Results 1,641-1,660 of 1,687 for speaker:Maria Byrne

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Dec 2016)

Maria Byrne: I wish to highlight a good news story by welcoming the announcement at the weekend by the US Department of Transportation that it will grant a foreign licence to Norwegian Air, thereby facilitating the development of a route from Shannon and Cork to the east coast of the US. I also welcome the 30 jobs announced this morning announced by Acacia Communications in Limerick. The company is from...

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Nov 2016)

Maria Byrne: University Hospital Limerick was raised here today. While there are concerns about the hospital, I would hate the story to go out that it is falling apart at the seams. As recently as last month, the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, was in Limerick for the opening of the new €16.5 million development unit to deal with cystic fibrosis, the Parkinson's Association of Ireland was...

Seanad: Knowledge Development Box (Certification of Inventions) Bill 2016: Second Stage (30 Nov 2016)

Maria Byrne: I welcome the Minister to the Chamber and commend her on this very worthy Bill. Having served on an enterprise board for 15 years, having dealt with many small companies and coming from a small business background, I am very aware that it is very important to incentivise and encourage development, especially in the research and development sector. I served on the board of Limerick Institute...

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Nov 2016)

Maria Byrne: I compliment mathematics teachers and acknowledge the new finding that there has been a major improvement in the teaching of mathematics. Ireland has been ranked on a list of high achievers and has come in ahead of Finland, which is one of the highest achievers. Low achievers have actually done very well but the pupils who are high achievers are still in the risk category, which is...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2016: Second Stage (29 Nov 2016)

Maria Byrne: I thank the Acting Chairman for the opportunity to speak on this Bill today. I welcome the Bill. It proposes a host of measures, including paternity leave, the restoration of farm assist, protection for the self-employed, which is most important and has never happened before, increases in the back-to-education allowance and the provision of over 50,000 school meals. These are all very...

Seanad: Commencement Matters (Resumed): Cancer Screening Programmes (24 Nov 2016)

Maria Byrne: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy. I am delighted that she is here to speak on such a relevant topic. The BreastCheck programme is currently available to women between the ages of 50 and 69. According to the BreastCheck website, "the Department of Health and Children chose this age group for screening as there is a greater proportion of women at risk of...

Seanad: Commencement Matters (Resumed): Cancer Screening Programmes (24 Nov 2016)

Maria Byrne: I thank the Minister of State for her response. I too would encourage all women to avail of the service but I also urge the Minister of State to keep it under review and take the statistics into account because there are people being diagnosed at a younger age, which is frightening. I would like the Minister of State to monitor that.

Seanad: Commencement Matters (Resumed): Cancer Screening Programmes (24 Nov 2016)

Maria Byrne: I propose a suspension of the sitting until the conclusion of the division in the Dáil.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Higher Education Funding: Discussion (24 Nov 2016)

Maria Byrne: I apologise to the two witnesses for leaving during their presentation. I had to speak in the Seanad. I concur with much of what has been said. Every family fears the introduction of student loans because people are concerned about how loans would be repaid. The education of their children is the priority of families and I know many couples who had two or three children in college at the...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Nov 2016)

Maria Byrne: I welcome the statement by some of the major employers in Limerick and the mid-west region that they have no intention of pulling out of the mid-west region. Most of them are American-based companies about which there has been a good deal of scaremongering. However, the heads of companies such as Cook Medical, Uber and Northern Trust came out yesterday to state they are delighted they...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Wild Atlantic Way (17 Nov 2016)

Maria Byrne: I call on Fáilte Ireland to include Limerick city in the Wild Atlantic Way route before the commencement of the 2017 tourism season. I also ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to put his weight behind my proposal. In 2015 I submitted a motion on this issue to my local authority, Limerick City and County Council, which received unanimous support. While we subsequently...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Wild Atlantic Way (17 Nov 2016)

Maria Byrne: I thank the Minister of State for his positive response. It is something I have beaten the drum about for a while. I am delighted to hear the Minister of State is willing to take my point of view on board and is working on some initiatives on tourism attractions. I await his positive response in the near future.

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Nov 2016)

Maria Byrne: I wish to raise the issue of a new library for Mary Immaculate College in Limerick. The college is to the forefront of teacher training and many Members would have constituents who are students there.In 1978, when the library was built, 250 seats were provided for 750 students. Approximately 3,500 students currently attend the college, with the figure expected to rise to more than 5,000 by...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Bill 2016: Second Stage (16 Nov 2016)

Maria Byrne: I thank the Minister for coming to the House to outline his proposals. The plan is a very positive one. I was a member of a local authority which was fortunate enough to be in a position to build public housing in recent years when other local authorities were not. The benefit of the housing plan can also be viewed from the perspective of job creation. There have been a number of welcome...

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Oct 2016)

Maria Byrne: I wish to raise an issue that has been brought to my attention in recent days. It is not a question of the closure of bank branches but the fact that there will be no tellers in a number of Bank of Ireland branches in different areas from now on. A lot of vulnerable people who are not used to dealing with bank cards and who have dealt with bank tellers all of their lives are now being told...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Business of Committee (27 Oct 2016)

Maria Byrne: Is the committee room available then?

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Oct 2016)

Maria Byrne: I also raise the issue of Shannon Airport, but for a totally different reason. It follows from the proposed Garda strikes which are to take place every Friday in the month of November. I ask the Leader to talk to the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to find out what plans he is going to put in place in terms of the immigration unit which staffs many airports. There is a fear that...

Seanad: Recognition of Irish Sign Language for the Deaf Community Bill 2016: Second Stage (19 Oct 2016)

Maria Byrne: I thank Senator Mark Daly for bringing this Bill to the House today. A few years ago, when I served on it, I brought a similar proposal to Limerick City Council. It was one of the first local authorities in the country to pass such a proposition. I welcome all the members of the deaf community here today and thank them for the professional campaign they have run over the past number of...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: State Pension (Contributory) Eligibility (18 Oct 2016)

Maria Byrne: I thank the Cathaoirleach. I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank him for coming here today. My Commencement matter refers to the many ladies who were covered by the marriage bar. They were in public sector employment but were forced to leave work through no fault of their own. Up to the abolition of this measure in 1973, women in a number of public sector bodies were...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: State Pension (Contributory) Eligibility (18 Oct 2016)

Maria Byrne: I thank the Minister of State-----