Results 1,881-1,900 of 1,997 for speaker:Frances Black

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Penal Reform: Discussion (Resumed) (8 Mar 2017)

Frances Black: I can only talk about my own experience. I worked in Dóchas and ran some programmes with the organisation with which I work. I found it an amazing experience. I worked with prisoners who were incredible. They really wanted to recover. It is very difficult for prison officers to work in the chaos of addiction. We have worked with family members who have a loved one with an alcohol,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Penal Reform: Discussion (Resumed) (8 Mar 2017)

Frances Black: That is something to think about, namely, specifically training staff to understand the impact of addiction, but it is also important for them to learn how to cope with those in the chaos of addiction. We only ran three programmes because the funding ran out. Unfortunately, education which is very important for prisoners got in the way of the programmes we were running. Many of the women...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Penal Reform: Discussion (Resumed) (8 Mar 2017)

Frances Black: I will give a very good example of a woman with whom we worked whose son was coming out of prison, but he was going to have to go back in again. At that point he wanted to move into recovery. He wanted to get into a treatment centre, but, unfortunately, they could not get him in anywhere. She ended up ringing the Joe Duffy show. I have given this example previously. Thankfully, as a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Penal Reform: Discussion (Resumed) (8 Mar 2017)

Frances Black: I thank the witnesses for their very comprehensive presentation. I thank the service for its great work. What happens with somebody who is serving a life sentence in prison? What is the procedure in terms of the Probation Service for when they are ready to be released? I simply want to find out the way that process works. Is training provided for probation officers throughout the country...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Penal Reform: Discussion (Resumed) (8 Mar 2017)

Frances Black: Yes.

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Mar 2017)

Frances Black: I would also like to highlight the horrendous nature of what happened in the Tuam mother and baby home. An inquiry is being held into these shocking events. All of the people who have been impacted on by their dealings with mother and baby homes and other institutions such as the Magdalen laundries need to be listened to. The Coalition of Mother and Baby Home Survivors state approximately...

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (2 Mar 2017)

Frances Black: Can I speak on amendment No. a1w and a1aag now?

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (2 Mar 2017)

Frances Black: I will start with amendment No. a1w. This amendment is necessary as it is not acceptable to introduce legislation to apply penalties without any independent appeal mechanism other than the courts. It is not appropriate to make canals less user friendly by discriminating against tourism development on our canals through the introduction of a completely different set of rules, charges,...

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (2 Mar 2017)

Frances Black: Sorry about that. I just got a bit confused.

Seanad: Domestic Violence Bill 2017: Second Stage (1 Mar 2017)

Frances Black: I welcome the Minister to the Chamber and I thank her for bringing forward this legislation. I welcome its introduction and I especially welcome the new protections for applicants for domestic violence orders, such as the ability to give evidence by video link for those aged under 18 and for others in certain circumstances, the right to court accompaniment, the extension of safety orders to...

Seanad: North-South Interconnector: Motion (1 Mar 2017)

Frances Black: I welcome the Minister. It is good to see him back in good health. I support this motion. The communities directly affected by An Bord Pleanála's decision to give planning permission to EirGrid for the construction of overhead powerlines, which will result in the building of 299 pylons in counties Meath, Cavan and Monaghan, have expressed their anger and frustration about this...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Prisons, Penal Policy and Sentencing (Resumed): Victims' Rights Alliance (1 Mar 2017)

Frances Black: Apologies for being late. The traffic was very bad. I thank Ms McDonald for her presentation. I have a few queries around the training of judges, gardaí and the area of addiction. We know that for a lot of those people in prison who are perpetrators of crime, addiction is very much involved. I do not know what the statistics are on how many people are in prison because addiction has...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Prisons, Penal Policy and Sentencing (Resumed): Victims' Rights Alliance (1 Mar 2017)

Frances Black: Does Ms McDonald believe the lack of addiction services is the reason it is so difficult to have that option?

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Feb 2017)

Frances Black: I, too, would like to convey my condolences to the Leader and members of Fine Gael on the passing of Peter Mathews. I also extend condolences to his wife and family. He was a good man and he will be missed. Today, I would like to highlight the case of Cork woman, Vera Twomey. She is the mother of a six-year-old girl called Ava who suffers catastrophic epilepsy. The mother has expressed...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Feb 2017)

Frances Black: I understand but I would still like to highlight the issue. I would also like to highlight the fact there are three homeless people living in tents located outside my office. I do not know if the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Deputy Coveney, has seen them but they are right outside my office. They are living in tents. It is horrendous to see people living...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Feb 2017)

Frances Black: I wish to express concern about correspondence I received earlier this week from the ambassador with the mission of the state of Palestine in Dublin, outlining his serious concerns around the ongoing and continuous approval of construction of settlements by the Israeli Government in the occupied Palestinian state. The construction of 566 new settlement units in occupied east Jerusalem must...

Seanad: Hospital Waiting Lists: Motion (15 Feb 2017)

Frances Black: I also commend Sinn Féin and thank it for tabling this issue in Private Members' time. As we all know, the number of people on waiting lists for essential hospital procedures is a scandal. That has been spoken about a lot today. We also know that thousands of people are being forced to spend months in pain while they wait for an operation or to see a specialist. It saddens me deeply...

Seanad: Clarification on Statements made by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs: Statements (15 Feb 2017)

Frances Black: We are sharing time at two and a half minutes each. I welcome the Minister to the Chamber. I am aware that she has had a crazy week and it has been very busy for her. We all, however, must keep in mind what Sergeant Maurice McCabe and his family have gone through. I shudder to think of the trauma for them and the children in particular, which has been horrendous. The treatment of...

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Feb 2017)

Frances Black: I want to express my concern and disgust regarding the treatment of Sergeant Maurice McCabe and his family. I just had to mention this on the Order of Business today. As we all know, the greatest fear of any parent is to be accused of mistreating or abusing his or her children. It is an absolute nightmare. The treatment of Maurice McCabe by the organisation he continues to serve and by...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Implications for Good Friday Agreement of UK Referendum Result (Resumed): Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (9 Feb 2017)

Frances Black: I thank the Minister for coming in today and for his commitment and hard work. He has a tough road ahead. I was at an event in Belfast a couple of weeks ago about the Supreme Court ruling. A political scientist, Brendan O'Leary, spoke on Skype. He has a huge interest in this area. He spoke about the fears of a hard border, and his idea is that Westminster in particular does not really...