Results 4,481-4,500 of 4,899 for speaker:Jennifer Murnane O'Connor

Seanad: Commencement Matters: HSE Correspondence (24 May 2017)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I thank the Minister of State. I ask that she go back to the Minister and ask for some kind of structure such that the health board would meet with Deputies and Senators, even if only three times a year, and for there to be numbers that we can get and which are relevant. I understand that everyone is busy. That 82-year old lady was waiting for weeks due to issues relating to private health...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: HSE Correspondence (24 May 2017)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: That is what we need to go back to.

Seanad: Order of Business (24 May 2017)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I think we all have a bit of a bone to pick today. I welcome the fact that €17 million has been paid out so far as part of the new help-to-buy scheme. It is a great scheme. As we all know, it is for first-time buyers, whether it be to build one's first house or to buy a new house or apartment, provided one is going to live in the property. It is an excellent scheme. It provides...

Seanad: Order of Business (24 May 2017)

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

Seanad: Order of Business (24 May 2017)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: No, it has been taken up.

Seanad: Order of Business (23 May 2017)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I also want to pass on my sympathies to the people of Manchester in the wake of this devastating event. Our thoughts are with them. HSE figures for 2017 show that 2,520 children and young people are waiting for an initial assessment by our mental health services.There has been an increase of 44 on last year. That is unacceptable. Children are waiting more than a year or two years for...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 May 2017)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I am the only one who gets addressed for that.

Seanad: Order of Business (23 May 2017)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: That is a first.

Seanad: Order of Business (23 May 2017)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: There have been cuts across the board.

Seanad: Order of Business (23 May 2017)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: He is very busy at the moment.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: School Closures (17 May 2017)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I thank the Minister for coming to the House. I will give him a rough guide to the school and the service it gives to the students, particularly to those in the area of Bagenalstown. The proposed closure of the Muine Bheag vocational school, which was announced in March 2016, was a devastating blow to the community of Bagenalstown. Parents, students and staff alike were shocked by the...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: School Closures (17 May 2017)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I also thank the Minister for his reply. The situation was handled very badly. Damage was done. If one is a parent and believes that a school could close, one looks at one's options as a mother or father and whether to leave one's child the school even though it is unclear whether it will be open in five years' time. It is important that the Muine Bheag school is kept open. It is a DEIS...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 May 2017)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: Yesterday, I was going to speak on the revaluation of commercial rates that has been happening across the country. This is happening in my home area of Carlow and Kilkenny at the moment. I believe the confusion over the revaluation is the way the system has been set up. It is a new system. It is very confusing when businesses have received their rates. In my area it is multiplied by...

Seanad: Second Interim Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes and Certain Related Matters: Statements (17 May 2017)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I thank the Minister for her comprehensive report. We in Fianna Fáil recognise the vital importance of the commission in delivering justice and accountability for all those affected by mother and baby homes. It is important that we focus on the mothers and babies. These mothers and babies must come first and they must have our sole focus. We recognise the considerable harm that has...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 May 2017)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I would like to raise two issues, one of which has already been raised by Senator Colm Burke, namely, anti-social behaviour. In the last few years, there has been a lot of anti-social behaviour that has not been addressed through local authorities. The reason it has not been addressed by local authorities is because there is no mechanism available to families to have it addressed. When a...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 May 2017)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: Other speakers have raised two issues.

Seanad: Order of Business (16 May 2017)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: Everybody who has spoken thus far has raised two issues.

Seanad: Order of Business (16 May 2017)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I never get the opportunity to raise two issues.

Seanad: Order of Business (16 May 2017)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: On the first issue, I agreed with Senator Burke. The issue I want to raise is the revaluation of commercial rates.

Seanad: Order of Business (16 May 2017)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: This happens to me all of the time. There has been a revaluation of commercial rates in Carlow in the last few months. Commercial rates-----