Results 7,601-7,620 of 17,498 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (29 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: It is clear as a Government that we have continued to support the Palestinian people in the position we have taken on a two state solution. We have consistently called for a ceasefire and for humanitarian aid to be provided. That is the position we have taken and we have clearly shown, not just by our actions or by flags, but by the actions we have taken and the direction that the Taoiseach...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (29 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: I know the Deputy is absolutely completely committed to policing in his own community and to the wider county. As the Deputy will know, changes are taking place and a new operational model is being rolled out right across the country. The sole objective of that operating model is to ensure that we have better and more focused policing, with more members on the ground and that we have a...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (29 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: I agree with the Deputy that it is absolutely imperative that we as public representatives have the ability to be able to represent the constituents who come to us. I am happy to come back to the Deputy and to ask the Minister for Health to respond to this particular query.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I join her in condemning the actions of Hamas, which is a terrorist organisation that brutally murdered innocent civilians. I, too, call for a ceasefire. What we are seeing unfold in response to this brutal attack is devastating. I believe that Israel has gone too far. I have said time and again, and I think I join with all colleagues here, that...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: -----and what we are seeing does not seem to be in line with that. We have provided additional funding to the international court. We will provide €1.3 million annually and €3 million in additional funding for this year to make sure those who are potentially responsible for any crimes are held accountable. The most important thing now, however, is that the ceasefire we have...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: I think that is what I have just done. I think that is what I said a number of times in my short contribution-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: -----that we as a country were one of the first countries to call for a ceasefire. We have consistently called for a ceasefire. We have consistently repeated that what Israel is doing is going too far.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: We have consistently said that they have a right to defend themselves. It is not for us in this Chamber to decide that.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: We have provided funding to the experts who will decide this. The most important thing here is that hostages are released, the hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians receive the aid they need and this fighting stops. That is what we all want in this Chamber. The only way that will happen is if we continue to call for a ceasefire and use our voice. As small as we might be, our voice...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (29 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: I have engaged with the school. I have spoken to the principal numerous times. I have spoken to parents. I have spoken to members of An Garda Síochána, which is liaising with the school. I have spoken to my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Foley, who is engaging directly with the school as well. We are providing whatever support is necessary, being asked of us and that they...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Deputy for his question and for raising this issue. As a country of emigrants, we have always welcomed people into our country - those who wish to live, work and set down roots here. We have also welcomed and will continue to welcome those who seek our help and seek international protection be it those coming from Ukraine who are in receipt of temporary protection or...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: The very people the Deputy is speaking about, those who are marginalised in our community and those who are seeking international protection, are the very people that those thugs and scumbags on Thursday night sought to intimidate. The measures I am putting in place to support the Garda, be it more gardaí, better armour, better equipment, body cameras so that they can have a proper...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: I am putting in place whatever the Garda needs to make sure that everybody - not just us, not just those who were born in this country but that every single person in this country - is protected, and that we support the Garda to do its job in that regard. I repeat that we have provided accommodation with 10,000 beds for international protection applicants in the last 11 months alone. Some...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: When I spoke to the Garda Commissioner and Garda members last week, I did so to offer my support. When the Deputy's leader rang the Garda Commissioner, it was to call for his head. When people in this country want stability, all Sinn Féin is interested in is providing instability.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: That is the difference between the Government and the Deputy's party.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Deputy for her contribution. I fully agree in that I do not believe this is the time for grandstanding and waving pictures. Again, I suggest to the Opposition that it think about what exactly it is trying to achieve here. To respond to the Deputy's question about our capital city, there is much talk about the capital belonging to no one individual. It belongs to us all....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: The Garda Commissioner has my full support and the full support of the Government. What am I doing? I want more gardaí. We all want more gardaí. I fully appreciate overtime is not the solution. I have increased the training allowance already by two thirds in the budget just gone. I have made sure that, when recruitment opens in January, those over 35 will be able to join. I...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: I wish to say at the outset that my thoughts are still very much with the young girl and with her carer, both of whom are critically ill in hospital. What happened to those children and that school is an unimaginable tragedy. My thoughts are with them, their families, the school and the wider community. What we saw unfold after that appalling tragedy was a small group of people, who do...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: We also saw the largest mobilisation of our public order units, with more than 400 members of An Garda Síochána coming together to respond to these thugs. In a very short space of time, we saw these thugs being contained into a small part of our city centre. What we saw was devastating and not one of us ever imagined that we would witness what we witnessed, but the thugs were...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Nov 2023)

Helen McEntee: Of course there will be lessons learned, and there should be, from a catastrophic event of this size, and the Garda and we as a country will be the better for it. Regarding the school and those children, I have been in contact with the principal numerous times. I have been in contact with the Garda – not just the Commissioner, but local gardaí at Store Street. I assure...