Results 3,641-3,660 of 4,168 for speaker:Susan O'Keeffe

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (10 Jul 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I second that proposal. It is a petition with various aspects, some of which are very personal to the petitioner and cannot be entertained by this committee. However, if this is a matter in which moneys are being spent on behalf of large communities and if it involves bodies such as Fáilte Ireland, then it is appropriate that moneys be spent correctly and that this committee...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (10 Jul 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: It is a very serious matter that anybody would appear to have passed themselves off as a commissioner for oaths. I understand there is a register of commissioners for oaths, so perhaps we need to draw the attention of the president of the Law Society and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to the fact that the register needs to be upgraded and updated. It is not clear whether this...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: CAP Reform and Related Matters: Discussion (9 Jul 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I thank the Minister for her comments. I would be interested in hearing a little more about young farmers in Northern Ireland, how they are coping, what the profile is in their staying in or leaving the business, the support she believes she can give, leaving aside the CAP, and what she envisages the state of farming will be in the next ten to 20 years for young farmers entering it. On the...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Jul 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I congratulate Emily O'Reilly, the new European Ombudsman. It is a remarkable achievement to succeed in securing the appointment. I thank Senator Quinn for his debate yesterday evening. While I take the Cathaoirleach's point about refraining from comment on yesterday's business, I note that the discussion on the important issue of food labelling raised, yet again, the issue of children's...

Seanad: Food Provenance Bill 2013: Second Stage (3 Jul 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: On a point of information, I want to clarify the rules on the guaranteed Irish label. Any product or service in respect of which at least 50% of the value was added in Ireland can qualify as guaranteed Irish. The figure for the "Love Irish Food" brand is over 80%.

Seanad: Food Provenance Bill 2013: Second Stage (3 Jul 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: The Minister of State is very welcome. It is good to have him in the House for his first outing and I hope he is enjoying the robust and informative exchanges we always have here. I hope the glass of wine he may have at the weekend will be even more enjoyable now that Senator O'Brien has alerted him to its contents. Like others, I welcome the great hard work done by Senator Quinn in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Management of Upland Habitats in County Wicklow: Discussion with Wicklow Uplands Council (18 Jun 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I apologise for my not having been present to hear some of the replies given. I was trying to be in two places at the same time. Mr. Brown said that various people suggested changing the breed of sheep. He stated this would require research and that he hoped to do this. I would have believed that with all the various organisations involved in farming, research and education, it would not...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Management of Upland Habitats in County Wicklow: Discussion with Wicklow Uplands Council (18 Jun 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: Is the economic information not available?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Management of Upland Habitats in County Wicklow: Discussion with Wicklow Uplands Council (18 Jun 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: Mr. Byrne is saying that if he had research-based evidence of that, it might encourage farmers to engage with the idea of changing their stocking patterns.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Management of Upland Habitats in County Wicklow: Discussion with Wicklow Uplands Council (18 Jun 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: Has Mr. Byrne applied for funding for that research?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Management of Upland Habitats in County Wicklow: Discussion with Wicklow Uplands Council (18 Jun 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I thank Mr. Byrne for the clarification.

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Jun 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: It was not incorrect.

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Jun 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: We will forgive him. Even I will forgive him. Following a very successful Yeats day in Sligo last Thursday, I thank Senators for their good wishes. In advance of the visit of Prime Minister Abe of Japan to Dublin tomorrow and to cement the links between Ireland and Japan which promise enormous economic, tourism and cultural benefits, I thank Ambassador John Neary who will host a Yeats'...

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Jun 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: As I am sure others have done, I welcome the First Lady of the United States and her family to Ireland. I hope they have enjoyed their brief stay. They have done the country a service by raising its profile and drawing attention to our tourism product. I thank the US President, Mr. Obama, for having had the foresight to quote William Butler Yeats while he was here and for never missing an...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Management of Upland Habitats in County Wicklow: Discussion with Wicklow Uplands Council (18 Jun 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I thank the delegates for their presentation and great enthusiasm. What is Wicklow Uplands Council's relationship with Coillte? Does the designation of the area to which they are referring as a national park assist or hinder them in their efforts and, if either is the case, will they explain why? The delegates spoke about recreational use. Have they anything more to say on that matter?...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Disease Eradication Programmes: Discussion with Animal Health Ireland (11 Jun 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: If I may go back to SCC, I note the witnesses have their 2012-2014 strategy. As I should know but I do not, I ask their forgiveness for asking what they lay down in that strategy for that count. As it seems 2020 is a generous time by which to achieve this, I ask how confident they are they will achieve their target. What did they lay down to be achieved by 2014 and are they confident that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Disease Eradication Programmes: Discussion with Animal Health Ireland (11 Jun 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: Clearly, mastitis is not a new problem. I appreciate the dilemma Ms McCoy has with the figures. She can only work with what she has. However, based on her figures, almost half are above what she would ideally like them to be. After all the years and with all the knowledge we have about mastitis, why are we still at this level? It is not a new disease that farmers are struggling to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Disease Eradication Programmes: Discussion with Animal Health Ireland (11 Jun 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I know it is, but it is an indicator. Based on those figures, 52% are where we would like them to be. How confident can we be about the other 48% reaching the target?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Disease Eradication Programmes: Discussion with Animal Health Ireland (11 Jun 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I share the concerns about BVD. The target cell count for mastitis was set out but what is the cell count at present if we want it to be 200,000 per millilitre by 2020? What are the ramifications of the count being higher than 200,000?

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Jun 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: No one has stood up and said, "That was my fault: I did that".