Results 16,021-16,040 of 16,057 for speaker:Mary Coughlan
- Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2003: Committee and Remaining Stages. (26 Mar 2003)
Mary Coughlan: No, you try to avoid those if at all possible. We will not get into football, for Cork is doing quite well in the league at the moment, and Donegal is not doing particularly well anywhere. We are going to be relegated, so we will skip that analysis. The review of the strategy will certainly be very helpful to us all when we examine what targets are to be set. The strategy covers not only...
- Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2003: Committee and Remaining Stages. (26 Mar 2003)
Mary Coughlan: Much as the Senator would love me to do that, he must also appreciate that those matters are for the budget. I cannot state how anything is to be achieved next year.
- Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2003: Committee and Remaining Stages. (26 Mar 2003)
Mary Coughlan: It certainly was. God loves those who try. I am in no position to make such a statement. I have all the policies, strategies and targets in place. My Department and I intend to move towards achieving those targets. However, I cannot tell the House what will be in the next Social Welfare Bill, for we are only now finalising this one. I would hate to pre-empt the House's decision. Amendment put. Tá
- Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2003: Committee and Remaining Stages. (26 Mar 2003)
Mary Coughlan: There is a very simple answer to that question; it is a demographic issue. In many European countries there is higher GDP expenditure on social protection because they have a greater number of elderly persons than we do at present. In the seven year period, 1990 to 1996, EU social protection expenditure as a percentage of GDP rose on average by 2.9% from 25.5% to 28.4% as a result of the...
- Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2003: Committee and Remaining Stages. (26 Mar 2003)
Mary Coughlan: Our economic growth and success have shown the reason there has been a slight decrease in GDP expenditure. We have a system which is different from that in many of our European Union counterparts. The way in which social protection is evaluated is quite different from the way we look at it. The main areas of social protection in the European Union focus on old age which is not necessarily the...
- Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2003: Second Stage. (25 Mar 2003)
Mary Coughlan: Tá luachair orm bheith ar ais arÃs sa Seanad le Bille eile a chur os a chomhair. I am pleased to bring the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2003 before Seanad Ãireann. This is the second of two Bills to implement the â¬530 million social welfare package of budget 2003 which, for the first time, brings the projected level of social welfare expenditure in 2003 to over â¬10...
- Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2003: Second Stage (Resumed). (25 Mar 2003)
Mary Coughlan: Maybe the Senator will run the Department for a week and then see how true it is.
- Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2003: Second Stage (Resumed). (25 Mar 2003)
Mary Coughlan: We could jobshare for a week.
- Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2003: Second Stage (Resumed). (25 Mar 2003)
Mary Coughlan: The Senator is not entitled to it anyway.
- Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2003: Second Stage (Resumed). (25 Mar 2003)
Mary Coughlan: In other words, I made the Senator's speech for him.
- Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2003: Second Stage (Resumed). (25 Mar 2003)
Mary Coughlan: This debate should have been held this morning. The Senator is under an illusion.
- Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2003: Second Stage (Resumed). (25 Mar 2003)
Mary Coughlan: We were not champagne socialists.
- Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2003: Second Stage (Resumed). (25 Mar 2003)
Mary Coughlan: Gabhaim buÃochas leis na Seanadóirà uilig a bhà páirteach sa dÃospóireacht seo. B'fhéidir nach bhfuil muid uilig ar an taobh céanna ach is breá an rud go bhfuil ocáid agam agus ag mo Roinn éisteacht leis an méid atá le rá ag bunadh an tSeanaid mar gheall ar an Bhille tábhachtach seo. Bhà dÃospóireacht fada faoi sa Dáil nuair a luadh go leor de na rudaà a luadh anseo. My...
- Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2003: Second Stage (Resumed). (25 Mar 2003)
Mary Coughlan: I appreciate that. I have looked at the permutations and the statistics on the second and third level options. The estimated cost for this year is â¬29.6 million for the entire provision at second and third level. In the main, people were coming from the live register â some were being paid unemployment benefit or assistance while others were in receipt of invalidity benefit. The total...
- Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2003: Second Stage (Resumed). (25 Mar 2003)
Mary Coughlan: Coming from the west, I appreciate that. When the educational qualifications and attainments are considered, we would have concerns in regard to the west, the south-east and parts of Tipperary. In those areas, many people have not gone into third level education. This scheme has been helpful in getting people into third level and the argument has been cogently put that the primary three or...
- Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2003: Second Stage (Resumed). (25 Mar 2003)
Mary Coughlan: Yes, I can certainly do that in the context of delivery.
- Seanad: Social Welfare Bill, 2002: Second Stage. (18 Dec 2002)
Mary Coughlan: Is breá an rud é go bhfuil mé ar ais sa tSeanad. Seo an chéad ócáid dom Bille a cur ós comhair an tSeanaid. I am very pleased as Minister for Social and Family Affairs to introduce my first Bill in this House. This is one of two Bills, intended to implement the social welfare package announced in the recent budget. This year's social welfare package amounts to â¬530 million and...
- Seanad: Social Welfare Bill, 2002: Second Stage. (18 Dec 2002)
Mary Coughlan: We spent twice as much as Senator Cummins's party.
- Seanad: Social Welfare Bill, 2002: Second Stage. (18 Dec 2002)
Mary Coughlan: That figure is â¬150 million.
- Seanad: Social Welfare Bill, 2002: Second Stage. (18 Dec 2002)
Mary Coughlan: The Senator should go back to the last coalition to see what it provided.