Results 41-60 of 4,372 for in 'Dáil debates' speaker:Fergus O'Dowd

Death of Former Taoiseach: Expressions of Sympathy (7 Feb 2024)

Fergus O'Dowd: Is lá an-tábhachtach é seo chun óráid a thabhairt ar son ár iar-Thaoisigh agus tá moladh mór tuillte aige. Beidh cuimhne air go deo agus ní bheidh, i ndáiríre, a leithéidí arís ann agus níl aon dabht faoi sin, ach go háirithe. As a TD for the Louth and east Meath constituency, I obviously met John many times...

Death of Former Taoiseach: Expressions of Sympathy (7 Feb 2024)

Fergus O'Dowd: Dare anyone say a bad word about John Bruton because the late Paddy Hogan would defend him to the end. Councillor Mary Sylver was also a great supporter of John Bruton, as was Councillor Brigid Hogan, whom I knew at that time. They were people who told me about John Bruton. I got to know him, learn about him and like him and to believe in what he did. He was a man who held his ground. He...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 Jan 2024)

Fergus O'Dowd: I share Deputy Munster's concerns regarding the FOI Act in County Louth. It is important we bring it to the attention of the Minister and the Information Commissioner to get a resolution. I rise today specifically about the crisis in speech and language therapy in the Drogheda area. I am getting anxious parents who are concerned about children not being able to get appointments,...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 Jan 2024)

Fergus O'Dowd: Yes.

Conflict in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory: Motion (23 Jan 2024)

Fergus O'Dowd: It was a former Secretary General of the United Nations, Dag Hammarskjöld, describing what the United Nations was about, who said it was not created in order to bring us to heaven but in order to save us from hell. If there is one thing clear from my constituents, it is that the Middle East is in absolute hell right now. What people in my constituency want is for the war to end and for...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (12 Dec 2023)

Fergus O'Dowd: A HIQA report on Castlebridge Manor Nursing Home was published this week. It shows non-compliance with seven out of ten regulations. This is the third inspection in 12 months which shows significant non-compliance in respect of governance, healthcare and staffing. I believe this is institutional abuse and elder abuse. It is absolutely appalling that people who are not incontinent are...

Planning and Development Bill 2023: Second Stage (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Fergus O'Dowd: Is díospóireacht an-tábhachtach í seo agus ba mhaith liom cúpla rud a rá i dtosach. I would first like to praise “RTÉ Investigates” for the fantastic work it has done, particularly even this week, in exposing corruption in public life on our television screens. I was absolutely disgusted to see that houses that were being proposed by a...

Planning and Development Bill 2023: Second Stage (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Fergus O'Dowd: It was the case in the past that usually, if not always, the new development plan coincided with the first two months of the new council. The old council knew nothing about it and was not in a position to challenge or interrogate the development plan. The Minister of State is the man who is in place, but I think the development plans should be dealt with in the cycle of the existing council...

Confidence in the Minister for Justice: Motion (5 Dec 2023)

Fergus O'Dowd: This week, 51 years ago, Jean McConville, a widow with ten children, was abducted, murdered and secretly buried in my county. Nobody has been convicted of that crime, although some have been arrested and later released. I live in County Louth which has suffered greatly, even recently. We all know about the appalling criminality and the drug intimidation that took place in Drogheda, in...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (29 Nov 2023)

Fergus O'Dowd: To date, 9,278 citizens have died from Covid-19 in this country. Residential institutions have accounted for 28% of those deaths, or 2,642 to date. The Irish Timesreported that the Garda is investigating up to 30 nursing homes for possible gross negligence and manslaughter. The Government has promised since 2021 to have its own separate inquiry into these deaths. I appreciate that the...

Policing, Protests and Public Order: Statements (28 Nov 2023)

Fergus O'Dowd: As the grandparent of a child who is five years of age, I can understand the trauma and upset of the families concerned and all those injured. In Drogheda just over two years ago, we had a deadly drugs feud that resulted in violence, deaths and widespread fear and intimidation. The Minister responded to that in the appropriate way. Following a period of lack of interest in what was going...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (23 Nov 2023)

Fergus O'Dowd: I bring to the attention of the Government the serious crisis in child and adolescent mental health services in the Louth-Meath area. There is presently no out-of-hours service liaison for these children and adolescents. There are no plans or resources to develop such a service. There is no approved centre for child and adolescent mental health services either. A farcical situation was...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (8 Nov 2023)

Fergus O'Dowd: The care of older people in nursing homes like those run by Aperee is a cause of increasing concern for HIQA and others. Sage Advocacy recently published a Red C poll of public opinion on the issue of supports and care for older people. One of the significant findings is the public has a concern that home care and nursing home care have become overly concentrated in the hands of private...

Electricity Costs (Emergency Measures) Domestic Accounts Bill 2023: Second Stage (25 Oct 2023)

Fergus O'Dowd: I welcome this debate and the increased supports for account holders which were announced in the budget. They will all be very welcome. I am aware that many of my constituents are having extreme difficulties in paying their bills, notwithstanding the electricity credits they have received. I was with an employer yesterday who told me that one of her senior staff could not pay her...

Financial Resolutions 2023 - Financial Resolution No. 4: General (Resumed) (12 Oct 2023)

Fergus O'Dowd: I welcome the opportunity to debate and welcome the significant changes that have been made, particularly for married couples, pensioners and single workers. In particular, it is important to point out that if the average wage is somewhere around €40,000 or €45,000, two earners, perhaps a married couple, would have approximately €95,000 between them. There is...

Financial Resolutions 2023 - Financial Resolution No. 4: General (Resumed) (12 Oct 2023)

Fergus O'Dowd: Hear, hear.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: An Garda Síochána (11 Oct 2023)

Fergus O'Dowd: 12. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to provide an update on the Garda recruitment campaign; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44098/23]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: An Garda Síochána (11 Oct 2023)

Fergus O'Dowd: My question was answered to some degree by the reply the Minister gave in respect of the previous question. I welcome what the Minister said, particularly about the additional €172 million for An Garda Síochána. How many extra gardaí does the Minister expect to have in the college by the end of this year?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: An Garda Síochána (11 Oct 2023)

Fergus O'Dowd: I welcome the Minister’s comments. In particular, I welcome the reassurance for the whole country that we will have more gardaí, that they will be better looked after in terms of better training and that there will be an additional Garda Reserve presence. I would like to ask a question without going into the detail. I appreciate the position as to why people resign as...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: An Garda Síochána (11 Oct 2023)

Fergus O'Dowd: I thank the Minister. I do not know if that interview summary will be published or not. If it is, it would be very helpful to see the non-personal reasons in order that we can study and analyse them. One of the impacts of the resignations is that if the numbers in a particular cohort are lower than we need, it will often impact community gardaí. I live in a town that has had a lot of...