Results 1,761-1,780 of 2,145 for speaker:Emer Currie

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Psychological Services (5 Oct 2022)

Emer Currie: The last paragraph is my update. I welcome the high-level working group to look at this in the round, but the issue of fees is urgent and it needs to be addressed as soon as possible for equity and for these people to feel valued. I ask the Minister of State to bring that back to the Ministers if he can. Something else that has come to my attention is the good news that the Minister of...

Seanad: Address to Seanad Éireann by the Rt. Hon. Lord John McFall, Lord Speaker of the House of Lords (5 Oct 2022)

Emer Currie: I am honoured to thank Lord McFall and to do a summary not only because I am a Senator or because I am chair of committee A at the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly, but also because I am from County Tyrone. I am a proud Tyrone woman. Lord McFall is very welcome. The theme of today has been relationships. I reassure Lord McFall that is on the agenda of BIPA. On the sovereign...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022: Second Stage (5 Oct 2022)

Emer Currie: I welcome the Minister to the Chamber for the second time today. I have never spoken on this Bill but I recognise, as the barristers in the room have said, that we have a strong record of judicial excellence and independence. This is about opening a more transparent process, which is welcome. The Minister mentioned diversity many times in her speech. It is obvious much thought has gone...

Seanad: Passport Office: Motion (5 Oct 2022)

Emer Currie: It was most definitely the summer of the passports. All of us had nail-biting moments and long telephone waits. I thank the brilliant Passport Office staff who went out of their way to help people as much as they possibly could. An incredible 1 million passports will be issued this year. This, in itself, is good news and something to be welcomed. We must also thank the Minister of State...

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: Young Voices on the Constitutional Future of the Island of Ireland: Discussion (30 Sep 2022)

Emer Currie: I thank everyone for their excellent submissions and presentations. Regarding the Foróige submission, I had the pleasure of working with the organisation in Blanchardstown, specifically with Miriam Ryan and the team there. I am originally from Tyrone. I grew up in a house that was committed to youth work. We had a youth club. I did not have the same opportunities when I moved to...

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: Young Voices on the Constitutional Future of the Island of Ireland: Discussion (30 Sep 2022)

Emer Currie: I will start my questions with Ms Myers. I mentioned youth work and the importance it played in my early life. I do not feel that here in the South we are investing enough in universal youth services. I believe this has become more of an issue in recent years. If we were giving enough funding to universal youth services, it would pay dividends. It would certainly help to fuel this...

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: Voices of All Communities on the Constitutional Future of the Island of Ireland: Discussion (30 Sep 2022)

Emer Currie: Three minutes is not a long time to set out one's stall but we have read their submissions. I thank Reverend Kyle Paisley, Dr. Devlin, Mr. Reidy, Mr. Swain and Professor Ashe. I hope that this is the beginning of moving the conversation from wanting a united Ireland to what kind of united Ireland do we want. I mean by that what they are telling us about Brexit and that nobody wants to...

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: Voices of All Communities on the Constitutional Future of the Island of Ireland: Discussion (30 Sep 2022)

Emer Currie: We are all kind of asking the same questions in respect of what we need to include in our preparation. I have heard great suggestions in respect of facilitated dialogue, community engagement and an independent body. There is so much to cover. Senator Black and Mr. Cushnahan kind of spoke about the same issue, namely, identity versus accountability with regard to the Assembly. I am...

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: Voices of All Communities on the Constitutional Future of the Island of Ireland: Discussion (30 Sep 2022)

Emer Currie: Am I first again? I am an easy target today. Is this my last chance to speak?

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: Voices of All Communities on the Constitutional Future of the Island of Ireland: Discussion (30 Sep 2022)

Emer Currie: We are going to have three or four sessions and it is all going to be done relatively quickly. As I said previously, I really want us to produce a report at the end of this process that outlines the options for a pathway to bring this forward. I thank Seamus for his submission. When I read it, it pressed so many buttons for me and it did so again today because it reminds me why the Good...

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: Voices of All Communities on the Constitutional Future of the Island of Ireland: Discussion (30 Sep 2022)

Emer Currie: I thank the Cathaoirleach for all of the work that has gone into today. We read the submissions, went through them and decided who was coming, but it was the Cathaoirleach who made sure this room worked today, and we are very appreciative of that. I do not think the Good Friday Agreement asked the constitutional question; I think it left it open-ended. I believe the values that underpin it...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement (Resumed): Mr. Mark Durkan (29 Sep 2022)

Emer Currie: Mr. Durkan's submission eloquently screams sense. It is lovely to read. He talked about rights promises. I want to ask him about the legacy Bill, which is an attack on rights. The Irish Government is, of course, completely opposed to the legacy Bill. We had a cross-community group of victims here yesterday. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Coveney, met them and reiterated how...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement (Resumed): Mr. Mark Durkan (29 Sep 2022)

Emer Currie: Does Mr. Durkan think the DNA of what we are looking at now is connected to that legislation?

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Sep 2022)

Emer Currie: We know the crisis point we are at regarding therapeutic services for children, such as psychology. That has an impact on our disability services, child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, and schools. Families are telling us we simply are not supporting them with what they need. It was announced in the budget that psychology traineeships for counselling psychologists would be...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (27 Sep 2022)

Emer Currie: I am thinking of all of the doors I have knocked on in the past three to four years and the issues that have come up time and again. People care about their families, communities and those who need help most and they want to see this modern, progressive Government provide the services that people need. Today has been a good day for that. Childcare fees will be cut by 25%. That is the...

Seanad: Budget 2023 (Public Expenditure and Reform): Statements (27 Sep 2022)

Emer Currie: Today has been a very important day. The Government has delivered a rounded package for people that reflects where we are, particularly with regard to the 25% cut in the cost of childcare. It will be good to hear confirmation that it is a starting point and that we will be able to signal this. There is core funding of €121 million. We see the difference the employment regulation...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement: Discussion (22 Sep 2022)

Emer Currie: I am sorry for being late but I am trying to play catch-up. Certainly, the presentations, from what I heard, are comprehensive. It is ironic that a government that is saying that it wants to protect the Good Friday Agreement, at present in relation to the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill whose purpose that is, is dismantling a core foundation stone of that Agreement. The impact of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement: Discussion (22 Sep 2022)

Emer Currie: How does that impact how these agencies work together in that framework? Does that impact where the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission is versus the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission? How are these agencies supposed to work together if, fundamentally, they perhaps have different standards?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement: Discussion (22 Sep 2022)

Emer Currie: To give us a sense of the equivalence at a practical level, what are the six directives?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement: Discussion (22 Sep 2022)

Emer Currie: Absolutely. I agree that the legacy Bill is incompatible or unfixable. Would Ms Kilpatrick use language to the effect that it is entirely unfixable and should not be progressed?