Results 41-60 of 220 for speaker:Joanne Collins

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport: Rural Bus Transport: Discussion (15 Oct 2025)

Joanne Collins: Yes, it is. It is the same at evening times. It can be quite busy.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport: Rural Bus Transport: Discussion (15 Oct 2025)

Joanne Collins: I have spoken to a lot of people and a lot have said that it need not be extra times but rather if capacity could be built. It could be double-decker buses instead of single-decker buses. You would get more people on at that time. It seems to be there is a squeeze at certain times in the area. My second question is about school transport, and I do not know if this is the appropriate group...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport: Rural Bus Transport: Discussion (15 Oct 2025)

Joanne Collins: Is it a policy they are ever going to look at again?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport: Rural Bus Transport: Discussion (15 Oct 2025)

Joanne Collins: It is only because the private operators can have that same bus driver, at 70, drive to the school and take them for soccer or school tours. I just wanted to make the point that it can be done. It just seems to be-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport: Rural Bus Transport: Discussion (15 Oct 2025)

Joanne Collins: I get that. I thank Mr. Kent.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 Oct 2025)

Joanne Collins: I wish to start on a positive note. We had the announcement over the weekend of Ireland and, more important, Clare and Limerick winning the bid for EuroPride 2028. I congratulate those who went forward with the bid, including Limerick Pride, QuareClare and The Outing Festival, with the help of Shannon Region Conference and Sports Bureau, UL Events, Mayor John Moran, Fáilte Ireland and...

Seanad: Budget 2026 (Enterprise, Tourism and Employment): Statements (14 Oct 2025)

Joanne Collins: I welcome the Minister. I have a specific query. I made the same query on the Order of Business earlier. It is not something that everybody would think of, but as a reformed smoker who uses a vape, it is definitely a bone of contention in my house. I gave up cigarettes seven years ago because I just could not afford to keep smoking as a result of the fact that the tax on cigarettes was...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (8 Oct 2025)

Joanne Collins: I want to raise public transport, particularly in County Limerick. I have received a couple of emails from commuters in east Limerick who travel from Kilfinane to Colbert Station, which is the train station in the city. They travel from the east of the county to the city for work or college. I am informed that every day, there are between 70 and 80 people trying to get on a 52-seater bus....

Seanad: Budget 2026 (Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation): Statements (8 Oct 2025)

Joanne Collins: I welcome the Minister of State and thank her for giving up her time to be here. In the past few weeks, Senators on this side of the House and across the floor have raised the lack of basic public transport services in our rural communities. I spoke on the Order of Business about the transport difficulties in rural Limerick caused by the lack of capacity and unsuitable times, but I could...

Seanad: Supports and Services for Patients with Head and Neck Cancers: Motion (8 Oct 2025)

Joanne Collins: I welcome the Minister of State. I welcome the opportunity to speak on the motion. I thank my colleagues in the Independent Group for tabling this important motion forward, and especially Senator Craughwell for his heartfelt and to the point graphic, but needed, speech. It is great to hear the lived experience. I also welcome all those in the Gallery. The motion highlights what too...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport: Road Safety: Discussion (8 Oct 2025)

Joanne Collins: I thank everyone for being here and offer Ms Gray and everyone in the Gallery from PARC my deepest condolences. It is an absolute tragedy and life-changing, not just for the immediate family but also for friends of the deceased. I thank them for giving up their time to be here. I will focus on one statistic around rural roads. Approximately 70% of fatalities occur on rural roads. Do we...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport: Road Safety: Discussion (8 Oct 2025)

Joanne Collins: That is more or less impossible.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport: Road Safety: Discussion (8 Oct 2025)

Joanne Collins: It is hard. I travel on rural roads every day and I do not think I have ever met a checkpoint on a rural road.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport: Road Safety: Discussion (8 Oct 2025)

Joanne Collins: Please do not take this as a cynical statement. Seeing speed vans at the side of the road alerts people to look down at their speedometers to check whether they are speeding. It raises awareness, but I tend to find that they are not necessarily in blackspots. They are strategically put just around a bend where, if people are speeding, they will be fined, or where a speed limit on a main...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport: Road Safety: Discussion (8 Oct 2025)

Joanne Collins: Yes, I know that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport: Road Safety: Discussion (8 Oct 2025)

Joanne Collins: I thank the witnesses. I will leave it there.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Legal Aid (7 Oct 2025)

Joanne Collins: I want to raise an issue concerning domestic abuse. I want to highlight that it is not just confined to what we can see. It is not just bruises, shouting or visible harm; it also includes financial control and economic abuse.The abuser restricts access to money, sabotages employment or leaves victims appearing financially stable on paper, whereas in reality they control all the finances....

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Legal Aid (7 Oct 2025)

Joanne Collins: I thank the Minister of State very much. I am delighted to see this area is being looked at now. I have one request while it is being looked at and this is to take into account the fact that sometimes one party may be entitled to legal aid and the other is not. If that is the case and if proceedings are being drawn out by months and sometimes years, could this aspect be looked at again for...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (7 Oct 2025)

Joanne Collins: I raise the issue around the treatment of mothers and families who experience miscarriages. Too often women going through the most devastating moments of their lives are placed in the same wards or have to use the same entrances to the hospital as parents leaving with their newborn babies. It is an extra agony they have walking in to the hospital. For those grieving the loss of a...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Job Losses (24 Sep 2025)

Joanne Collins: I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for coming in. Across County Limerick and the wider region, we have seen a steady erosion of jobs, from Andersen Ireland a decade ago to Irish Dresden in 2021, Rettig in 2023 and, of course, Wyeth Nutritionals, which is closing next March. On top of that, last week we heard the announcement that Kostal in Abbeyfeale will be shutting down one...