Results 381-400 of 431 for speaker:Lorraine Higgins

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Health Services (2 Oct 2012)

Lorraine Higgins: I appreciate the Minister providing further clarity on the matter and I look forward to the facility being progressed in Portumna.

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Health Services (2 Oct 2012)

Lorraine Higgins: I thank the Minister for coming in to take the matter of the potential provision of a primary health care facility in Portumna, County Galway. Primary health care is the way forward in the delivery of essential health services. These services are imperative to the people living in and around Portumna and its hinterland. Such a facility would provide a wide range of services essential for...

Seanad: Thirty-First Amendment of the Constitution (Children) Bill 2012: Second Stage (2 Oct 2012)

Lorraine Higgins: I welcome the Minister, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, to the House to debate the constitutional change that is necessary to enshrine the protection of children in Bunreacht na hÉireann. I commend her and her departmental officials on all the great work they have done to ensure it was a priority for the Government from the very beginning of its term. I also acknowledge the role played in this...

Seanad: Syrian Conflict: Statements (25 Sep 2012)

Lorraine Higgins: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. He has been a regular visitor to the Seanad since he took up his portfolio, for which I commend him. I also compliment him on securing ¤2 million in aid for the war torn area. It is great that he is here to listen to our views and statements on the humanitarian crisis arising from the regrettable conflict in Syria. The conflict appears to be...

Seanad: Syrian Conflict: Statements (25 Sep 2012)

Lorraine Higgins: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. He has been a regular visitor to the Seanad since he took up his portfolio, for which I commend him. I also compliment him on securing ¤2 million in aid for the war torn area. It is great that he is here to listen to our views and statements on the humanitarian crisis arising from the regrettable conflict in Syria. The conflict appears to be...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Sep 2012)

Lorraine Higgins: I would like to raise the issue of safety on farms in light of the recent tragic accident involving the Spence family in County Down. While I acknowledge some of the circumstances in this case were unique, we cannot get away from the fact that we need to examine the issue of slurry and farm safety. I understand the difficulties that arise in regard to slurry are a consequence of the crust...

Seanad: Charities Act 2009: Motion (19 Sep 2012)

Lorraine Higgins: I welcome former Senator Kathleen O'Meara. Ms O'Meara works for the Irish Cancer Society. I see Mr. Hans Zomer from Dóchas who has been very strong in his efforts to establish a governance code for charities. Well done to him. I am pleased to participate in the debate and to second the Labour Party group’s Private Members’ motion on the Charities Act 2009. This is...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Jul 2012)

Lorraine Higgins: I welcome the national stimulus package announced by the Government today. Towns in east Galway, particularly Gort and Tuam, have benefitted significantly from the allocation of primary care centres, with many other towns also benefitting from the N17 and N18 motorway project now going ahead. I welcome Ulster Bank's proposal to compensate customers for inconvenience caused during the recent...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Jul 2012)

Lorraine Higgins: The bank must now not only provide restitution of the amounts taken from the customer accounts but must also fully compensate their customers-----

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Jul 2012)

Lorraine Higgins: -----which means it should make satisfactory payment or reparation to them. This should not be unilaterally decided by Ulster Bank and the institution should engage with customers, the Financial Regulator, the Minister for Finance and the Central Bank in order to arrive at a suitable level of compensation. I echo Senator Coghlan's calls for a debate on banking. I would like the Minister for...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Jul 2012)

Lorraine Higgins: Last week I raised the issue of Ulster Bank. At that time we were assured that all the issues pertaining to the whole debacle would be sorted out by the end of that week. We are now in the third week and the problem still persists. It is nothing short of shambolic on the part of the management that people are still not being paid their wages, that their social welfare entitlements are not...

Seanad: European Communities (Amendment) Bill 2012: Second Stage (26 Jun 2012)

Lorraine Higgins: Tomorrow.

Seanad: European Communities (Amendment) Bill 2012: Second Stage (26 Jun 2012)

Lorraine Higgins: Tomorrow morning at 10.30 a.m.

Seanad: European Communities (Amendment) Bill 2012: Second Stage (26 Jun 2012)

Lorraine Higgins: I welcome the Croatian ambassador to Ireland. I wish her, her government and country the best of luck on the road to accession to the European Union that will happen next year. I also welcome the Tánaiste and thank him for his detailed and informative contribution. I am delighted to have the opportunity to lead in the Second Stage debate on the European Communities (Amendment) Bill 2012 on...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Jun 2012)

Lorraine Higgins: Before raising an important issue, I commend the CEO of ISME, Mr. Mark Fielding, and Deputy Michael McGrath of Fianna Fáil on backing my calls to have Ulster Bank waive its fees to customers and to have the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform use its powers to deal with this issue. I seek also that the Minister for Finance would come to this House to debate...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Jun 2012)

Lorraine Higgins: I note that the submissions of the Galway Senators refer to the Volvo Ocean Race which is taking place in Galway in July. Consistent with the talk of water, I call for a debate on the setting up of a single inspectorate for water quality. The position now is that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Environmental Protection Agency, the local authorities, the HSE and...

Seanad: Primary Care Facilities (19 Jun 2012)

Lorraine Higgins: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank her for taking this Adjournment matter regarding the potential provision of primary health care facilities in the east Galway area. Primary health care was born as a concept under the Declaration of Alma-Ata in 1978 but it entered the Irish lexicon only in recent years. It was an important milestone in the promotion of world health as...

Seanad: Primary Care Facilities (19 Jun 2012)

Lorraine Higgins: I thank the Minister of State for her succinct response. I am delighted that 485 primary health care teams have been rolled out in recent times or will be rolled out in the near future. It represents a firm commitment on the part of the Government with regard to this country's health service. It is fantastic that deprived urban areas and small rural towns will get the benefit of the...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Jun 2012)

Lorraine Higgins: I wish to bring to the attention of the Seanad a matter I raised in the 2009 local elections when I ran as a candidate. On that basis I seek that the Minister of State with responsibility for housing and planning would come to the House to debate the legislation on developers' contributions. Changes must be made to the rules and laws governing same, as right throughout the Celtic tiger era...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Jun 2012)

Lorraine Higgins: I wish to raise it in a preliminary manner.