Results 881-900 of 994 for speaker:Emer Currie

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Special Educational Needs (25 May 2021)

Emer Currie: The matter I raise relates to equity in education and goes to the heart of an inclusive education system. The backdrop is that a national school in Roselawn, Dublin 15, wanted to provide a reading class for the community and the board of management and staff were fully on board. The school successfully opened a special class for autism called Sonas in June 2019 and I attended the opening....

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Special Educational Needs (25 May 2021)

Emer Currie: I thank the Minister of State for conducting a review of the process and of reading classes. She said it was an operational error, but an operational error does not give any comfort to families whose hopes were raised and who have now been disappointed. I refer to the postcode lottery in that children in certain areas may be able to access this type of education, facility and service, and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Representatives of the Ballymurphy Families (25 May 2021)

Emer Currie: Good morning. I wish to thank Mr. Teggart and our guests for giving of their time here this morning. I thank them for their tireless campaign over the past 20 years, and over the 50 years since they were denied truth and justice for their loved ones. I was honoured to have read the names of the victims into the Official Report on the night before the findings of the inquest. We all felt...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 May 2021)

Emer Currie: This morning, I want to raise the wedding industry, which is worth approximately €2.3 billion per annum. I understand it is worth more than the conferences industry. We all know the impact of weddings on our local economies in terms of the business for venues, caterers, bakeries, florists and hair and beauty salons, all of which services attract VAT at 23%, not 9%. There is a wedding...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Second Stage (Resumed) (24 May 2021)

Emer Currie: I welcome the Minister. For me, housing is the biggest issue that our country faces. Covid has been an inconvenient distraction from that but it has evolved the thinking on housing, community, quality of life, how and where we can work and, consequently, how and where we can live. By restricting their movements, we restricted spending so more potential buyers have been able to save up...

Seanad: Organisation of Working Time (Reproductive Health Related Leave) Bill 2021: Second Stage (24 May 2021)

Emer Currie: I thank the Labour Party Senators for bringing the Bill forward. I acknowledge anyone in this House or in the other House who has been affected by this issue. All Senators know the anguish many people and families suffer in trying to have a child, as well as the physical or psychological pain of miscarriage, IVF and other fertility and reproductive treatments. It is so common. Every time...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: School Facilities (18 May 2021)

Emer Currie: I welcome the Minister of State. My Commencement Matter concerns a licence agreement for a green field beside a school in Dublin 15, St. Patrick's National School in Diswellstown. The agreement is with Park Developments Group. It is a local agreement between the school and developer for the use of the land. It is zoned for community infrastructure and will not be used for housing. The...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: School Facilities (18 May 2021)

Emer Currie: I thank the Minister of State for that response. I am glad to hear that the Department is committed to this project and understands the urgency behind it. This issue has been going on since December 2019 so I sincerely hope a resolution and an agreement can be found and I hope Park Developments will come to an arrangement with Fingal County Council and the Department. The school would like...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Shared Island Unit: Department of the Taoiseach (Resumed) (18 May 2021)

Emer Currie: I am here.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Shared Island Unit: Department of the Taoiseach (Resumed) (18 May 2021)

Emer Currie: That is alright, I can barely see myself. I am in one of these booths in the convention centre for the first time and it feels a bit odd. I just managed to get the lights on. My question relates to the North-South Ministerial Council. It is obviously dependent on having a nationalist and a unionist Minister attend and we have seen non-attendance in the last number of months, thought...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Shared Island Unit: Department of the Taoiseach (Resumed) (18 May 2021)

Emer Currie: If there is time, I will ask another question.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Shared Island Unit: Department of the Taoiseach (Resumed) (18 May 2021)

Emer Currie: It is great to hear the dialogue series is progressing. I share Senator Ó Donnghaile's view that awareness is a bit low around this and I would prefer to see more insights coming out of this and the sharing of progress. Is one of the outputs of the series that there could be an appetite to progress the North-South consultative forum and there could be engagement with enough groups for...

Seanad: Young People: Motion (17 May 2021)

Emer Currie: Apologies for cutting the Senator short. I wish to commend my colleague, Senator Seery Kearney, on putting forward this motion, and on her hard work and commitment in this area and her empathy for young people. I feel it too. I feel it for my own children who are now aged six and eight. There is a massive about of mother's guilt for when we were both working full-time and they were...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Future of Ireland: Discussion (11 May 2021)

Emer Currie: I welcome Mr. Lunn and Reverend Karen. It is nice to meet them. I read the briefings with interest. What is nice about today is we get a chance to engage at a human level with personal stories and opinions. That is positive. I would like to see more of that in this committee because it is about reaching out to people in their day-to-day lives and experiences in considering the future. I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Future of Ireland: Discussion (11 May 2021)

Emer Currie: Last night, I read out the names of the victims of the Ballymurphy massacre. I felt it was important to do so and to acknowledge what an important day this is for all of us. While we are all here talking about the future, the past weighs heavily on us this morning. Today is an opportunity to hear the truth about what happened.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (10 May 2021)

Emer Currie: I want to talk about a youth strategy for this summer as a spectrum of support is required. We have seen the awful video filmed at Howth Junction train station. There were various incidents in Dublin 15 over the weekend that could have been even more serious. On the other hand, children are hanging around in public spaces because they have nothing else to do. There is a spectrum here and...

Seanad: Good Friday Agreement: Motion (10 May 2021)

Emer Currie: I, too, welcome the motion. Tomorrow, a coroner will deliver the findings of the inquests into the deaths of ten people from Ballymurphy in Belfast in August 1971. That period was a tumultuous time and the political landscape had been changing dramatically since 1968. The British Army that had arrived on the streets in August 1969 was supposed to protect Catholics. Instead, an element...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Health Services Staff (7 May 2021)

Emer Currie: Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach Gníomhach. I am very grateful to the Minister of State for attending today. To put this very simply, we need more psychologists in Ireland. Why, if we are in chronic need of more psychologists, do we put so many barriers in the way of getting them? It is not because we do not have the talent, commitment and ambition. I am aware the...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Health Services Staff (7 May 2021)

Emer Currie: I thank the Minister for that response. He correctly mentioned the Psychological Society of Ireland, a fantastic organisation in setting out good standards and best practice. I have worked with it regarding a charity called Social Anxiety Ireland. If it is setting out the academic and professional requirements, it will be done with best practice and standards at its core. I am glad to...

Seanad: Business and Covid-19: Statements (30 Apr 2021)

Emer Currie: I welcome the Tánaiste and commend him on launching his pathway out of the pandemic which successfully combines hope and caution. The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, summed up our health approach quite nicely on Wednesday when he said that we need to keep the numbers low and the vaccines high. I would add that we need to continue to limit...