Results 501-520 of 1,966 for speaker:Mary Henry

Seanad: Diabetes Policy: Statements. (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Henry: I thank Senator Browne for allowing me to speak ahead of him. I also thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive statement but I was struck by the absence of certain things in it. Haemochromatosis, as the Minister of State knows, is a genetic condition which is very common in this country. Approximately one in 300 people have it and one in 20 is a carrier. The gene must be present in...

Seanad: Diabetes Policy: Statements. (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Henry: The Minister of State should put his best foot forward to settle it. I was recently told by a diabetologist that virtually the only reason apart from serious accident or malignancy that a person in this country has a leg amputated is diabetes, and that is really dreadful. We have managed to cut down on smoking and other causes, and we must now get at this problem and make people realise how...

Seanad: Agrifood Sector: Motion. (29 Mar 2006)

Mary Henry: We always like to hear what Senator Bannon has to say on agriculture, so I would like to share my time with him. I welcome the Minister to the House and I congratulate her on the work she has been doing in the Department. I hope she looks at the remarks on this side of the House as further encouragement. We must instil in our children the importance of agriculture and horticulture in Ireland....

Seanad: Agrifood Sector: Motion. (29 Mar 2006)

Mary Henry: That is a wonderful organisation and I applaud it for having made the effort to come to St. Stephen's Green with chickens, hens, a cow and a few sheep. Some city children have little notion of where food comes from. Leaflets are being sent out to the various schools about this and it is a worthwhile effort. There is a plague of obesity in this country which did not exist ten or 15 years ago....

Seanad: Finance Bill 2006 [Certified Money Bill]: Committee and Remaining Stages. (29 Mar 2006)

Mary Henry: On Second Stage I spoke about the importance of the changes in the tax relief schemes which would benefit high income earners. I agree with the attempts being made by the Minister to have high income earners improve their own situation by these schemes, but he recognised in his reply last night that they will also affect philanthropy. While the universities, the National Gallery, some...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2006 [Certified Money Bill]: Committee and Remaining Stages. (29 Mar 2006)

Mary Henry: Senator Mansergh points out that certain people are associated with companies, but some companies do not like individuals giving what they would perhaps see as the company's funds to what they would describe as a pet project, and would feel it is a private matter.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2006 [Certified Money Bill]: Committee and Remaining Stages. (29 Mar 2006)

Mary Henry: Yes, but not all corporate entities are private, and shareholders sometimes have funny views.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2006 [Certified Money Bill]: Committee and Remaining Stages. (29 Mar 2006)

Mary Henry: I support the recommendation as one who is old enough to remember campaigning for the extension of ophthalmic and dental benefits to the wives of insured workers. It is often underestimated how important this area is in preventive medicine. Whatever it would cost the Exchequer, it would be nothing compared to how it would benefit the citizens in preventive treatment.

Seanad: Shot at Dawn Campaign: Statements. (28 Mar 2006)

Mary Henry: Is that agreed? Agreed.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2006 [Certified Money Bill]: Second Stage. (28 Mar 2006)

Mary Henry: Is that agreed? Agreed.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2006 [Certified Money Bill]: Second Stage. (28 Mar 2006)

Mary Henry: I want to raise the issue of tax relief schemes which are of benefit to high income earners. The Minister rightly put a stop to those schemes which were causing unjust benefit to very high income earners in allowing them not to pay any income tax. In section 17, the Minister has included those who earn over €250,000 and who give donations to universities, cultural institutions and so forth....

Seanad: Order of Business. (28 Mar 2006)

Mary Henry: I am sure I am not the only member of the Seanad who wishes to congratulate the Minister for Transport on securing Mr. Gay Byrne as chairman of the new statutory road safety authority. Senator Morrissey will be glad to know that the issue of unaccompanied learner drivers is one of the first he intends to address. I support Senator Morrissey's call for a debate on road safety, which should...

Seanad: Cancer Services: Motion. (22 Mar 2006)

Mary Henry: May I give Senator Dardis the first minute of my time?

Seanad: Cancer Services: Motion. (22 Mar 2006)

Mary Henry: I find the Government amendment depressing, and the Minister of State's speech profoundly depressing. The Government seems determined to carry out this action and that, but when? Senator Minihan asked for a national population register, but I asked for that over ten years ago. It is absolutely essential for screening. The idea came to me during the debate that I would try to get the Minister...

Seanad: Cancer Services: Motion. (22 Mar 2006)

Mary Henry: It would be a way to get it done. It is dreadful to ask Irish women to congratulate the Government on the fact that the survival rate at five years for breast and cervical cancer is only 4% below the EU average. The Minister of State cannot do it. We know the only countries lower than us are Estonia, Slovakia, Poland and Scotland. We cannot ask Irish women not to query why they should not be...

Seanad: Cancer Services: Motion. (22 Mar 2006)

Mary Henry: We cannot accept such a ridiculous statement. We cannot accept that opportunistic screening is apparently to suffice for the moment all over the country, while we sort out general practitioners. We know this is not even free to those women with medical cards. The Minister of State could tell me that his Department will provide opportunistic cervical cancer screening free to every woman with a...

Seanad: Cancer Services: Motion. (22 Mar 2006)

Mary Henry: There is another important factor in the increase of breast and colorectal cancers in this country, obesity. Since the Progressive Democrats and Fianna Fáil have entered Government, the obesity rate in the population has increased from 9% in 1997 to 18% now. That is another factor which will increase the incidence of cancer in this country. It is fine to state that there has been a doubling...

Seanad: Cancer Services: Motion. (22 Mar 2006)

Mary Henry: This doubling has come from a figure close to zero. This will not do. The Health Research Board is of course doing tremendous work in cancer research, but the population is not getting the benefit. Senator Browne mentioned that two oncologists left Cork and went to Dublin due to lack of facilities and backup. I had great trouble in persuading an oncologist in another centre, which I will not...

Seanad: Cancer Services: Motion. (22 Mar 2006)

Mary Henry: I move: That, in view of the fact that cancer is the second most common cause of death in Irish women and that death rates from cancer are higher in women in Ireland than in women in other European countries, Seanad Éireann regrets the lack of progress in: —expanding the very successful cervical screening programme in the Limerick area all over the country; —the slow progress of...

Seanad: Cancer Services: Motion. (22 Mar 2006)

Mary Henry: It must be dreadful for them and some telephoned me to say how distressing it was. Mammography is not available to people with medical cards, another area in which people from poorer backgrounds are discriminated against. The Tánaiste has plans to role out the programmes but there is no sense of urgency. How many of the 650 women who died prematurely in each previous year due to breast...