Results 361-380 of 873 for speaker:Averil Power

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Special Educational Needs Provision: National Council for Special Education and Health Service Executive (16 Jul 2014)

Averil Power: Not really. I do not think we have progressed any further on this than when we started and I find that depressing, given the nature of the issue. Services have not improved and all we keep hearing is talk of process, though I mean no disrespect to the witnesses. If the 21 people referred to are recruited by the end of the year I will be the first to congratulate the witnesses. I am...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Special Educational Needs Provision: National Council for Special Education and Health Service Executive (16 Jul 2014)

Averil Power: I apologise because I will have to leave to vote. When will the full reconfiguration of services throughout the country be finished given that some of them are still only at consultation stage?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Special Educational Needs Provision: National Council for Special Education and Health Service Executive (16 Jul 2014)

Averil Power: With regard to the 21 posts and 20% increase to which Mr. Healy referred, what comparison was made?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Special Educational Needs Provision: National Council for Special Education and Health Service Executive (16 Jul 2014)

Averil Power: When services were lower than they were previously.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Special Educational Needs Provision: National Council for Special Education and Health Service Executive (16 Jul 2014)

Averil Power: How does this compare to 2011?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Special Educational Needs Provision: National Council for Special Education and Health Service Executive (16 Jul 2014)

Averil Power: The area I know best is north Dublin. A member of staff there went on maternity leave and was not replaced, and children were left without a service. This was entirely predictable and there should have automatically been a replacement but this did not happen. From raising this issue in the Seanad over the past three years I have learned there seems to be a difference between how many...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Special Educational Needs Provision: National Council for Special Education and Health Service Executive (16 Jul 2014)

Averil Power: When will these services actually be provided?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Special Educational Needs Provision: National Council for Special Education and Health Service Executive (16 Jul 2014)

Averil Power: I accept that Mr. Healy is working within resources but I have been asking the same questions for the past three years and getting exactly the same answers. We keep being told a process is under way, money has been allocated and people are being recruited. When will there actually be extra staff in north Dublin providing a service for the children who since November 2012 have not been able...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Special Educational Needs Provision: National Council for Special Education and Health Service Executive (16 Jul 2014)

Averil Power: I thank Mr. Healy and Ms Griffin for their opening remarks. I thank Teresa in particular for being very up-front in her presentation about the impact of this lack of services on children. It is totally unacceptable that whether a child receives a vital service is dependent on where he or she lives. This is very unfair to the children concerned. We know that children with special needs...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Special Educational Needs Provision: National Council for Special Education and Health Service Executive (16 Jul 2014)

Averil Power: Yes; that would be most helpful.

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Trade Relations (15 Jul 2014)

Averil Power: I thank the Minister of State for his reply and his assurance that he will raise the matter with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He stated that the decision to close the IDA office was made on commercial grounds, but there are strong commercial reasons to reopen it. The 2013 trade figures represent a drop in the ocean compared with what we could be achieving in Taiwan. It is a...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Trade Relations (15 Jul 2014)

Averil Power: I, too, welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Damien English, and congratulate him on his promotion, which is richly deserved. He is one of the few Members on the Government side who regularly makes the trek, as I often do, out to Ballymount. Anybody who is willing to go a few rounds with Vincent is more than able for the job the Minister of State has just been given. As Seanad spokesman...

Seanad: Civil Registration (Amendment) Bill 2014: Second Stage (15 Jul 2014)

Averil Power: I welcome the Tánaiste to the House. I congratulate her on her new position and particularly on being elected the first female leader of the Leader Party and on promotion to the position of Tánaiste. It is a considerable personal achievement to become the third female Tánaiste of the country. I wish her all the best in her role. The Bill contains a number of provisions on...

Seanad: Radiological Protection (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report and Final Stages (15 Jul 2014)

Averil Power: I second the amendment.

Seanad: State Airports (Shannon Group) Bill 2014: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (15 Jul 2014)

Averil Power: I would like to object in the strongest terms to this Bill. I welcome the new Minister and I regret he has come to the legislation at such a late stage because it is controversial. We have had a great deal of discussion on it. It is unprecedented for a Government to pass legislation to strip away the private pension rights of employees, to which they have made contributions over many...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (8 Jul 2014)

Averil Power: It is.

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (8 Jul 2014)

Averil Power: I propose an amendment to the Order of Business. I call for the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to come before the House today to discuss the Garth Brooks concerts and the economic impact a cancellation will have on Dublin city. Yesterday, I chaired a press conference in Buswells Hotel comprising the head of Dublin Chamber of Commerce, the Restaurants Association of Ireland, the...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Illegal Israeli Settlements (26 Jun 2014)

Averil Power: I thank the Minister of State for his reply on behalf of the Tánaiste. I welcome the signal from the Tánaiste that Ireland will move to introduce guidelines if it is not done at EU level. I appreciate that. I am concerned about that as that has been said since 2012 and it has not happened yet. I urge that it would be done as soon as possible. The reply from the Department...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Illegal Israeli Settlements (26 Jun 2014)

Averil Power: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy O'Dowd. Last year I visited the occupied Palestinian territories with Christian Aid and saw, at first hand, the impact of the illegal occupation of Palestinian lands and how Israel is using illegal settlements to undermine any real prospect of a two-state solution. We visited the South Jordan Valley, the land in which is both very fertile and valuable...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Adoption Services Provision (18 Jun 2014)

Averil Power: I thank the Minister of State, Deputy O'Dowd, for his reply. I appreciate that he was answering on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Charles Flanagan. Could he pass on my query about whether the information services he mentioned are additional? I hope they are, because there is an urgent need for extra services. This is the feedback I am receiving, and the Minister is probably getting...