Results 541-560 of 1,311 for speaker:Sheila Terry

Seanad: Order of Business. (16 Feb 2005)

Sheila Terry: For the Government parties to guillotine a debate on this proposal is not good enough.

Seanad: Order of Business. (16 Feb 2005)

Sheila Terry: Fine Gael supports this proposal and will support it on Second Stage today. While we have some reservations about it we would have dealt with those by way of amendment on Committee Stage. That is the way in which legislation should be dealt with in this House. Shame on the Government, on the Members opposite and on all of us in this respect.

Seanad: Order of Business. (16 Feb 2005)

Sheila Terry: Senators should listen to the debate and then decide to vote for or against the Bill.

Seanad: Order of Business. (10 Feb 2005)

Sheila Terry: I support the comments made by Senator Ulick Burke in regard to the success of the gardaí in west Dublin in tracking down the number of criminals in the area and confiscating a huge number of illegal weapons held by them, evidence of which we saw on our television screens last night. I received figures from the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform this morning which demonstrate that...

Seanad: Pension Provisions. (9 Feb 2005)

Sheila Terry: I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to respond to this evening's Adjournment matters. The Minister of State may be aware that the Government is to provide €500,000 to the pensions board to fund a national pensions awareness campaign this year. I am concerned that the pensions board will use the money to sell pension products by pointing out their benefits and informing...

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (9 Feb 2005)

Sheila Terry: I support this reasonable amendment that would benefit the legislation. I cannot imagine any employer not allowing a parent to attend a school if his or her child had been involved in an accident or fallen ill. However, in the event that an employer refused to allow the parent to attend, it would be better that the eventuality be covered.

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (9 Feb 2005)

Sheila Terry: I support the thrust of this amendment. We should be doing much more to adjust our legislation to make same sex couples more part of our society in general, or at least make our legislation more friendly towards those couples. I would welcome anything that could be done with the legislation before us to forward that. The Minister of State may help me regarding the only question I have. Will...

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (9 Feb 2005)

Sheila Terry: This is the nub of the legislation as it is the most important section. I do not like to waste anyone's time, but I take the equality issue very seriously. The Minister made no response to the points I made. Does the Minister believe he is treating all parents equally by introducing this legislation? Is a child of a parent who can afford to take this parental leave with loss of pay equal to...

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (9 Feb 2005)

Sheila Terry: It is not being taken by those on low incomes.

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (9 Feb 2005)

Sheila Terry: I do not see how this amendment would involve any charge. Its purpose is to allow either parent to take the leave so no charge would arise.

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (9 Feb 2005)

Sheila Terry: It is beyond me how a charge could be involved in this case. When a parent is entitled to parental leave, either parent should be able to take it.

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (9 Feb 2005)

Sheila Terry: I hope I understand the amendment correctly. It was my understanding from the debate the other day that parents would be allowed take shorter periods of parental leave, be it for one day a week, one day a month or even part of a day. However, that is not reflected in the legislation. Senator O'Toole is attempting to make parental leave flexible. In response to a question, the Minister of...

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (9 Feb 2005)

Sheila Terry: I support Senator O'Toole. I wish also to express my disappointment at our amendments being ruled out of order. However, I accept the ruling. As our economy moves forward and we continue to encourage parents, particularly mothers, to re-enter the workforce, we must put in place structures to enable family life to survive. We must also ensure that every support is given to parents and their...

Seanad: Privacy and Defamation: Statements. (9 Feb 2005)

Sheila Terry: I welcome the Minister and thank him for his contribution. I also welcome the opportunity to debate issues relating to defamation and privacy. However, we cannot adequately discuss privacy in any real way if we are not also to discuss the regulation of the press. We had a debate on this matter previously and it is regrettable that little progress has been made in the interim. As regards...

Seanad: Privacy and Defamation: Statements. (9 Feb 2005)

Sheila Terry: It was the Minister for Justice of the day. My apologies. The tort of defamation essentially involves the reconciling of two conflicting constitutional rights. This is why it becomes such a contentious issue. The constitutional rights in question are freedom of speech as against the right to one's good name. Despite advances in technology and the increasing breadth of the media, with the...

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2004: Second Stage. (2 Feb 2005)

Sheila Terry: Why not provide for that in legislation? Why leave it to chance?

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2004: Second Stage. (2 Feb 2005)

Sheila Terry: Such cases are coming from the Minister of State's side of the House also.

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2004: Second Stage. (2 Feb 2005)

Sheila Terry: Will the Senator be tabling amendments?

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2004: Second Stage. (2 Feb 2005)

Sheila Terry: What the Senator has to say is important.

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2004: Second Stage. (2 Feb 2005)

Sheila Terry: Hear, hear.