Results 21-40 of 40 for other and baby speaker:Catherine Byrne

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: General Scheme of Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015: Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (10 Mar 2015)

Catherine Byrne: I thank Professor Murray for his presentation. We met the other day in room A in Leinster House and I thought his presentation there was excellent as well. In 1997, I visited Canada and toured there with a choir. Our main stay was in British Columbia, and we were taken aback by the fact that in most places we sang people were poor and had drinking problems. One of the biggest problems...

Protection of Life in Pregnancy (Amendment) (Fatal Foetal Abnormalities) Bill 2013: Second Stage [Private Members] (6 Feb 2015)

Catherine Byrne: ...bringing this Bill to the House. If there was ever a Bill I would like to support, it is this one. However, as the Minister already stated in his opening remarks, this Bill is unconstitutional and a referendum would be required to amend the Constitution. However, I believe Deputy Clare Daly knows this very well and, therefore, I cannot support this Bill at this time. I, like many...

Protection of Life in Pregnancy (Amendment) (Fatal Foetal Abnormalities) Bill 2013: Second Stage [Private Members] (6 Feb 2015)

Catherine Byrne: ...bringing this Bill to the House. If there was ever a Bill I would like to support, it is this one. However, as the Minister already stated in his opening remarks, this Bill is unconstitutional and a referendum would be required to amend the Constitution. However, I believe Deputy Clare Daly knows this very well and, therefore, I cannot support this Bill at this time. I, like many...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Acquired Brain Injuries: Discussion (6 Nov 2014)

Catherine Byrne: I thank the Devlin family for their presentation and the stories they recounted. It is a great privilege to be a member of this committee because every now and again members have an opportunity to meet people such as the Devlin family who share the trauma they have experienced. The joint committee makes decisions on health and submits recommendations to Ministers. The stories told by our...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Coping with Stillbirth Loss: Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Association (16 Oct 2014)

Catherine Byrne: I apologise for having to leave the meeting to take a call. I thank the witnesses for their presentation. As a mother and grandmother, I could feel Mr. Roche’s loss, love and most of all, his compassion for other people in a similar position. I live near the Coombe hospital and there is a mass there every year. Attendance has grown over the years rather than subsiding and more...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Update on Children and Youth Issues: Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (17 Jul 2014)

Catherine Byrne: I congratulate the Minister on his new appointment. I hope the approach he will take will have the same energy and wisdom which he brought to his last portfolio. As a doctor and a father, he knows too well the difficulties children face and the urgent need to address these. I welcome the establishment of the commission of investigation into mother and baby homes, as well as the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Minister for Health (10 Jul 2014)

Catherine Byrne: Both the Minister, Deputy Reilly, and the Minister of State, Deputy White, brought a breath of fresh air to the entire health system, particularly to the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive. I hope both of them remain under the remit of that Department and that we can continue the work already started. On the death of Emma Sloan, and I am not a medical expert, I did not...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Early Years Strategy: Discussion (6 Mar 2014)

Catherine Byrne: ...the longer one spends at home with one's children the better chance one has of connecting with them, but sadly, that it is not possible for many young people, particularly when they have mortgages and have found themselves in negative equity. I would agree with the point made by Deputy Kelleher in that I have passed many a housing estate where children are being bundled into the cars at...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Report on Perinatal Deaths at Midland Regional Hospital: Discussion (6 Mar 2014)

Catherine Byrne: I thank the Minister, Dr. Holohan and Ms McGuinness for providing the report. The very basic rights of care - compassion and respect - are very important, whether one is going to a GP or a hospital and whether one is pregnant or going for any other reason. There seemed to be a failure in this case. The report made me very angry, sad and, above all, made me believe something broke down in a...

