Results 701-720 of 1,013 for speaker:Colette Kelleher

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Rural and Community Development: Action Plan for Rural Development: Discussion (29 Nov 2017)

Colette Kelleher: Where is it?

Seanad: Domestic Violence Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (28 Nov 2017)

Colette Kelleher: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. His engagement with us and all the organisations with which we are working closely and the genuineness he is bringing to progressing this important legislation is very welcome. To come back to the issue of consistency, organisations working at the coalface report time and again that cases with similar facts have very different results. This is...

Seanad: Domestic Violence Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (28 Nov 2017)

Colette Kelleher: The amendments are intended to improve the provisions and protections provided in the Bill. I thank the Minister of State and also the former Tánaiste who was present for the first debate on the Bill for her work on it. It is important to recognise that violence happens in relationships where people do not live together. I warmly welcome and will be supporting Government amendment No....

Seanad: Domestic Violence Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (28 Nov 2017)

Colette Kelleher: I welcome the Government's amendments in this group, which strengthen the language around safety orders. Let us remind ourselves what safety orders are. A safety order is a court order prohibiting a violent person from doing one or more of the following: using or threatening to use violence, molesting or frightening the applicant or a dependent person and watching or besetting a place where...

Seanad: Domestic Violence Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (28 Nov 2017)

Colette Kelleher: The amendments in this group relate to communications around children in cases where a respondent has been prohibited from contacting the applicant. A concern has been raised by Barnardos and others that an exception should be made for urgent communication relating to the welfare and care of children. Amendments Nos. 10, 13, 15, 18 and 29 seek to do this but it is done most neatly in...

Seanad: Domestic Violence Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (28 Nov 2017)

Colette Kelleher: The amendments deal with out-of-hours barring orders. We know that domestic violence can take place at any time in the day or night, weekend or weekday. We also know that access to protections it provides can often be poor. If one is assaulted and then calls 999, one will be told to get a court barring order. If the assault happens at the weekend, one will have to wait until Monday,...

Seanad: Domestic Violence Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (28 Nov 2017)

Colette Kelleher: Biased.

Seanad: Domestic Violence Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (28 Nov 2017)

Colette Kelleher: The scale of the need for access to emergency barring orders out of hours is much greater than has been described. For the reasons that Senator Bacik outlined, the burden sits with the victim, who may or may not decide to pursue an order or may come under duress in the intervening period. From Friday night to Monday morning is a long time for someone who is being persuaded by another person...

Seanad: Domestic Violence Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (28 Nov 2017)

Colette Kelleher: These amendments deal with the length of emergency barring orders. It is important that such orders be of sufficient length to provide the protection required. We need to keep people safe for as long as possible, particularly where children are involved, as they require consistency and security. No child should be made homeless when escaping domestic abuse. Extending the length of...

Seanad: Domestic Violence Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (28 Nov 2017)

Colette Kelleher: I accept that it is innovative so it is new. I accept that there has been a threshold set around the eight day limit. However, I am really concerned about the best interests of children in this situation and urge the Minister to be willing to look at the interface between the balancing of rights. There is the balancing of constitutional rights but there is also the balancing of the rights...

Seanad: Domestic Violence Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (28 Nov 2017)

Colette Kelleher: I move amendment No. 29:In page 17, line 23, after “person” to insert the following:“, save for urgent electronic communications which are strictly necessary for the care and welfare of any dependent children of the applicant and respondent to the extent that and in the form that the court directs”.

Seanad: Domestic Violence Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (28 Nov 2017)

Colette Kelleher: I wish to make a point of information.

Seanad: Domestic Violence Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (28 Nov 2017)

Colette Kelleher: I continue to be educated by the Cathaoirleach.

Seanad: Domestic Violence Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (28 Nov 2017)

Colette Kelleher: I thank the Cathaoirleach. We understand that as the Minister of State has accepted amendment No. 6 that there is a conflict with amendment No. 35. We understand that we must ask him to withdraw it or oppose it.

Seanad: Domestic Violence Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (28 Nov 2017)

Colette Kelleher: Our understanding is that there is. Again, I only point that out as a point of information.

Seanad: Domestic Violence Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (28 Nov 2017)

Colette Kelleher: The amendments, as the Minister of State said, deal with the cases where orders should be served personally by members of the Garda. There are cases where a person might try to evade the service of an order and create a delay. There is a role for a member of the Garda to personally serve the order. In this group, I will be supporting amendment No. 39. This amendment clearly states the...

Seanad: Domestic Violence Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (28 Nov 2017)

Colette Kelleher: I cannot tell the Minister of State how wonderful it is to be here to welcome this amendment. It is truly groundbreaking. I congratulate the Minister of State and his officials for listening and considering the issue. He was sceptical and could see a lot of difficulties, but he was persuaded. I am delighted the Government has listened to the arguments made and has come back with such a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Future of Mental Health Care: Funding and Budgeting of Mental Health Services: Health Service Executive (22 Nov 2017)

Colette Kelleher: I thank the witnesses for their presentation. The HSE's operational plan for 2017 states that its vision is to support the population to achieve its optimal mental health and that its mission is to promote and protect the mental health of the population, to provide effective services to those who need them, making best use of existing resources, and to seek to continuously improve those...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Future of Mental Health Care: Funding and Budgeting of Mental Health Services: Health Service Executive (22 Nov 2017)

Colette Kelleher: It related to weighting performance about stated goals and then, second, how much is needed to achieve the optimum performance. They are two simple questions but no one has attempted to answer them.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Future of Mental Health Care: Funding and Budgeting of Mental Health Services: Health Service Executive (22 Nov 2017)

Colette Kelleher: Is the HSE at 100%, 70%, 60%?