Results 41-60 of 176 for long speaker:Mary Seery Kearney

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Accessing Justice: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Mar 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: I am thinking of the ambition of the State to have a funded IVF process, perhaps by the end of this year. If that were the case, the partners of long-term prisoners could pursue IVF as a means to grow a family. Perhaps that would assist in the trauma of family breakdown and all those things that flow from long-term prison incarceration.

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Report Stage (1 Mar 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...s position. The privilege and the difficulty of being on the Government bench is that while you may not always agree with or like what goes through, you support it. On Monday of this week, I sat for a long time with a woman in the context of a completely different conversation that I will come back to in the coming weeks. This woman spoke of the level of abuse in a relationship over the...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Primary Care Centres (23 Feb 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...the very chilling phrase, "it is a dynamic process", was used, which tells me this will stretch on forever. The community of Drimnagh have been waiting for this primary care centre for an awfully long time. It was an overdue announcement when it was made in 2019, let alone that we are now in 2023. I had Commencement matter debates on it on 8 February 2021 and on 29 June 2021, when I was...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Primary Care Centres (23 Feb 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...when a resident of Drimnagh walks through the doors of that primary care centre could be ten years away for all I know. She mentioned preliminary reports and strategic assessment reports but how long do they take? What is their purpose? I say that as someone who does not understand what they are. Presumably, they are necessary but is it a report that will be followed by another report,...

Seanad: Citizens Assembly on Drugs Use: Motion (23 Feb 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...There are more drug dealers. There is open drug-dealing on streets such as Oliver Bond Street. It is a disgrace. Thankfully, the Minister for Justice, Deputy Harris, is working on that issue. For a long time, we have been investing in drugs task forces. They are incredibly effective. It has been my great privilege to see how they work from the inside. When the Minister, Deputy...

Seanad: Accommodation for International Protection Applicants: Statements (22 Feb 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: I welcome the Minister and thank him for taking the statements today. I have thought long and hard about this debate. We need to broaden it out by addressing the various reasons that people come to Ireland. I would like to mention something that struck me before today’s debate. Last week, we had the announcement of where the Ministers and Ministers of State will travel to promote...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Feb 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...parliamentary question tabled in 2006, the then Minister for Finance stated that there was no risk of damage to the cromlech but that the Government would look at putting up a little sign. For as long as I have been in the Seanad, I have been working with Chapelizod Heritage Society, Chapelizod Tidy Towns and Chapelizod Old Village Association in order to have this matter prioritised. A...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (2 Feb 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to engage with me to find out whether we put in imposed criteria on local authorities. If there is a community that is underfunded for such a long time, there will naturally be dissatisfaction and they naturally will feel they are left out. It is important we address that and that there is equity. Where money is collected, a...

Seanad: Family Courts Bill 2023: Second Stage (2 Feb 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...or a huge amount of wounding, but at the heart of it there is an adversarial system that is not suited to the nature of family proceedings. There is slow access to the court and it takes a long time to resolve. In that time of waiting it exacerbates people's hurt and their sense of frustration of not being able to move on. In this, I am aware of a couple of things. Obviously, this can...

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee Stage (31 Jan 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...are correct, they are misplaced in respect of section 4. They do not accurately reflect what is stated in the section. The section refers to the calculation of service and states that as long as one re-enters employment within six months after leaving, one's employment is regarded as continuous in the calculation of service. While the argument on six months is for a later point, with...

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee Stage (31 Jan 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...content of information. Since the introduction of the GDPR, employers are not requiring that any more. They just need to certify that somebody is absent without stating the reason for it, as long as it is on a headed paper and stamped by a GP or private doctor. Perhaps clarity in that regard, in that we do not need to disclose the information regarding the third party, but verifying...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Jan 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...misleading. I want a debate on two issues, namely, how we include payments in the drugs payment scheme and how access to this medication is so heavily burdened in red tape. Illnesses like this should be on the long-term illness scheme so that when people go in, they are automatically covered and it is automatically given to them free of charge. This red tape of having to wait until 12...

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

Mary Seery Kearney: ...to highlight important areas that need change and intervention. We have been on a trajectory for a number of years in the childcare and early years sector. It was the Cinderella sector for a very long time and there was a perception of childminding rather than the real childcare professionals there who have a passion for children. They identify issues very early with children and are an...

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

Mary Seery Kearney: ...parental leave and other supports. We have paternity leave and other elements that have come in that are positive and important.I would rather that we advocated for women or parents to have longer time and that first year with their child, rather than necessarily greater funding for baby places. However, I appreciate that there is a need. There is an issue in the standardisation of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Disability Inclusive Participation in Political and Public Life: Discussion (1 Dec 2022)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...wish to thank the head usher and ushers who have been extraordinary in assisting and facilitating us. The most essential thing is the exercise of the franchise to vote, which people fought for a long time to attain. I take on that urging for a cross-party pledge and it is an issue that I have raised with my own party. My colleague, Senator Conway, has been very vocal about his...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Health Services (30 Nov 2022)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...for instance, arising from stroke or an acquired brain injury. It can also be for people with multiple sclerosis or Parkinson's disease. We can see that having a team keeps people at home for as long as possible if they have a progressive disease or illness that will bring them to being less able. Having a community team is essential for this purpose. When people are in hospital...

Seanad: Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Report Stage (29 Nov 2022)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...leader of our party. She is currently a board member of Safeguarding Ireland. That organisation's representation was to absolutely support the wording the Minister has put here and regard it as a long overdue and needed set of words and formula. I thank Ms Owen for her work in that regard. I support the Minister's position.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (22 Nov 2022)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...its abhorrence of the actions of that tiny minority, which is stigmatising the whole community there and in Cherry Orchard. I also welcome that on Thursday - this is not anything arising out of this week but has been long-planned and worked on over the past number of weeks by the Minister, Deputy McEntee - the Minister will be out in the community of Cherry Orchard discussing the progress...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Housing Policy (10 Nov 2022)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...I do not doubt that but I hear words such as "they are developing a plan", "will look at an options paper for Government" and "will have an advisory group on regulations". I hear the language of long-time delay. That is a delay with real-life consequences for the people who are living in these homes. I also heard the Minister of State say that delaying on works is not appropriate. The...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Provision of Bus Services in Dublin: Discussion (8 Nov 2022)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...the committee during the first week when the G spine rolled out because the experience on the ground was such a shambles. I begin by praising Dublin Bus. It has been a fantastic employer over a long period of time. Family members of mine who are retired worked in Dublin Bus and had an exceptional employee experience. That stands as testament to Dublin Bus as a good employer, on which I...