Results 61-80 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Nov 2007)

Frances Fitzgerald: It seems nobody in our health service has the management expertise, the commitment or whatever needed to ensure our hospitals are able to meet hygiene standards. I want to quote from the report released today to the effect that not one of our country's 51 hospitals has been found to have very good hygiene standards, according to a new hygiene audit. We have had ten years of the Celtic tiger...

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Nov 2007)

Frances Fitzgerald: That was what Dr. Crown was doing.

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Nov 2007)

Frances Fitzgerald: That is the basic point.

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Nov 2007)

Frances Fitzgerald: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Nov 2007)

Frances Fitzgerald: I agree to the Order of Business. In the past few weeks, a number of Senators have asked the Minister for Education and Science to address the concerns they have expressed about education. The report published today by the ESRI on young people dropping out of school merits discussion in this House because it is extraordinary that so many young people, and young men in particular, are...

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Nov 2007)

Frances Fitzgerald: He should stop going to international conferences if he feels so deprived.

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Nov 2007)

Frances Fitzgerald: It is not the first time it has been sought.

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Nov 2007)

Frances Fitzgerald: The year 1997 was ten years ago.

Seanad: Road Safety: Statements (Resumed) (14 Nov 2007)

Frances Fitzgerald: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Ahern, to the House for this important debate on road safety, which was requested by Senators from all sides of the House. I congratulate the Road Safety Authority on its new strategy. It is obviously critical that we put in place a very broad strategy that commands the support of the wider public, including drivers of all ages. We know from...

Seanad: Pension Provision: Motion (Resumed) (14 Nov 2007)

Frances Fitzgerald: It is a motion, not a statement.

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Nov 2007)

Frances Fitzgerald: This morning the chaos for 60,000 bus commuters in Dublin continues. I ask the Leader to bring the concern of the House on the matter to the attention of the Minister for Transport. The Government indecision on transport issues in Dublin has a very corrosive effect on the workers. I refer to the indecision regarding the regulation of the market, combining public and private transport, and...

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Nov 2007)

Frances Fitzgerald: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Nov 2007)

Frances Fitzgerald: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Nov 2007)

Frances Fitzgerald: Deputy Varadkar.

Seanad: Voluntary Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (15 Nov 2007)

Frances Fitzgerald: When the Minister introduced the Bill in the House she spoke about a number of amendments she would bring forward to deal with concerns people expressed about the proposed change to the structure. She might comment on that when addressing this section. A number of competitors in this field made the point that, at its most basic, the Bill appeared to give the VHI further commercial freedoms...

Seanad: Voluntary Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (15 Nov 2007)

Frances Fitzgerald: I move amendment No. 5: In page 3, before section 2, to insert the following new section: "2—The Board should be solvent and prove itself to be so before any additional powers are vested on it so to ensure fair competition within the market.". This relates to the solvency issue which the Minister has addressed to some degree. The point we make is that while there is a requirement on the...

Seanad: Voluntary Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (15 Nov 2007)

Frances Fitzgerald: I move amendment No. 8: In page 4, line 5, after "shall" to insert the following: "foster competition within the health insurance market and refrain from engaging in any actions which may hinder the operation of competition within the market. It shall also". The Minister has spoken about the competition issues that arise in the health insurance market. In respect of the previous discussion,...

Seanad: Voluntary Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (15 Nov 2007)

Frances Fitzgerald: I appreciate that we are not operating from a greenfield site and the difficulties regarding the dominance of VHI. If this legislation allows subsidiaries to develop and the VHI to enter these markets, does it make the dominant position of VHI more of a problem? I raised questions about subsidiaries and whether there will be cross-subsidies that may exacerbate some of the difficulties...

Seanad: Voluntary Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (15 Nov 2007)

Frances Fitzgerald: We have discussed this matter to some degree. Amendment No. 17 was tabled because I wanted to ensure that customers subscribing to subsidiary policies would not be penalised if they chose to change health insurer. The Minister stated that this matter would be better dealt with by the Consumer Protection Agency than it would under the provisions of the Bill.

Seanad: Voluntary Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (15 Nov 2007)

Frances Fitzgerald: A large number of people have benefitted from the VHI and we owe it a debt of gratitude for the work done over many years. It has served the Irish consumer well and changes to its status would require very careful discussion. However, this does not take away from the fact it raises competition issues which we are discussing. Some of these must be dealt with to open up the market and ensure...