Results 1,061-1,080 of 1,760 for speaker:Aideen Hayden

Seanad: Child and Family Agency Bill 2013: Report Stage (5 Dec 2013)

Aideen Hayden: I support the Minister's view that adoption of this amendment could have unintended consequences. For example, there is no definition in the Bill of what constitutes a consultation process. A planning and review of services could take place without any consultation process. The section as drafted puts a strong onus on consideration being given to the views of children. If the amendment...

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Dec 2013)

Aideen Hayden: I welcome the news that Forbes has named Ireland as the best country in which to do business, ranking it first this year as opposed to sixth last year, with New Zealand and Hong Kong in second and third places, respectively. However, it is something of a mixed blessing, in that the reasons cited for Ireland being such a good place to do business include the 12.5% unemployment rate and the...

Seanad: Child and Family Agency Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Aideen Hayden: I have a certain amount of sympathy with what Senator Jillian van Turnhout has said. At the recent Labour Party conference in Killarney I tabled an amendment for a reconsideration of the Child Care Act 1991 on the specific ground that we do not have adequate regulation of children who are minded outside of preschool settings. The majority of children are minded in unsupervised settings...

Seanad: Child and Family Agency Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Aideen Hayden: I echo one of the Minister's points, in that this legislation goes further than any other legislation I have seen in setting out prescriptive procedures for an agency's operation, right down to requiring it to put in place performance frameworks and corporate plans and to publish the approved plans and annual performance statements. It also provides for a determination by the Minister of net...

Seanad: Child and Family Agency Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Aideen Hayden: I understand that the code of conduct for semi-State and State agencies requires the publication of an annual report in which details of the remuneration, expenses or other payments received by all board members in the course of their membership of the board must be set out.

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Nov 2013)

Aideen Hayden: It is quite amusing to hear Senator MacSharry call the comments of the Tánaiste on potential future tax reform cynical given his performance in this House on a number of occasions. I welcome the fact the Garda has cancelled an urgent alert regarding a Roscommon woman and her three children, which was raised after the family had been last seen at approximately 3 p.m. yesterday. Aside...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Nov 2013)

Aideen Hayden: The evidence is very disturbing that the number of people presenting to homeless services has risen dramatically over the past 12 months. I would like the debate in this House not to mirror the debate yesterday in the Dáil. I do not want to go into the issues but I would like this House to have an evidenced-based debate, because it is a matter of interest to all sectors of the House,...

Seanad: Child and Family Agency Bill 2013: Second Stage (27 Nov 2013)

Aideen Hayden: I welcome the Minister and commend her on her introduction of the Bill. It marks a major step forward in child protection and welfare services. As already noted, it is one of the most significant public service reforms in the life of this Government. The programme for Government undertook to fundamentally reform the delivery of child protection services by removing child welfare and...

Seanad: Child and Family Agency Bill 2013: Second Stage (27 Nov 2013)

Aideen Hayden: More than 50% of children in this State are cared for in informal child care scenarios, and these children should not be excluded from protection. Again, I thank the Minister for bringing this before us. International best practice must be kept under review and there should be a clear mandate, enshrined in law, that this agency be obliged to review international best practice regularly.

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Nov 2013)

Aideen Hayden: I also raise the issue of the increasing numbers of people becoming homeless. Ahead of Focus Ireland's annual conference today, it highlighted an 18% increase in the number seeking support in the first ten months of the year. More significantly, there has been a 50% increase in the number presenting as homeless in the greater Dublin area and a doubling of the number of families presenting...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Nov 2013)

Aideen Hayden: I welcome the fact that the first case has been concluded through the Insolvency Service of Ireland, resulting in the write-down of 70% of the debts of the individuals concerned. Given that one petitioner has submitted 20 cases, if the Leader is agreeable we should have a debate early in the new year on the progress made by the Insolvency Service of Ireland in dealing with distressed...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Social Dimension of Economic and Monetary Union: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Nov 2013)

Aideen Hayden: On the international academic argument about whether there are three, five or seven models of the welfare state, there are three principal models.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Social Dimension of Economic and Monetary Union: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Nov 2013)

Aideen Hayden: There are three principal models.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Business of Joint Committee (21 Nov 2013)

Aideen Hayden: I offer my apologies for being late.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Social Dimension of Economic and Monetary Union: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Nov 2013)

Aideen Hayden: It happened on a global basis. It happened in Hong Kong and south east Asia. It was an emerging issue in countries such as Brazil and India, where governments encouraged people to engage in asset acquisition in order to fund the cost of welfare. That is the reality of the matter. I wish we had more of this type of debate on what happened in the Irish context, because it is a reality that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Social Dimension of Economic and Monetary Union: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Nov 2013)

Aideen Hayden: That did not just happen in 2008. Structural issues in the Irish economy go way back. The social housing waiting lists have lengthened since the 1980s, but that did not happen post-2008. There were serious structural issues here that were not addressed. I am aware of a number of Dr. Healy's positions over many years. We must stop being so parochial when we talk about Irish difficulties...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Social Dimension of Economic and Monetary Union: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Nov 2013)

Aideen Hayden: I thank all of the presenters for being here today. It is a very interesting and important subject and one that breaks some of the historical barriers with regard to what Europe is about and where Europe stands. We all know that there are different welfare systems within the European Union. On a basic level, we have the Scandinavian model to which Dr. Rigney referred. There is the more...

Seanad: Companies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2013)

Aideen Hayden: On the point made by my colleague on the Opposition side in relation to the disparity between large law firms and the remainder of the legal profession, coming from the legal profession, I can acknowledge that that is the case. Another issue, which may not be one for today's debate but which the Minister of State might bring to the attention of the Government, is the role of the Government...

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Nov 2013)

Aideen Hayden: I, too, express my condolences to Senator Eamonn Coghlan on the death of his mother. I also welcome Jody Blake back to the House. I very much appreciate the assistance and co-operation of the Fianna Fáil Whip, Senator Diarmuid Wilson, at this very difficult time for us. I am sure all Members will understand that we are all very upset about Senator Harte and we wish for him and his...

Seanad: Companies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2013: Second Stage (14 Nov 2013)

Aideen Hayden: Like other speakers, I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch. She is a woman with many talents which extend beyond her ministerial remit. I look forward to reviewing the Companies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2012. The legislation is long overdue and vital in terms of having a robust company legal structure. I understand the complexities and that it will be 2014 before...