Results 3,541-3,560 of 4,168 for speaker:Susan O'Keeffe

Seanad: An Appreciation of the Life and Work of Seamus Heaney: Statements (3 Oct 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: He loved to visit, to read and to talk to the students who came and still come from around the world to learn about Yeats and to enjoy contemporary poetry. He generously signed books for people, worrying in recent years that the shake in his hand from his illness would stop him from doing so, but continuing to do so because he knew how much it meant to people. His generosity of time,...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Oct 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: Perhaps Senator Cullinane should check his figures before he puts them forward. I wish to respond to Senator Leyden's remarks about wanting to dissolve the Government and so on and so forth. That is a pretty useless thing to be saying at this point. I do not believe anyone would thank us for calling for such a thing at a time like this and Senator Leyden knows that perfectly well. He is...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Oct 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: There is work to be done and that is what we will do.

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Oct 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I do not believe that the future of the Labour Party is what people are interested in.

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Oct 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: What people are interested in is having a country that is better than the country Fianna Fáil left in 2011. I thank the Leader, Senator Cummins, for organising the tributes to Seamus Heaney later today. Seamus's wife, Marie, will join us in the Gallery, and that is important for the Seanad on this day. I can think of no finer way for the Seanad to end its career. Whatever happens...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Oct 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: It is better than the zero growth when Fianna Fáil was power.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Revised Eligibility Criteria for State Pension (Contributory): Discussion with Minister for Social Protection (2 Oct 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: My question is about the other petition. There has been preliminary contact with the Minister's office about the petition which has the broad idea of amending the Social Welfare Acts to provide for the exclusion of short periods of PRSI contribution which then affect a person's overall pension. The Minister's Department advised us that there were no plans to amend the legislation and even...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Revised Eligibility Criteria for State Pension (Contributory): Discussion with Minister for Social Protection (2 Oct 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I thank the Minister for that very useful overview. Those figures are encouraging. We do not often consider poverty rates in that way and think of them as having improved despite the difficulties elsewhere. A petition that came before us related to recognising the importance of work in the home, an issue about which the Minister has spoken previously. The changes were introduced over a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: 2014 Pre-Budget Briefing: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Oct 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: We are doing the same thing this year.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: 2014 Pre-Budget Briefing: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Oct 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: Is this meeting about mapping?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: 2014 Pre-Budget Briefing: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Oct 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: That is okay, Chairman. I am just frustrated by the conversations about mapping and so on. I understand that is a hugely important issue for individual farmers, but it is not what we are here today to discuss. In addition, there are time constraints involved. My difficulty relates to the fact that we do not even have a rough idea of how we might address this matter. We do not really know...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Sep 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: Patience, Senator Leyden.

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Sep 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I add my voice of congratulation on another note to the three young girls, Emer Hickey, Ciara Judge and Sophie Healy-Thow from Kinsale Community School. I am sure others have already done so but I have not yet had the opportunity. I do so in support of those teachers and parents who help young children, and particularly young girls, in the science and technology area. It is an outstanding...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Sep 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I echo the comments of others on the advertisements and the difficulty which stems from them. I join in asking the Acting Leader to write and seek some clarification or removal of those posters.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Office of the Ombudsman Annual Report 2012: Discussion with Ombudsman (26 Sep 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: It goes to the core of what the Ombudsman's office can do if a Department were to come back with a response that a matter does not come within the office's jurisdiction, bearing in mind that the issue has already been despatched by the office.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Office of the Ombudsman Annual Report 2012: Discussion with Ombudsman (26 Sep 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I echo the Chair's thanks to the Ombudsman and I wish her the very best in her new role. I am sure all members share the Chair's pride that Ms O'Reilly will be our representative in Europe. In the context of her most recent report, Ms O'Reilly stated that the HSE and the Department indicated their view that she did not have jurisdiction to conduct an investigation into issues relating to...

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Act (Commencement) Order 2013: Statements (24 Sep 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I welcome the Minister. Although we discussed the legislation in question at some length when it was brought before the House, it is useful, given the level of public interest in the format of whatever banking inquiry is established, to have a further debate today. The Minister's proposals have already been described as a farce, with various faults and failings identified. This level of...

Seanad: Report of Seanad Public Consultation Committee: Statements (18 Sep 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I welcome the Minister of State. While the future of the House may be a little uncertain, one thing that is certain is that lifestyle affects one's health. One of the key statistics in the report is that we know, without fear of contradiction, that 30% of common cancers are influenced by the way in which we live our lives. As Senator MacSharry noted, one of the initiatives launched in this...

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Sep 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: They could bilocate.

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Sep 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: We all have a role to play in the way we debate the retention of the Seanad and its reform. There is probably not a single person in this room who does not agree that we need to reform the way we do business and the way we are elected. We all have an individual responsibility towards that. I have organised a debate on this issue which will take place next Wednesday at 6.30 p.m. in the...