Results 1,041-1,060 of 5,823 for speaker:Fiona O'Loughlin

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: School Bullying and the Impact on Mental Health: Discussion (Resumed) (18 May 2021)

Fiona O'Loughlin: I have a brief question for our three remaining witnesses. I completely agree with the call for extensive continuing professional development, CPD, for the whole school community, including boards of management, which have been mentioned. Teachers need to be given more upskilling with regard to language and empathy. It is certainly difficult with large classes but developing our teachers...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: School Bullying and the Impact on Mental Health: Discussion (Resumed) (18 May 2021)

Fiona O'Loughlin: I appreciate all of the witnesses' responses. I now have the opportunity to allow members in with some very brief questions. Is anybody indicating? If not, we can finish up. Senator Dolan has already come in twice so I was going to see if anybody else wanted to come in before her but, if not, I will certainly let her in.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: School Bullying and the Impact on Mental Health: Discussion (Resumed) (18 May 2021)

Fiona O'Loughlin: The Senator can go ahead.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: School Bullying and the Impact on Mental Health: Discussion (Resumed) (18 May 2021)

Fiona O'Loughlin: I thank all the witnesses for coming here and for sharing their insights and expert knowledge on this issue. This has been of enormous assistance to the committee in our examination of bullying and its impact on the mental health of our students. I would particularly like to commend Mr. Ryan for coming before the committee and sharing his individual insights and knowledge. As I said...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Health Services (17 May 2021)

Fiona O'Loughlin: I thank the Minister of State for being here. I also thank her for the work she does on behalf of older people and in the area of mental health. It is fitting that she is here to discuss the menopause. This matter relates to older women and those who are suffering from mental health issues because of a lack of understanding and awareness and many have either been misdiagnosed or have not...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Health Services (17 May 2021)

Fiona O'Loughlin: I acknowledge the work that is being done to include the menopause as a priority under the women's health task force. I also thank the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, because he has already done quite a bit of work in the area of women's health and that must be recognised. Education and research are central to removing the taboos and stigma around the menopause and supporting...

Seanad: Young People: Motion (17 May 2021)

Fiona O'Loughlin: This is an important day for many reasons and this motion is certainly one of them. I thank Senator Seery Kearney for tabling this motion. "We cannot always build a future for our youth, but we can always build our youth for the future." These were the words of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 when he announced the New Deal for the American people coming out of the Great Depression. We are...

Seanad: Situation in Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel: Statements (17 May 2021)

Fiona O'Loughlin: I thank the Minister for being here to listen to our arguments, which basically are all the same, namely, we want peace and we want sanctions imposed on Israel. I listened carefully to what the Minister said. While I do not doubt the sincerity of his words for one moment, I was concerned to hear him say that the UN Security Council was unable to issue a clear statement regarding the...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Bord na Móna (11 May 2021)

Fiona O'Loughlin: It is a pleasure to be back in the convention centre, where we had our first Seanad meeting of this mandate. I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this Commencement matter, which is important to the people of Kildare, Offaly, Roscommon, Longford and Westmeath and all those impacted by job losses because of Bord na Móna. I cannot overstate the importance of Bord na Móna and the...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Bord na Móna (11 May 2021)

Fiona O'Loughlin: The Minister of State has outlined some figures. Timelines are very important in terms of the outcomes we expect to see and I would appreciate if they were put in place. I wish to make three brief points. Retrofitting is very welcome and I am pleased the pilot scheme is being rolled out. I am aware the pilot scheme is just dealing with houses within local authority housing stock, but it...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (11 May 2021)

Fiona O'Loughlin: First, I wish to pay tribute to a great Irish patriot, Mr. Seán Lemass, who died on today's date 50 years ago. He was a democratic, practical and visionary republican. He believed that social and economic goals should not be in conflict, but should be achieved at the same time. That is the reason the Lemass era was defined by expanded access to education, new social supports, health...

Seanad: Education (Leaving Certificate 2021) (Accredited Grades) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (11 May 2021)

Fiona O'Loughlin: It is very fitting today, as we celebrate the legacy of Seán Lemass and all he did for education, that we have the opportunity to discuss this legislation and to talk about what a future legacy can be. What Senator Ruane has raised and indicated in her amendment is certainly worthy of debate. It is a debate on which we need to have a full sitting and perhaps it is an issue on which we...

Seanad: Carer's Allowance: Motion (10 May 2021)

Fiona O'Loughlin: I thank Senator Seery Kearney for proposing the motion. It is incredibly important and timely given that the population is growing older, but also in terms of dealing with the pandemic and the emphasis that is placed on people caring for vulnerable family members. The findings of the Citizens' Assembly emphasised the importance of recognising carers, including within the Constitution....

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

Fiona O'Loughlin: I commend my colleagues, Senators Blaney and McGreehan, on tabling the motion. It is a moment of reflection and renewal that has stirred our hearts and souls in the past 12 months. We all remember the mantra, peace in our time. Coming up to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement 23 years ago, that was something we dreamt about and whispered about. We dared to dream. The world worked...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (7 May 2021)

Fiona O'Loughlin: When I spoke in the Seanad last week I raised the issue of maternity services restrictions, which is on many Members' minds today. I am glad there was clarification from on high, but there does not seem to be the same clarification in the three maternity hospitals and 16 maternity units around the country. It is beyond time that partners were allowed to attend for scans and the full labour....

Seanad: European Digital Green Certificate: Statements (7 May 2021)

Fiona O'Loughlin: The Minister of State is very welcome. I am aware that, since his appointment, he has been dealing with the myriad issues we have faced owing to Covid and EU business matters. I thank him for that. I wish him well with the remainder of his term. Maybe we took for granted the right to travel that we had before Covid and the freedom we had to make decisions on what we wanted to do with our...

Seanad: Education (Leaving Certificate Examinations) (Accredited Grades) Bill 2021: Order for Second Stage (7 May 2021)

Fiona O'Loughlin: I move: "That Second Stage be taken today."

Seanad: Education (Leaving Certificate Examinations) (Accredited Grades) Bill 2021: Second Stage (7 May 2021)

Fiona O'Loughlin: I welcome the Minister to the Chamber, which is her Chamber also. It has been a difficult and tumultuous time for the leaving certificate classes of 2020 and 2021, their parents, their teachers, the whole school community, the Department and the Minister. The word "unprecedented" has been bandied about a great deal over the past year, but the task faced by her office and the Department of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: School Bullying and its Impact on Mental Health: Discussion (4 May 2021)

Fiona O'Loughlin: I wish to clarify that I am in Leinster House. I thank all the contributors for their comments on this difficult area. It is important to all of us. Everything that I have heard this morning has been thought-provoking and stark in respect of what we are dealing with. Last November, we had the opportunity to touch on this and looked at some of the statistics. I have several questions. ...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: School Bullying and its Impact on Mental Health: Discussion (4 May 2021)

Fiona O'Loughlin: That links in with the parent-student charter issue.