Results 41-60 of 153 for children speaker:Lorraine Clifford-Lee

Seanad: Gender Pay Gap Information Bill 2021: Second Stage (14 Jun 2021)

Lorraine Clifford-Lee: ...against that. I am thankful that this view is being met head-on but we must seriously and radically overhaul how we do childcare in this country. We can even look around the gender pay gap for women with children but studies have demonstrated that women aged between 25 and 46 with a degree in Ireland earn 28% less than male counterparts, whether they have a child or not. These...

Seanad: Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (31 May 2021)

Lorraine Clifford-Lee: ...vaccines efficiently. All those worries have been put to bed. We are on the road out of the pandemic and we must keep going. I will address a few points. What are the plans for vaccinating children aged between 12 and 18 years? What is the Minister's thinking on that issue? I would also like an update on the EU's action against AstraZeneca. The Minister mentioned the importance of...

Seanad: Civil Legal Aid (Exclusion of Value of Free or Partly Free Board) (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (31 May 2021)

Lorraine Clifford-Lee: ...and guardianship, which are the very fundamentals of people's lives.If those aspects are not dealt with by professionals, deep fractures and divisions can evolve in families and those experiences have an impact on children for the rest of their lives. We must ensure access for everybody in these types of situations to representation and to professionals who can calm nerves, allay fears...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Updates on Breastfeeding: Discussion (12 May 2021)

Lorraine Clifford-Lee: ...are many women who might not have breastfed on their first child. We need to get the message to them that it is okay, that was their experience but when one is having a second child and subsequent children, perhaps a different choice is there for them. It is to give women the confidence to say that they want to change their mind on it. It is not any reflection on their initial decision...

Seanad: International Women's Day: Statements (8 Mar 2021)

Lorraine Clifford-Lee: I will be super quick because I want to give my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, a very good period to discuss this very important topic. I am also delighted that the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, is also here. I want to touch on two very important issues that I am very passionate about. One is the free contraception...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Health Related Issues: Update (2 Mar 2021)

Lorraine Clifford-Lee: I thank the Minister for that information. There has been a major focus on getting primary school children, the leaving certificate classes and the other second level students back to education but we should focus then on getting the third level students back into the classroom. I am aware that prolonged absences from the classroom have affected their mental health but also their education....

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (1 Mar 2021)

Lorraine Clifford-Lee: I congratulate the Minister, Deputy Norma Foley, the boards of management, principals, teachers and all the parents who successfully returned the first cohort of children to school this morning. There was a very happy little girl in our house today who literally skipped in the door to school. I appeal to everybody to be mindful of what we have achieved in getting our children back to school...

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (1 Mar 2021)

Lorraine Clifford-Lee: ...debate this legislation on its merits and not whip people up into a frenzy. People are suffering enough. People are anxious enough. People have missed out on many things in their lives. Their children have suffered. They have suffered and have lost incomes. They have lost loved members of their families and communities. We really need to focus on this legislation. It is being done...

Seanad: Report of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation: Statements (Resumed) (19 Feb 2021)

Lorraine Clifford-Lee: ...do right by those people now to try to correct what happened. There was definitely a class dimension to what happened to people in these institutions. What struck me was the number of very young children who gave birth when they were children themselves.They were clearly raped or abused and were extremely vulnerable, and nothing was ever done. This probably ruined their whole lives....

Seanad: Mental Health and Covid-19: Statements (12 Feb 2021)

Lorraine Clifford-Lee: ...it at least. Many supports have been put in place such as the text back and other facilities. There are issues such as the bad housing situation facing some people, along with mothers with young children trying to work at home and home school. The mental health of the nation's children is severely affected by the lack of in-class time. The schools going back is a priority of the...

Seanad: Free Provision of Period Products Bill 2021: Second Stage (8 Feb 2021)

Lorraine Clifford-Lee: ...of State, Deputy Feighan, the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, and the other Ministers in the Department of Health for their robust support of the Bill. I also thank the Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin, the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Deputy Catherine...

Seanad: Free Provision of Period Products Bill 2021: Second Stage (8 Feb 2021)

Lorraine Clifford-Lee: ...Loughlin and Ardagh are working on an assisted human reproduction Bill.I have many friends who would love to have regular periods and a healthy menstrual cycle. They would love dearly to have their own children. When we talk about shame and stigma, it strikes a chord with some women who do not have the opportunity to have a monthly period. We should bear that in mind. Senator Conway...

Seanad: Commencement of Irish Sign Language Act 2017: Statements (15 Dec 2020)

Lorraine Clifford-Lee: ...and it was the most watched programme in the country. It was watched abroad also. To have those two interpreters interpret with such enthusiasm and dance along to every song being sung included deaf children and their families - I am sorry but I am getting emotional even thinking about it - and made their Christmas special. I thank the Cathaoirleach and the Minister of State very much...

Seanad: Access to Contraception: Motion (15 Dec 2020)

Lorraine Clifford-Lee: ...system. We need to start educating parents. Even with the best will in the world, because they have gone through this dysfunctional education system with a complete lack of sex education, they are not able to educate their children. They do not have the tools to deliver this education, even with the best will in the world, in their own homes. This really needs to be looked at. We will...

Seanad: Irish Nationality and Citizenship (Naturalisation of Minors Born in Ireland) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (2 Dec 2020)

Lorraine Clifford-Lee: ...colleague, Mr. Cormac Ó Braonáin, that she is bringing this before the House. I hope we can progress it together on a cross-party basis and see that proper pathways to citizenship are afforded to children who have made Ireland their home. These children are Irish. They contribute to our communities and enrich our society. The Senator referred to Eric, a little boy from...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: HSE Winter Plan: HSE (11 Nov 2020)

Lorraine Clifford-Lee: ...in schools? Parents sometimes have difficulty taking time off work and many of the vaccination slots at the weekend have been taken up. Availability during the week is quite wide but, of course, children are in school and parents are at work. Can we distribute the nasal vaccine within schools over the next couple of weeks because I believe they have a relatively short shelf life? If...

Seanad: National Screening Advisory Committee Bill 2020: Second Stage (30 Sep 2020)

Lorraine Clifford-Lee: .... It is very significant that he pointed out that 50 lives could be saved per year as a result of the measures contained in the Bill. It is vitally important that the screening service is expanded. I have had two children in recent years and they were very fortunate to have availed of the screening service. Thankfully, there were no adverse findings in their screenings, but I know...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Jul 2020)

Lorraine Clifford-Lee: ...Donnelly, to this House to get an update on its work. Ireland was a global leader on public health in the past. The current Taoiseach brought in the smoking ban when he was the Minister for Health and Children, and we were world leaders in that regard. That ban changed the culture, public health and people's behaviour, and it saved thousands of lives. Now is the time to make a bold...

Seanad: Health (General Practitioner Service and Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) Bill 2020: Second Stage (24 Jul 2020)

Lorraine Clifford-Lee: ...commitment to better access to public healthcare and this allows people to access healthcare at the point of entry with GPs throughout the country. It is very welcome. As a mother of two young children who has been fortunate to avail of free GP care since the day they were born, I am happy that this will continue for parents in Ireland. The pandemic has impacted disproportionately on...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (7 Jul 2020)

Lorraine Clifford-Lee: ...made within their own families or in their communities have fallen through. Babies and mothers have also not had the appropriate check-ups or vaccines and they have not been able to socialise their children, which is very important for childhood development. We are calling for maternity benefit to be extended for three months. Many other exceptional measures were taken during the crisis...