Results 1,441-1,460 of 2,967 for speaker:Pat Buckley

Joint Committee On Health: General Scheme of the Mental Health (Amendment) Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed) (8 Feb 2022)

Pat Buckley: I love the honesty.

Joint Committee On Health: General Scheme of the Mental Health (Amendment) Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed) (8 Feb 2022)

Pat Buckley: Professor Doherty mentioned the Australian model and the Beat the Blues programme. My wife does not like it when I say that prevention is better than cure but it is a fact. It is about the destigmatising of mental health issues. There are many areas where it is difficult to do that. For example, a member of the Defence Forces would not admit to suffering with mental health issues because...

Committee on Public Petitions: Consideration of Public Petitions on Unauthorised Developments: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Feb 2022)

Pat Buckley: I thank our guests for attending. The initial petition on this referred to unauthorised development on the River Shannon. Waterways Ireland's statement struck me in that it indicates very little of this property is included on the Land Registry. I am not talking about any individuals or court cases; this is about the River Shannon in general. The bodies that controlled this matter before...

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (3 Feb 2022)

Pat Buckley: We spoke about this in private session. The matter is ongoing. The committee is supposed to be open to every member of the public. As I said in the last session, it is about fairness and listening to both sides of the story. As is often said, there are two sides to every story and then there is the truth. I agree we should first invite in the witnesses from the Owenacurra Centre and St....

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (3 Feb 2022)

Pat Buckley: The Committee of Public Petitions has an opportunity to deal with local issues as well as national issues. Some local issues could have a national impact as well. I take on board Deputy Devlin's remarks with regard to the matter being one for the health committee. It did go to the health committee and it was agreed that some members of that committee would visit the Owenacurra Centre this...

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (3 Feb 2022)

Pat Buckley: What the Chair was about to suggest seems the fairest way. Let us bring the two committees together.

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (3 Feb 2022)

Pat Buckley: I would agree with that, if the committee is happy.

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (3 Feb 2022)

Pat Buckley: I want to come back in. The Committee on Petitions is for the general public. With no disrespect to Deputy Devlin, I take offence at the suggestion it is political. We have three Government party members who are also working to save that centre. Whether he is using “political” as in politically motivated or as referring to the Opposition, I have been on the record in my own...

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (3 Feb 2022)

Pat Buckley: I am a substitute on that committee. My feeling is that the Committee on Health would prefer it if the Committee on Public Petitions took this because it was referred to it. Given the amount of work the Committee on Health takes on at the moment, it feels it is more appropriate for us. Our committee is a listening committee, to go back to what Senator Craughwell said. It is supposed to be...

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (3 Feb 2022)

Pat Buckley: May I clarify something? To my knowledge, the Owenacurra centre has approached the Joint Committee on Health and the Committee of Public Accounts. The centre has exhausted most avenues. It has called for meetings with the HSE. It has exhausted the avenues open to it which is why I feel that this committee dealing with it is so important. In fairness to the health committee, it has said...

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (3 Feb 2022)

Pat Buckley: Every avenue has been exhausted. In fairness, the support they have received, including from local councillors, has been overwhelming. This is the crux of the matter. Support is coming from the bottom up, from the general public. There have been public displays of anger involving marches on the street. Support has also come from local councillors, local businesses and even local...

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (3 Feb 2022)

Pat Buckley: I am not aware of that.

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (3 Feb 2022)

Pat Buckley: I do not know why the Senator is taking that tone with me. This is the Committee on Public Petitions and the petitioners have lobbied the committee for a fair hearing, to which they should be entitled. They have tried everything else and they are thinking about going to the European Union.

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (3 Feb 2022)

Pat Buckley: I know the Senator’s question is if they have met the regional health forum. I could not answer that question because I am not aware if they have met it.

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (3 Feb 2022)

Pat Buckley: It will slow things down and there is an urgency to the issue.

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (3 Feb 2022)

Pat Buckley: The problem here is that members of the Joint Committee on Health are going to visit the Owenacurra centre to look at the so-called structural deficiencies that formed part of a HSE report on the centre. That is one of the reasons the centre is being closed. The petitioners are raising a separate issue relating to the same premises, namely, the social impact of all the services being lost...

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (3 Feb 2022)

Pat Buckley: To be honest, I would find that difficult. As I said, I am not acting as a go-between for the Owenacurra centre. I am a public representative and I take the same amount of punishment or credit as others. My feeling from working on this, talking to the service users and listening to the petitioners is that they have exhausted all avenues. That is why they need this opportunity to tell...

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (3 Feb 2022)

Pat Buckley: I have no issues with that.

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (3 Feb 2022)

Pat Buckley: That is a middle ground. I thank the Chair.

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (3 Feb 2022)

Pat Buckley: I just want to say thank you for today. This is what the committee is about. It is about dialogue and fairness, and about meeting in the middle ground. At the end of the day, the committee is set up as a forum for people to have a voice. We must just progress with this and I thank the Chairman.