Results 101-120 of 459 for speaker:Phil Prendergast

Seanad: Order of Business (21 May 2008)

Phil Prendergast: The ethical aspects must be upheld in this regard and note must be taken of that. What was done was a mistake and it needs to be urgently addressed.

Seanad: WTO Negotiations: Statements (Resumed) (21 May 2008)

Phil Prendergast: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I congratulate Deputy Brendan Smith on his recent appointment to Cabinet and I wish him well in the onerous task that awaits him. I appreciate the opportunity to contribute on my own behalf and on behalf of the Labour Party to the debate and I thank the Leader, my friend and colleague, for facilitating this discussion. He has provided time for...

Seanad: HSE Child Welfare and Protection Services: Statements (21 May 2008)

Phil Prendergast: I also congratulate the Minister of State and wish him every success in his difficult portfolio. I am sure if there is any help we can give him, we would not be remiss in doing so. The areas of welfare and protection services for children are wide and varied. They range from catering to the very basic needs that must be met for all children to ensuring the health, safety and welfare of...

Seanad: HSE Child Welfare and Protection Services: Statements (21 May 2008)

Phil Prendergast: The Minister of State has been bombarded with all these questions. It can sometimes appear that everything is his fault and that nothing will improve, no matter how much money is invested. I am concerned that social workers were not willing to speak out publicly about their concerns. There should be a system in place in order that they would not feel obliged to speak behind screens. I...

Seanad: Order of Business (22 May 2008)

Phil Prendergast: That meeting is not scheduled to start until 11.30 a.m.

Seanad: Order of Business (22 May 2008)

Phil Prendergast: I read of a report yesterday where 12 young people in Dublin were successfully rehabilitated through a drugs rehabilitation programme run in conjunction with the HSE. There are, therefore, such initiatives that are quite successful. Where there is a successful model such as this it should be used in other communities throughout the country in the fight against drugs, which is a major...

Seanad: Order of Business (27 May 2008)

Phil Prendergast: The HSE has announced no further embargo on the number of employees who are trying to return to work, following leave of absence, but whose jobs no longer exist because of budgetary constraints. These highly qualified professionals are in limbo because, although technically they have jobs, they cannot work. The fact that most health areas are now overspent on their budgets leaves these...

Seanad: Health Services: Motion (28 May 2008)

Phil Prendergast: I move: That Seanad Éireann: notes the continuing problems and regular crises in the management and operation of our health services, and believes that the HSE is not working; further notes that the HSE has failed to meet any of the original objectives set by the Government, namely, to make the system more responsive to the needs of patients, to make the system more accountable, and to...

Seanad: Health Services: Motion (28 May 2008)

Phil Prendergast: The Senator's time is up.

Seanad: Health Services: Motion (28 May 2008)

Phil Prendergast: In the interest of not interrupting Senator Feeney earlier I remained quiet when she remarked that she felt there was a criticism of HSE staff implied in the motion. I worked for 23 years as a midwife and nurse in the health services. My husband has given 30 years of service. On the basis that, as a couple, we have given between us 53 years of service I can speak with some degree of...

Seanad: Older Persons: Statements (Resumed) (25 Jun 2008)

Phil Prendergast: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Hoctor, and thank her for returning to the House today for the conclusion of statements on older persons. I wish to highlight once again a number of issues which are of grave importance to our ageing population. In a fast-paced society such as we have today in Ireland, it often seems that the needs of older persons can be all too easily forgotten. I...

Seanad: Mental Health (Involuntary Procedures) (Amendment) Bill 2008: Second Stage (25 Jun 2008)

Phil Prendergast: It is also a great pleasure for me to be able to welcome the Minister of State to the House. I could not be happier that he has so recently vacated the Chair of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children. I would agree with both Senator Fitzgerald and the Minister of State that it is an excellent forum where we should seek to have all types of submissions from interested parties...

Seanad: Cancer Services: Motion (2 Jul 2008)

Phil Prendergast: I welcome the Minister. She is the Minister whom I have had the opportunity to meet most often in this House. That is a measure of the level of need to have her here regarding the health services and her commitment to coming here and giving at least an ear to what has to be said. It is very difficult to remove the emotive aspect of cancer services from the equation. I am aware that many...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Jul 2008)

Phil Prendergast: In Cork University Hospital, 48 graduates of the four-year bachelor of science in nursing course, costing €85,000 per student, have been told there are no jobs for them, despite that they were interviewed and had undergone a week's induction, including completing a manual lifting course in compliance with current health and safety legislation. At the same time, Cork University Hospital has...

Seanad: Chemicals Bill 2008: Second Stage (3 Jul 2008)

Phil Prendergast: On behalf of the Labour Party, I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Kelleher, to the House. The Labour Party broadly welcomes the Bill, which is undoubtedly long and complex but also essential. It enforces the REACH regulations which were the result of many hours of intense talks and compromises, and it brings together 40 pieces of EU legislation under one umbrella. It is, therefore,...

Seanad: Chemicals Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Jul 2008)

Phil Prendergast: I move amendment No. 1: In page 19, between lines 41 and 42, to insert the following subsection: "(11) Documents subject to legal professional privilege shall not be liable to production under this section.". Could this be included?

Seanad: Chemicals Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Jul 2008)

Phil Prendergast: We sought to ensure the search power was constitutional. The wording is used in recent Acts such as section 17 of the Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2006, in section 96 and 1(31) of the Garda Síochána Act 2005, and section 16 of the Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland Act 2004. It would not undermine other legislation but I accept the answer of...

Seanad: Chemicals Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Jul 2008)

Phil Prendergast: I thank the Minister of State for listening to the points made and giving his interpretation on these. It is progressive legislation and I am honoured to have been part of the process of passing it.

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Jul 2008)

Phil Prendergast: It was stated in a recent newspaper report that taxpayers are paying up to €4 million per week to keep in hospital patients who are fit for discharge. More than 700 patients each week are forced to remain in hospital because the follow-up services they require are either not in place or have limited availability. The report referred to these people as "bed-blockers", a term which I find...

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Jul 2008)

Phil Prendergast: Let me raise the issue of people who have contracted legionnaires' disease in public buildings. All public buildings should be assessed by the Environmental Protection Agency and health and safety authorities to ensure workers are not open to contracting serious diseases in their places of work. What health and education programmes will be restructured, reorganised or cut in each area...