Results 11,261-11,280 of 21,440 for speaker:Mary Lou McDonald
- Order of Business (26 Nov 2015)
Mary Lou McDonald: I want to raise my party's objections also. I stated on the previous matters that 20 minutes was woefully inadequate. This, equally, is the case here. Twenty minutes is derisory. It does not give the scope for what could properly be called a debate, and on an issue with such urgency and importance for so many at this time, I am at a loss as to why Government would insist on such a short...
- Order of Business (26 Nov 2015)
Mary Lou McDonald: To reiterate, while it is welcome that there is debate on these matters, 20 minutes is inadequate for agreements such as these. They should be properly scrutinised. It is almost cynical to allow a tokenistic slot of time to tick a box in order that there is some debate, but then to guillotine it after 20 short minutes. We object on that basis.
- Order of Business (26 Nov 2015)
Mary Lou McDonald: It is obvious not just coming into Christmas but coming into the election season that there is a furious pace in ramming through as much legislation as possible. We have no objection to late sittings - far from it - but it is, of course, always better to have more notice than was given in this instance. There is a problem with affording 20-minute slots for debates in the Dáil, as these...
- Leaders' Questions (26 Nov 2015)
Mary Lou McDonald: There is every need for this disorder.
- Leaders' Questions (26 Nov 2015)
Mary Lou McDonald: It is disgraceful.
- Leaders' Questions (26 Nov 2015)
Mary Lou McDonald: That report is happening here and not in the North.
- Leaders' Questions (26 Nov 2015)
Mary Lou McDonald: The Tánaiste has some cheek to call for constructive engagement from nurses who are at the end of their tether. They are stressed out of their minds and managing an impossible and utterly chaotic situation in our hospitals. It takes gall of the highest order for the Tánaiste to appeal to them to be constructive. They are more than constructive. Every day they are managing the...
- Leaders' Questions (26 Nov 2015)
Mary Lou McDonald: Does the Tánaiste maintain a position of confidence in him? I refer to those who attend Beaumont, the Mater, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda and hospitals across the State. I ask the Tánaiste to tell them how she will ensure patient safety.
- Leaders' Questions (26 Nov 2015)
Mary Lou McDonald: On trolleys.
- Leaders' Questions (26 Nov 2015)
Mary Lou McDonald: He passed the buck.
- Leaders' Questions (26 Nov 2015)
Mary Lou McDonald: That is a crazy answer.
- Leaders' Questions (26 Nov 2015)
Mary Lou McDonald: We are.
- Leaders' Questions (26 Nov 2015)
Mary Lou McDonald: I know how it operates.
- Leaders' Questions (26 Nov 2015)
Mary Lou McDonald: In disbelief.
- Leaders' Questions (26 Nov 2015)
Mary Lou McDonald: No. I want the Government to make the right investment in staffing.
- Leaders' Questions (26 Nov 2015)
Mary Lou McDonald: The crisis in our health system is getting worse. This morning, we learned that 99% of members of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation in Beaumont Hospital in Dublin have voted for industrial action. This is not a dispute about pay; it is a dispute about patient safety. Nursing staff levels have been decimated on the Government's watch. Nurses would tell the Tánaiste, if she...
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee. (26 Nov 2015)
Mary Lou McDonald: I agree with the thrust of those comments. Obviously, the cost of any inquiry is a matter of concern and anything that amounts to a blank cheque book for legal firms or lawyers must be avoided. However, it is important that the committee makes it clear that the issues under consideration must be fully investigated because potentially serious questions in respect taxpayers' money arise from...
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee. (26 Nov 2015)
Mary Lou McDonald: I entirely agree with that and the points are very well made. However, it is important that we, as a committee, put on the record that a decision has been taken that the matters at hand need to be investigated and that they speak to the issue of taxpayers' money, at least potentially. I am not jumping to conclusions in terms of the possible outcome but it is important that we say that,...
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee. (26 Nov 2015)
Mary Lou McDonald: No, absolutely not.
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee. (26 Nov 2015)
Mary Lou McDonald: The Chairman is questioning my sanity, I believe. That is one of a series of outstanding proposals from the Chairman. Who does the Chairman propose would carry out such an analysis?