Results 121-140 of 204 for speaker:Lisa McDonald

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Oct 2009)

Lisa McDonald: I ask for a debate on the issue of domestic violence. While we need to discuss yesterday's crime figures, I ask the Leader for a separate debate on the issue of domestic violence. I asked for this before and we have not had it yet. Given the media profile it is getting and the fact that crimes against women, in particular, are growing rapidly, we need to consider it. On clarification of...

Seanad: Public Transport: Motion (7 Oct 2009)

Lisa McDonald: I welcome the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe. I wish to speak to this motion on the rural transport programme, which was introduced by the Government in 2001 and has developed from a pilot project carrying 151,000 passengers to a scheme that carried 1.2 million people in 2008, as stated by Senator Cannon. The scheme was introduced mainly to address the problem of...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 May 2009)

Lisa McDonald: I support the comments of Senator Wilson. If we are to have a debate in respect of people who are under pressure financially we should stick to the area of families and those who are under pressure from institutions as opposed to the wider concerns of people such as developers, those who own hotels etc. Let us stick to the small and medium-sized businesses and the people who have smaller...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2009: Second Stage (29 Apr 2009)

Lisa McDonald: I welcome the Minister to the House. The task that befell her to make a saving of €300 million in the social welfare budget in 2009 in difficult times is no mean feat. I commend her on not making a general cut in the weekly social welfare payment. I note the concerted effort that will be made to deal with social welfare fraud. There are cuts in the Bill that are unavoidable but social...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2009: Second Stage (29 Apr 2009)

Lisa McDonald: I do not know how often Senator Buttimer goes into toy shops but I can assure him I go in every week.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2009: Second Stage (29 Apr 2009)

Lisa McDonald: Christmas bonuses are to provide for Christmas presents-----

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2009: Second Stage (29 Apr 2009)

Lisa McDonald: -----particularly for children. That is what they should be used for. This is an area where-----

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2009: Second Stage (29 Apr 2009)

Lisa McDonald: A Chathaoirligh, can I speak without interruption?

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2009: Second Stage (29 Apr 2009)

Lisa McDonald: People have been using Christmas bonuses, child care allowances and the early child care supplement for purposes for which they were not intended. Social welfare benefits should be used for the purposes for which they were intended and not the way they are sometimes used, as the Senator is well aware. Unfortunately, there are people who will be under pressure at Christmas. Last year the...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2009: Second Stage (29 Apr 2009)

Lisa McDonald: Unfortunately, I have run out of time. I also welcome the cut in the jobseeker's allowance for 18 to 20 year olds. There was a generous welfare system over the Celtic tiger years and we need to look at system reform in general in order to provide incentives for training and work. The Minister is moving in the right direction. This was, we must remember, an emergency budget. I look...

Seanad: Legal Services Ombudsman Bill 2008: Second Stage (18 Feb 2009)

Lisa McDonald: I welcome the Minister of State. I would like to put on the record of the House my interest in this legislation as a practising solicitor and member of the Law Society. Despite my overall support for the Bill, I have a few fundamental reservations about it. I worry that this legislation seeks to create yet another watchdog in Irish society. The KitKat advertisement, which shows policemen...

Seanad: Legal Services Ombudsman Bill 2008: Second Stage (18 Feb 2009)

Lisa McDonald: There is. Many complaints are made on that website. Without knowing the ins and outs of the cases involved, and all cases turn on their own facts, as we know, many complaints are bogus and stem from a person either losing a case or just not being satisfied with his or her lot in life. Given that clients will be paying for this, it is something we need to avoid. All legal professionals must...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Feb 2009)

Lisa McDonald: I fully acknowledge the sense of frustration in regard to the cancerous issue of the banks. The Opposition is going up a blind alley calling for the head of the Minister for Finance. Heads should roll. I have my ear to the ground and I speak to people as much as anybody else in this House. The public want banking heads to roll. I have listened to the debates on the Order of Business over...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Feb 2009)

Lisa McDonald: Yes. It has the teeth but it appears another part of its anatomy is missing. Will the Leader find out why for me and the public? Senator Paschal Donohoe mentioned the FBI. The best organisation in this country for enforcement and compliance is the Criminal Assets Bureau. It is the organisation that can deal with such issues. All these little people have failed the State, including the...

Seanad: Child Poverty: Motion (11 Feb 2009)

Lisa McDonald: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank the Labour Party for putting this important issue on the agenda. Investment in our children is an investment in the economy, as well as forming young people's social behaviour and removing them from the cycle of unemployment and crime. As a result of such an investment, they will hopefully be able to fulfil their own needs and...

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Jan 2009)

Lisa McDonald: I support the comments of Senator White. Unfortunately, I did not hear the views of Senator O'Toole. I call for the immediate implementation of the changes required and the constitutional amendment before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children. It beggars belief that it takes a case such as that in Roscommon to bring about hysteria and furore in this...

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Jan 2009)

Lisa McDonald: As a practitioner of law, I can tell Members that the law in this area has been out of date for so long that it is unbelievable. We are in the dark ages when it comes to child legislation. The Roscommon case is terrible and the facts are unbelievable but there are other cases which are equally bad.

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Jan 2009)

Lisa McDonald: The HSE is closing the door on these cases and closing files on them every day. One need only ask a principal of a primary school to explain how difficult it is to get anything done in this area.

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Jan 2009)

Lisa McDonald: Last week, emergency legislation on the economy was passed. That was needed and I fully support emergency legislation where required. This area requires emergency legislation also because children are suffering. If we cannot protect them in a republic, who can protect them? I call for an immediate debate. The Oireachtas committee is doing its work but this must be brought to fruition at...

Seanad: Gun Crime: Statements (18 Dec 2008)

Lisa McDonald: We are at tipping point with regard to gun crime. We need a collaborative approach to it rather than expecting the Government and the Garda Síochána to deal with the matter. Prevention and intervention are as important as enforcement. Bullets cannot be repelled with legislation and denunciation. We need new thinking. We need to learn from other countries where young people at risk of...