Results 1,081-1,100 of 1,145 for speaker:Erin McGreehan

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Covid-19 Pandemic (19 Feb 2021)

Erin McGreehan: It is good to see the Minister of State here, we all very much appreciate her time. I asked for this Commencement matter because of the frustration and worry of parents of children with special needs and those of children with additional needs. The Minister of State is well aware they are at their wits' end.Parents are seeing their children's development regress. The ability of these...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Covid-19 Pandemic (19 Feb 2021)

Erin McGreehan: I know that if the Minister of State could click her fingers we would have all our children back to school. Part of my thought process on this issue is about special classes. There is a very individual, school-level approach to the reduction of the hours being provided. What do parents do if they are told they are supposed to get their child back to full-time education when they are not...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes: Engagement with the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth (16 Feb 2021)

Erin McGreehan: Many of us present, including the Minister, have stated that the report is imperfect. He said as much to us in the Seanad and said it again here. We are all disappointed with the contradictions. The executive summary does not relate to the testimony in a way. It is cold, as the Minister rightly said. This is an independent report, not a Government or Oireachtas report, but the Oireachtas...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: The EU and Irish Unity - Planning and Preparing for Constitutional Change in Ireland: Discussion (16 Feb 2021)

Erin McGreehan: I thank the committee for the opportunity to contribute. The Good Friday Agreement represents a dramatic change in my life as a person from a Border constituency. I never thought I would see it or to be able to speak to the committee about a united Ireland. This conversation needs to be had in a sensitive manner. We are on the hill of change. We can all stay on that hill together and...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Feb 2021)

Erin McGreehan: I raise a national issue which is about respect and manners among our citizens. We have people across the country dumping rubbish and letting their dogs off leads attacking sheep and we need to legislate for all this. We need to put far more restrictions on people and to spend resources on upping the number of litter wardens and dog wardens. It is about respecting our countryside, our...

Seanad: Children (Amendment) Bill 2020: Second Stage (15 Feb 2021)

Erin McGreehan: I thank the Minister for coming here. This is an extremely important issue and I welcome this amendment Bill coming before the House. It is a matter that needs to be rectified and I am glad the process is starting today. I commend Senator McDowell, who brought this Bill before the House, and I want to acknowledge the work, as he did, that he and my colleague, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, have...

Seanad: Remote Working Strategy: Motion (15 Feb 2021)

Erin McGreehan: I was not going to speak. Having listened to the contributions and all the advertising about Fine Gael's new telecommunications company laying the pipes and fibre broadband across the country, however, I had to say something. I commend Senator Currie on the motion. Remote working has been the only way my family has been able to operate over the past five or six years, having a business at...

Seanad: Report of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation: Statements (19 Jan 2021)

Erin McGreehan: I thank the Minister for attending today. For many this January has been a dark month and the report has definitely made it worse. First, I will briefly address the leaking of the report before its publication. Shame on whoever did it. Obviously, that person has never had their agency and their rights taken away from them and I hope the Minister investigates the issue. It was an extra...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (16 Dec 2020)

Erin McGreehan: Like my colleague, Senator Currie, I want to raise my worries and fears over the Covid numbers. Senator Currie articulated very well the problems in the North. We need to hold tight and strong on Covid. We had 41 new cases in Louth last night. We can think of all those people's close contacts who are now in quarantine for Christmas. I beg people to mind themselves, watch what they do and...

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Engagement on Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (16 Dec 2020)

Erin McGreehan: The Congressman is very welcome. It is great to have him taking part in the meeting. I thank him for all his hard work on the Good Friday Agreement. Senator Blaney and I are both Border people. I am from County Louth, which is at the opposite end of the Border to Senator's Blaney's county of Donegal. I remember the Good Friday Agreement being discussed in my school when I was a young...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Children's Unmet Needs: Engagement with Minister of State at the Department of Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth (15 Dec 2020)

Erin McGreehan: An incredible amount of work seems to lie in front of the Minister of State. Does she have an update for CHO 8, which is my area? If there has been a reduction in numbers, when does she see that backlog clearing? When the backlog is cleared, there will still be many unmet needs, which she is well-versed in. There seems to be a gap between investment and therapies. As the Minister of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Children's Unmet Needs: Engagement with Minister of State at the Department of Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth (15 Dec 2020)

Erin McGreehan: Many parents have come to me and their therapy sessions have gone online and are virtual. For a very young child who is one of those lucky ones to have received an assessment and moved on to therapy, virtual sessions are difficult for a two, three or four year old. It is very difficult for a two, three or four year old to deal with the virtual environment. It is just another screen with a...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Hospital Waiting Lists (9 Dec 2020)

Erin McGreehan: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, to the House. Before I address my Commencement matter directly, I welcome the announcement from the HSE this morning that women will be able to have their partners present at anomaly scans. I have been one of those women who has received the worst news from one of those scans. It is coming up to the fourth anniversary and there is not a day...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Hospital Waiting Lists (9 Dec 2020)

Erin McGreehan: It is great news. As the Minister of State has said, €12 million has been set aside in the budget for gynaecological services. She has also highlighted the good news about the provision of three new clinics and that 19 more clinics will be rolled out. However, I insist that we do not take the foot off the pedal.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Maternity Leave (9 Dec 2020)

Erin McGreehan: I am looking forward to the Minister of State's reply.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Maternity Leave (9 Dec 2020)

Erin McGreehan: I must add my penny's worth. I know of many female councillors who are very joyously expecting at the moment and they will not get maternity leave. Our colleagues in Europe are absolutely shocked that this is the case. They do not believe me when I say it.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (9 Dec 2020)

Erin McGreehan: The Minister, Deputy Foley, is very welcome to the House.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 Dec 2020)

Erin McGreehan: I want to raise a serious local issue for the people of north Louth, that is, the Louth County Council draft development plan and the fact that this process is going ahead during the Covid pandemic despite the restrictions in place in terms on meetings, including in people's houses, to discuss the plan's detrimental consequences. To say that it restricts one-off housing is not true. It does...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (2 Dec 2020)

Erin McGreehan: I want to put on record my deep disappointment with the British Government at its announcement this week that there will be no public inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane. We all sat here last week and passed a motion on our support for a public inquiry. We have come far as a country but a tweet was sent on Saturday that threw reconciliation right out of the window. I am from Dundalk in...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (1 Dec 2020)

Erin McGreehan: I thank the Minister for coming into the House. As Senator Fitzpatrick said, this is a really important issue. We all have cried a tear and listened to many of the survivors in this country and the adoptees of those survivors who lived in the mother and baby homes. There are a few things I will mention that continue on from what Senator Fitzpatrick was saying. Tusla has stated in the media...