Results 8,481-8,500 of 11,470 for speaker:Mary Butler

Ceapachán an Taoisigh agus Ainmniú Chomhaltaí an Rialtais: Tairiscint - Appointment of Taoiseach and Nomination of Members of Government: Motion (27 Jun 2020)

Mary Butler: The next speaker will be Deputy Bríd Smith who, I believe will share time with Deputies Paul Murphy and Barry.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Testing and Tracing (25 Jun 2020)

Mary Butler: I thank the witnesses for attending the committee again today and for the documentation they have provided. I will start with Professor Mallon. He stated in his opening statement that the lessons learned from the first wave of Covid-19 need to be translated into actions and resources and that we have a very narrow window of opportunity. As we look forward and try to learn from the past...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Testing and Tracing (25 Jun 2020)

Mary Butler: I wholeheartedly agree with Professor Mallon that critical planning is essential because we are facing into a winter when we will have Covid-19 patients and non-Covid-19 patients. Then we could have the normal winter surge, the winter vomiting bug and the winter flu. We all know about the issue of the late discharge of patients and the late transfer of care and the number of bed days lost...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Testing and Tracing (25 Jun 2020)

Mary Butler: I understand that we were learning, everything was done in good faith and capacity was not available, but does Professor Mallon accept the following? I firmly believe that if the capacity had been available in March and April to test people who were being transferred to residential care from acute settings, and if patients had been tested prior to being returned to nursing homes, they could...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Testing and Tracing (25 Jun 2020)

Mary Butler: Absolutely.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Testing and Tracing (25 Jun 2020)

Mary Butler: I wish to ask Dr. Henry a question about the ongoing testing in nursing homes. We know "test, trace and isolate" is the mantra by which we have to learn. We understand that medical staff in nursing homes will be tested for the next four weeks, which is very welcome, but I wish to ask Dr. Henry about the other staff in the nursing homes - for example, the caterers and the housekeepers - and...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Testing and Tracing (25 Jun 2020)

Mary Butler: I thank Dr. Henry for the clarity because we received different information last week, when we were informed that only the medical personnel would be tested. Housekeeping staff were not included.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Testing and Tracing (25 Jun 2020)

Mary Butler: I thank Dr. Henry for that but I ask him again whether he thinks the patients should also be tested.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Testing and Tracing (25 Jun 2020)

Mary Butler: According to Dr. Henry's opening statement, Ireland is one of the few countries to offer automatic testing for contacts of a confirmed case. How important is this to control the spread of the virus? I know that one of the other speakers said tests are carried out on day zero and day seven. Does Dr. Henry think we need to continue doing this on an ongoing basis, and how important is it?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Needs Education: Impact of Covid-19 (25 Jun 2020)

Mary Butler: I welcome the witnesses to the committee today. I thank them for taking the time to be here and for their opening statements. The National Council for Special Education and the Department of Education and Skills acknowledge that school closure and extended periods of time outside the classroom and the normal learning environment as well as the loss of regular school routine is causing...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Needs Education: Impact of Covid-19 (25 Jun 2020)

Mary Butler: Is Mr. O'Connor is telling me that a 13 year old or 14 year old child with Down's syndrome, who now is in first year, as against being in sixth class last year, will not be able to avail of the July provision scheme? A simple "Yes" or "No" will suffice.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Needs Education: Impact of Covid-19 (25 Jun 2020)

Mary Butler: Is it the case that this would potentially have a devastating long-term effect on this cohort of children with additional needs, including those with Down's syndrome?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Needs Education: Impact of Covid-19 (25 Jun 2020)

Mary Butler: Does Mr. O'Connor believe this is a capacity issue? To me, it is almost like an abandonment of the children and their families who have really suffered for the past four months, obviously through no one's fault because we have a pandemic. These children with additional and complex needs may not get support because they are now in secondary school. I imagine that will have a long-term effect.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Needs Education: Impact of Covid-19 (25 Jun 2020)

Mary Butler: Is it correct that 70% of July provision will more than likely happen in the home of the child as against in the school setting?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Needs Education: Impact of Covid-19 (25 Jun 2020)

Mary Butler: I heard on radio this morning and in the opening statement that lack of transport is a major barrier to attending the summer programme and there are significant fears for September. Will Inclusion Ireland go into further detail on the type of problems we are likely to face in terms of transport in order to give us a better idea of what we are facing in September?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Needs Education: Impact of Covid-19 (25 Jun 2020)

Mary Butler: Is this one of the reasons such a high percentage of the July provision will have to take place in the child's own home?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Needs Education: Impact of Covid-19 (25 Jun 2020)

Mary Butler: If the witness does not mind I will move on because I am limited with time. I have one last question and one point to get across. One of Mr. Egan's conclusions speaks to the need for schools, teachers and special needs assistants, SNAs, to be supported to take part in the scheme as an important component in opening the scheme to a degree by which we can include all children with...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Needs Education: Impact of Covid-19 (25 Jun 2020)

Mary Butler: Does Ms Dempsey have a figure for how many SNAs would be required?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Needs Education: Impact of Covid-19 (25 Jun 2020)

Mary Butler: I thank Ms Dempsey.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Educational Needs: Impact of Covid-19 (Resumed) (25 Jun 2020)

Mary Butler: I thank the witnesses for attending today and for their submissions. I want to try to understand the July provision for those with Down's syndrome and I have read the submission from Down Syndrome Ireland carefully. The parents of Down's syndrome children are upset and I feel they have to right to be upset. We all know the pandemic has been extremely difficult for children and families...