Results 1,021-1,040 of 5,087 for speaker:Kathleen Funchion

Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (1 Feb 2023)

Kathleen Funchion: Amendments Nos. 28 and 50 are very similar. They seek to have "as soon as practicable" deleted and substituted with "within 28 days". I say this on foot of the situation with the Birth Information and Tracing Act, where people are waiting far past the recommended time. Unfortunately, just today I spoke to somebody who is still having difficulty getting their information, particularly their...

Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (1 Feb 2023)

Kathleen Funchion: This again gives us the opportunity to speak about the six-month timeframe. One of the things that we did in the pre-legislative process in the committee was to bring in specialists in childhood trauma. It is probably one of the best sessions that we have ever had because it was so insightful and very interesting in terms of how it works. None of us can know or say what damage is done if...

Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (1 Feb 2023)

Kathleen Funchion: I move amendment No. 11: In page 9, line 35, after “campaign,” to insert “in Ireland and abroad,”. We had a discussion on this in committee. If I am reading it correctly, the Minister's amendment No. 12 deals with the issue. If that is the case, I will be happy to withdraw amendment No. 11. I ask for clarity on that.

Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (1 Feb 2023)

Kathleen Funchion: This relates to the earlier discussion on the dissolution, which we do not support. I am just following that train of thought.

Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (1 Feb 2023)

Kathleen Funchion: Can I come back in?

Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (1 Feb 2023)

Kathleen Funchion: The chief deciding officer should be able to appoint his or her staff independently. The idea is that the chances of having to appeal decision with a genuinely independent staff in place will be reduced. I am not talking about setting up a whole new State agency, which is different from what we proposed on the birth information legislation. If I was appointed in the morning as an...

Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (1 Feb 2023)

Kathleen Funchion: I will press the amendment.

Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (1 Feb 2023)

Kathleen Funchion: I move amendment No. 9: In page 9, to delete lines 19 to 21 and substitute the following: “(5) The Chief Operating Officer may appoint suitably qualified staff as he or she may determine to the staff of the Office of the Chief Deciding Officer to assist in the performance of his or her duties.”. The office of the chief deciding officer must be independent and, as...

Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (1 Feb 2023)

Kathleen Funchion: My whole difficulty with this relates to "assigned staff". Where are those staff going to come from? It is somewhat similar to what Deputy Sherlock spoke about earlier. I mean no disrespect to them but there may be existing staff in another role in the Civil Service who will be moved over to this. If we want them to be fully independent the chief deciding officer should be able to...

Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (1 Feb 2023)

Kathleen Funchion: We are saying the scheme will wrap up within five years or, potentially, earlier. Is that correct? Can I get clarity on that?

Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (1 Feb 2023)

Kathleen Funchion: It does not make sense that we would set a date in the legislation as to when it will wrap up, yet we are supposed to do a review. If we do a review two years in, it will nearly be at the five-year stage by the time the review is done, the way things operate in this place. I find it difficult to support any of these amendments going forward given the nature of the debate on the previous...

Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (1 Feb 2023)

Kathleen Funchion: I do not support this group of amendments and I have a number of questions about it. The Minister stated that he outlined his intention on Committee Stage. I am open to correction but I do not remember that there was talk of a dissolution day and the scheme being dissolved. It is not a scheme that will last forever. As flawed as the scheme is, I am not comfortable that we are talking...

Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (1 Feb 2023)

Kathleen Funchion: I mentioned the Tuam group earlier, but we also have with us James Sugrue and Peter Mulryan, two of the boarded-out children. They want the point to be made that they were given a commitment by the Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar, about their own cases and that they should not be forgotten. The difficulty we have had with the Government is that members say one thing when they meet survivors but...

Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (1 Feb 2023)

Kathleen Funchion: I welcome members of the Tuam Mother and Baby Home Alliance in the Public Gallery who have been active not only on this aspect of the scheme but on everything connected with the mother and baby institutions over the years. I speak in support of amendment No. 2 and my amendment No. 62, which is similar. I agree with Deputy Cairns that it was Deputy Sherlock who first gave us the idea that...

Written Answers — Department of Health: General Practitioner Services (1 Feb 2023)

Kathleen Funchion: 299. To ask the Minister for Health if there are plans to extend prescribing authority to GPs for the nausea drug, cariban, which presently is planned to only be prescribed by consultants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5126/23]

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services: Motion [Private Members] (31 Jan 2023)

Kathleen Funchion: I thank Deputy Ward for bringing forward this motion and all his work and advocacy on mental health. The motion clearly calls for straightforward reform so that resourcing is matched with staffing and services are available when and where they are needed. That is one of the key issues because my experience with CAMHS is that people have difficulty accessing the service. First, the referral...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Disability Services: Discussion (31 Jan 2023)

Kathleen Funchion: We are joined by representatives of Down Syndrome Cork, Down Syndrome Carlow and the West Cork Down Syndrome Support Group. I welcome them to the meeting and we look forward to engaging with them. Many members are attending online, so there will some in the room and others online. I will take us through some housekeeping matters. I advise anyone who is attending online via MS Teams that...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Disability Services: Discussion (31 Jan 2023)

Kathleen Funchion: I thank Ms Steinmetz. I expect there will be a lot of questions from members. We will take all the opening statements first and then open the floor. The next speaker is Ms Moran from Down Syndrome Carlow.

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Disability Services: Discussion (31 Jan 2023)

Kathleen Funchion: I thank the witnesses for their opening statements. As Ms O'Donovan mentioned, her husband, Barry, is present. Ms Olivia Flanagan from Down Syndrome Carlow is also present. I assume that all of the witnesses are free to answer questions. The speaking order of members is Senator Seery Kearney; Deputy Sherlock; Deputy Cairns; Senator O'Sullivan; and Senator McGreehan. If others attend...