Results 1,441-1,460 of 1,493 for speaker:Eileen Flynn

Joint Oireachtas Committee On Key Issues Affecting The Traveller Community: Traveller Employment and Labour Market Participation: Discussion (20 Apr 2021)

Eileen Flynn: Thank you, Deputy. There are no final comments so I thank our witnesses for attending the meeting today. It was an eye opening and educational afternoon for me. Sometimes we think we know the gaps and inequalities, but it is always important to be reminded. I hope the witnesses will be able to come to Leinster House in person in the near future to present to us again. On behalf of the...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Mar 2021)

Eileen Flynn: I will be delighted to support Senator Higgins's Private Members' Bill when it is before the House today. It will put quality at the heart of the procurement process and is rightly being called a game changer. I wish to draw the House's attention to a report that was recently published by Unite the Union, entitled "Hungry Bellies Are Not Equal to Full Bellies: Exploring inequality and...

Seanad: Residential Tenancies Bill 2021: Second Stage (26 Mar 2021)

Eileen Flynn: I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House today. This debate allows us to express our opinions on all sides. This is why we are all in politics. We all have a different story and we are all looking at things from a different perspective. I share concerns that section 2 of the Residential Tenancies Bill 2021 will leave some tenants at risk of eviction. Threshold, the national...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Impact of Covid-19 on Reopening of Schools and State Examinations: Update (2 Mar 2021)

Eileen Flynn: I will start with a few questions for the Minister, Deputy Foley. I heard the word "equal" six or seven times from the Minister's notes but it is not a word we should be throwing around when we know it is not true. I say this with much emotion because there are so many schools in Ireland that do not have equal funding and which are struggling. These are very disadvantaged schools, one of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Impact of Covid-19 on Reopening of Schools and State Examinations: Update (2 Mar 2021)

Eileen Flynn: Her words are important too.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (1 Mar 2021)

Eileen Flynn: I thank the Cathaoirleach and wish also to thank my colleague, Senator Ruane, for giving me her time slot today. Today marks the fourth anniversary of the recognition of Travellers in Ireland as an ethnic minority group, after decades of being denied our Traveller ethnicity. The then Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, stood up in this very Chamber on 1 March 2017.He made a lovely statement which went...

Seanad: Ábhair Ghnó an tSeanaid – Matters on the Business of the Seanad (22 Feb 2021)

Eileen Flynn: Two weeks ago I spoke here to raise the issue of the digital divide. My colleague, Senator Byrne, said earlier this month that funding of €5.8 million has been allocated to the education and training boards. I very much welcome and appreciate this allocation, which was announced in December. We have not yet discussed how the rural digital divide affects children, young people under...

Seanad: National Climate and Air Roadmap for the Agriculture Sector: Statements (22 Feb 2021)

Eileen Flynn: I welcome the Minister to the House to address this important issue. We all know the critical and global importance of addressing climate change. Like the current pandemic, climate change is something all countries must tackle together. If we did not know it already, this past year has taught us how interconnected we are on Earth. Today, we are discussing the national climate and air...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (8 Feb 2021)

Eileen Flynn: Today, I wish to speak about a forgotten subject. Education is at the heart of discussions in Ireland right now and it is at the heart of the political argument and debate. Every single child has the right to an education but the pandemic has taught us that not every child has that equal right to be successful within the education system. Before the pandemic, we obviously knew of the...

Seanad: Special Education Provision: Statements (8 Feb 2021)

Eileen Flynn: The Minister of State is very welcome to the House. I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak on this critical issue. We have to bring ourselves back to a few weeks ago when parents of children with special needs did not know where they were. One moment, they were told that the schools were to open and the next moment, they were told the schools were not to open. Many parents who...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Jan 2021)

Eileen Flynn: I echo what Senator Norris touched on earlier. A few of us in here have underlying issues. I have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD, and I have to travel from Donegal to Dublin. It is only evident that I am working when I am here and I fob in, but last week I attended loads of committee meetings and met the Minister for Education. However, none of that is on record. That is a...

Seanad: Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (26 Jan 2021)

Eileen Flynn: I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. It is remarkable and a positive good news story that a vaccine is being rolled out. I am delighted. I did not imagine that only a few short months after becoming a Member of the Seanad I would be able to speak on the roll-out of a vaccine. I very much welcome that it is being rolled out. I welcome the significant amount of work that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Effects of Covid-19 on Further Education and Training: Discussion (10 Dec 2020)

Eileen Flynn: I thank the ETB for coming in to meet with us today. As a qualified youth worker, I believe youth work is a different form of education and it can give young people the tools to keep themselves and others around them safe. During this pandemic, young people have been getting much of the blame for spreading the virus so I echo the point about how important it is to educate our young people....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Effects of Covid-19 on Further Education and Training: Discussion (10 Dec 2020)

Eileen Flynn: It was a practical course, but people did not have the option to do it online. They wanted me to raise the issue.

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

Eileen Flynn: Last week, Inner City Helping Homeless, ICHH, brought the Don’t Forget Me campaign to the gates of Leinster House to highlight the 56 people who died in homeless services in Dublin this year. Dublin city councillor Anthony Flynn has asked me to raise with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, the homeless numbers nationally, including how...

Seanad: Deportation Moratorium (Covid-19) Bill 2020: Second Stage (9 Dec 2020)

Eileen Flynn: I thank the Minister for addressing the House. Although many Senators congratulated her on her pregnancy, I did not hear any of them using the word "pregnancy" in so doing. I offer her a big congratulations. I listened to the Minister and certain Senators speaking about the risk of supporting the Bill. I am everything but naive; I understand the risks in this area. For me, the Civil...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Children's Unmet Needs: Discussion (8 Dec 2020)

Eileen Flynn: I was going to make the point that we bring in the Minister with responsibility for children and the Minister of State to address the committee. In the short time I have been a member of the committee, I am conscious of the level of inequality in care for children and we talk about the rights of the child. I very much thank the witnesses for coming in and presenting to us, which is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Children's Unmet Needs: Discussion (8 Dec 2020)

Eileen Flynn: I hope the Minister with responsibility for children will listen to what both of the witnesses have said. It is very important that parents of children with special needs or disabilities are listened to. I totally agree with what they said. Action is needed and they need to see more action. I thank them for their comments.

Joint Oireachtas Committee On Key Issues Affecting The Traveller Community: Election of Vice Chairman (3 Dec 2020)

Eileen Flynn: I welcome everybody to today's meeting. The first item on the agenda is the election of a Vice Chairperson and so I call for nominations.

Joint Oireachtas Committee On Key Issues Affecting The Traveller Community: Election of Vice Chairman (3 Dec 2020)

Eileen Flynn: Are we all in agreement that Deputy Ó Cuív be appointed Vice Chairman? Agreed. I congratulate him on his election. I know that he is a great ally to the Traveller community not just today or this year but for a number of years. I propose that we go into private session. Is that agreed? Agreed.