Results 461-480 of 720 for speaker:Tom Clonan

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: A Rights-Based Approach and Disability Legislation: National Disability Authority (20 Apr 2023)

Tom Clonan: I apologise that I had to leave this morning. I had to go to a crisis meeting. I really wanted to hear what National Disability Authority had to say today and I am at a disadvantage in that I did not hear what it spoke to today. I very much appreciate the National Disability Authority coming in here and the work that it does. Deputy Higgins mentioned the lived experience. I have come...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: A Rights-Based Approach and Disability Legislation: National Disability Authority (20 Apr 2023)

Tom Clonan: It is great to hear that. I take the example of my son. He went to a mainstream school. He is now in third level and with a group or cohort of people who will be very familiar with a wheelchair and will not be afraid to ask how this works or what that is for. Before I got elected, my only experience of disability was our own family's journey. My son has a rare disease so we were never...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (19 Apr 2023)

Tom Clonan: For the record, I will mention a social media message that was posted last night by Senator Keogan. It refers to certain office holders in the State, including the Garda Commissioner Drew Harris. On my behalf and that of Senators McDowell, Boyhan, Craughwell and Norris, I wish to publicly repudiate the tone, content and message contained in that post. It will raise feelings of alienation...

Seanad: Civil Liability (Schools) Bill 2023: Second Stage (19 Apr 2023)

Tom Clonan: I commend the proposer, Senator Mullen, and the seconder, Senator McDowell, on putting forward this Bill. I agree with Senator Ahearn that it contains a lot of common sense. In a previous life back in the 1980s, as a young primary school teacher, I was involved in many extracurricular activities with pupils. I was horrified to note that, in later years, when my children were in primary...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Youth Work: Discussion (18 Apr 2023)

Tom Clonan: Can you tell me what UBU stands for?

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Youth Work: Discussion (18 Apr 2023)

Tom Clonan: I thank the witnesses for coming in. I have two straightforward questions and I invite each of the stakeholders to address them. I am struck by a recurring theme through all the presentations of the use of staffing, funding, premises and another pattern around the qualitative impact of youth work versus the trend towards quantitative measures imposed by funding streams and so on. The...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Agency Bill: Discussion (18 Apr 2023)

Tom Clonan: I just came in to listen and to meet some my colleagues and friends here. On the matter of independent monitoring and oversight, the independent review group, which published its report on sexual violence in the Defence Forces showed that 23 years after the publication of my own research in that area, the situation has deteriorated significantly. That will be further quantified by a...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Mar 2023)

Tom Clonan: Yesterday the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces stated that he was not aware of the level of sexual harassment and sexual violence in the Defence Forces until he spoke to the Women of Honour. The Defence Forces knew since 2000 about the prevalence and the extent of sexual violence throughout the organisation. They knew from the PhD I wrote, which was published in 2000, that one in four...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Mar 2023)

Tom Clonan: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Independent Review of the Handling of Past Complaints of Abuse in St John Ambulance Ireland: Motion (29 Mar 2023)

Tom Clonan: I thank the Minister for coming in here today. I thank my colleagues in the Seanad for proposing this motion and for the work that they have done, notably Senator Seery Kearney, who has done great work in this area, and Senator Ward. I have seen Mr. Mick Finnegan. I live not far from where I have often seen him standing on the footpath.I salute him and commend him on his bravery and moral...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Special Educational Needs (28 Mar 2023)

Tom Clonan: I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. I am seeking a statement from him on Department of Education Circular 0038/2007. The circular applies to primary school children who have a specific speech and language disorder. I raise this matter because the circular, which dates from 2007, needs to be updated. It is 16 years old. It consists of three paragraphs. The introductory...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Special Educational Needs (28 Mar 2023)

Tom Clonan: I appreciate that the Minister of State has not heard my four-minute contribution until this morning. However, I know that he has heard me. As parents and carers in Ireland we are confronted with a situation where progressing disabilities in the community has failed. I received an on the record statement to that effect from the former CEO of the HSE, Mr. Paul Reid. For children like...

Seanad: Historic and Archaeological Heritage Bill 2023: Report and Final Stages (22 Mar 2023)

Tom Clonan: I echo what Senators Boyhan and Higgins have said in support of the amendment and ask the Minister of State to consider them. The Valletta Convention and the Malta Convention contain some comprehensive definitions of what constitutes archaeological, cultural and architectural heritage. While there is a task in the context of transposing and transcribing that into the Bill, it is worth doing...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Work and Priorities of the Defence Forces: Engagement with Chief of Staff (21 Mar 2023)

Tom Clonan: A dhaoine uaisle, tá fáilte romhaibh go léir go dtí Teach Laighean. It is a very special moment for me to meet the general staff, having served myself as an officer in the Defence Forces. I will try to be brief. A lot of questions have been asked. My primary interest is in the culture of the Defence Forces. Women of Honour was referenced. As the general staff...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Work and Priorities of the Defence Forces: Engagement with Chief of Staff (21 Mar 2023)

Tom Clonan: A Chathaoirligh, I asked the Chief of Staff a specific question regarding an apology to me and my family for the reprisal that was visited upon us. All I did was engage in leadership in holding the organisation to account, as instructed by the Chief of Staff. This committee and these Houses are all about holding powerful institutions of the State to account. Several of my questions were...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Work and Priorities of the Defence Forces: Engagement with Chief of Staff (21 Mar 2023)

Tom Clonan: It has been on the public record for more than 20 years and the Chief of Staff is well aware of it, as are all others present.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Work and Priorities of the Defence Forces: Engagement with Chief of Staff (21 Mar 2023)

Tom Clonan: An apology would be the opportunity to show the leadership that indicates there is a cultural change. The absence of such an apology sends a clear signal that these matters have not changed and there is still-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Work and Priorities of the Defence Forces: Engagement with Chief of Staff (21 Mar 2023)

Tom Clonan: With respect, this is my lived experience-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Work and Priorities of the Defence Forces: Engagement with Chief of Staff (21 Mar 2023)

Tom Clonan: It is a missed opportunity.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Work and Priorities of the Defence Forces: Engagement with Chief of Staff (21 Mar 2023)

Tom Clonan: I appreciate that and I await the Chief of Staff's invitation, but it is on the public record and has been so for some time. I appreciate the Chief of Staff's bona fides in that regard, however, and-----