Results 1,441-1,460 of 2,414 for speaker:Fintan Warfield

Joint Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht: Business of Joint Committee (14 Oct 2020)

Fintan Warfield: I thank the representatives of the National Campaign for the Arts for appearing before the committee. The poverty crisis among artists and cultural and creative workers is nothing new, nor is it an employment or jobs issue. We give State support to the arts because there is a market failure and artists exist on commissions, short-term work, contracts, shares of fluctuating box office...

Joint Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht: Business of Joint Committee (14 Oct 2020)

Fintan Warfield: Artists tick all the boxes on the 11 grounds we use to measure poverty. Report after report from the Theatre Forum, Visual Artists Ireland, the Arts Council, etc., indicates artists are earning less than €12,000 per year. Reversing the cuts to the PUP was our priority in the budget and it is disappointing that has not happened. It follows that we must protect the primary resource...

Joint Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht: Business of Joint Committee (14 Oct 2020)

Fintan Warfield: I will finish on this. I recognise the trauma and that, having struggled through five years of austerity to this point, people were clinging on for dear life.

Seanad: Leaving Certificate 2020: Statements (8 Oct 2020)

Fintan Warfield: I have a direct question for the Minister. Given that the Government knew about the errors from Polymetrika up to a week before it let students and parents know about them, will she place on the record of this House a cast-iron guarantee that there is absolutely nothing else that we are unaware of? There are also concerns that some pupils have been told that their personal data may have...

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

Fintan Warfield: I raise the issue of co-living because it is entirely unsuitable for the times we live in if we want to stop the spread of the deadly coronavirus. An application for a co-living development in Dublin 8 is at appeals stage. While it is yet to be approved, the proposal has had a terrible effect on the local community by driving up prices and squeezing good, well-intentioned developers out of...

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

Fintan Warfield: Such a decision would be welcomed and understood by many. We encourage people in Harold's Cross, Rathmines and the inner city, including North Great George's Street, to stand against these units because people power will stop them. The Minister can also stop them by issuing a ministerial order on his way to the Convention Centre next week.

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

Fintan Warfield: It is not the first time he has been mentioned in the Chamber. I welcome the Minister to the House. I, too, want to focus my contribution primarily on class sizes. We have some of the largest class sizes in Europe. The OECD average is 20 and, as was mentioned by a Fine Gael Senator, we have class sizes above 30. Way back in July Sinn Féin was suggesting emergency measures on the...

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

Fintan Warfield: I want to address the complete lack of clarity behind, and the lack of an explanation for, the reported decision to close indoor eating spaces in Dublin. Communication and basic thoughtfulness were completely lacking in this process. Last night, thousands of workers in pubs, cafés and restaurants across the city found out through the media that they may well be unemployed by the...

Seanad: Education: Statements (28 Jul 2020)

Fintan Warfield: It is a bit surreal that the Government side has two speakers.

Seanad: Education: Statements (28 Jul 2020)

Fintan Warfield: Teachers, children and other young people have endured enough during the pandemic. They now deserve clarity and certainty. At the very least, they deserve accurate and up-to-date information so that they can make informed decisions. Some of the measures and resources associated with these decisions make no sense. Last year, 500 teachers per day were not replaced by a substitute teacher....

Seanad: Education: Statements (28 Jul 2020)

Fintan Warfield: This was our chance to deal with class sizes. One in five primary school children are in a class of more than 30 pupils. We have the largest primary school class sizes in Europe and the Government seems to believe it is a good idea to keep it that way. If there was ever a time to reduce class sizes, this is it. Sinn Féin will use our Private Members' time in the Dáil tomorrow to...

Seanad: Education: Statements (28 Jul 2020)

Fintan Warfield: Absolutely.

Seanad: Education: Statements (28 Jul 2020)

Fintan Warfield: It is not democratic.

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

Fintan Warfield: All Senators from the previous term will consider which Bills to resubmit. One of the Bills of which I am most proud is the amendment to the Gender Recognition Act, which tried to right the wrong of the exclusion of young people from the original Act. The House has a proud record of support and shows of empathy for our trans community, who bear the brunt of attacks on all of the LGBTIQ...

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

Fintan Warfield: I strongly criticise the decision of the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Foley, to delay the issuing of the results of the leaving certificate until 7 September. It was supposed to be mid-August. Students have been left high and dry as the Department stumbles from crisis to crisis. Even more unanswered questions remain after the Minister's interview on the "Morning Ireland"...

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

Fintan Warfield: I want to commend the NGOs in homeless services and addiction services for their incredible work in recent months, as well as Dublin City Council and the HSE. Only 63 homeless people in Dublin were diagnosed with Covid-19 and there was one Covid death. I want to salute the front-line staff whose bravery and dedication ensured Dublin outperformed even the best-case scenarios for Covid-19...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (7 Jul 2020)

Fintan Warfield: This morning, I was proud to stand outside Leinster House with mothers calling for the extension of maternity leave for 12 weeks. Senators are well aware of the petition, which has almost 30,000 signatures from people throughout the State. I spoke with Mary from Drimnagh about the issues facing many new mothers who gave birth during the lockdown. They have not had an opportunity to...

Seanad: Election of Leas-Chathaoirleach (7 Jul 2020)

Fintan Warfield: I appreciate the Cathaoirleach allowing me time to congratulate Senator Buttimer on his election as Leas-Chathaoirleach. It is a very special day for him and his husband, Conchobar. I am sure the Leas-Chathaoirleach will not mind me saying that in his role as Leader, he was sometimes combative and always well able to wind us up on this side of the House but it proved impossible not to...

Seanad: Election of Cathaoirleach (29 Jun 2020)

Fintan Warfield: I congratulate the Cathaoirleach on his election and thank the former Cathaoirleach, Senator Denis O'Donovan, who knows how much I appreciated his support during the previous term. I want to send my condolences to everyone in my party in Belfast who tomorrow will lay Bobby Storey to rest. The road to Irish unity and equal treatment across this island is marked by his contribution. In...

Seanad: Business of Seanad: Motion (21 Jan 2020)

Fintan Warfield: I thank the Cathaoirleach and Leas-Chathaoirleach, all of the Seanad staff, Conor Stitt who served with me on level 6, and Tonie Walsh, an icon of mine who joined me this year in the office. It has been a great privilege to serve as the youngest Member of the Oireachtas. I think I have always been valued as equal to everyone else here. I thank colleagues for that and for their generosity....