Results 661-680 of 1,009 for speaker:Catherine Ardagh

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Oct 2018)

Catherine Ardagh: The security on the INIS website is low level. It has been reviewed by security academics. A website usually asks one to confirm that one is not a robot by asking how many cars are in a picture. The INIS website does not have any of these security provisions so a bot has been able to go in, buy up the slots and sell them on Facebook for €25 to €30. This is unfair and...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Oct 2018)

Catherine Ardagh: I am very disappointed for the 500,000 homes and businesses across Ireland who will not be in receipt of high-speed broadband. It was indicated over the weekend that the Minister was pausing the roll-out of broadband. He said it was being done on the basis that there will be an audit of the process to date. It is as clear as night follows day that the process is flawed. The Government...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Oct 2018)

Catherine Ardagh: I apologise.

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Oct 2018)

Catherine Ardagh: I did not mention any names.

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Oct 2018)

Catherine Ardagh: No names were mentioned. Third, I congratulate St. James's Hospital, the largest acute hospital in the country, which has gone digital. I believe that going digital will enhance patient safety, decrease waiting times and ultimately create efficiencies within the hospital. All hospitals nationwide must strive to go digital in order that we have overall efficiencies in our health service.

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Oct 2018)

Catherine Ardagh: In the context of Brexit, we all know how important it is for small businesses to have access to high-speed broadband. Anyone running a small business knows that if the broadband service is down, one may as well go home because no work can be done. However, there are many companies, particularly in rural Ireland, that do not have access to high-speed broadband.They lack a competitive edge...

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Oct 2018)

Catherine Ardagh: I convey my personal sympathies and those of the Fianna Fáil group to the family of the late Emma Mhic Mhathúna. I commend her bravery and strength in recent months. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a h-anam dílis. We have all come from either the Lower House or we were watching the budget on the monitors in our offices. One of the cornerstones of the confidence and supply...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Oct 2018)

Catherine Ardagh: I wish to praise the demonstrators who protested outside Leinster House yesterday as part of the Raise the Roof campaign. I hope the Government and the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, will take heed and acknowledge the seriousness of our housing crisis. I do not think I have ever seen such a large group outside Leinster House. There are 10,000...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Oct 2018)

Catherine Ardagh: I wish to raise commitments in the realm of justice that were promised under the programme for Government. Last week, I raised the issue of violent muggings and burglaries on the streets of Dublin. We also learned last week of the horrendous rapes of three college students in Cork, of how they had not reported the incidents to their colleges or to the Garda and of the fact that two of them...

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Sep 2018)

Catherine Ardagh: In the past few days my office has been inundated with reports of very aggressive burglaries and street muggings. Very worrying young people, I would call them thugs, in packs and gangs are targeting women with bags on the street. It is not just confined to the evening but there are instances of muggings during the day. We hear repeatedly of increased numbers of gardaí, but I do not...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Sep 2018)

Catherine Ardagh: I raise the issue of sports capital funding and its allocation. I implore the Minister not to repeat the sins of last year in respect of the distribution of sports capital funding. The benefit to communities of sporting facilities and sports in general is immeasurable. In Dublin 8 we have some of highest densities of population and rates of population growth, yet between the Liffey and the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Pre-Budget Discussion: Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection (25 Sep 2018)

Catherine Ardagh: I welcome the fact that the Minister has addressed the issue of child poverty and how to alleviate it. She mentioned that throwing extra money at it would not suffice. While that would not fix it, it would go a long way to solving the issue. I welcome comments made by my colleague, Deputy O'Dea, on giving every support to parents, especially in respect of education, and ensuring that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Pre-Budget Discussion: Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection (25 Sep 2018)

Catherine Ardagh: The Minister said the answer is not throwing money at them.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Pre-Budget Discussion: Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection (25 Sep 2018)

Catherine Ardagh: This is a separate matter.

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Sep 2018)

Catherine Ardagh: I welcome the return of my colleagues and the staff of the Seanad. I am delighted everybody is present in spite of the blustery weather. I wish to convey my sympathies and those of the Fianna Fáil Party to the family of the lady who died when her caravan was blown off the cliff in the west. It is a stark reminder of how dangerous this type of weather is. We must be especially...

Seanad: Children's Health Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Sep 2018)

Catherine Ardagh: I propose to speak once on the Sinn Féin amendments rather than address them individually. Is that in order?

Seanad: Children's Health Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Sep 2018)

Catherine Ardagh: May I speak generally on this amendment?

Seanad: Children's Health Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Sep 2018)

Catherine Ardagh: This Bill is long overdue. Obviously we have concerns about impartiality but what is being proposed is necessary and is modern. There is no sign that there has been any influence from outside bodies or specific religions. We fully support this Bill. It is disappointing that the hospital is not yet built and that it will not be operational until 2022. I am surprised that Sinn Féin...

Seanad: Children's Health Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Sep 2018)

Catherine Ardagh: I will speak to the amendment regarding appointments to the board. I agree with Senator Devine that this board is so important there needs to be transparency. We need to ensure we get the right candidates for the job. I hope that the board of this hospital does not end up like the board of the HSE or other agencies, in that the Minister will act expediently and appoint a board on enactment...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Jul 2018)

Catherine Ardagh: Before I commence, I welcome some guests in the Gallery, namely, Seamus McGarry of the Irish Cultural Centre in London, his wife, Annette, and their friends, the Rev. Odette Lockwood-Stewart and the Rev. Jim Lockwood-Stewart from the American Church in Paris. The first issue I raise today relates to the already visible crisis we will face in September in the shortfall in student...