Results 221-240 of 873 for speaker:Averil Power

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Student Grant Application System: Discussion with SUSI (13 Nov 2012)

Averil Power: That is not what I asked. I asked how many extra staff would be needed to clear the backlog by December and how many extra staff SUSI has asked for to date.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Student Grant Application System: Discussion with SUSI (13 Nov 2012)

Averil Power: In regard to providing services in colleges, during my time as an elected representative at Trinity College, the students' union, and its welfare officers in particular, were at the front line of helping students. I understand that SUSI has not yet put a system in place, which is a big gap. Will Ms Stewart consider putting such a system in place so that student union welfare officers can...

Seanad: Measures to Address Bullying: Motion (14 Nov 2012)

Averil Power: I welcome the Minister to the House. I also welcome the motion and the initiative taken by my Fine Gael colleagues in tabling it. Fianna Fáil fully supports it and has not tabled an amendment. It is important for my party to support it and not to put the matter to a vote. I express my sympathy and that of my colleagues to the families of those who have lost loved ones to suicide in recent...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Forthcoming Education, Youth and Culture Council: Discussion with Minister for Education and Skills (14 Nov 2012)

Averil Power: I thank the Minister for his presentation. I am glad there is such a spotlight on education as part of our Presidency and that it will be at the heart of the EU's 2020 strategy. That is crucial, particularly in the context of tackling issues such as mobility, youth unemployment and issues in which there is a great deal of value added at the European level. We must have our own strategies,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Forthcoming Education, Youth and Culture Council: Discussion with Minister for Education and Skills (14 Nov 2012)

Averil Power: It concerned what we see as being the challenges. The briefing note identifies it as a priority issue and that we want to see progress in modernisation. What does the Minister see as being the key challenges at present? With the system for recognising professional qualifications that was put in place, mobility has presumably improved. However, are there particular areas that are dragging...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Forthcoming Education, Youth and Culture Council: Discussion with Minister for Education and Skills (14 Nov 2012)

Averil Power: I meant liberalising, not protecting. I probably did not explain it properly. Are there areas where we feel that Irish professionals with qualifications are not getting access in other states that they should do because they have difficulty in getting their qualifications recognised?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Social, Personal and Health Education Curriculum: Discussion with Comhairle na nÓg (14 Nov 2012)

Averil Power: I thank the representatives of Comhairle na nÓg for coming in and for their presentation. I was delighted to see the emphasis on mental health. For the last several months Deputy McConalogue and I have been working on a paper on youth mental health for which we spent the summer consulting groups such as Headstrong, Jigsaw and student councils to find out what works. We found that...

Seanad: National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012: Second Stage (27 Nov 2012)

Averil Power: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and welcome the Bill. Fianna Fáil broadly supports the measures outlined in the legislation to clarify and consolidate the vetting process. We have, however, two concerns about the inclusion of childminders who are working on a commercial basis and the provision of sufficient resources to back up the measures outlined in the Bill. The Bill...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Reform of Third Level Education: Discussion (28 Nov 2012)

Averil Power: I thank the delegations for their presentations. I accept savings have to be squeezed out across the year rather than the academic year. I would not necessarily agree with squeezing courses to make them shorter, however. There is significant potential in that third level teaching buildings are empty for up to half of the year and we could be running two terms within a year. Is there an...

Seanad: Statute of Limitations (Amendment) (Home Remediation-Pyrite) Bill 2012: Second Stage (5 Dec 2012)

Averil Power: I welcome the Minister of State to the House for this important debate. As Senator O'Brien has pointed out, this is a short and straightforward Bill. It is designed simply to stop the clock running against families who have been affected by pyrite and to ensure there will not be a legal impediment to them getting justice and having their homes remediated. This issue has been ongoing for a...

Seanad: Statute of Limitations (Amendment) (Home Remediation-Pyrite) Bill 2012: Second Stage (5 Dec 2012)

Averil Power: Indeed.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Equality for Customers of Department of Social Protection: Discussion with Transgender Equality Network Ireland (5 Dec 2012)

Averil Power: I apologise for being late; I was speaking on a Bill in the Seanad. I have met Mr. Giambrone a couple of times to discuss this issue and the group will know from that and from my correspondence with the Minister for Social Protection that I fully support the group's work on this. It is beyond time we gave proper recognition to transgender people and I share the views that have been...

Seanad: Report of the Expert Group on the Judgment in the A, B and C v. Ireland Case: Statements (6 Dec 2012)

Averil Power: As an adopted person, I have always been deeply conflicted on the issue of abortion. When people speak about unwanted pregnancies, I cannot help but to reflect on the fact that I was the unplanned daughter of a single woman. When she became pregnant in 1978, she did not have the option of keeping me such that I could grow up as part of her family. I am grateful that through adoption I was...

Seanad: Report of the Expert Group on the Judgment in the A, B and C v. Ireland Case: Statements (6 Dec 2012)

Averil Power: I appreciate that abortion is an emotive and sensitive issue. I understand some Members of this House, including some members of my own party, to which Senator Jim Walsh will attest when he makes his contribution, have deeply-held moral or religious objections to abortion in any circumstance. However, as legislators, we have a responsibility to uphold the Constitution and it is clear from...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Dec 2012)

Averil Power: That might need to be connected in a Government context to the introduction of regulation to cover particular people working in the child care sector. Proper regulation and a registration system for nannies and au pairs, for example, has been called for. Perhaps it needs to be connected with that. I had hoped that, at least if the Minister rejected the amendments on the basis of their lack...

Seanad: National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (12 Dec 2012)

Averil Power: I move amendment No. 1: In page 8, paragraph (a), between lines 4 and 5, to insert the following:?(v) in their individual capacity, engages in the provision of child-minding services for reward for any period of time, to include persons who engage in the provision of a nanny and/or au pair service or similar such service whether in their own home or in the home of their employer,?.I welcome...

Seanad: National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (12 Dec 2012)

Averil Power: I am disappointed by the Minister's response. I accept his point about casual arrangements which is why I referred in my opening contribution to local teenagers or family members. It was never our intention to include such arrangements. There is, however, a world of difference between that and someone who works as a nanny or an au pair. There have been high profile cases, in this country...

Seanad: National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (12 Dec 2012)

Averil Power: I move amendment No. 1: In page 8, paragraph (a), between lines 4 and 5, to insert the following:?(v) in their individual capacity, engages in the provision of child-minding services for reward for any period of time, to include persons who engage in the provision of a nanny and/or au pair service or similar such service whether in their own home or in the home of their employer,?.I welcome...

Seanad: National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (12 Dec 2012)

Averil Power: I am disappointed by the Minister's response. I accept his point about casual arrangements which is why I referred in my opening contribution to local teenagers or family members. It was never our intention to include such arrangements. There is, however, a world of difference between that and someone who works as a nanny or an au pair. There have been high profile cases, in this country...

Seanad: National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (12 Dec 2012)

Averil Power: As I stated in my opening contribution, it was never our intention for this to cover informal family or neighbour relationships. I thought I had made that clear. The Minister stated that he accepts the spirit but not the wording. I indicated that I would like to get guidance from him as to how we could improve the wording. Senator Ó Clochartaigh has provided an excellent alternative which...