Results 4,201-4,220 of 4,887 for speaker:Jennifer Murnane O'Connor

Seanad: Statement by the Taoiseach (1 Feb 2018)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: The Government is not looking after rural Ireland. Senator Buttimer is totally wrong.

Seanad: Statement by the Taoiseach (1 Feb 2018)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I am glad the Taoiseach clarified that.

Seanad: Emergency Department Waiting Times: Statements (31 Jan 2018)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I can only speak for my area of Carlow-Kilkenny. This year, the number of patients on trolleys in Kilkenny hospital was up. The staff are worn out. They are excellent and do a great job. Over Christmas, there was one particular unit where there were 44 beds but 52 people being cared for. They were on couches. That is how bad it was. We need to look at this because it is getting worse....

Seanad: Emergency Department Waiting Times: Statements (31 Jan 2018)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I ask the Minister to look at Kilkenny hospital again. They do a great job but the staff and the doctors are put to the pin of their collars.

Seanad: Housing: Statements (31 Jan 2018)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I thank the Minister of State for addressing the House today. Changes are being made albeit they are very slow to come. Over seven years in government, the Minister of State and his colleagues have built 5,000 social housing units. The most recent figures show there are nearly 9,000 homeless people in Ireland. Nationally, there are approximately 5,500 adults and 3,500 homeless children....

Seanad: Technological Universities Bill 2015: Second Stage (30 Jan 2018)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I will share my time and keep it brief.

Seanad: Technological Universities Bill 2015: Second Stage (30 Jan 2018)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I am delighted to welcome the Technological Universities Bill. It is a wonderful time in education with the potential of a technological university for the south east, called TUSE, consisting of Waterford Institute of Technology and the Institute of Technology, Carlow. I welcome the Bill as it will allow the process to progress. Carlow needs...

Seanad: Technological Universities Bill 2015: Second Stage (30 Jan 2018)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: Absolutely. We are very proud of it. There is so much employment there and so many students have done very well out of it. More than 100 master's, honours and ordinary degrees and higher certificate courses are available at the Institute of Technology, Carlow. As well as traditional degree courses, it also offers niche courses. Many of them are the first of their kind in Ireland. For...

Seanad: Technological Universities Bill 2015: Second Stage (30 Jan 2018)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I was trying to keep it short.I really welcome this legislation. It is so important. I think this is one of the best Bills that will ever pass through the House. I am absolutely delighted with this Bill, and all I can ask the Minister of State is for this to go through as quickly as possible, because it is crucial.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Local Authority Housing Waiting Lists (25 Jan 2018)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I have raised the issue several times in the past of how Carlow County Council has one of the lowest income thresholds for people seeking inclusion on its housing list. As the Minister of State is aware, unless a person is on a local authority housing list, he or she will not get rent allowance or housing assistance payment, HAP. To qualify for Carlow County Council's housing list, the...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Local Authority Housing Waiting Lists (25 Jan 2018)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I thank the Minister of State. It is important that Carlow's threshold of €27,500 increase to at least €31,000 or €32,000. People cannot stay within that threshold and they will not qualify for mortgages because they are not earning enough. Since timing is crucial, the Minister of State will revert to me as soon as possible. It must not be left until the end of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (25 Jan 2018)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: Pillar 5.02 states, "To ensure that housing supports, including [the housing assistance payment] HAP, are fair and sustainable". I have had some incidents recently in my area. If a person gets on the local authority housing list and qualifies for HAP, he or she is entitled to a first-time deposit as a one-off. We have now returned to what we would have known as the social welfare offices,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (25 Jan 2018)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I have many more questions but I will ask them another time.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (25 Jan 2018)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: It is a good scheme.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (25 Jan 2018)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: Many of the questions I was going to ask have been asked. The uptake of rapid-build housing is disappointing. I always felt this was very much targeted at cities like Dublin, Cork and Limerick and that we needed more in rural Ireland. On the issues of homelessness and emergency homelessness, it is very disappointing that the rent pressure zones were not rolled out further as we are...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (25 Jan 2018)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: They are not. I checked it out.

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Jan 2018)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I agree with the previous speaker. Even though we are delighted with the changes, there needs to be a lot more done. I firmly agree with that. I would like to raise an international issue that has very disturbing local consequences. The UK construction and service company, Carillion, which is involved in six projects in Ireland, collapsed this month. The six Irish projects include five...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development (Amendment) Regulations 2018: Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government (23 Jan 2018)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I thank the Minister of State for his opening statement. I was delighted to hear about the meeting that took place yesterday. It is important to get the officials in all the local authorities together because a problem exists in this area. The Minister of State referred to the repair and lease scheme but, in general terms, it is not working because of a funding issue. Carlow and Waterford...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development (Amendment) Regulations 2018: Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government (23 Jan 2018)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I agree with Senator Boyhan. This is a very serious issue. Health is a major issue. We all want broadband because modern technology will be crucial to our lives in future. The Minister of State indicated that minor changes would be made to the height of poles and structures carrying overhead lines. Larger structures will also be built to facilitate a greater number of antennae. I have to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development (Amendment) Regulations 2018: Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government (23 Jan 2018)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: That is crucial.