Results 3,741-3,760 of 4,168 for speaker:Susan O'Keeffe

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Mobility and Motorised Transport Allowances: Discussion (6 Mar 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I will have to leave for a vote in about two minutes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Mobility and Motorised Transport Allowances: Discussion (6 Mar 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I thank the Chairman and will be as quick as I can. I thank the witnesses for drawing so many issues to our attention. On the letter that the HSE sent to the Ombudsman in October 2012 that I mentioned earlier, the HSE speaks of an organised response. I wonder whether Mr. McCabe's organisation knew about that or whether that was the first he had heard that there was an implementation plan...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Mobility and Motorised Transport Allowances: Discussion (6 Mar 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I have two queries. With regard to the motorised transport grant, I am sorry for the confusion earlier about the age. On the description of disability, is there an estimate that an additional 19,000 people would be applying for that grant? That is the information that was given to me by people with disability but perhaps the witness would clarify that. My other question relates to the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Mobility and Motorised Transport Allowances: Discussion (6 Mar 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I seek two short clarifications. Clearly the Secretary General and his team do not have time to deal with the other matters we have not reached. Will we have the opportunity to invite the Secretary General back? We have been unable to deal with an entire area, primarily because this is incredibly serious and very many members wanted to speak, which is entirely fine. However, I am...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Mobility and Motorised Transport Allowances: Discussion (6 Mar 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I thank the Secretary General for coming at such short notice. We appreciate it and recognise this is a matter of enormous importance to many people, and we are joined today by the very people who are affected. I would like to address the particular matter at this stage and come back to the wider matter later. Could we get more information on the calculation of €100 million and how...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Mobility and Motorised Transport Allowances: Discussion (6 Mar 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I do not have a copy.

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Mar 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: Once again, I ask the Leader to invite the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to the House to talk about horsemeat. The issue has been with us for some weeks and we have not seen the Minister. I appreciate that he is busy and that, as Senator Pat O'Neill has pointed out, the CAP negotiations are exceptionally important. However, any number of questions arise from the horsemeat...

Seanad: Address to Seanad Éireann by Ms Emer Costello, MEP (28 Feb 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I welcome Ms Costello to the House. Many Members, particularly Senator Colm Burke, and to lesser extent myself, have been calling for a closer alignment with the activities of the European Parliament. We have not succeeded with the legislative side but certainly having Ms Costello and her fellow MEPs appear before the Seanad is welcome because it means we are trying to reach out and bring...

Seanad: Magdalen Laundries Report: Statements (27 Feb 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch. Like other speakers I thank her for the work she has done and her unfailing belief in the women who were treated in this way. She never gave up. When she went into government she worked even harder on the issue. We are all grateful to be present for the debate as it is a sign that we have moved on. I wish to start my contribution...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (27 Feb 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: This petition is very interesting and it is great to see members of the public coming forward to engage with The Gathering and seeking to find ways to use pre-existing resources to support both The Gathering and, as this petitioner suggests, other future activities. Perhaps it is appropriate to pass to the petitioner the information that has been gathered on behalf of the joint committee but...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (27 Feb 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I suspect the petitioner's idea that video games should be included in the English curriculum would cause great concern and debate because I am sure a number of people would argue this should not be the case. However, he has an interesting idea and this is a good example of where committees in the Oireachtas can be joined up because the Joint Committee on Education and Social Protection is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (27 Feb 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: This is indicative of the fact that the joint committee is becoming a visible place to which people bring current issues. This is the joint committee's first petition to be so current in respect of people responding and discovering the joint committee's presence. It is good that members are able to pass on this petition to the Joint Committee on Health and Children as the most appropriate...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (27 Feb 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I must leave for a vote.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (27 Feb 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: This petition is obviously a matter of importance concerning the rise in the registration fee by the Garda National Immigration Bureau. However, we think it is not appropriate for this committee, as no particular work has been undertaken by the petitioner in the first instance. I do not believe we should refer the matter to another committee. However, we could inform the petitioner that...

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Feb 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I support Senator O'Neill's call for an extension to the hedge cutting season by a week, given the poor weather. I ask the Leader to ask the Minister to attend to that matter. With regard to the Ombudsman's report on the mobility allowance and motorised transport scheme, Opposition Senators have very short memories, as normal. Many of these problems have been around for a very long time.

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Feb 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I am talking about these particular grants.

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Feb 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I am talking about Fianna Fail's failure to do anything about them.

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Feb 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I do. Like others, I am concerned about people who need grants. The Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, addressed the Joint Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions, of which I am a member, and said: That is the other option. We hope the scheme will continue to protect the people most in need. We will have somebody new to devise a scheme. We are inviting someone in to...

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: Social Entrepreneurship: Discussion (21 Feb 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I thank the Chair and commend the witnesses on their enormous enthusiasm and energy. Ms Casey spoke about the importance of mapping the sector. Is she speaking about starting from scratch or has anything been done already? It may be of some benefit to Mr. Whelton to know that in conjunction with IT Sligo I am working with parents on a project on the STEM subjects. This project was...

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: Social Entrepreneurship: Discussion (21 Feb 2013)

Susan O'Keeffe: I am not sure. Girls need a bit of encouragement. They are just as smart in these matters but they often feel it is a boy thing.