Results 4,661-4,680 of 5,732 for speaker:Fidelma Healy Eames
- Seanad: Order of Business (24 Mar 2009)
Fidelma Healy Eames: The Senator has not been listening. That is rubbish.
- Seanad: Order of Business (24 Mar 2009)
Fidelma Healy Eames: That is what we have been asking for.
- Seanad: Order of Business (24 Mar 2009)
Fidelma Healy Eames: The Government side is not listening. That is the problem.
- Seanad: Order of Business (24 Mar 2009)
Fidelma Healy Eames: Deputy Kenny spoke about it on the plinth at 2 p.m.
- Seanad: Order of Business (24 Mar 2009)
Fidelma Healy Eames: Hear, hear.
- Seanad: Order of Business (24 Mar 2009)
Fidelma Healy Eames: Hear, hear.
- Seanad: Order of Business (24 Mar 2009)
Fidelma Healy Eames: I am outraged at the thought of a national general strike next Monday. As a former member of IFUT and of the INTO, of which I am now an associate member, I am greatly disappointed with the misguided and poor leadership shown by teachers' unions. They have been encouraging teachers to strike when fewer than 50% of them voted for a strike in the ballot. This point needs to be made in the...
- Seanad: Order of Business (24 Mar 2009)
Fidelma Healy Eames: I am coming to my question, which will be appropriate. The Government has created and pandered to the leaders who are now calling for the national general strike. The Government must intervene now and it is time we examined the reconstruction of a social partnership that can serve the country at this time. Like everybody here, I call for the general strike to be called off. However, as I...
- Seanad: Order of Business (24 Mar 2009)
Fidelma Healy Eames: The Government must move.
- Seanad: Order of Business (24 Mar 2009)
Fidelma Healy Eames: The leadership is misguiding its members.
- Seanad: Order of Business (24 Mar 2009)
Fidelma Healy Eames: Hear, hear.
- Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2009)
Fidelma Healy Eames: The difficulty with the way the section is framed is that it could be another blocking mechanism to enabling a mother to have her child adopted. There are so many other considerations that this is very last thing a mother needs. If the mother needs a parent of a particular religion to adopt her child it may not be the best parent for the child's broader needs. It could really slow down the...
- Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2009)
Fidelma Healy Eames: I mentioned that having this section in the Bill could slow down adoption.
- Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2009)
Fidelma Healy Eames: A natural mother may have a desire to have her child adopted into a particular religion. I accept that could be something a natural mother would wish for. However, it will not be her sole consideration. She will have many other needs for the child. If one puts the issue of religion on top of her other requests, one may be very slow to find a suitable adoptive parent. I know this for a...
- Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2009)
Fidelma Healy Eames: I accept that consent should be fully informed.
- Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2009)
Fidelma Healy Eames: I am supportive of the mother's right to be informed, as her consent should be informed. Medical records can be attained without there being a legal requirement. Establishing a religion can be done in much the same way. Including it as a major section could lead to its becoming a blocking mechanism, a new hindrance to a child gettingââ
- Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2009)
Fidelma Healy Eames: I appreciate that point. Given that we are trying to be current and to plan for the next 20 years with this Bill, will the Minister of State consider this matter before Report Stage?
- Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2009)
Fidelma Healy Eames: I support Senator Bacik in her choice of words because, as I alluded to earlier, there may be cases where the mother does not know who the father is and the baby may have been conceived as a result of a very traumatic experience, be it rape or incest. The word "refuses" implies a lot that may only add to a great deal of pre-existing pain. Therefore, the words "does not" or "unable to" would...
- Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2009)
Fidelma Healy Eames: I support Senator Bacik. I would like the section to stand without amendment. It is important to consider the welfare of the child without any qualification. When a child is placed for adoption only the child's welfare must count and not whether the birth mother is placing requirements etc. The welfare of the child is a very wholesome concept. It embodies all the aspects, including the...
- Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2009)
Fidelma Healy Eames: I am happy to support the amendment. To be fair to current practice, social workers do try to establish medical history and while it has not been my experience in this country that they have supplied medical records of biological parents, they have certainly established medical history in anecdotal form. However, in the case of foreign adoption, I have, in my own case, been provided with...