Results 4,141-4,160 of 4,168 for speaker:Susan O'Keeffe

Seanad: Unfinished Housing Developments: Statements (13 Jul 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: I thank the Minister of State for coming before the House. I have a great and interesting vision of him riding with Senator O'Donnell along the motorway with a bulldozer. There is merit in that argument. As my colleague, Senator Hayden, pointed out, there will be a need to bulldoze some of the buildings or estates. It is far too simplistic to say that all of them can be matched with...

Seanad: Foreshore (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (6 Jul 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: I apologise for my absence earlier. I thank the Minister for attending and for taking note of the issues raised. I look forward to debates with him on this and other matters in the future.

Seanad: Foreshore (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (6 Jul 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: I thank the Minister for attending. I welcome this legislation for the clarity it provides. In recent years we have seen that we are at a point now where our seas are being industrialised. There is no other way of putting it. It is a resource that has been lapping gently on our shores for hundreds of years yet it is only now that we are beginning to realise the potential of the sea and...

Seanad: Ambulance Service (5 Jul 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: I thank the Minister of State. The inquiry is most welcome. Does the Minister of State know how long it will take for the inquiry's report to be published? In answer to my direct question on the jet I was told I could not have these details because of the HIQA inquiry but the story may well be covered by the media. This may cause a difficulty further down the line. My specific question...

Seanad: Food Safety Standards: Statements. (5 Jul 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. His passion and enthusiasm for this sector is clear and we are all grateful for that. Before addressing the main issues, I suggest that one of the issues with regard to people wishing to get into the food industry at a micro level or on a small scale, with a view to expanding later, is the difficulty in finding a suitable premises. For...

Seanad: Ambulance Service (5 Jul 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House at this late hour. The Minister will be aware of the story of the liver transplant that did not happen at the weekend. We had the media to rely on for the story over the weekend. I would be grateful if the Minister would give the House an outline of what happened. It appears now, although I cannot confirm it, that the girl's father has...

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Jun 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: As a journalist of some years standing, perhaps I, too, need to go back and learn how to write. I understood the word "bonus" to mean something one is given for doing a good job. It seems that many people having been taking bonuses and doing a very bad job.

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Jun 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: I echo the calls on bonuses and the bonus culture, which do not belong in this time. If we are to pay bonuses in future they must be for a job well done, which is my understanding of the reason for a bonus. In the House on Tuesday I referred to temperatures rising on matters to do with health. It seems that temperatures are rising again and it is not good for the health of the people in...

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Jun 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: The Senator does himself a disservice.

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Jun 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: I again ask the Deputy Leader to urge the Minister for Health to come to the House as a matter of urgency. It is clear that people are gathering in Portlaoise, Roscommon and across the country, concerned about hospitals. It is of concern to all of us because we do not need that kind of stress in the system and we do not need people gathering. Senator Whelan attended the meeting last night...

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Jun 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: I have already asked for the reconfiguration of hospitals in general. If a service is being closed, a hospital is being reconfigured. It is the same call in a different way. We need to see the Minister for Health and I appreciate he is very pressed.

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Jun 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: We should ask the Minister for Health to come to the House to discuss health in general. The health of this House and the health of the nation are not doing well.

Seanad: Whistleblower Legislation: Motion (29 Jun 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "That"' and substitute the following: "Seanad Éireann noting the commitments in the Programme for Government in relation to introducing whistleblower protection — commends the Government's decision to introduce overarching legislation for enactment by the Oireachtas providing for good faith reporting and protected disclosure on a uniform...

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: I wish to share time with Senators Back and Higgins.

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: I thank the Minister for coming into the House. On foot of Senator Barrett's comments, we might dub him part of the Celtic troika.

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: Absolutely not. It is meant in the best possible taste. I am delighted to welcome the Minister and this Bill which places public service reform functions on a statutory basis for the first time. It seems extraordinary that it is the first time this has happened, so we welcome it as significant, albeit technical, legislation. There will be many opportunities in the months ahead for actions...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Jun 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: Tempers inside and outside the House are running very high in the health debate. Clearly, there are many issues to be raised concerning local and regional hospitals, cancer services and the moratorium on recruitment which is affecting the opening of the accident and emergency department in Letterkenny and other services. I spoke to a person in a very senior position in the mental health...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Jun 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: The House is entitled to express its outrage and concern about such behaviour, no matter where it occurs or who commented. We have that right and ought to use it. Will the Leader urge the Minister for Health to attend the House to at least give a progress report on the reconfiguration of hospitals and to address the points on the moratorium and the difficulties arising across the country? I...

Seanad: Housing Market: Motion (22 Jun 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House and for his considered response. The dilemma facing those in distress is that their financial future is now mapped out. It is almost set in stone and they have very little leeway. Therefore, neither do we have any option but to do something about it. We do not need to know again what the figures are. There is a bit of the cynic in me,...

Seanad: Housing Market: Motion (22 Jun 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: We need to be in a position very soon to debate some of the ideas that the Minister of State has been working on. Those people who tell us and the Minister of State about their concerns are our families, our neighbours and our friends. They are not the people out there. They are our people and therefore, if we tell them that this is under active review, they will shake their heads and say...