Results 41-60 of 5,732 for speaker:Fidelma Healy Eames

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Dec 2015)

Fidelma Healy Eames: Lots of valuable items are being discussed in the House today. I add my voice to the urgent call for a debate on the provision of the new drug, Orkambi, for cystic fibrosis sufferers. We are talking about not only quality of life, but life or death. One can rule it out of order all one wants but if it was one's life that was on the line, one would like to think that Parliament would at...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Dec 2015)

Fidelma Healy Eames: I certainly am. It is as simple as this. Bad decisions are being made about the Aran Islands all the time. A few months ago, it was an eitleáin. Anois, an bád. Would the Minister of State, Deputy McHugh, and others get their act together when it comes to the Aran Islands, not make their Christmas a mess and stop isolating them? They are on an island in the Atlantic. They are...

Seanad: Harbours Bill 2015: Committee Stage (16 Dec 2015)

Fidelma Healy Eames: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. It is great to have this Bill before the House. I thank Senator Barrett for tabling these amendments. They tie in with my concerns about Galway Harbour. I have grave concern about the Minister' recommendation that Galway Harbour come under the remit of Galway City Council. I am familiar with how councils work. I was a member of Galway County Council....

Seanad: Harbours Bill 2015: Committee Stage (16 Dec 2015)

Fidelma Healy Eames: It is building up to the overall point relating to the classification of the port and the transfer of the ownership. I will leave it at that and wait to hear the Minister's reply.

Seanad: Harbours Bill 2015: Committee Stage (16 Dec 2015)

Fidelma Healy Eames: Did the Minister say 90%?

Seanad: Harbours Bill 2015: Committee Stage (16 Dec 2015)

Fidelma Healy Eames: I thank the Minister for his reply. I welcome the fact that he will not apply the Bill's provisions to Galway for 18 months, a development of which I was aware. My concern is that decisions which are made now, without seeing the realisation of our very ambitious plans in Galway Port, would limit, hinder and disadvantage the growth of the port. As Senator Barrett outlined, Galway Port is...

Seanad: Harbours Bill 2015: Committee Stage (16 Dec 2015)

Fidelma Healy Eames: I am just seeking clarification. Would a tier 2 designation not have helped? Putting ports such as Galway into the control of local authorities is very worrying - I understand that everybody in the House has been singing the same tune in this regard - despite the Minister's explanation of the structures and the shareholding. Our councils already have too much on their plates and I do not...

Seanad: Harbours Bill 2015: Committee Stage (16 Dec 2015)

Fidelma Healy Eames: It has much to do with it.

Seanad: Harbours Bill 2015: Committee Stage (16 Dec 2015)

Fidelma Healy Eames: It has absolutely loads to do with it. Would the funding model that currently supports councils be relied upon for ports? I hope the answer is no.

Seanad: Harbours Bill 2015: Committee Stage (16 Dec 2015)

Fidelma Healy Eames: I support this amendment. It would be a retrograde step if a harbour master were not present. I am not familiar with the other ports, but having been at meetings in Galway Port I am familiar with the expertise that has been presented to us by the harbour master and the people who are on the front line at that facility. If we failed to take on board the expertise of the key people who are...

Seanad: Harbours Bill 2015: Committee Stage (16 Dec 2015)

Fidelma Healy Eames: There is an important distinction here. What I understood was being said and certainly what I was saying was that the better model for our ports and harbours as referred to in the Bill did not involve them being under the jurisdiction of local authorities. However, if they will be under the jurisdiction of local authorities, the democratic process is important. The more members that are...

Seanad: Harbours Bill 2015: Committee Stage (16 Dec 2015)

Fidelma Healy Eames: I support Senator Barrett's amendment. What is the logic behind this? Is it expediency? It could be one of the biggest decisions that was ever made. Perhaps then they would not need to attend to respond to it. It does not make sense. I completely agree with Senator Barrett that if we are talking about accountability they need to be present.

Seanad: Harbours Bill 2015: Committee Stage (16 Dec 2015)

Fidelma Healy Eames: I understand what subsection (1) states about the local authority requiring the chairperson or chief executive to attend. However, if a new resolution were taken within six months of a previous appearance, would it not be necessary for the person to attend? The new resolution might be one of the biggest decisions to be made in the history of a particular port. Will the Minister clarify that?

Seanad: Harbours Bill 2015: Committee Stage (16 Dec 2015)

Fidelma Healy Eames: A mandatory appearance is built into subsection (1), but in subsection (2) it states that if a person appeared less than six months ago, he or she would not have to appear until six months had passed since his or her previous appearance, even if there were a new resolution as referred to in that subsection. If a new and important decision were to be made but within six months of the previous...

Seanad: Harbours Bill 2015: Committee Stage (16 Dec 2015)

Fidelma Healy Eames: They can still invite them in.

Seanad: Harbours Bill 2015: Committee Stage (16 Dec 2015)

Fidelma Healy Eames: Okay.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Burglary of Dwellings) Bill 2015: Second Stage (11 Dec 2015)

Fidelma Healy Eames: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I am delighted to welcome this Bill, which represents a timely and appropriate response to the increased incidence of burglaries of dwellings. That is not to say it is the ideal solution. In fact, nobody knows what the ideal response is to this very serious issue. The explanatory memorandum to the Bill notes that the recidivism rate for...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Burglary of Dwellings) Bill 2015: Second Stage (11 Dec 2015)

Fidelma Healy Eames: It may not be consistent with the rights of a republic but-----

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)

Fidelma Healy Eames: I support the amendment that every place in the Bill where the words "child pornography" are used, they would be substituted with the words "child sexual abuse material". Sadly, many young people do not know that child pornography is wrong. There is a normalising of pornography by society. It is the beginning of the ruination of many young people's lives. It is part of a grooming process...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)

Fidelma Healy Eames: I share the Senator's concerns. Reducing the punishment to a fine or imprisonment dilutes the sanction for such a serious and heinous crime. Imprisonment at least offers some rehabilitation. Any imprisonment for sexual offences should be matched with rehabilitation. To leave the penalty at a fine gives an option for the offender to go scot free. It is not at all adequate. We are either...