Early Childhood Care and Education: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (12 Feb 2014)

Catherine Byrne: I welcome the debate on the child care as it is an issue which affects most of us at some time in our lives. I was very lucky when I had my children in that I was able to stay at home and spend time with them and see them grow up, flourish and do all their activities. I spent many a time running around bringing groups of children from one end of the street to the other. Today things are...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2013: Discussion (Resumed) (30 Jan 2014)

Catherine Byrne: ...of the packaging but the rest thought the picture on the package looked awful. However, the picture on the package is the size of a postage stamp. If we are to promote good health through standardised packaging, we need to put more thought into the image on the box. In my opinion as a non-smoker, the image is too small. I got the sense that the aforementioned young smokers did not...

Topical Issue Debate: Tobacco Control Measures (14 Nov 2013)

Catherine Byrne: ...of State is correct in that certain social backgrounds lead to younger smoking, for whatever reasons. Will the Minister of State consider making a medical intervention such as is found in other European countries, for example, England, where nicotine patches are made freely available to pregnant women as a matter of course? This could be the first step in making a difference in the...

Topical Issue Debate: Tobacco Control Measures (14 Nov 2013)

Catherine Byrne: Each morning as I pass the Coombe Women & Infants University Hospital on my way to the Dáil, I see pregnant women standing outside taking a smoke break before they return to their hospital beds. These women are often heavily pregnant and one cannot help but feel concern given the risk to their unborn babies and themselves. The medical community is in no doubt about the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Cystic Fibrosis Unit: Discussion (13 Dec 2012)

Catherine Byrne: Deputy Ó Caoláin has already asked a question regarding the new national children's hospital and the connection with Crumlin hospital, and I was going to ask something similar. It is a good news story that people are living a little bit longer, but do they have the necessary services? In recent years, I have met only two people with cystic fibrosis. One is a young lad who lives...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: World Prematurity Day 2012: Discussion with Irish Premature Babies Organisation (22 Nov 2012)

Catherine Byrne: As a mother of three healthy children who were born on time, I do not have the experience of giving birth to a premature baby but I know others who have gone through the experience and how it affects their extended families. It is difficult to manage sick children at home because we have not made the connection between services. Is there a reason for the global trend of rising rates and is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion with Community and Voluntary Groups (8 Nov 2012)

Catherine Byrne: I wish to raise a few issues around the National Federation of Voluntary Bodies. I have read its report. In regard to Appendix 1, the campaign strategy questionnaire, are there any facts and figures showing a reduction in family supports, home visits and so on which could be added to the document for the future? I shall move on to the Irish Hospice Foundation. There is always great joy...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Second Stage (Resumed) (19 Apr 2012)

Catherine Byrne: I am sharing time with Deputies John Paul Phelan and Tom Barry. I welcome the Bill and congratulate the Minister on taking the lead on this issue and making changes to the social welfare system, which is in need of mindful and urgent reform. This reform is just the first steps on the road to recovery for social welfare. Many more changes are needed to make the system work better and to...

Health Services: Motion (5 Oct 2010)

Catherine Byrne: ...she hears the contributions from this side of the House. It is difficult to know where to begin when talking about the cuts in the health service. Deputy Reilly has already alluded to some of them and I will give some examples. A 97 year old woman's home help service was cancelled because she had overstayed her time in hospital while having a surgical procedure. The community nursing...

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010: Second Stage (Resumed). (16 Jun 2010)

Catherine Byrne: ...welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill, which will result in significant changes in social welfare payments this year as the Government tries to tackle social welfare costs, which currently stand at €20 billion per annum. In the past, social welfare was associated with the poor and disadvantaged. Now, in more difficult times, social welfare recipients come from all walks of life,...

Adoption Bill 2009 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed) (26 Nov 2009)

Catherine Byrne: I welcome the Bill to the House because it offers genuine hope to thousands of couples who desperately want a family but for various reasons cannot have children of their own. It opens the door to giving children a loving home, with an extended family in a new country. The Bill provides for the incorporation of the Hague Convention into Irish law, a welcome move which will implement...