Results 641-660 of 873 for speaker:Averil Power

Seanad: Report of the Expert Group on the Judgment in the A, B and C v. Ireland Case: Statements (6 Dec 2012)

Averil Power: I appreciate that abortion is an emotive and sensitive issue. I understand some Members of this House, including some members of my own party, to which Senator Jim Walsh will attest when he makes his contribution, have deeply-held moral or religious objections to abortion in any circumstance. However, as legislators, we have a responsibility to uphold the Constitution and it is clear from...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Equality for Customers of Department of Social Protection: Discussion with Transgender Equality Network Ireland (5 Dec 2012)

Averil Power: I apologise for being late; I was speaking on a Bill in the Seanad. I have met Mr. Giambrone a couple of times to discuss this issue and the group will know from that and from my correspondence with the Minister for Social Protection that I fully support the group's work on this. It is beyond time we gave proper recognition to transgender people and I share the views that have been...

Seanad: Statute of Limitations (Amendment) (Home Remediation-Pyrite) Bill 2012: Second Stage (5 Dec 2012)

Averil Power: Indeed.

Seanad: Statute of Limitations (Amendment) (Home Remediation-Pyrite) Bill 2012: Second Stage (5 Dec 2012)

Averil Power: I welcome the Minister of State to the House for this important debate. As Senator O'Brien has pointed out, this is a short and straightforward Bill. It is designed simply to stop the clock running against families who have been affected by pyrite and to ensure there will not be a legal impediment to them getting justice and having their homes remediated. This issue has been ongoing for a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Reform of Third Level Education: Discussion (28 Nov 2012)

Averil Power: I thank the delegations for their presentations. I accept savings have to be squeezed out across the year rather than the academic year. I would not necessarily agree with squeezing courses to make them shorter, however. There is significant potential in that third level teaching buildings are empty for up to half of the year and we could be running two terms within a year. Is there an...

Seanad: National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012: Second Stage (27 Nov 2012)

Averil Power: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and welcome the Bill. Fianna Fáil broadly supports the measures outlined in the legislation to clarify and consolidate the vetting process. We have, however, two concerns about the inclusion of childminders who are working on a commercial basis and the provision of sufficient resources to back up the measures outlined in the Bill. The Bill...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Social, Personal and Health Education Curriculum: Discussion with Comhairle na nÓg (14 Nov 2012)

Averil Power: I thank the representatives of Comhairle na nÓg for coming in and for their presentation. I was delighted to see the emphasis on mental health. For the last several months Deputy McConalogue and I have been working on a paper on youth mental health for which we spent the summer consulting groups such as Headstrong, Jigsaw and student councils to find out what works. We found that...

Seanad: Measures to Address Bullying: Motion (14 Nov 2012)

Averil Power: I welcome the Minister to the House. I also welcome the motion and the initiative taken by my Fine Gael colleagues in tabling it. Fianna Fáil fully supports it and has not tabled an amendment. It is important for my party to support it and not to put the matter to a vote. I express my sympathy and that of my colleagues to the families of those who have lost loved ones to suicide in recent...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Forthcoming Education, Youth and Culture Council: Discussion with Minister for Education and Skills (14 Nov 2012)

Averil Power: It concerned what we see as being the challenges. The briefing note identifies it as a priority issue and that we want to see progress in modernisation. What does the Minister see as being the key challenges at present? With the system for recognising professional qualifications that was put in place, mobility has presumably improved. However, are there particular areas that are dragging...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Forthcoming Education, Youth and Culture Council: Discussion with Minister for Education and Skills (14 Nov 2012)

Averil Power: I meant liberalising, not protecting. I probably did not explain it properly. Are there areas where we feel that Irish professionals with qualifications are not getting access in other states that they should do because they have difficulty in getting their qualifications recognised?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Forthcoming Education, Youth and Culture Council: Discussion with Minister for Education and Skills (14 Nov 2012)

Averil Power: I thank the Minister for his presentation. I am glad there is such a spotlight on education as part of our Presidency and that it will be at the heart of the EU's 2020 strategy. That is crucial, particularly in the context of tackling issues such as mobility, youth unemployment and issues in which there is a great deal of value added at the European level. We must have our own strategies,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Student Grant Application System: Discussion with SUSI (13 Nov 2012)

Averil Power: In regard to providing services in colleges, during my time as an elected representative at Trinity College, the students' union, and its welfare officers in particular, were at the front line of helping students. I understand that SUSI has not yet put a system in place, which is a big gap. Will Ms Stewart consider putting such a system in place so that student union welfare officers can...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Student Grant Application System: Discussion with SUSI (13 Nov 2012)

Averil Power: I asked for the number of extra staff requested, as opposed to the number that were granted.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Student Grant Application System: Discussion with SUSI (13 Nov 2012)

Averil Power: That is not what I asked. I asked how many extra staff would be needed to clear the backlog by December and how many extra staff SUSI has asked for to date.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Student Grant Application System: Discussion with SUSI (13 Nov 2012)

Averil Power: I thank the delegation for attending the meeting at such short notice. It is disappointing, however, we do not have any Department officials or the Minister here which is a matter the committee should consider. The questions about students’ access to services, sitting examinations at Christmas and submitting projects can only be answered by the Minister. It is not the job of SUSI to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Pre-Budget Audits: Discussion with Social Justice Ireland and TASC (7 Nov 2012)

Averil Power: I have to go but my colleague, Deputy O’Dea, is due to arrive presently and he is the spokesperson in this area.

Seanad: Junior Certificate Reform and the Literacy and Numeracy Strategy: Statements (23 Oct 2012)

Averil Power: I welcome the Minister to the House. I will begin where he left off, with the reform of the junior certificate. The Minister referred to some of the work done by the NCCA, and the ESRI report last year pointed out quite strongly the deficiencies in the current junior certificate, providing a very strong evidence base for the reforms being brought forward. The ESRI report followed a cohort...

Seanad: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Second Stage (11 Oct 2012)

Averil Power: As other speakers mentioned, this is an area in which reform is badly needed. There is no question about that. There was much expectation that this Bill would change all the things that were wrong, particularly the pressures the current valuation system is putting on struggling businesses at the worst possible time. Senator Byrne said there were businesses in his constituency paying more...

Seanad: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Second Stage (11 Oct 2012)

Averil Power: I have read the Constitution. I hope the Minister of State will read in detail the John Grace Fried Chicken case. The last Government fell foul of this with the system that had been put in place for the JLCs. I encourage him to read that carefully, because many of the principles set out in that case seem to apply here. Instead of giving a half-hearted response in the House, I hope he will...

Seanad: Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2012)

Averil Power: I move amendment No. 12: In page 7, after line 46, to insert the following: ?16D.?The Director for Mental Health shall be responsible for planning, budgeting for and reporting on the implementation of mental health policy. His delegated functions shall include but are not limited to producing a multi-annual plan to implement the Government?s mental health policy; consulting with patients,...