Results 341-360 of 873 for speaker:Averil Power

Seanad: Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Committee Stage (17 Jul 2013)

Averil Power: I thank Senators O'Donnell and Mac Conghail for tabling these amendments which I strongly support. Like many other Members of the House, I met several of the women from the Terminations for Medical Reasons, TFMR, group who have gone through the terrifying and upsetting experience of having babies with fatal foetal abnormalities. I listened to their heart-breaking stories. These ladies...

Seanad: Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Committee Stage (17 Jul 2013)

Averil Power: We will not get to amendments Nos, 4, 37 and 38 until after we finish this grouping and start the next one.

Seanad: Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Committee Stage (17 Jul 2013)

Averil Power: The Minister indicated that this had not been established from a constitutional perspective and there has not been a Supreme Court case. We put legislation through this House every day that enjoys the presumption of constitutionality. We work on the basis of advice from the Attorney General or other counsel, and we assume that the interpretation we work with is consistent with the...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: National Asthma Programme (23 Jul 2013)

Averil Power: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. The national asthma programme was developed in 2010, modelled on a successful pilot project carried out by the Asthma Society of Ireland. The aim of the programme is to bring about a reduction in asthma deaths by 90% over ten years and a 10% reduction in hospital admissions, out of hours and emergency department visits over three years. This...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: National Asthma Programme (23 Jul 2013)

Averil Power: I thank the Minister of State for the positive tone of his reply. I welcome the fact that he met with representatives of the society last week. This is a very important issue and I am glad that it is a priority for the Minister of State heading into the budget process. I am encouraged by his response. The Minister of State mentioned that it is hoped that the model of care will be prepared...

Seanad: An Bille um an Tríú Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (Cúirt Achomhairc) 2013: Céim an Choiste agus na Céimeanna a bheidh Fágtha - Thirty-third Amendment of the Constitution (Court of Appeal) Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (24 Jul 2013)

Averil Power: I commend the Minister for bringing forward this Bill. It is very important legislation. The Supreme Court is completely overburdened at the moment, with 121 judgments considered last year, which is twice the number that went through the US Supreme Court. The Minister strongly made the point in his speech that justice delayed is justice denied. As things stand, people are waiting four...

Seanad: SI 325 of 2012 - European Union (Quality and Safety of Human Organs Intended for Transplantation) Regulations 2012: Motion (20 Aug 2013)

Averil Power: I will be brief. Most of the points I had intended to make have been made by other Members in the past few hours. I do not wish to repeat them. I commend Senator Daly on introducing this motion and on facilitating this extremely important debate. I share the views of those on both sides of the House who have said that this will be a job well done - it will have been worth it for us all to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Down's Syndrome Education Equality: Discussion (11 Sep 2013)

Averil Power: I thank Professor Buckley for her presentation, which I found very interesting along with her interaction with the members, Ms Griffin and Ms Grant. If I have taken her up correctly, Professor Buckley appears to be saying that a properly organised and resourced generalised system is better than one that is overly individualised. What we had before the general allocation was that every child...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Down's Syndrome Education Equality: Discussion (11 Sep 2013)

Averil Power: Are any of them more frequent than Down's syndrome?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Down's Syndrome Education Equality: Discussion (11 Sep 2013)

Averil Power: Does one then end up with-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Down's Syndrome Education Equality: Discussion (11 Sep 2013)

Averil Power: From an enrolment perspective, would one end up with the risk that some schools become identified as the ones that have the resources because they tend to have a higher incidence of children with special needs? That links up with the other issue we are trying to address as part of the education system, namely, the fact that not all schools are taking children with special needs and reaching...

Seanad: Junior Cycle Reform: Motion (18 Sep 2013)

Averil Power: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank the Independent Senators and Taoiseach's nominees for tabling the motion. As previous speakers noted, history is an extremely important subject, not only in terms of understanding the past but also in terms of the generic skills it provides, which are useful across the curriculum. The Minister places great emphasis on literacy....

Seanad: Services for People with Disabilities: Motion (25 Sep 2013)

Averil Power: I move: That Seanad Éireann: recognises - - the fact that there are over 600,000 people with disabilities in Ireland; - the deep concern among those with disabilities that services affecting them are being cut or reduced further; and - that it is unfair and unjust to cut services for people with disabilities;notes pledges in the Programme for Government to -- ensure that the quality of...

Seanad: Services for People with Disabilities: Motion (25 Sep 2013)

Averil Power: Members on all sides of the House in the course of that debate expressed sympathy for the people involved and said that they wished the cuts had not happened and that they would lobby Ministers after the event to have them overturned, but the cut stands. All we are asking is that, ahead of the budget, Members put pressure on Ministers to avoid a similar situation happening again. Other cuts...

Seanad: Services for People with Disabilities: Motion (25 Sep 2013)

Averil Power: It not a fair message to the parents. We must all accept economic realities. However, there are alternatives, and last year we proposed an alternative budget that reached the same overall target as the one implemented by the Government but that protected services, including mental health services and those for people with disabilities. We will do the same again this year. All we ask is...

Seanad: Services for People with Disabilities: Motion (25 Sep 2013)

Averil Power: I thank all those who contributed to the debate. As I said at the start, this is an issue that should cross party lines. I appreciate that members of all parties feel strongly about the need to protect services for people with disabilities. I had hoped, when we tabled this Private Members' motion last week, that there would not be a Government counter-motion and that we would all be able...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Sep 2013)

Averil Power: Will the Acting Leader of the House raise with the Government the issue of whether Ireland highlighted at this week's Council of Europe meeting in Strasbourg Russia's anti-gay laws, which were introduced by its Government earlier in the year? Senator Bacik has expressed concerns about this issue publicly. I have written to the Tánaiste about it on a number of occasions. It is...

Seanad: Tackling Bullying in Schools: Statements (Resumed) (26 Sep 2013)

Averil Power: I welcome the Minister to the House. He has been here on several occasions in the past year and a half to discuss the issue of bullying and mental health among young people, which reflects both the priority he has brought to this issue since he became Minister for Education and Skills and the interest that Senators have taken in it. During statements, in Private Members' time and when...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Garda Operations (26 Sep 2013)

Averil Power: Today is Arthur's day, the annual event where Diageo encourages people to go to the pub and raise a toast to Arthur. The company has spent a significant amount on advertising, promotions and live music with the objective of getting as many people as possible to drink Guinness tonight. The vast majority of people will have a fun and safe night out. They will have a few pints, listen to live...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Garda Operations (26 Sep 2013)

Averil Power: I thank the Minister. I appreciate he is responding for the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter. I am surprised, as the Minister has said, that the Department of Justice and Equality is not able to get figures from the Garda Síochána about the extra staff working tonight. I have spoken to gardaí working in different stations across Dublin city and they have...