Results 121-140 of 236 for at speaker:Tom Clonan

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Protected Disclosures (20 Jun 2023)

Tom Clonan: I thank the Minister of State for coming into the House. I ask him to make a statement on the publishing of the full protected disclosure investigation report on the Phoenix Park community nursing home, St. Mary's, in Dublin, the only nursing home run by the State during the Covid pandemic. I draw the Minister of State's attention to the fact we have the HSE whistleblower, Margo, here...

Seanad: Gradam an Uachtaráin Bill 2023: Second Stage (14 Jun 2023)

Tom Clonan: I support this in principle, although I will echo what Senator Craughwell said, in that the Bill would require significant amendment. Positive reinforcement is the most powerful learning tool for us as a species. In Ireland, as a republic, we should be confident enough to recognise the outstanding achievements of our citizenship. One of the ways I suggest the Bill be amended is to ensure...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (13 Jun 2023)

Tom Clonan: I second Senator Boyhan's proposals about the speaking arrangements for the incitement to hatred Bill this afternoon. I echo the condolences for former Senator Paul Coghlan and his family. One of the recurring themes in the comments made is the collegiality he brought to the Chamber. Since I arrived here, I have experienced that generosity and collegiality from colleagues. It is a great...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Disabled People's Organisations and the Implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Discussion (1 Jun 2023)

Tom Clonan: Cuirim fáilte roimh na finnéithe go léir chuig an gcoiste. I know Leo and Peter. Last year, shortly after I was elected, they came to visit me. The first thing that struck me was their energy and the anger they expressed in regard to the status of our disabled citizens. During our meeting in the visitors' bar, Peter and his daughter informed me they were going for a walk,...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (31 May 2023)

Tom Clonan: I echo Senator O'Loughlin's remarks about Private Seán Rooney. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis. I am thinking of his family at the moment. It is a very tough time for them. I would also like to remind the House of Private Billy Kedian who was killed in Lebanon on this day 24 years ago. I was there that year as a staff officer bringing journalists out. I am always...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (31 May 2023)

Tom Clonan: The four consultative forums are scheduled to take place in a number of weeks but we have no idea who will be speaking at them. We know there is a Chair, someone who has been very a vocal proponent of US foreign policy and who would be very supportive of Ireland becoming a member of NATO. While this is not problematic in and of itself, it does lead to the perception of an inherent bias...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Integration and Refugee Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (30 May 2023)

Tom Clonan: Not at all.

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Integration and Refugee Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (30 May 2023)

Tom Clonan: I have a very good friend who came through the full system very successfully. She is working as a teacher in a secondary school. I asked her why she picked Ireland and she laughed at me saying that she did not pick Ireland; she just ended up here. I am conscious that people who come here, whether it is for economic reasons or due to fear of persecution or whatever, they are all in...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Integration and Refugee Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (30 May 2023)

Tom Clonan: I thank our guests for coming in. I can imagine how busy they are at the moment. I will make the general observation that we would not be where we are were it not for the actions of Vladimir Putin. This is an unprecedented situation. I would consider it an emergency. We can look back to crises we have confronted in the past. In 2010, there was a period of intense flooding followed by a...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Integration and Refugee Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (30 May 2023)

Tom Clonan: I am conscious of the time. I will try to get my questions out as quickly as I can. I am familiar with the mental health tribunals for reviewing persons involuntary detention, and in that process, the detained person, or the involuntary patient, has representation at the tribunal. They have somebody to advocate for them, that is, a solicitor. It is not a patient advocate, but it is...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Integration and Refugee Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (30 May 2023)

Tom Clonan: I thank Ms Rooney for that. As a layperson who is outside the loop, I wondered whether she felt it had got to the point where it should be called an emergency. From her response it seems she does not consider it to be. This situation or crisis - I would call it an emergency - is being exploited by people on the far right and people who have other agendas. It is an intended consequence...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Disability Inclusive Social Protection: Discussion (Resumed) (18 May 2023)

Tom Clonan: I thank Deputy Ellis for allowing me to step in. Unfortunately, I have to leave at 10.40 a.m. and I just want to ask a couple of questions before then. I thank the witnesses for coming in. They will know the saying “When gardaí start to look young”, but when assistant secretaries general start to look young, I come to the depressing conclusion that I am just getting...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (17 May 2023)

Tom Clonan: I refer to the distressing images of rows of tents on Sandwith Street and around Mount Street. The practice of giving refugees, asylum seekers and people seeking international protection a voucher and then leaving them effectively homeless leaves them subject to hostile scrutiny. They are in a public space and gathering together for safety. It plays into the hands of xenophobic and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Disability Inclusive Social Protection: Discussion (11 May 2023)

Tom Clonan: ...amazing people and the guy who organises for us is called Fauzi. Every time I ring the Rehab Group and talk to Fauzi he asks me how I am, so he recognises the caring dynamic. I have a few observations. I thank Mr. Meere for his evidence, for coming here and for taking the time. I mention the business of having to prove over and over again that you have a disability. You never lose...

Seanad: Address to Seanad Éireann by Ms Mairead McGuinness, European Commissioner (9 May 2023)

Tom Clonan: ...after the end of the Second World War, the European Coal and Steel Community, followed by the European Economic Community and then the EU, have amounted to an extraordinary and probably the greatest peace process in European and world history. How unthinkable that must have seemed to our parents and grandparents. Imagine the animus and enmity of 1945, just five years before Schuman and...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 May 2023)

Tom Clonan: Cuirim fáilte roimh ár gcuairteoirí. It is great to see them all here. I want to bring to the attention of the House a very serious issue that was raised recently by way of protected disclosure at Dublin Airport by a very senior and experienced member of staff there, with decades of experience in dealing with security and matters of passenger safety. This is to do with the...

Seanad: Reykjavik Summit of the Council of Europe: Statements (3 May 2023)

Tom Clonan: Curirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit.I echo my fellow Senators' compliments to Senator O'Loughlin for the work done on the report in advance of the Summit of Heads of State and Government at the Council of Europe in Reykjavik in May. The last meeting in 2005 predated the invasion of Georgia by Russia. The geopolitical situation has changed fundamentally in Europe since then....

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (27 Apr 2023)

Tom Clonan: I welcome the ambassador and the military attaché to the Seanad. I want to raise the challenges confronting Irish citizens in Sudan, who are there amid the fighting, as well as our response and what we can do in Ireland to assist them. I understand that we have successfully evacuated just short of 100 of our citizens, but there are other citizens stranded there. I listened yesterday...

Seanad: Report of the Independent Review Group on Dignity and Equality Issues in the Defence Forces: Statements (25 Apr 2023)

Tom Clonan: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Tánaiste go dtí an Teach. I, too, am a veteran of the Defence Forces. I served overseas and came under sustained periods of fire when I was overseas but that was nothing compared with the anger, fire and reprisal from people who engaged in that well-known practice of shooting the messenger. Essentially, as has been pointed out in the IRG report,...