Results 8,841-8,860 of 9,059 for speaker:Hildegarde Naughton

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Mar 2015)

Hildegarde Naughton: I want to raise the issue of community enterprise centres, particularly the largest once in the country which is in Galway. The Galway Technology Centre is currently home to 41 start-ups and growing companies and SMEs. The centre has supported more than 140 companies and 1,200 jobs since it commenced in 1994. This week, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Richard...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Mar 2015)

Hildegarde Naughton: I wish to raise-----

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Mar 2015)

Hildegarde Naughton: I wish to raise some positive news on the jobs front for Galway and the west. This comes soon after Apple's major jobs announcement for Athenry. IDT911, a data protection company, will establish its European headquarters in Galway, creating 60 jobs in the area. This company credited its move to the very good pool of talented graduates available locally and also due to the support it got...

Seanad: An Bille um an gCeathrú Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (Comhionannas Pósta) 2015: An Dara Céim - Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Marriage Equality) Bill 2015: Second Stage (25 Mar 2015)

Hildegarde Naughton: I welcome the Minister to the House and commend Senators on their very powerful speeches and true words. It is very important to place this issue in its context. It is not, and nor should it be, a polemical or ideological context but rather a very personal one. The letter on the front page of the Sunday Independentlast weekend was very poignant. It was from a 60 year old gay man who was...

Seanad: An Bille um an gCeathrú Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (Comhionannas Pósta) 2015: An Dara Céim - Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Marriage Equality) Bill 2015: Second Stage (25 Mar 2015)

Hildegarde Naughton: Could Senator O'Brien move closer to the microphone?

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Second Stage (24 Mar 2015)

Hildegarde Naughton: I welcome the Minister to the House. We live in a time when, for various cultural and economic reasons, we can no longer think of traditional marriage when we discuss the family. The traditional stereotype of mum, dad and two kids is just that - a stereotype. Until the introduction of the Status of Children Act 1987, the concept of bastardry and illegitimacy was alive and well in our...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Mar 2015)

Hildegarde Naughton: I raise the issue of court proceedings against those who are in difficulty with their mortgages. Some 400 such cases are listed before the registrar in Galway and I fully agree with the Taoiseach when he said that issuing proceedings is not the way to engage with people in financial distress. Even if there are some who have difficulty facing up to their problems and engaging with lenders,...

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (5 Mar 2015)

Hildegarde Naughton: Next Tuesday.

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Mar 2015)

Hildegarde Naughton: I, too, welcome today's announcement of €564,000 for 187 local festivals throughout the country. A significant portion of the investment is going to products along the Wild Atlantic Way and festivals along our west coast, including the Clifton arts festival, the Galway food festival, the Connemara festival as well as other festivals such as cruinniú na mbád. This is...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Feb 2015)

Hildegarde Naughton: I concur with Senator Norris. It is important that we acknowledge the work that our elected representatives do nationally and locally. I wish to raise the issue of capital investment by the HSE. The HSE has submitted a request to the national capital steering group for funds to build a replacement accident and emergency department at University Hospital Galway, UHG. The department handles...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Feb 2015)

Hildegarde Naughton: I wish to raise the issue of greenways in the aftermath of a meeting which took place this morning with the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Donohoe, in respect of the greenway from Loughrea to Galway. While there were few difficulties regarding the part of the route from Dublin to Athlone, with land being provided by Waterways Ireland and the public transport authorities,...

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Feb 2015)

Hildegarde Naughton: I wish to raise some good news for the west, particularly rural Ireland. This week, the Minister for Health, Deputy Varadkar, announced a €5.4 million increase in the national ambulance service's budget to help address service gaps in the area. Provision has been made for 50 paramedic posts in the west, some of which will be used to staff ambulance stations at Tuam and Mulranny and...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Feb 2015)

Hildegarde Naughton: I highlight the announcement this morning by the Minister for Tourism, Transport and Sport, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, of further funding of €320,000 which has been approved by Fáilte Ireland under its national festivals and events programmes for 11 key national festivals and events that will take place this year. Two of these events are the Galway International Film Fleadh which...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Feb 2015)

Hildegarde Naughton: I welcome the jobs announcement made this morning by IDA Ireland worth €250 million as part of its regional investment plan. IDA Ireland in Galway has more than replaced the jobs lost in supported industries. An Action Plan for Jobs is targeting regional areas and ensuring we are accelerating job creation in all towns and villages throughout the country. Led by IDA Ireland and...

Seanad: Gender Recognition Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Feb 2015)

Hildegarde Naughton: I feel great empathy for those who find themselves in this impossible situation. Senator Norris outlined the human impact of this as described in that e-mail which we all received. As legislators, however, we need to be mindful of the legal advice we have been given here, which is that this legislation could prove to be unconstitutional. There is little point in putting legislation onto...

Seanad: Gender Recognition Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Feb 2015)

Hildegarde Naughton: If the medical model is to be kept I agree that it should move towards the person’s general practitioner who has the primary duty of care. I understand the Minister of State will accept Senator Marie Moloney's amendment who is seeking the deletion of the line, "based on a medical evaluation of the applicant". That would be appropriate in this case. Certainly if no diagnosis is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Female Entrepreneurship, Women in Tech Industries, Skills Needs and Balanced Regional Development: (Resumed) ISME, Startup Ireland, Cork Innovates and IDA Ireland (10 Feb 2015)

Hildegarde Naughton: I thank the witnesses for attending. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2013 stated that men are 1.9 times more likely to be at the start-up entrepreneurship stage. If we want to encourage women into business and start-ups, there are two strands. First is the initial strand of education. I agree that primary school is the key time to encourage young girls to get interested in...

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Feb 2015)

Hildegarde Naughton: I welcome this morning's announcement from the European Commission's winter economic forecast which predicts Ireland remaining as the fastest growing economy in Europe, with an announcement of a GDP growth of 3.5% which will exceed expectations this year. This is very positive news for Ireland and shows the recovery which is continuing here. I welcome also this morning's announcement of...

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2015: Second Stage (4 Feb 2015)

Hildegarde Naughton: Next Tuesday.

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2015: Second Stage (4 Feb 2015)

Hildegarde Naughton: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. A ramshackle maze of laws and procedures built up over decades in a totally ad hoc, spin the bottle and pick one's procedure manner is one legal practitioner's description of the practice of employment law in this jurisdiction. In answer to that, the Bill is the most comprehensive and innovative reform since the introduction of equality...