Results 21-40 of 459 for speaker:Phil Prendergast

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2010: Second Stage (15 Dec 2010)

Phil Prendergast: I will speak about this case outside the House.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2010: Second Stage (15 Dec 2010)

Phil Prendergast: This person is returning permanently.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2010: Second Stage (15 Dec 2010)

Phil Prendergast: I am quite sure I have checked it. I have done it properly. The Bill has quite a number of positive provisions. I have raised some points of concern and I await the Minister's response. I am aware of the personal situations of people who have contacted me for help and I see a system that is not exactly dealing with cases in the best way. Perhaps there is an opportunity in this Bill to...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2010: Second Stage (15 Dec 2010)

Phil Prendergast: Deputy Mattie McGrath secured the extra 15,000 places.

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Dec 2010)

Phil Prendergast: The Department of Finance reported today that one of its officials took part in 16 trips abroad with the HSE skills training fund. These trips included Australia and New York, and some of the trips took place over the week around St. Patrick's Day. An audit has found that there was no particular reason for these trips. Let me inform the House of the situation in some of our hospitals this...

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Dec 2010)

Phil Prendergast: There is a legitimate cost to this. In Limerick Regional Hospital, 17 people are awaiting beds, five in South Tipperary General Hospital, nine in Waterford and 26 in Galway. This amounts to quite a number of people awaiting services. These people are sick, have been seen by a doctor and are awaiting beds at a time when millions have been spent on trips abroad to conferences on issues such...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2010)

Phil Prendergast: Like the other speakers, I want to say that budget 2011 is really an unmitigated disaster for hundreds of thousands of families on low incomes and it fails the fairness test. The public was certainly prepared for harsh measures in this budget but just like every other Lenihan budget, the wealthy are protected by piling the pain on low and middle-income earners and cutting services. Carers,...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2010)

Phil Prendergast: I listened carefully to the Minister's explanation for his decision to cut the carer's allowance. Like the Minister, I have a relative in need of care but fortunately my family is large enough to rotate carers without needing to apply for carer's allowance. Many people who earn six figure sums have seen a decrease in their tax rates and nothing has been done about getting tax exiles to pay...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2010)

Phil Prendergast: The Labour Party is also opposed to it because of the cuts made.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2010: Second Stage (14 Dec 2010)

Phil Prendergast: I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Barry Andrews, although I regret that the Minister, Deputy Ó Cuív, had to leave for another engagement. We are debating the Social Welfare Bill 2010 but never in the history of this State has the word "welfare" been more out of place in legislation. It should be called the social harm Bill because that is what...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2010: Second Stage (14 Dec 2010)

Phil Prendergast: It is true.

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Dec 2010)

Phil Prendergast: The scenes depicted on "Prime Time Investigates" last night were very distressing and will have upset many families. We no longer have an option not to regulate the care area, where we saw untrained and overworked carers mistreating elderly people and unscrupulous employers facilitate this by neglecting their obligations. We can no longer opt for a situation where the HSE pays millions of...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Dec 2010)

Phil Prendergast: In that event, will the election be held on a Saturday?

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Dec 2010)

Phil Prendergast: I also asked about the Student Support Bill.

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Dec 2010)

Phil Prendergast: I question the relevance of any legislation put through by a Government which has called time on itself. We have very important legislation to deal with and amendments have been tabled to many Bills, particularly the Nurses and Midwives Bill, which require careful consideration and should receive our full attention without, as Senator O'Toole said, Members having a go at each other. The...

Seanad: National Recovery Plan 2011-2014: Motion (30 Nov 2010)

Phil Prendergast: We facilitated the House twice today.

Seanad: Business of Seanad (30 Nov 2010)

Phil Prendergast: No.

Seanad: National Recovery Plan 2011-2014: Motion (30 Nov 2010)

Phil Prendergast: I second the motion. Its main focus is jobs. From the beginning of the economic crisis the Labour Party has emphasised that jobs are the key to recovery. Every person who loses a job is another person on the dole queue, another person who might have a difficulty in repaying his or her mortgage, and many people have that difficulty. Every time a job is created the Exchequer benefits...

Seanad: National Paediatric Hospital: Statements (17 Nov 2010)

Phil Prendergast: I listened carefully to what has been said in this debate and I am glad to have this opportunity to contribute to it. The criticism of Crumlin hospital as a facility is perhaps justified but the staff, ranging from the porters to medical and nursing staff, and the care that is given to children in emergencies and to those in need of tertiary care is without question of the highest standard....

Seanad: Chemicals (Amendment) Bill 2010: Second Stage (16 Nov 2010)

Phil Prendergast: I welcome the Minister of State. South Tipperary is rich in industries that have chemicals as their basis. These industries are big employers. The Bill is, by its nature, technical. Its intention is to amend the Chemicals Act 2008 and meet certain EU obligations to implement and enforce certain EU regulations. These include the EU regulation on the classification, labelling and packaging...