Results 1,521-1,540 of 2,078 for speaker:Mary Seery Kearney

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Participation of People with Disabilities in Political, Cultural, Community and Public Life: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Oct 2021)

Mary Seery Kearney: I thank Senator Higgins and Deputy Cairns for yielding their speaking slot to me. I thank the witnesses for their powerful contributions. My resolution every week is that we come into the public meeting and I then go into the Seanad and call for a debate on the matters raised at this committee because it is really important and valuable. My first question is for Mr. Kerr. This committee...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Participation of People with Disabilities in Political, Cultural, Community and Public Life: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Oct 2021)

Mary Seery Kearney: Ms Ó Brolcháin Carmody stated that we probably had not heard of her. However, she wrote a powerful piece in The Irish Timesin May which was accompanied by a powerful photograph.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (6 Oct 2021)

Mary Seery Kearney: I want to echo the requests from Senator Ardagh and the Dublin 8 After School Alliance. The alliance came before the Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth yesterday to make a strong case as to why we need changes. I want to bring to the attention of the House the fact that over the past few days Fine Gael has launched the care of the child policy lab report and...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (6 Oct 2021)

Mary Seery Kearney: Well-being in early childhood needs to be systemically prioritised so that it links into workplaces and community spaces and infrastructure owned by the State, such as schools, is used. We need to deploy what is already in place so that the well-being of children, parents and all of those in the sector are brought together and united in the support of childhood.

Seanad: Health (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 2021: Motion (6 Oct 2021)

Mary Seery Kearney: To come into Cabinet and take on the gauntlet of the health ministry is a daunting challenge at any time, but it is particularly daunting to come into that role at the height of a pandemic. It has been no joke. I say "Well done" to the Minister. We are where we are largely due to courageous decisions that have been made. The roll-out and uptake of the vaccine have been fantastic. I look...

Seanad: Dyslexia Awareness Week: Statements (6 Oct 2021)

Mary Seery Kearney: I thank the Minister of State for taking the time to be here today. It is really important that we highlight dyslexia and its impact on those affected. I had the experience of supporting someone doing a degree in UCD. While that person could not sit down and write an essay, he could walk the length of the room and dictate a 3,000 word essay and be able to picture it in his head and...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Special Educational Needs (5 Oct 2021)

Mary Seery Kearney: As someone with many family members who have been diagnosed with breast cancer and successfully come through ttreatment, thankfully, it is great news. I thank the Senator and the Minister of State. In the minds of parents who do not have a child with special or complex needs such that their child needs to attend a special school, there is a perception that special schools have the ability...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Special Educational Needs (5 Oct 2021)

Mary Seery Kearney: I thank the Minister of State very much and I appreciate that expenditure is at an all-time high. The creation of the Minister of State position dedicated to special education and inclusion is a flag-bearer that this is a very big priority for us as a Government. It is a surprise that the number is as high as 32, which is beyond what I thought it was, which was a figure in the early 20s. I...

Seanad: Situation in Belarus: Statements (5 Oct 2021)

Mary Seery Kearney: I welcome this opportunity to speak. One of the best things we can do as parliamentarians is to call out the truth as we receive it. I have connections with some people in Belarus and with organisations that work there. I will use my time to call out the truth of their experience and what they report, some of which has been mentioned in this debate. I want to begin by remembering Kim...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Regulation and Funding Issues Facing Workers in the Early Years Sector: Discussion (5 Oct 2021)

Mary Seery Kearney: I thank Mr. O'Connor and Ms Reynolds for their powerful contributions. I have been a childcare provider and an advocate for the childcare sector and for workers in the sector for some time. I have been a mentor with the childcare committees and a troubleshooter who tries to resolve issues. I understand, therefore, the chronic shortage of staff and the fact that many good people were lost...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Regulation and Funding Issues Facing Workers in the Early Years Sector: Discussion (5 Oct 2021)

Mary Seery Kearney: The employment wage subsidy scheme, EWSS, has been a type of model that I would like to see continued. I am advocating to see it continued in order that the State absorbs that gap.

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Regulation and Funding Issues Facing Workers in the Early Years Sector: Discussion (5 Oct 2021)

Mary Seery Kearney: I thank all the witnesses. I, too, will focus my questions on the alliance group. If we accept that the definition in the strategy of the Department of Education is that DEIS schools are for delivering equality of opportunity in schools, then a child who is in a DEIS school should automatically require after-school support, and the funding should follow. Indeed, there should be...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Adoptee Voices Report: Aitheantas (5 Oct 2021)

Mary Seery Kearney: I thank the Cathaoirleach and I thank our witnesses for coming in to the committee. I congratulate our witnesses on an exceptional piece of research and a very comprehensive report. I have three questions which I will try to keep as brief as possible. The first concerns language which Ms Ryan-O'Brien spoke about in her opening statement. I ask her to elaborate upon, specifically, the use...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Adoptee Voices Report: Aitheantas (5 Oct 2021)

Mary Seery Kearney: My final question was on the balancing of rights.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Sep 2021)

Mary Seery Kearney: I begin by addressing the comments of Senator Martin. Freedom of speech is not an unqualified absolute right. It has to be qualified and must operate within rules of responsibility, some of which are enshrined in the Constitution and the actions and operations of this House for the benefit and ease of the separation of powers. I came in today to highlight a meeting of the Joint Oireachtas...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Participation of People with Disabilities in Political, Cultural, Community and Public Life: Discussion (Resumed) (30 Sep 2021)

Mary Seery Kearney: I apologise for the noise. I am in my office and the bells for the Seanad are going off in the background. I wish to thank the witnesses sincerely for their contributions and submissions, as well as the opening statements. They are very impactful. I wish to raise a few points. I found Mr. McGrath's statement most striking. What he described is not a one-day only event; it is not...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Participation of People with Disabilities in Political, Cultural, Community and Public Life: Discussion (Resumed) (30 Sep 2021)

Mary Seery Kearney: Very powerfully said.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (29 Sep 2021)

Mary Seery Kearney: We have a very proud tradition in this country of people volunteering, supporting, helping and setting up support organisations. Throughout Covid we experienced a lot of that activity at community level. As recent events in the media suggest, and I will not refer to a specific case but from my own experience from working in criminal law, there are organisations that set up voluntarily to...