Results 541-560 of 994 for speaker:Emer Currie

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Health Services Staff (14 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: I thank the Minister of State. She knows full well about some of the barriers in the HSE with connecting qualified people to positions. This is why I am raising the issue. I am aware of what is happening with language support, which is positive. We have to look at the costs. I have raised practical issues. All of this information is great. The Minister of State and I know that when it...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Health Services Staff (14 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: May I say one more thing?

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Health Services Staff (14 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: I thank the Cathaoirleach. The voluntary hospital at St. Vincent's is already carrying out observerships and it would be great if the HSE could catch up.

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Second Stage (14 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: I welcome the Minister to the House. I will focus on the work-life balance aspect of this Bill and the transposition of the directive, which the Minister has overseen. Additionally, I will comment on the inclusion of the right to request remote working, which is now contained under this legislation and was inherited from the Tánaiste's Department. It is a good move to have all this...

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Second Stage (14 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: I am sorry, Acting Chair, I did not hear the bell.

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Second Stage (14 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: I am concerned about the amendment to section 13E, which relates to the termination in certain circumstances of flexible working arrangements. It seems quite hefty. I would also like to know whether the decision can be overturned by the WRC or if it is just a case of providing compensation. I will stop now as I have gone way over time.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement (Resumed): Mr. John Bruton (8 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: We are under time pressure, so I cannot thank Mr. Bruton as enthusiastically as I would like. I thank him for his work in building those stepping stones to the Good Friday Agreement, to peace on our island and as a member of our party, Fine Gael. I thank him personally for our interactions over the years. It is great to see him have this opportunity to take a 360 degree view. He has laid...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement (Resumed): Mr. John Bruton (8 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: I thank Mr. Bruton for answering my question and separating the calls for an immediate border poll from calls to genuinely do the groundwork on what the future could look like.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement (Resumed): Mr. John Bruton (8 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: I have questions about what Mr. Bruton said about reconciliation and how it must be done in the first place by the people of Northern Ireland themselves, with the active support of Dublin and London Governments. Where does he see politicians coming into that in the North? He has heard, and I would agree, that society is ahead of the politicians when it comes to reconciliation and the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement (Resumed): Mr. John Bruton (8 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: There was. One of the deliverables is a civil forum. It has never been implemented. It is one of the things that we focus on.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Education and Training Provision (7 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: The Minister of State with responsibility for disability services, Deputy Rabbitte, has described community healthcare organisation, CHO, 9, which covers Dublin West, as the most challenging of all areas when it comes to implementing reforms under the progressing disability services, PDS, programme. The children's disability network team, CDNT, in my area either cannot give a timeframe for...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Education and Training Provision (7 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: We know that we need to increase capacity in the areas of therapy and psychology. It is not just good for the children and people who need the service but blowing up those pathways will also allow entry to people who did not see that this was a path they might want to take when they were sitting the leaving certificate. There are major opportunities. I ask the Minister of State to bring...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (7 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: I express my deep sorrow and sympathies to the family of Matthew McCallan in Fintona, County Tyrone, who tragically died. As it happens, his grandfather is a cousin of my late father's, which just shows how close all these losses are. It is important we mark this tragic loss in this House and put it on record. There was also the loss of Stella-Lily McCorkindale, aged five, in Belfast, who...

Seanad: Death of Former Member: Expressions of Sympathy (7 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: It is an honour to stand here today and to recognise Senator Terry Brennan and all the work he did as well as his colleague, former Councillor Peter Savage, and I see Councillor Anna Grainger here too. We in Fine Gael are a family and we need those people who will call us out when we need calling out and who will support us when we need that. I have been listening to everyone's collective...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2022: Second Stage (7 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: I concur with my colleague on the overall description of the success of the Bill. I want to raise two aspects of it. I cannot stay as I have to head out to Hartstown for a meeting; that is why Senator Burke has kindly given me some of his time. The first thing I want to raise is the hot school meals. This is one of the best initiatives this Government has introduced because it is...

Seanad: Childcare Services: Motion [Private Members] (7 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: I welcome any opportunity to debate childcare. The motion and the response to it are interesting to read through. They show that there has been progress. We have to acknowledge the national childcare scheme. The numbers show we are moving from being the highest in Europe. We are beginning to address that and we are on a journey. We are also lifting more children out of poverty through...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (6 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: I warmly welcome our Fine Gael colleague, Councillor Barry Sweeny, from Ballyshannon in County Donegal. I will be generous and say I have found an irregularity in car parking charges at commuter train stations in Dublin West. All of the County Dublin train station car parks charge €30 per month, but the Navan Road Parkway in Dublin West charges €70 per month. It is a...

Seanad: National Tourism Development Authority (Amendment) Bill 2022: Second Stage (6 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: I thank the Minister. I very much welcome this Bill and the increased availability of capital. I worked for Fáilte Ireland. It was my client when I worked in advertising and marketing. I was part of the team that started the process of marketing home holidays with the Right Here, Right Now and The Fun Starts Here campaigns, so I recognise the multiplier effect and how much our...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (1 Dec 2022)

Emer Currie: I commend Senator Carrigy and the autism committee on their work on the interim report on summer provision. It is an excellent report which sets out the ambitions we need to have in relation to supporting families with consistent summer provision. There was an article today in the Irish Examiner about fire safety defects in the phase 1 Phoenix Park Racecourse apartments, which were completed...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Nov 2022)

Emer Currie: Today I want to raise the announcement of a public consultation on the EPSEN Act, of which I am hugely in favour. The EPSEN Act deals with education for persons with special educational needs. The Minister said she wants that Act to be up to date, operational, and reflective of the lived experience of children with special education needs, because we are not meeting their needs at the...