Results 1,241-1,260 of 5,823 for speaker:Fiona O'Loughlin

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Sep 2020)

Fiona O'Loughlin: I want to tell the Cathaoirleach, the Leader and Members of the House about my friend Pat Tinsley. In many ways, he is the heart and soul of the community in Newbridge. Over the past number of years every sporting and community gathering was defined by him as a local photographer. Sadly, that has not happened in the past 18 months because Pat has been in declining health. He has been...

Seanad: National Screening Advisory Committee Bill 2020: Second Stage (30 Sep 2020)

Fiona O'Loughlin: I commend Senator Norris for the motion he has put forward with his colleagues. I listened to his compassionate plea earlier for the family he mentioned, and meeting a young Dad and his children. I also listened to the contribution from Senator Casey concerning his knowledge of the children, as well as what the Minister had to say. It is incredibly poignant to think that a family dealing...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (25 Sep 2020)

Fiona O'Loughlin: "You matter because you are you, and you matter to the end of your life." These are the important words of Dame Cicely Saunders, who founded the hospice movement, which has given great dignity, respect and comfort to many at the end of their lives as well as to the family members around them. In 2001, the national advisory committee on palliative care stressed the importance of every region...

Seanad: Safe Reopening of Tertiary Sector and Key Priorities for Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Statements (24 Sep 2020)

Fiona O'Loughlin: This is my fourth time addressing the Seanad but it is my first time speaking in the actual Seanad Chamber in Leinster House. I made a wish as I walked in. It is good to be in our own House at this point. The Minister is very welcome. I am looking forward to addressing a few points with him in respect of the reopening of our third level and further education colleges.I also wish to raise...

Seanad: School Transport, Leaving Certificate 2020 and Reopening of Schools: Statements (24 Sep 2020)

Fiona O'Loughlin: I welcome the Minister back to the Seanad. It is her first time to be in the actual Seanad Chamber because we were in the Dáil Chamber the last time we met her, when she had just published the roadmap for schools to reopen. I cannot even begin to think how daunting an experience the preparation of the roadmap must have been for the Minister, her office and her Department. It is a...

Seanad: School Transport, Leaving Certificate 2020 and Reopening of Schools: Statements (24 Sep 2020)

Fiona O'Loughlin: There is no clock so it was difficult to know how much time I had left. The issue is whether the Department's standardisation process was good enough to pick up trends at the level of individual schools. That is probably where the ranking came into play. I will leave it at that. The challenge for the Minister is to keep schools open and we must all work together to achieve that and to...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Enforcement Powers) (Covid-19) Bill 2020: Second Stage (10 Sep 2020)

Fiona O'Loughlin: I thank the Minister for being with us today to go through this important and necessary Bill. My colleague, Senator Murphy, outlined the necessity of implementing legislation to ensure that we live in as safe a society as possible. The numbers are concerning, with 30,164 cases and 1,781 deaths to date. We are all very concerned at the number of cases to date and at the daily increase in...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (31 Jul 2020)

Fiona O'Loughlin: In thanking the public servants of this House for their support and unstinting helpfulness and courtesy, and all of the public servants across the country, I want to be disassociated with the remarks made by my colleague, Deputy MacSharry. He was completely wrong to say what he said.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (31 Jul 2020)

Fiona O'Loughlin: I accept that. Senator Gavan mentioned the Debenhams workers. There is a Debenhams in Newbridge, in Kildare South, where I live, and I have been very proud to stand with the workers, and did so over the weekend. There are a lot of negotiations going on behind the scenes. I note that the Taoiseach met Debenhams workers yesterday. He has also been in contact with the liquidator in the...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (31 Jul 2020)

Fiona O'Loughlin: "The Wind That Shakes the Barley".

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Jul 2020)

Fiona O'Loughlin: We had International Bog Day on 26 July. As someone born and reared on the Bog of Allen, I am proud to highlight our wonderful bogs. Our attitude to our bogs has changed in the recent decades. They are now seen as areas with beautiful plants, lovely wildlife and landscape and as greatly important in countering climate change.In the past our bogs were seen as sources of fuel and employment....

Seanad: Financial Provisions (Covid-19) (No. 2) Bill 2020: Second Stage (30 Jul 2020)

Fiona O'Loughlin: I welcome the opportunity to say a few words about the Financial Provisions (Covid-19) (No. 2) Bill 2020, which gives effect to the July stimulus package which we were all anxiously awaiting. In the main, we are happy with the 50 provisions that were put in place. This stimulus package is, of course, another step in the State response to the global pandemic emergency. It is most welcome...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (29 Jul 2020)

Fiona O'Loughlin: I want to speak for a moment or two about the disability protests outside the Convention Centre this morning. I joined the carers, parents and families assembled there. It was not just frustration and anger that were palpable, but also huge despair. People really feel they are at the end of their tether. A group called Enough is Enough organised this particular protest. This story is not...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Covid-19) (Amendment) Bill 2020: Second Stage (29 Jul 2020)

Fiona O'Loughlin: I welcome the Minister and wish her well in the task she has ahead of her. I commend her on the work she has done over the past four weeks. I am happy to support this Bill, which puts the pandemic unemployment payment on a formal statutory basis, which is very important. It allows for paid social insurance contributions for employees directly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, which is...

Seanad: Tourism: Statements (28 Jul 2020)

Fiona O'Loughlin: I congratulate the Minister sincerely. I worked closely with her over the past four years on the education committee and in the women's caucus. She is a politician of deep conviction and a woman who is passionate about her county. I have no doubt that those will be matched by ambition and vision for the Department she now leads. I understand that the Minister might be visiting Kildare in...

Seanad: Education: Statements (28 Jul 2020)

Fiona O'Loughlin: I thank the Minister for coming to the House to address the very many valid concerns of Members of this House. I congratulate the Minister and wish her well in her new position. I met her before either of us ever had designs on the Houses of the Oireachtas, probably in 2001, when the Minister was chairperson of Tralee host town committee welcoming Special Olympians to the town. At that...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (23 Jul 2020)

Fiona O'Loughlin: On Sunday, we lost an inspirational woman who showed great bravery and courage in her public fight to take on the health services and expose how she was let down. We were all hugely saddened by Ruth Morrissey's passing. We express our deepest sympathies to her husband, Paul, and her darling daughter, Libby, to whom she always referred as her little butterfly. Ruth was brave and courageous....

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

Fiona O'Loughlin: I thank the Leader for yesterday agreeing to bring in two Ministers before the House goes into recess but I ask her to also invite the Minister for Education and Skills. Last week, I raised some concerns about the challenges facing students and teachers in schools that hope to reopen in late August and September. It is vital that we be given the opportunity to engage with the Minister on...

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

Fiona O'Loughlin: "What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality." Never a truer set of words were said. Being in politics, and I am sure it is the same for many of us, we all at times struggle with self-doubt and struggle in dealing with the impact of social media and other aspects on ourselves. There is a complete onus on us to protect our own mental health and that of the nation. The impact of...

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

Fiona O'Loughlin: On Tuesday, the Alzheimer Society of Ireland released a report called Life After Lockdown. Yesterday, I had an opportunity to read its findings and it was a very dark and disturbing read. Pre-Covid life was very difficult for those who suffered from dementia and their carers, so we can only begin to imagine what their lives are like now. We are now informed by extensive research that shows...