Results 121-140 of 309 for speaker:Keith Swanick

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Sep 2017)

Keith Swanick: I echo the sentiments of my colleague. Democracy is sacred and from it flows all other rights and freedoms. The peaceful co-existence across the EU and the senseless carnage of two world wars remind us that democracy, elections, and dialogue are always preferable to war and violence.The Catalan Parliament has called a referendum, to be held on Sunday, 1 October, with a simple binary...

Seanad: National Disability Inclusion Strategy 2017-2021: Statements (26 Sep 2017)

Keith Swanick: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I am glad to see on Twitter today that #MakeWayDay has been trending. Stickers have been placed on objects which have obstructed access for people with disabilities. As a society, we all have to be more mindful of this. Fianna Fáil welcomes the publication of the new strategy but, at the end of the day, it is the Government’s...

Seanad: National Disability Inclusion Strategy 2017-2021: Statements (26 Sep 2017)

Keith Swanick: Will the Minister of State keep Members of both Houses updated in regard to progress on signing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities?

Seanad: National Disability Inclusion Strategy 2017-2021: Statements (26 Sep 2017)

Keith Swanick: Will the Minister of State keep Members of both Houses updated in regard to progress on signing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities?

Seanad: National Disability Inclusion Strategy 2017-2021: Statements (26 Sep 2017)

Keith Swanick: I thank the Minister of State.

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Oct 2017)

Keith Swanick: I think we are all in agreement that homelessness is destroying lives in Ireland. As many as 3,000 children now live in emergency accommodation, which is profoundly shocking because we have been told that resources are not an issue for this crisis. As a physician I have considered the human cost of this crisis, including research from Harvard University. I have learned that the type of...

Seanad: Nursing Homes Support Scheme: Statements (3 Oct 2017)

Keith Swanick: The fair deal scheme is fundamentally a good scheme and the former Tánaiste and Minister for Health, Mary Harney, deserves credit for its introduction. It was, of course, introduced at a time when there was a desperate need for a solution to the financial hardship faced by people who had to sell their homes, in some cases to pay up to €1,000 a month in fees for private nursing...

Seanad: Nursing Homes Support Scheme: Statements (3 Oct 2017)

Keith Swanick: Would the Minister of State agree with me that we cannot really make the necessary changes within the fair deal system or regarding home care provision without liaising with some of the stakeholders that provide that care, be it the general practitioners, GPs, or the public health nurses? Often within the Department, through no fault of anyone, there can be disjointed thinking. Will the...

Seanad: Nursing Homes Support Scheme: Statements (3 Oct 2017)

Keith Swanick: -----multidisciplinary team members? Will he look at that in the coming weeks?

Seanad: Nursing Homes Support Scheme: Statements (3 Oct 2017)

Keith Swanick: Especially the public health nurses?

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Post Office Network (4 Oct 2017)

Keith Swanick: I welcome the Minister, Deputy Naughten, to the House. I thank him for coming in to discuss this very important and worrying issue. Senator Conway raised this same issue during yesterday's Order of Business, which shows that there is cross-party support for immediate action in this regard. As the Minister will know, there are 1,100 post offices throughout the State and reports have claimed...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Post Office Network (4 Oct 2017)

Keith Swanick: I thank the Minister for his comprehensive answer. As he said, An Post lost €13.7 million. The more services we provide in the post office, the more profitable it will be. At the end of the day, we are about serving communities and people who may not have a voice. It saddens me to think that elderly people are being disenfranchised because of the long distances. I acknowledge the...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Post Office Network (4 Oct 2017)

Keith Swanick: When does the Minister think the review will be complete?

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Oct 2017)

Keith Swanick: All Senators will have heard me talk of investments of public moneys in the tobacco industry. It is something I have raised time and time again. For over a year I have been working with Deputy Seán Fleming, who has done great work with me to expose this hypocrisy. Colleagues here have unanimously passed motions on this topic and I thank them for doing so. Last year, through Deputy...

Seanad: Mental Health Services: Motion (4 Oct 2017)

Keith Swanick: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, to the House. I congratulate Senator Freeman on her election as Chair of the Joint Committee on the Future of Mental Health Care and I commend her on bringing this motion before the House. It is unfortunate that she has had to introduce a motion asking the Government to spend money that has been allocated for vital and often lifesaving...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Adult Safeguarding: Discussion (4 Oct 2017)

Keith Swanick: I will be brief because I have tabled a Commencement matter in the Seanad. My colleague will remain to hear the answer to my question. I commend Senator Kelleher for the legislation, which is excellent. Mr. Taylor mentioned elderly people being shoehorned into nursing homes and I totally agree with him. From my own experience as a GP, I think there is a widespread practice of what we call...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Oct 2017)

Keith Swanick: I applaud all those people who visited their elderly neighbours yesterday and who asked them whether they needed any groceries from the shop before the storm hit, who helped them secure their homes and who ensured they had torches or candles at hand should the power fail. These are small actions which made an enormous difference. It is unfortunate that it takes something such as a major...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Emergency Planning (18 Oct 2017)

Keith Swanick: First, I extend my condolences to the families of Clare O'Neill, Michael Pyke and Fintan Goss who lost their lives in Storm Ophelia. The loss of their lives is a fitting reminder of the dangers that extreme weather events can cause. We must all pay tribute to the phenomenal emergency services workers who went to work as usual on Monday, leaving their own families behind to ensure the safety...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Emergency Planning (18 Oct 2017)

Keith Swanick: I welcome the potential for an all-party solution. Those of us who work in the emergency services respond when the bleep goes off. We treat the patient who presents in front of us. We deal with the fire and do our best. It is not the time to examine the causes during the emergency, but in the cold light of day one often thinks about what is called contributory negligence. Surely if a...

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Oct 2017)

Keith Swanick: I congratulate all involved in the report on children's mental health, particularly the parents who bravely recounted their stories to the committee. Tomorrow, 19 October, marks the 18th anniversary of the release of the Guildford Four by the Court of Appeal in London. Their release in 1989 after 15 years imprisonment brought an end to what was considered one of the biggest miscarriages of...