Results 9,401-9,420 of 9,471 for speaker:Hildegarde Naughton

Seanad: Establishment of Joint Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Motion (14 May 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: I welcome this motion. We all wish this inquiry could have happened sooner, but as legislators we must be aware of the legal constraints and the potential for legal challenges to it. I would like to address the comment made by the Sinn Féin Senator with regard to the Government being forced into holding this inquiry. That is not the case. The Government introduced the Oireachtas...

Seanad: Establishment of Joint Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Motion (14 May 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: We are now at the juncture where a committee is to be established. The Oireachtas tradition is that committee members would put party politics aside and act in the best interest of the public. Given the calibre of those chosen to sit on the committee to date, I have no doubt but that this will happen. I also have no doubt that the public will not tolerate any grandstanding of committee...

Seanad: Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships) Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 May 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: I thank the Minister for taking on board Members' views and congratulate him on the Bill.

Seanad: Abduction of Nigerian Children: Motion (13 May 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: I join colleagues in strongly supporting this motion. The leader of Boko Haram announced more than a year ago that he intended to kidnap girls into slavery or forced marriage as part of his plan for forced radical Islam. No attention was paid by either the Nigerian Government or the wider international community. Human Rights Watch estimated that 25 young girls had already been kidnapped...

Seanad: State Airports (Shannon Group) Bill 2014: Second Stage (13 May 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: I welcome the Minister to the House and I appreciate his work since he took office. A few of his achievements include the abolition of the travel tax, which has increased airline seat capacity to Ireland by millions; the rejuvenation of the tourism industry, thanks to the reduced VAT rate; The Gathering; and now the Wild Atlantic Way. The west has not gone without notice by the Minister....

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (13 May 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: I would like to inform the Seanad-----

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (13 May 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: If the Senator wants to go ahead of me, I will be happy to facilitate him.

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (13 May 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: I would like to inform the Seanad of a significant development in the criminal justice area that has received very little attention. Late last week the Department of Justice and Equality informed the Law Society of Ireland that the Director of Public Prosecutions had issued a direction to An Garda Síochána to the effect that a suspect in Garda custody who made a request for his or...

Seanad: Services for People with Disabilities: Motion (7 May 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and very much welcome the debate. I note that the Irish Human Rights Commission, then chaired by a former Leader of the House, Dr. Maurice Manning, with the active participation of Professor Gerard Quinn of NUIG, played a significant role in conjunction with many NGOs in the area in the drafting of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of...

Seanad: Order of Business (7 May 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: Like Senator van Turnhout I wish to raise the kidnap and sale into servitude or marriage of 276 Nigerian girls. This is not news. One year ago, the leader of Boko Haram announced to the world a new policy in an attempt to enforce militant Islamism in Nigeria. He told the Nigerian Government and the international community that this group would begin kidnapping children and selling them....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Support for Young People with Disabilities: WALK and Carers Association (7 May 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: I apologise for my late arrival. I was in the Seanad. I thank the witnesses for appearing before the committee. Coincidentally this week, my Labour Party colleagues are debating a motion on personal assistance service. Can the witnesses recommend an overarching definition of the function and role of personal assistants? Are there any suggestions as to how we could improve the disability...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Apr 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: I thank Dr. David Robert Grimes, physicist at Oxford University, for his excellent opinion piece in The Irish Timesyesterday. He notes that UNICEF estimates that immunisation saves 9 million lives a year and has eradicated smallpox and made polio a thing of the past, among other huge advances. Many here will know survivors of the disease who are living with post-polio syndrome, from a time...

Seanad: Commission of Investigation (Certain Matters relative to An Garda Síochána and other persons) Order 2014: Motion (16 Apr 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: I propose to share time with Senator Paul Coghlan. I welcome the Taoiseach to the Seanad to discuss this vital issue. Whatever criticism, both valid and otherwise, has been levelled at Government in the past months about its response to the various issues surrounding the Garda Síochána, it is to the Taoiseach's credit that when he took the decision to set up a commission of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of Technological Universities Bill: Discussion (16 Apr 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: There is no mention of the merger of the south-east technological universities in the scheme of the Bill. How can we speed up the merger? Mr. Donohoe of IBEC mentioned concerns about quality. Could he expand on the main concerns from the perspective of IBEC? Is it regarding general educational standards? This is a very important issue and in this economic climate we need to target our...

Seanad: Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships) Bill 2013: Second Stage (15 Apr 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: I also welcome the Minister to the House. I very much welcome this Bill and its concentration on producing a modern registration system for Irish-registered vessels, including small inshore craft. My local authority in Galway, like others, had to introduce by-laws some years ago in an attempt to regulate the actions of jet-skis in Galway Bay. Registration of these vessels will go some way...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Apr 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: On Tuesday, the European Court of Justice issued its judgment on the EU data retention directive, No. 2006/24/EC. The court struck down the directive on the basis that it is incompatible with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and stated that it entailed an interference with the fundamental rights of practically the entire population of Europe. This is a significant statement. I ask the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Leadership in Schools: Discussion (9 Apr 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: I welcome the group. We are discussing a very important issue. With the backdrop of lack of resources and funding issues nationally, could the group outline their short-term and long-term visions? To progress this as quickly as possible, could the witnesses outline what could be done in the short term with current resources to reduce principals' work loads. A witness referred to New South...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Towards a Zero Waste Approach to Water: Dublin Institute of Technology (8 Apr 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: I apologise for having missed the presentation but there was a vote in the Seanad. Mr. McCarton referred to a pilot project in schools. I know the slogan, reduce, reuse and recycle from the litter campaign in the schools. When the children went home from school they would teach their parents about the importance of reducing waste. Will the witnesses elaborate on the school project in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Towards a Zero Waste Approach to Water: Dublin Institute of Technology (8 Apr 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: Would one trial different pilot projects in different areas?

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Apr 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: I highlight what Mr. Tom O'Malley of the National University of Ireland, Galway, calls the "quiet revolution" in the sentencing practice in our courts that has recently occurred. In three cases where judgment was delivered on 18 March, the Court of Criminal Appeal for the first time effectively introduced sentencing guidelines. This is something for which many legal academics and...