Results 9,421-9,440 of 9,471 for speaker:Hildegarde Naughton

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Mar 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: It is opportune in light of the recent flooding and storm damage that the Seanad should debate insurance cover. We are all aware from interaction with people on a daily basis that significant issues remain in terms of the impossibility of insuring homes and businesses which were affected by flooding. The insurance federation estimates that 2% - 40,000 to 50,000 homes and businesses - have...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Mar 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: There is a need for joined-up thinking in this area and there is also a need for a forum where present needs, future works and insurance risks could be discussed and matters resolved to benefit the population as a whole. I hope the Leader will facilitate such a debate.

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Mar 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: I have read with great interest recent comments made by the Master of the National Maternity Hospital, Dr. Rhona Mahony, who expressed the view that a lack of investment in education resulted in cycles of intergenerational and socio-economic disadvantage. In a similar vein, Professor Morgan Kelly, in his very interesting views on potential negative impacts on the SME sector, to which the...

Seanad: Parental Leave Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Feb 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: Next Tuesday.

Seanad: Parental Leave Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Feb 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: Tomorrow at 10.30 a.m.

Seanad: Community Courts: Motion (25 Feb 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: I second this motion and welcome the opportunity to speak on this important issue. In an associated way, I commend the Minister for Justice and Equality on his intention to deal with the court poor box issue. It was a practice with no statutory footing and opaque rules and it had no place in our system of criminal justice. I fully support this proposal which seems to have two main...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Arts Council: Chairman Designate (25 Feb 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: I welcome Ms Pratschke and wish her well in the new role. My first question concerns the Arts Council and the role it will play in encouraging young people and children to experience the arts. This relates to the point made by previous speakers about the arts reaching out into the local community and being accessible to everyone. The education system is key to this idea, as is the idea of...

Seanad: Teaching Council of Ireland: Statements (19 Feb 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: I will not be long because many Senators have already covered many of my issues. I welcome the Minister to the House today. The council is a progressive and positive step forward in maintaining and improving teaching and learning standards. I was a primary schoolteacher and can see its value. Like Senator Moran, when we received notification about the Teaching Council we all wondered where...

Seanad: Teaching Council of Ireland: Statements (19 Feb 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: If there is a complaint then at what point does the Teaching Council engage in the process? I want to understand the process and I ask the Minister to elaborate on the provision. I welcome the minimum service requirement for probation. It has been reduced to 100 days in order to allow student teachers to complete their probation period. I want the Minister to clear up another issue which...

Seanad: Free Speech, Homophobia and the role of the State Broadcaster: Motion [Private Members] (18 Feb 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: I thank the Minister for joining us to discuss this very important matter. Recent events in RTE, for whom the Minister has line responsibility, have brought this topic to the forefront, which is welcome. Last week I heard a certain newspaper columnist bemoan the fact that her own newspaper was the first to interview her since the "Pantigate" episode. She made the case that she was being...

Seanad: Free Speech, Homophobia and the role of the State Broadcaster: Motion [Private Members] (18 Feb 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: The fact is that those particularly conservative views that were imposed on our society for decades are now being openly challenged. That does not amount to persecution but it amounts to valid criticism. I urge both sides of the debate to conduct themselves in an orderly fashion and not to lose the goodwill of the citizens and voters of the middle ground. Most amazing of all in this...

Seanad: Recent Flooding: Statements (12 Feb 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: I welcome that €70 million in funding is to be provided, in addition to the €25 million in humanitarian assistance already announced. I note these funds are intended to cover damage incurred prior to 6 January. Local authorities and the Government are to be commended on the speed with which they have responded to the storms and the emergency services have done Trojan work on...

Seanad: Youth Guarantee: Statements (5 Feb 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: At 2.30 p.m next Tuesday.

Seanad: Youth Guarantee: Statements (5 Feb 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: I welcome the Minister to the House to discuss this very welcome and important implementation plan. A failure to reverse the tide of youth emigration and unemployment would mean allowing our brightest and best to depart, possibly for ever, and would denude the country of its future leaders in every sphere of life. Several stark statistics illustrate the extent of the challenge the...

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Jan 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: I ask the Leader to invite the Minister for Education and Skills to the House to debate the respective responsibilities and liabilities in the primary school sector, and the sector's interaction with the State. I am delighted that Ms Louise O'Keeffe received the result she deserved in the European Court of Human Rights. All the Members of this House can unite in praise of her determination...

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Jan 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: I am asking the Leader to invite to the House the Minister for Education and Skills to discuss the respective responsibilities and liabilities in the primary school sector and the sector's interaction with the State.

Seanad: Recent Severe Storm Damage: Statements (23 Jan 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. The storms that ravaged the west have caused more than €19 million worth of damage to Galway city and county. The preliminary cost for Galway city is €1.282 million. The four main areas of coastline damage in the city are Silver Strand, Blackrock in Salthill to Birdoo, Blackrock to South Park Claddagh and Ballyloughane beach. A...

Seanad: Common Agricultural Policy and Rural Development Programme: Statements (22 Jan 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: I welcome the Minister to the House and congratulate him on his work to date, particularly on the success of his negotiations on CAP which took place during a difficult economic period. The sheep grassland scheme which has been subsumed into Pillar 1 will mean a loss for many farmers in the west. Are there proposals to compensate them for that loss? In 2009, farmers lost €1,000 in the...

Seanad: Irish Water: Statements (22 Jan 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: The Irish Water consultative group strategy document is replete with references to accountability and transparency as between the new utility, its auditors and the Department. It is surely not acceptable to any Member of this or the other House, of any party, that the head of Irish Water should see fit to answer questions on establishment costs on the national airwaves while Members have to...

Seanad: Irish Water: Statements (22 Jan 2014)

Hildegarde Naughton: Everybody would accept that it is not feasible to answer specific questions in regard to the costs in the middle of a tendering process. There is a reasonable concern in regard to commercially sensitive information. The reality, however, is that this whole debacle could have been avoided if there had been some straight talking at the outset. The establishment costs are justifiable, but...