Results 1,221-1,240 of 1,301 for speaker:Pauline O'Reilly

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2020: Second Stage (25 Nov 2020)

Pauline O'Reilly: I welcome the Minister to the Chamber. As one of my Government colleagues said, I am never out the Chamber these days but it is good to be here to welcome the amendment that the Minister is putting forward on behalf of the Green Party and through the Government. That shows how the Government is working together on these issues and I am delighted to see that the Minister is amenable to that....

Seanad: Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2020: Motion (25 Nov 2020)

Pauline O'Reilly: I am sure that people are quite anxious to hear the views of the Green Party today. Having listened to Senator Boylan, one could be forgiven for thinking that she was almost arguing against the greyhound industry when in fact her own party is in favour of the greyhound industry, as are the Labour Party, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. We are in a situation where we do not have the political...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Nov 2020)

Pauline O'Reilly: There is a crisis in contraceptive use in Ireland, as reported today by the Dublin Well Woman Centre. It is no coincidence that there is also a crisis when it comes to sex education in Ireland. Earlier this year, an NUIG report showed that 15% of women in third level education said they were dissatisfied with their sex education in secondary school. Faith religion has no place when it...

Seanad: Combating Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence: Statements (24 Nov 2020)

Pauline O'Reilly: I would like to share my time with Senator Garvey.

Seanad: Combating Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence: Statements (24 Nov 2020)

Pauline O'Reilly: I welcome the Minister to the House and thank her for the work she has been undertaking along with my party colleague, the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman. I also wish to congratulate the Labour Party, particularly Deputy Howlin and Senator Bacik, for its hard work over a long period in this area. I know they will all be speaking tomorrow...

Seanad: Combating Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence: Statements (24 Nov 2020)

Pauline O'Reilly: We have another five minutes, so whoever is in the middle will have to speak next time.

Seanad: Combating Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence: Statements (24 Nov 2020)

Pauline O'Reilly: That is fine. I thank Senator Seery Kearney.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Engagement with Trade Unions on Keeping Schools Open: Discussion (19 Nov 2020)

Pauline O'Reilly: I thank the four witnesses for coming in. I wish to say at the outset that the reason there are not many of us in the room at one time is purely to do with the pandemic. I was watching and heard everything the witnesses said. I do not want to repeat questions that were asked before. I can hear the witnesses' frustration. I have spoken to members of their organisations, at a local level...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Engagement with Trade Unions on Keeping Schools Open: Discussion (19 Nov 2020)

Pauline O'Reilly: That is disappointing to hear.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Engagement with Trade Unions on Keeping Schools Open: Discussion (19 Nov 2020)

Pauline O'Reilly: It is.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Engagement with Trade Unions on Keeping Schools Open: Discussion (19 Nov 2020)

Pauline O'Reilly: Unfortunately, that is what we are going to see-----

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (18 Nov 2020)

Pauline O'Reilly: Government parties are often pulled into petty squabbles, as we have seen over the past few weeks. It has been brought to my attention that our communications have been quite poor in recent months. The current news cycle means that a story lasts for a matter of one or two hours and people have to get their message out very fast. This means we are on the defensive all of the time rather...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (17 Nov 2020)

Pauline O'Reilly: This has been a really difficult year for children. The Government has done all it can in terms of education. Reopening the schools was the best thing that could have been done. However, we do not yet know what the long-term impact of the pandemic on children will be. Last weekend my nine-year-old daughter said the number one thing that she wanted for her birthday next week was an end to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Key Priorities and the Effects of Covid-19 on the Education System: Department of Education (17 Nov 2020)

Pauline O'Reilly: I welcome the Minister and Minister of State and thank them for attending. I welcome that there will shortly be an announcement on DEIS band 1 junior and vertical schools. The senior level was taken into account and saw a reduction, as the Minister outlined. It is important to mention that, given that many members have missed that information in some of their comments at this meeting. I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Key Priorities and the Effects of Covid-19 on the Education System: Department of Education (17 Nov 2020)

Pauline O'Reilly: I do not know how I could. I do not agree with the proposal for an additional break of two days. I do not see much benefit in it in terms of stopping the pandemic. It has been clearly shown that children are benefiting from returning to school. I would argue that some children would benefit more from being at home, but that is my background. We need to be honest with ourselves and say...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Key Priorities and the Effects of Covid-19 on the Education System: Department of Education (17 Nov 2020)

Pauline O'Reilly: We in the Green Party did not believe the exams should be cancelled. While I appreciate that the Minister and the Department did their best in the situation they were presented with, some people believe that they were downgraded and that that is not getting into the public narrative.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Fishing Industry (11 Nov 2020)

Pauline O'Reilly: It is not an exaggeration to say there is a crisis in fishing. This week, as expected, saw an increase in overfishing for sprat at Rossaveal. I have been contacted by local fishers in Galway and environmental organisations in recent days, asking me to call on the Minister to act urgently on the hollowing out of marine life along the west coast, and I thank him for coming to the House to...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Fishing Industry (11 Nov 2020)

Pauline O'Reilly: I thank the Minister for the update. I welcome that he has sought a stay. We know that more data are required on sprat. From a local perspective, we have seen fishing closed down along Galway Bay and industry lost there as a result of this overfishing. Even though the Minister's reply does not mention Galway, it very much impacts on our communities in Galway, particularly around...

Seanad: Political Donations: Motion (11 Nov 2020)

Pauline O'Reilly: I will share time with Senator Garvey. I am here as the leader of the Green Party and, as has been mentioned by the proposer Senator Ward, the Green Party is the only other party in this Chamber that operates North and South. Therefore, I will lay out our perspective on this. The motion calls on the Government to update the electoral laws to ensure a political party that is registered in...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (10 Nov 2020)

Pauline O'Reilly: Senator Hoey raised the issue of the gender pay gap and I would like to extend that conversation. One of my colleagues on Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council yesterday passed a motion to ask the Government and the Minister to extend maternity and paternity leave to councillors. As more than three quarters of our councillors are men, it is time to take stock and look at the gender...