must have regard. This list already includes a number of EU directives. The...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: When I consulted Green Party councillors on this Bill, they recommended that these amendments should be proposed. Like Senator Humphreys, I do not see a problem with naming specific directives in order to strengthen the Bill. I would like to hear the Minister's reaction to that.

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: I withdraw it.

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: I take the Minister of State's response in good faith. If all these directives are implicit in the Bill, I am happy to withdraw these amendments.

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: Based on what the Minister of State has said, I will withdraw the amendments and bring them to Report Stage.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Reports on Homelessness: Discussion (14 Feb 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: This is one of the most fruitful and beneficial meetings of the joint committee that I have attended. It is very useful to have an evidence based report and I note also that we are already discussing what we, as legislators, can do to advance some of the issues under discussion. Does Focus Ireland intend carrying out an analysis in other counties? Can the findings of the report be...

Seanad: Technological Universities Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) (13 Feb 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: I move amendment No. 21:In page 28, line 2, to delete "to at least honours bachelor degree level". The purpose of the Bill is to provide the regions that currently do not enjoy the presence of a full university access to a higher standard of third-level education. This is an aim I support. We must ensure the provisions of the Bill do not mean that it will amount to a mere rebranding...

Seanad: Technological Universities Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) (13 Feb 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: I would be interested to hear from the Minister of State how many of the institutes of technology, IOTs, make the grade. She has said that there is a challenge for the IOTs but it would be interesting to know that at this stage and it would influence whether I decide to press the amendment or bring it forward to Report Stage.

Seanad: Technological Universities Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) (13 Feb 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: I will withdraw it and bring it forward again on Report Stage, when I hope to get more information.

Seanad: Technological Universities Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) (13 Feb 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: I move amendment No. 23:In page 28, line 21, to delete “that leads to at least honours bachelor degree level”.

Seanad: Technological Universities Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) (13 Feb 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: I move amendment No. 26:In page 31, to delete line 27 and substitute the following:“(a) demonstrating the standards required for university designation, and specifically eligibility under the criteria,”. The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that compliance with the eligibility criteria as laid out in the Bill is not the maximum standard that would be applied to applicant...

Seanad: Technological Universities Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) (13 Feb 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: The point is that there are eligibility criteria but they should not be the final threshold. There would be an additional possibility to have more options available in terms of setting the bar. It is all about excellence and creating a bar to which one wants to aspire and not setting a criteria level at this stage without that option to develop upwards and onwards.

Seanad: Technological Universities Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) (13 Feb 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: No.

Seanad: Technological Universities Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) (13 Feb 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: I want to put on the record that I intend to bring forward an amendment on Report Stage to include the promotion of the Irish language.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Climate Change Policy (8 Feb 2018)

Grace O'Sullivan: Today the Dáil will vote on the Petroleum and Other Minerals Development (Amendment) (Climate Emergency Measures) Bill 2018, introduced by Deputy Bríd Smith. It is similar to a Bill the Green Party has put forward on this issue. That Deputy Smith's party and mine have produced these Bills indicates the groundswell of public support for a sea change in politics recognising the need...