Results 1-20 of 4,168 for speaker:Susan O'Keeffe

Seanad: Order of Business. (1 Jun 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: I welcome some of the younger people who have just arrived in the Visitors Gallery. I am sure some of them may be Senators in time to come if we can ensure the future of the Seanad. At the risk of overburdening the Minister for Health, I ask that he attend this House to discuss the future reconfiguration of hospitals. There has been much discussion throughout the country about the way in...

Seanad: Tourism Sector: Motion (1 Jun 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: I thank the Minister for coming to the House to discuss this issue with us. I commend the Government's initiatives so far in relation to tourism. It is perhaps fair to say it is at local level that we will succeed. It is, after all, the product people come here for. When people from China or India arrive here, they want to enjoy themselves. In that regard, I commend the launch tomorrow...

Seanad: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2011 (Certified Money Bill): Second Stage (15 Jun 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Creighton, to the Chamber. I particularly welcome the optimism expressed in the contribution made this afternoon by the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes. The idea of turning a corner or of looking to the future or for things to be positive always is welcome. As for the research and development tax credit in particular, I intend to return to the...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Jun 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: I ask the Leader to invite the Minister, Deputy Deenihan, to demand that Ulysses be rewritten to ensure Leopold Bloom visits Dublin Airport on Bloomsday. I commend Senator Norris on his suggestion that Terminal 2 be renamed "James Joyce terminal". On a more serious note, I would like to express my disappointment at the constant absence of the mammogram service from Sligo General Hospital. I...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Jun 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: There is deepening concern in Sligo, as there is in Roscommon, about what that might mean for the future of these hospitals. It needs to be treated as a matter of urgency.

Seanad: Seanad Reform: Motion (Resumed) (21 Jun 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: I will try not to exceed my time. However, I am heartened by Senator Norris's enthusiasm and for the perseverance shown by various Members of the House, before some of the new Members arrived, in the pursuit of change and reform. Perhaps it is easier to do this now that the notion of reform has extended well beyond the House and that the public is now pressing for it. We appear, in a...

Seanad: Seanad Reform: Motion (Resumed) (21 Jun 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: We should not invite them as some kind of favour, telling them that they can come to the Seanad to make their point. We should not dress up the idea of change or reform that we know the public wants. That is the first word of caution and I suggest we take advice from Vincent Browne, a man some of us in this room know well. Recently, on his television programme, he made a public appeal to...

Seanad: Seanad Reform: Motion (Resumed) (21 Jun 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: As a journalist for many years, I have talked about rounding up the usual suspects and I do not want to see the usual suspects in here. Some will be welcome but we should not fall back on those. The battle for light versus heat is at the heart of every debate and it should not favour heat. It is easy to look for heat because it is always a moment of car crash television. In return, I will...

Seanad: Housing Market: Motion (22 Jun 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House and for his considered response. The dilemma facing those in distress is that their financial future is now mapped out. It is almost set in stone and they have very little leeway. Therefore, neither do we have any option but to do something about it. We do not need to know again what the figures are. There is a bit of the cynic in me,...

Seanad: Housing Market: Motion (22 Jun 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: We need to be in a position very soon to debate some of the ideas that the Minister of State has been working on. Those people who tell us and the Minister of State about their concerns are our families, our neighbours and our friends. They are not the people out there. They are our people and therefore, if we tell them that this is under active review, they will shake their heads and say...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Jun 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: Tempers inside and outside the House are running very high in the health debate. Clearly, there are many issues to be raised concerning local and regional hospitals, cancer services and the moratorium on recruitment which is affecting the opening of the accident and emergency department in Letterkenny and other services. I spoke to a person in a very senior position in the mental health...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Jun 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: The House is entitled to express its outrage and concern about such behaviour, no matter where it occurs or who commented. We have that right and ought to use it. Will the Leader urge the Minister for Health to attend the House to at least give a progress report on the reconfiguration of hospitals and to address the points on the moratorium and the difficulties arising across the country? I...

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: I wish to share time with Senators Back and Higgins.

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: I thank the Minister for coming into the House. On foot of Senator Barrett's comments, we might dub him part of the Celtic troika.

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: Absolutely not. It is meant in the best possible taste. I am delighted to welcome the Minister and this Bill which places public service reform functions on a statutory basis for the first time. It seems extraordinary that it is the first time this has happened, so we welcome it as significant, albeit technical, legislation. There will be many opportunities in the months ahead for actions...

Seanad: Whistleblower Legislation: Motion (29 Jun 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "That"' and substitute the following: "Seanad Éireann noting the commitments in the Programme for Government in relation to introducing whistleblower protection — commends the Government's decision to introduce overarching legislation for enactment by the Oireachtas providing for good faith reporting and protected disclosure on a uniform...

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Jun 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: As a journalist of some years standing, perhaps I, too, need to go back and learn how to write. I understood the word "bonus" to mean something one is given for doing a good job. It seems that many people having been taking bonuses and doing a very bad job.

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Jun 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: I echo the calls on bonuses and the bonus culture, which do not belong in this time. If we are to pay bonuses in future they must be for a job well done, which is my understanding of the reason for a bonus. In the House on Tuesday I referred to temperatures rising on matters to do with health. It seems that temperatures are rising again and it is not good for the health of the people in...

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Jun 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: The Senator does himself a disservice.

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Jun 2011)

Susan O'Keeffe: I again ask the Deputy Leader to urge the Minister for Health to come to the House as a matter of urgency. It is clear that people are gathering in Portlaoise, Roscommon and across the country, concerned about hospitals. It is of concern to all of us because we do not need that kind of stress in the system and we do not need people gathering. Senator Whelan attended the meeting last night...