Results 15,661-15,680 of 74,100 for speaker:Bernard Durkan

Criminal Justice (Enforcement Powers) (Covid-19) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (3 Sep 2020)

Bernard Durkan: I am glad to have an opportunity to speak on this particular amendment. I can well understand the thinking behind Deputy Howlin's amendment. Some of us will always have reservations about such measures from a civil libertarian point of view. I know that many people in the House have such reservations. However, in the particular set of circumstances in which we find ourselves, the issue...

Criminal Justice (Enforcement Powers) (Covid-19) Bill 2020: Second Stage (2 Sep 2020)

Bernard Durkan: I congratulate the Leas-Cheann Comhairle and the Minister, Deputy McEntee, on their accession to their respective offices. I wish them both well. I also congratulate the Ministers whose appointments were announced today and wish them well. This debate is timely. As a representative for County Kildare, I have first-hand experience of a lockdown that was confined to a specific area....

Criminal Justice (Enforcement Powers) (Covid-19) Bill 2020: Second Stage (2 Sep 2020)

Bernard Durkan: Yes, if that is possible.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Review of the Reopening of Schools (2 Sep 2020)

Bernard Durkan: I thank the witnesses for coming and giving us their time. I congratulate them on the energy and effort that has gone into the reorganisation of activities in schools. I have one general question to them all. While we are still in the early stages, from the experience so far what is the weakest link in the delivery of the educational services and the prevention of an outbreak of the virus...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (26 Aug 2020)

Bernard Durkan: Initially we must all acknowledge the Herculean work done by the HSE in dealing with this virus nationally and locally. The executive is to be commended on its work and the efforts made by its front-line and other staff. My questions relate to the lessons to be learned in respect of County Kildare and the adjoining counties which were put under the first lockdown and County Kildare which is...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Bernard Durkan: I welcome the witnesses and thank them for their tremendous effort to date in containing the virus. Have any particular lessons been learned from the spike in Kildare and the adjoining counties, for example early detection of the sources of the virus? Have all cases been sufficiently identified in order that there can be a rapid reaction in the event of recurrence? Given that schools are...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Bernard Durkan: Okay.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Bernard Durkan: I compliment NPHET on its tremendous work so far and wish its members well in their efforts. Naturally, we have a special interest in the situation in Kildare because it is the location in which we reside. In order to ensure that public confidence remains at a high level, can Professor Nolan give us an indication that the systems that are in place are adequate and ready to react quickly to...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Bernard Durkan: I thank the Minister for attending this session. I compliment him and his staff on the work they are doing and I wish them well. Taking the Kildare example, if the Minister was to identify a single issue that might have contributed to the upsurge in Kildare, what would it be? Would it be a lack of attention to social distancing or, given that the pubs are not open and will not open in the...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Bernard Durkan: May I have written replies on the special needs supports for children and the winter plan?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: The Situation in Meat Processing Plants (13 Aug 2020)

Bernard Durkan: I will take however long the Chairman tells me to.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: The Situation in Meat Processing Plants (13 Aug 2020)

Bernard Durkan: I will take five minutes. I welcome the witnesses and thank them for coming along at a difficult time in order to discuss the challenges we all face. As a representative from one of counties in the eye of the storm, I have questions about the meat industry in County Kildare in particular. Having regard to the points made by the various witnesses, the evidence given previously to the...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: The Situation in Meat Processing Plants (13 Aug 2020)

Bernard Durkan: Okay.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: The Situation in Meat Processing Plants (13 Aug 2020)

Bernard Durkan: The questions I raised would apply to the last respondent also.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: The Situation in Meat Processing Plants (13 Aug 2020)

Bernard Durkan: On a point of order, I was sharing time with a second speaker.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: The Situation in Meat Processing Plants (13 Aug 2020)

Bernard Durkan: Presumably, the same will apply.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: The Situation in Meat Processing Plants (13 Aug 2020)

Bernard Durkan: I am sharing time with Deputy Carroll MacNeill. I welcome the witnesses. I will bring the conversation forward and dwell less on history and more on the issues relating to the immediate outbreak in the counties concerned, particularly my county. Have the protocols been observed strictly and in accordance with the rules in the past fortnight or three weeks in respect of County Kildare and...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: The Situation in Meat Processing Plants (13 Aug 2020)

Bernard Durkan: Chairman, I am referring to the Kildare, Laois and Offaly region.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: The Situation in Meat Processing Plants (13 Aug 2020)

Bernard Durkan: What of Kildare, Laois and Offaly?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: The Situation in Meat Processing Plants (13 Aug 2020)

Bernard Durkan: The question is also for the HSA.