Results 321-340 of 873 for speaker:Averil Power

Seanad: Courts Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Jun 2013)

Averil Power: I accept the point, as the Minister stated at the outset, about the need to inform creditors that someone has been obliged to seek an insolvency arrangement. As the Minister indicated, people who are owed money by that person of course need to know what is the position and must be put on notice regarding the protective order to prevent them from being able to move against the borrower....

Seanad: Courts Bill 2013: Committee Stage (26 Jun 2013)

Averil Power: I strongly support Senator van Turnhout's amendment and thank her for putting so much research into best practice elsewhere in Europe and other jurisdictions. It is essential that we have a fair balance and, as the Senator pointed out, of course there must be the right to a fair trial. However, in doing so we must ensure that we do not necessarily re-victimise people by making the process...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Sporting Events (26 Jun 2013)

Averil Power: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Ring. The reason I tabled the motion is to discuss Limerick's bid to host the 2018 Gay Games and to specifically ask the Government to proactively endorse the bid and to do everything it can to ensure the bid is successful. The Gay Games is one of the largest participative sporting events in the world. It is the largest event that is open to...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Sporting Events (26 Jun 2013)

Averil Power: I appreciate the Minister of State's support and I recognise that the Department and Fáilte Ireland have been assisting. I would like to impress on the Minister of State the need to ensure personal endorsement at Government level while the selectors are here. I would ask the Minister of State or the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to meet them during that period and to use...

Seanad: Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (2 Jul 2013)

Averil Power: I second the amendment. As I said last week, the move towards greater transparency in the reporting of family law cases is good. There has been far too much secrecy and at times it has undermined people's faith in the system unnecessarily. It is good to have more reporting. However, it is important - this is the objective of the Bill - that this be done in a responsible way, that there be...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Youth Services Provision (2 Jul 2013)

Averil Power: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I wish to discuss the need for urgent accommodation for the Priorswood outreach service, Sphere 17. This service provides a wide range of services for young people from Darndale, Bonnybrook and Priorswood areas of Dublin 17, which is one of the most socially disadvantaged parts of the whole country. Last year, the service worked with over 1,250...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Youth Services Provision (2 Jul 2013)

Averil Power: I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I also thank him for his positive comments about Sphere 17. It is an excellent service and I am glad the Department appreciates that. Will he bring the recent break-in to the Minister's attention and the fact that the building in Priorswood cannot be used in order that she will be aware of the urgency of this application? Will he extend an...

Seanad: Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (2 Jul 2013)

Averil Power: I second the amendment. As I said last week, the move towards greater transparency in the reporting of family law cases is good. There has been far too much secrecy and at times it has undermined people's faith in the system unnecessarily. It is good to have more reporting. However, it is important - this is the objective of the Bill - that this be done in a responsible way, that there be...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Youth Services Provision (2 Jul 2013)

Averil Power: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I wish to discuss the need for urgent accommodation for the Priorswood outreach service, Sphere 17. This service provides a wide range of services for young people from Darndale, Bonnybrook and Priorswood areas of Dublin 17, which is one of the most socially disadvantaged parts of the whole country. Last year, the service worked with over 1,250...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Youth Services Provision (2 Jul 2013)

Averil Power: I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I also thank him for his positive comments about Sphere 17. It is an excellent service and I am glad the Department appreciates that. Will he bring the recent break-in to the Minister's attention and the fact that the building in Priorswood cannot be used in order that she will be aware of the urgency of this application? Will he extend an...

Seanad: Further Education and Training Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Jul 2013)

Averil Power: Will the Minister of State provide further clarification on when it is expected FÁS will be dissolved, with particular reference to arrangements in the interim? Given that the VECs have evolved into education and training boards, what will be the relationship between the boards and FÁS in the intervening period, particularly in respect of the training aspect of their brief and how...

Seanad: Further Education and Training Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Jul 2013)

Averil Power: I thank the Minister of State for his response. I acknowledge that a considerable amount of preparatory work has been done over the lead-in period. It is important that the transition is as seamless as possible, particularly in respect of amalgamating courses and getting rid of the duplication that existed in the past. This is very progressive legislation and we strongly support it because...

Seanad: Further Education and Training Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Jul 2013)

Averil Power: I welcome the passage of this Bill. It is the third Bill on further education we have taken in recent months as part of a process of improving co-ordination across the sector and ensuring that individuals can access education and courses that meet their employment and personal development needs. As we conclude, I would like to mention the importance of community education. It is very...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Issues Facing Small Primary Schools: Discussion (3 Jul 2013)

Averil Power: I cannot say that I will throw any bombshells but I must also go. I am sorry but I will read the transcripts.

Seanad: An Bille um an Dara Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (Deireadh a Chur le Seanad Éireann) 2013: An Dara Céim (Atógáil): An Dara Céim (Atógáil) - Thirty-second Amendment of the Constitution (Abolition of Seanad Éireann) Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed): Second Stage (Resumed) (4 Jul 2013)

Averil Power: I welcome the Minister of State to the House today. Like other Members I do not believe that the Seanad should stay as it is. It has been an enormous privilege for me to be here for the past two years. I am extremely grateful to the members of the county councils around the country who elected me. It was a tough campaign, harder than the general election campaign, believe it or not, for a...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Visa Applications (4 Jul 2013)

Averil Power: I would like to thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to discuss the issue I have raised today, the issue of visitor access from China and the visa regime for Chinese visitors. Over the past few years, great emphasis has been put by the current Government and the previous government on improving relations with China and on the effort to encourage more Chinese people to visit...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Visa Applications (4 Jul 2013)

Averil Power: I thank the Minister of State for his reply on behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality. It is welcome that a new, more liberal multi-entry visa system was put in place last year and that the Minister will examine how we can develop it further. I appreciate that it is new, so there are probably some teething problems in rolling it out. As I said, I have written to the Minister to...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Visa Applications (4 Jul 2013)

Averil Power: I would like to thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to discuss the issue I have raised today, the issue of visitor access from China and the visa regime for Chinese visitors. Over the past few years, great emphasis has been put by the current Government and the previous government on improving relations with China and on the effort to encourage more Chinese people to visit...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Visa Applications (4 Jul 2013)

Averil Power: I thank the Minister of State for his reply on behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality. It is welcome that a new, more liberal multi-entry visa system was put in place last year and that the Minister will examine how we can develop it further. I appreciate that it is new, so there are probably some teething problems in rolling it out. As I said, I have written to the Minister to...

Seanad: Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed) (16 Jul 2013)

Averil Power: I welcome the opportunity to contribute on this important legislation. I was an adopted person. I have always been deeply conflicted on the issue of abortion. When people speak about unwanted pregnancies I cannot but reflect on the fact that I was one. I was the unplanned daughter of a single woman for whom keeping me was never a real option in the Ireland of 1978. I am grateful for the...