Results 21-40 of 4,168 for speaker:Susan O'Keeffe

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Jun 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: I have already asked for the reconfiguration of hospitals in general. If a service is being closed, a hospital is being reconfigured. It is the same call in a different way. We need to see the Minister for Health and I appreciate he is very pressed.

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Jun 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: We should ask the Minister for Health to come to the House to discuss health in general. The health of this House and the health of the nation are not doing well.

Seanad: Food Safety Standards: Statements. (5 Jul 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. His passion and enthusiasm for this sector is clear and we are all grateful for that. Before addressing the main issues, I suggest that one of the issues with regard to people wishing to get into the food industry at a micro level or on a small scale, with a view to expanding later, is the difficulty in finding a suitable premises. For...

Seanad: Ambulance Service (5 Jul 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House at this late hour. The Minister will be aware of the story of the liver transplant that did not happen at the weekend. We had the media to rely on for the story over the weekend. I would be grateful if the Minister would give the House an outline of what happened. It appears now, although I cannot confirm it, that the girl's father has...

Seanad: Ambulance Service (5 Jul 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: I thank the Minister of State. The inquiry is most welcome. Does the Minister of State know how long it will take for the inquiry's report to be published? In answer to my direct question on the jet I was told I could not have these details because of the HIQA inquiry but the story may well be covered by the media. This may cause a difficulty further down the line. My specific question...

Seanad: Foreshore (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (6 Jul 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: I thank the Minister for attending. I welcome this legislation for the clarity it provides. In recent years we have seen that we are at a point now where our seas are being industrialised. There is no other way of putting it. It is a resource that has been lapping gently on our shores for hundreds of years yet it is only now that we are beginning to realise the potential of the sea and...

Seanad: Foreshore (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (6 Jul 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: I apologise for my absence earlier. I thank the Minister for attending and for taking note of the issues raised. I look forward to debates with him on this and other matters in the future.

Seanad: Unfinished Housing Developments: Statements (13 Jul 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: I thank the Minister of State for coming before the House. I have a great and interesting vision of him riding with Senator O'Donnell along the motorway with a bulldozer. There is merit in that argument. As my colleague, Senator Hayden, pointed out, there will be a need to bulldoze some of the buildings or estates. It is far too simplistic to say that all of them can be matched with...

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Jul 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: When we talk about victims sometimes we forget that they are real people. Today we are reminded by these fantastic four young people who won the Imagine Cup yesterday in the United States. They are Áine Conaghan, James McNamara, Calum Cawley and Matthew Padden. They are the future of our country and these are the people on whom we rely and whom we hope will build the future for us. We...

Seanad: Agriculture and Fisheries: Statements, Questions and Answers (20 Jul 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: I thank the Minister for agreeing to be the canary in the mine in regard to all of this. We had hoped for Minister's questions to be a routine part of our work. I refer to the impasse in regard to Leader funding for small food projects such as those we saw in their magnificence last night in the Shelbourne Hotel and previously at a Tesco function. I know there is an impasse and that it is...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (20 Jul 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: I thank the Minister for coming before the House. I welcome the Bill. Before commenting on it, I wish to comment on what Senator Wilson said in respect of piecemeal reform. The Senator is correct. What we are doing is being done in pieces.

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (20 Jul 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: With respect, if we were not doing it in pieces and if we were waiting for a package of reforms, the Senator would, quite rightly, be inquiring as to the whereabouts of such reform.

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (20 Jul 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: There is no harm in bringing forward reform in pieces, particularly when one considers that it is only summer and we have already done quite a lot. It is to the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government's credit that we are putting the Bill, which is a mechanism of reform, through the House in order that by the time the next general election takes place, the legislative...

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Jul 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: I echo the calls made today for a debate on the Cloyne report. I have brought it with me in the knowledge that there is a risk of our simply using the words "the Cloyne report" and forgetting what is contained therein and the people directly affected. I urge caution when we say we want a debate. It is as if we want to hurry to be part of the story. I would prefer if we took a more...

Seanad: Commission of Investigation Report into the Catholic Diocese of Cloyne: Motion (27 Jul 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: I thank those people who worked to produce the Cloyne report. I also thank those in the church who care about their congregation and who work hard to minister to them and look after them. I commend the joint action taken by the Minister, Deputy Shatter, and by the Minister present, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, on bringing in new legislation and on the Children First guidelines. I commend...

Seanad: Family Home Bill 2011: Second Stage (27 Jul 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I particularly welcome the idea of the Economic Management Council having a working group. Perhaps it would help if in three months time it or the working group came back to us and let us know how they are getting on. As we all agree, there is no quick and easy solution. If there was I am sure the Minister of State would have found it by now...

Seanad: Family Home Bill 2011: Second Stage (27 Jul 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: If, based on advice, the Bill has been deemed not to be constitutional then we should not try to agree with each other just for the sake of it, which is what I understood was suggested by Senator O'Brien, or for the greater good of the Seanad or unity outside the House. I do not think anybody outside this House believes anything other than that politicians are unified in trying to find a...

Seanad: Order of Business. (21 Sep 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: On foot of Senator Barrett's point, I, having worked with the BBC, would like to say that "Today in Parliament" became known as "TIP" and "Yesterday in Parliament" became known as "YIP". While I support the idea that we should have a programme such as "Today in Parliament", I hope the acronyms do not stick. I take issue with Senator Cullinane's suggestion that the Minister for Health is...

Seanad: Order of Business. (21 Sep 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: Many Members would like him to attend so we can raise various issues with him directly. To suggest a Minister is hiding when there are so many important matters to deal with-----

Seanad: Order of Business. (21 Sep 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: It is a cheap shot to suggest a Minister is hiding from us. Will the Minister for Health ensure people such as young Meadhbh McGivern will not have to worry about how they get home when their transportation is arranged? Our thoughts are with Meadhbh as she recovers in London and with her brave parents. Without their decision to enter the public arena we would not have discovered the...