Results 201-220 of 1,886 for speaker:Fergal Browne

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Feb 2007)

Fergal Browne: There is a serious element to this.

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Feb 2007)

Fergal Browne: There is an equality issue. Men are encountering problems accessing their children following marriage breakdown. We could include that in a general debate.

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Feb 2007)

Fergal Browne: I am not suggesting we should. I am merely suggesting we reflect on the ten years.

Seanad: Health (Nursing Homes) (Amendment) Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages (8 Feb 2007)

Fergal Browne: I move amendment No.1: In page 10, to delete the figure inserted by Government amendment No. 14 at Committee and substitute "€20,800". I again welcome the Minister of State and his officials to the House this week. I raised this point during the Committee Stage debate last week and the Minister of State should take it on board and accept it. On Committee Stage, the House amended the upper...

Seanad: Health (Nursing Homes) (Amendment) Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages (8 Feb 2007)

Fergal Browne: I am not happy with this Bill and can envisage it causing major problems for both HSE staff, who must try to work out rates of subvention, and patients and their families. The Minister should consider my earlier suggestion as a way to encourage private health insurers to give customers the option of paying extra for their premia——

Seanad: Health (Nursing Homes) (Amendment) Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages (8 Feb 2007)

Fergal Browne: I wish to comment on the Bill following its passing. Not everybody ends up in a nursing home. I believe the figure is less than 10%. However, for those who do, it is very expensive and a mechanism for planning ahead will avoid having to take the family home into account. Selling it, whether before or after the person's death, will be awkward. I suggest that when the Government intends...

Seanad: Noise Pollution (8 Feb 2007)

Fergal Browne: Ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh an Aire. I am 33 years of age, which is not old, and I enjoy going out, but I get a pain in my ears and face in venues where the music is so loud that one cannot speak to people. If I wanted such, I would go to a rock concert, where it would be expected. Recently, I was in a small pub in west County Clare where the musician's speakers were almost as big...

Seanad: Noise Pollution (8 Feb 2007)

Fergal Browne: I thank the Minister for his reply but the last paragraph says it all. The Health Service Executive owes it to employees and patrons in venues to protect them. I would not like to be a bouncer working in a night club four nights a week having to endure such noise. It must be bad for their hearing and there is a need for guidelines for patrons and employees. As for going to local...

Seanad: Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (7 Feb 2007)

Fergal Browne: It is anticipated the UK overspill will be reduced from 2008 when the analogue switch-off is planned. However, UK services are already available to Irish viewers on cable, satellite and MMDS services. While I recognise the concerns of Senators about the availability of UK broadcasting services to Irish households, my primary aim is to create a legislative framework for Irish broadcasting...

Seanad: Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (7 Feb 2007)

Fergal Browne: I am advised some spillover will occur, especially in Border areas, but not as much as happens at present.

Seanad: Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (7 Feb 2007)

Fergal Browne: Unfortunately, the British have decided to switch off and it is outside our control.

Seanad: Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (7 Feb 2007)

Fergal Browne: As the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Noel Dempsey, stated, the Irish public has long enjoyed the happy accident of the overspill of UK analogue services. The UK will switch off these services over the next five years. This has nothing to do with the roll-out of Irish DTT. It is simply the actions of the UK authorities in planning for their spectrum use....

Seanad: Health (Nursing Homes) (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (1 Feb 2007)

Fergal Browne: I move amendment No. 1: In page 5, between lines 24 and 25, to insert the following: "(5) (a) A person applying for a subvention, or a person acting on his or her behalf, may appeal, to an appeals officer designated by the Minister, on the grounds of—— (i) his or her means and circumstances, or (ii) any abatement of the rate of subvention to that person of the maximum rate appropriate to...

Seanad: Health (Nursing Homes) (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (1 Feb 2007)

Fergal Browne: I move amendment No. 11: In page 9, between lines 1 and 2, to insert the following: "(8)(a) A person whose degree of dependency or means are assessed by a person, or a person acting on behalf of that dependent person, may appeal, to an appeals officer designated by the Minister on the grounds that he or she is not satisfied that his or her means and circumstances were adequately, properly or...

Seanad: Health (Nursing Homes) (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (1 Feb 2007)

Fergal Browne: I accept the idea behind the amendment but how do we safeguard patients who might otherwise be caught in the crossfire? If they are in a nursing home, their first choice may well be a public bed, but the reality is that they would be hard-pressed even to get a private one. If they are in such a private nursing home and apply for a subvention, it is difficult to do so successfully and now...

Seanad: Health (Nursing Homes) (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (1 Feb 2007)

Fergal Browne: I see a potential difficulty in the case of nursing homes changing hands. The patient might be there during the tenures of both owners and be caught in the crossfire. Perhaps the HSE might give special consideration to that scenario. In the case of a nursing home being taken over, there might be a delay in eliciting a tax clearance certificate from the new owners. The bottom line is that...

Seanad: Health (Nursing Homes) (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (1 Feb 2007)

Fergal Browne: The greatest difficulty with the Bill is plotting the Dublin area against non-Dublin areas. The Minister of State is from County Kildare and does not need a lecture from me. Carlow belongs more in the greater Dublin area than in the south east. Our colleagues in Waterford could not give a damn about us except when it suits them to include us in the south east. Otherwise we are completely...

Seanad: Health (Nursing Homes) (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (1 Feb 2007)

Fergal Browne: What about index-linking the payments?

Seanad: Health (Nursing Homes) (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (1 Feb 2007)

Fergal Browne: I wish to return to the issue of index-linking, which puzzles me. If a pensioner lives in Dublin in a house worth more than €500,000, or outside Dublin in a house worth €366,000, is the Government indicating that there is no entitlement to subvention? What is such a person meant to do instead?

Seanad: Health (Nursing Homes) (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (1 Feb 2007)

Fergal Browne: A person may have lived in an area all their life and there could be some family relations in the vicinity. Is that person meant to sell the house and move to a different part of the country which may be affordable but has no family or friend support? What if the person is in their 80s or 90s? It is a difficulty and I am puzzled by it. The €10,400 figure is equal to the State pension....