Results 981-1,000 of 1,966 for speaker:Mary Henry

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (10 Mar 2005)

Mary Henry: I will consider putting down an amendment on Report Stage.

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (10 Mar 2005)

Mary Henry: I do not wish to prolong the point but I am only too aware that a euro can only be spent once. However, I feel that some people who in the past may have been very unjustly treated by a partner may now be unjustly treated by the State by being obliged to pay up for this person. I intend to put down an amendment on Report Stage and we will consider it then.

Seanad: Order of Business. (10 Mar 2005)

Mary Henry: I too support Senator O'Toole's suggestion that we have a debate on the correlation between increased alcohol consumption and increased levels of suicide. That correlation is well known and all the moaning and groaning about any drop in the consumption of alcohol in pubs due to the smoking ban is fairly shabby because the ban is welcome. Senator Norris and I frequently raise the issue of the...

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Bill 2005: Second Stage (Resumed). (9 Mar 2005)

Mary Henry: It was a wise move for the Cathaoirleach to call me. While I realise that the Department of Health and Children is very busy and complex, we have seen an example of the most extraordinary maladministration within the Department. If one could feel that this was the only area in which there was the problem, I would not be quite so concerned. One could consider that this was one specific topic...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Second Stage (Resumed). (2 Mar 2005)

Mary Henry: It is nice to hear sympathetic words from the Government side regarding single mothers. They received very poor press recently thanks to some electrical engineer who could do with a lesson in sociology before making pronouncements. I am glad the Minister has rowed back on some of the restrictions introduced in the last budget, particularly those regarding lone parents. Previously, if they...

Seanad: Waste Management: Statements. (2 Mar 2005)

Mary Henry: I welcome the Minister to the House. He will be aware of my interest in the subject of waste management and I welcome what he had to say in his contribution. I am a great believer in the policies that have been put forward for reducing and recycling waste but the House should make an effort to implement the policies it is suggesting to individuals outside the House. It is the effort of so...

Seanad: Nursing Home Charges: Statements. (23 Feb 2005)

Mary Henry: This is the most astonishing piece of bureaucratic bungling by the Department of Health and Children which there is no point discussing. However, these issues seem to recur and I ask the Minister of State to address the issue in his reply. For example, I was amazed to find a Department of Health and Children estimate of 35,000 extra people being in need of medical cards was, in fact, only 50%...

Seanad: Child Care Services: Statements. (22 Feb 2005)

Mary Henry: Senator Cox's excellent contribution was very interesting because it reminded me of the situation of 30 years ago. Sadly, no progress whatsoever seems to have been made in the area of child care. It is depressing that I have been in this House for 12 years and that one of the first things I did was to look, with Deputy Mary Wallace, for a site which would be suitable for child care within the...

Seanad: Higher Education Review: Statements. (22 Feb 2005)

Mary Henry: I wish to share my time with Senator Norris, by agreement.

Seanad: Higher Education Review: Statements. (22 Feb 2005)

Mary Henry: I welcome the Minister to the House. She will certainly go home with food for thought, having had this report ripped apart. I also take issue with a fair amount of it. The first point with which I took issue was that the humanities and social sciences were totally disregarded, apart from subsuming the Irish Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences into Science Foundation Ireland, which...

Seanad: Order of Business. (22 Feb 2005)

Mary Henry: I am sure Senators will be aware of the dreadful event which occurred in Mayo at the weekend where the body of a newborn baby was found by children. Some very ill-informed comment was made in the press by people who should have known better about single mothers and their children. Many Senators deplore what was said. The Leader of the House has been very good in providing time for debates...

Seanad: Mental Health Commission Annual Report 2003: Statements. (17 Feb 2005)

Mary Henry: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and his speech on this issue. I am grateful to the Leader of the House for acceding to my request to debate the 2003 annual report of the Mental Health Commission. I wish such a debate was held automatically. When I was first elected to the Seanad 12 years ago, the report of the Inspector of Mental Hospitals was never debated in the Oireachtas. I...

Seanad: Order of Business. (17 Feb 2005)

Mary Henry: Like Senator Ross I agree with Senator Minihan regarding what he said about the McCartney family and their great courage in looking for justice following the death of their brother. It is important to note they are looking for justice through the courts and not at the hands of some self-appointed executioner as seems to be suggested by some in Northern Ireland. The Leader has kindly put the...

Seanad: Civil Partnership Bill 2004: Second Stage. (16 Feb 2005)

Mary Henry: I hope the Senator was not talking about me.

Seanad: Civil Partnership Bill 2004: Second Stage. (16 Feb 2005)

Mary Henry: I thank Senator Quinn for sharing time. I thank Senator Norris for all the hard work he has put into this Bill. I thank the Leader for ensuring this debate took place this evening and for her judicious use of "horsetrading"— that is probably not the right word — to ensure the debate would proceed. I also thank the Minister for his extremely thoughtful and useful speech.

Seanad: Civil Partnership Bill 2004: Second Stage. (16 Feb 2005)

Mary Henry: It carefully teased out much of what is in the Bill. While we support Senator Norris's proposition some of us have concerns such as those raised by Senator Quinn. Section 6 is very difficult. It provides that heterosexual relationships will be the same as marriage. They will have the same rights but not the duties as was pointed out. I, probably more than any one in the House, have had...

Seanad: Civil Partnership Bill 2004: Second Stage. (16 Feb 2005)

Mary Henry: ——which is the subject of the first part of the Government amendment. I do not like the Legislature being totally influenced by the courts. I like us to have a fair amount of influence on it and was looking forward to Committee Stage. We need to be careful that in protecting marriage we are not letting the family down. There are an enormous number of different family types in Ireland. I...

Seanad: Civil Partnership Bill 2004: Second Stage. (16 Feb 2005)

Mary Henry: Some public cases have been in the press but there are others and I have raised this matter here previously. We will have a messy case in the courts one day and regret it very much. For the stability of society, the rights of children and the happiness of those in same sex relationships I hope we can make progress on this issue as rapidly and comfortably as we can. The stability of society,...

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2004: Report and Final Stages. (16 Feb 2005)

Mary Henry: I second the amendment. Senator Tuffy has made a good point. Why is there a need to provide for a period of ten weeks? As a doctor, I approach issues of this kind by considering the problems faced by a parent who needs time off because of a child's illness. It is pretty hard to say that a child will be sick from a certain date until another date and the employee will be able to return to work...

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2004: Report and Final Stages. (16 Feb 2005)

Mary Henry: I note Senator Jim Walsh's point, but the Taoiseach is a socialist and said so himself. If he were here, I am sure he would support us in this matter.