Results 621-640 of 1,311 for speaker:Sheila Terry

Seanad: Tax Code: Motion. (10 Nov 2004)

Sheila Terry: I thank Senator Browne for sharing time. As only a short time is left to me, I will confine my remarks to pensions, particularly the position of members of private occupational pension schemes. Many of those who retired in recent years have found that the pension schemes into which they and their employers paid for many years are underfunded and do not deliver the type of pension to which...

Seanad: Public Transport in the Greater Dublin Area: Statements. (9 Nov 2004)

Sheila Terry: I welcome the Minister for Transport to the House. I appreciate that he is quite busy. I welcome many of the transport initiatives to which he referred in his speech. I refer in particular to Luas, which has to be praised because it has been successful. I wish there were Luas lines on the north side of Dublin. I regret that trams do not go to Dublin Airport, for example, or to the...

Seanad: Public Transport in the Greater Dublin Area: Statements. (9 Nov 2004)

Sheila Terry: I noticed that the Minister did not refer to the metro in his presentation. I presume he would have mentioned it if it was going ahead.

Seanad: Public Transport in the Greater Dublin Area: Statements. (9 Nov 2004)

Sheila Terry: I wish the Minister had referred to it in his speech as part of the Seanad's discussion on transportation in Dublin. He should have told the House whether the Taoiseach was right to say that the metro has been scrapped and will not be pursued. His comments are all we can rely on at this stage. The failure to put in place an efficient public transport system on the north side of Dublin is an...

Seanad: Public Transport in the Greater Dublin Area: Statements. (9 Nov 2004)

Sheila Terry: I do not understand why incentive schemes have not been put in place to encourage private individuals to provide such services. The Government will have to step in if the private sector continues to fail to get involved. It is an outrage that there are no park and ride facilities in north or west Dublin. The national development plan contained a commitment to the provision of 250 additional...

Seanad: Order of Business. (9 Nov 2004)

Sheila Terry: In recent days couples who would like to adopt a child, at home or abroad, have expressed grave concern about the length of time it takes them to be assessed for their suitability as adoptive parents. They attribute the delay to the lack of social workers. This process is traumatic for adoptive parents but it takes anything up to four years, longer in some cases, to go through the process. If...

Seanad: Order of Business. (4 Nov 2004)

Sheila Terry: I support Senator O'Meara's call for a debate on the care of the elderly and on child care, which I have asked for before. Specifically I am asking for a debate on the care of the elderly, which I believe has reached crisis point. Many hospital beds are occupied by elderly people who either cannot afford to go into nursing homes or the State is not caring for them in the manner in which it...

Seanad: Order of Business. (28 Oct 2004)

Sheila Terry: I have raised the issue of Mountjoy Prison a number of times. I ask the Leader to organise a debate in the House with the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform so he can outline his plans for the replacement of the prison. I want answers on what is happening to the new training unit that was built there at a cost of €14 million. It has been lying vacant for almost two years. It is...

Seanad: Order of Business. (27 Oct 2004)

Sheila Terry: I support Senator Brian Hayes's call for the establishment of a standing committee to deal with civil partnerships and cohabiting couples. It is time the House dealt with this issue. I welcome the fact that Senator Norris is about to publish his Bill and I look forward to seeing it. The time is right to take action on this matter and many Members would support such action. Anything that can...

Seanad: Order of Business. (7 Oct 2004)

Sheila Terry: Some time ago, I asked the Leader to arrange a debate in the House on pensions. I ask again for the debate in light of the debacle of the handling of endowment mortgages by many financial institutions. We must take a very serious look at the way many financial institutions manage endowment mortgages and pensions. It is a very serious issue which is becoming more serious by the day. I have...

Seanad: Probation and Welfare Service. (6 Oct 2004)

Sheila Terry: I have raised this issue on the Adjournment before and wish to know what advances have been made since the last occasion. The probation and welfare service, of which I am very supportive, is committed to locating a facility in Blanchardstown. I welcome this step in so far as it is always the best policy to bring services closer to people. However, there are concerns about where the facility...

Seanad: Educational Facilities: Motion. (6 Oct 2004)

Sheila Terry: One would not need to be from Mars to observe the significant lack of transparency in the Minister's decision or to see that political interference influenced that decision. This is what we are talking about. We are not here to pit one college against the other. There is no doubt that St. Angela's is a wonderful college. That is not in question. What we are doing is questioning and trying to...

Seanad: Educational Facilities: Motion. (6 Oct 2004)

Sheila Terry: We have no proof that those were the reasons for this decision. What happens when there is no transparency is that people lose faith in the political system and their Ministers. We all become tarnished by that, not just the Government of the day. I do not like this system. I like to see decisions taken for reasons over which a person can stand. I do not like to see a Minister appoint a...

Seanad: Educational Facilities: Motion. (6 Oct 2004)

Sheila Terry: If they must make a choice between travelling to Sligo to take up the courses of their choice or taking another course in Dublin, they may well opt for their second choice, stay in Dublin and not do the home economics course. This decision was arrived at in an undemocratic fashion. I am sorry I did not welcome the new Minister when I began but I do so now and I wish her well for the future....

Seanad: Educational Facilities: Motion. (6 Oct 2004)

Sheila Terry: Absolutely.

Seanad: Order of Business. (6 Oct 2004)

Sheila Terry: A recent court decision has brought the closing time of many more Dublin nightclubs back to 2.30 a.m. and resulted in the presence of increased numbers of people on the streets at one time with a consequent increase in conflict. It is therefore time to discuss once more the issues of violence on our streets and anti-social behaviour in general. We should also discuss, in light of recent...

Seanad: Report on Seanad Reform: Statements (Resumed). (30 Sep 2004)

Sheila Terry: This is an important debate and I am delighted that so many Members want to contribute to it. I assume that it will run across a number of sitting days. The Seanad comes in for a certain amount of criticism from members of the public in terms of its relevance but the process we are undergoing is worthwhile. We need to raise people's awareness of the work done by the Seanad. How best we can do...

Seanad: Disability Services: Motion. (29 Sep 2004)

Sheila Terry: I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Seanad Éireann" and substitute the following: —recognises the frantic efforts of the Government to put a programme of action in place to support and reinforce equal participation in society by people with disabilities after a term of seven years in office, —welcomes the eventual publication of the Disability Bill, —notes the failure of...

Seanad: Disability Services: Motion. (29 Sep 2004)

Sheila Terry: That is not true.

Seanad: Order of Business. (29 Sep 2004)

Sheila Terry: I remind Senators that this is national child care week. It is appropriate that, on our first day back, we remind ourselves of how badly the Government is serving both members of the public and Members of the two Houses when it comes to delivering adequate child care facilities. I ask the Leader once again to arrange a debate in the House on child care. The Government should be taking the...