Results 81-100 of 1,013 for speaker:Colette Kelleher

Seanad: Clarification on Statements made by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs: Statements (15 Feb 2017)

Colette Kelleher: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Clarification on Statements made by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs: Statements (15 Feb 2017)

Colette Kelleher: I thank the Minister for coming in to make her statement. I speak as a Senator with a background as a social worker. The children of Ireland need and deserve supports and protections, particularly when things go wrong and especially when children need others to step in to safeguard and protect them. We need a children's safeguarding system that works, that has the competence and resources...

Seanad: Clarification on Statements made by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs: Statements (15 Feb 2017)

Colette Kelleher: Does the Minister have confidence in Tusla?

Seanad: Recent Education Announcements: Statements (21 Feb 2017)

Colette Kelleher: I welcome the action plan for education and particularly the focus on the disadvantaged. My first job was in Finglas, working in the Youth Encounter project, which involved looking after children who had dropped out of mainstream education. That theme has followed me throughout my working life. I worked in England setting up Sure Start centres which focussed on educational disadvantage....

Seanad: Recent Education Announcements: Statements (21 Feb 2017)

Colette Kelleher: I am referring to second level.

Seanad: Recent Education Announcements: Statements (21 Feb 2017)

Colette Kelleher: Children are missing out.

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (22 Feb 2017)

Colette Kelleher: Perhaps the targets in the 2016 customer service charter of the Department of Justice and Equality could be looked at. It seems to me that a commitment to acknowledge all correspondence within five working days is achievable without adding a caveat like "where it is feasible to do so". We would be looking for such a prompt response from the Department.

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (22 Feb 2017)

Colette Kelleher: I fully endorse the proposal to take forward this petition by sending it to the Department of the Taoiseach. It could be argued strongly that making co-operation with President Trump's Administration conditional on human rights is very much a matter of public policy. I think many people in Ireland and elsewhere would agree with that view. I agree with the recommendation to send this...

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (22 Feb 2017)

Colette Kelleher: Agreed.

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Mar 2017)

Colette Kelleher: I note that we will make history today in the Houses of the Oireachtas when statements will be made later on recognising and affirming Irish Travellers as a distinct and equal group of people in Irish society. Respect is at the heart of this recognition for a group of people who for too long have experienced prejudice and discrimination, as shown in shameful poor health, poor housing and...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)

Colette Kelleher: Will the Leader comment on Grace?

Seanad: Domestic Violence Bill 2017: Second Stage (1 Mar 2017)

Colette Kelleher: I thank the Tánaiste for coming to the House today. I welcome the introduction of the Domestic Violence Bill 2017 and the opportunity to provide some feedback on its contents. Like the Minister, my background is in social work, in both Ireland and England, and I know that domestic violence cuts across class, region and age. One of the statistics that stood out for me when I was...

Committee on Public Petitions: Business of Joint Committee (8 Mar 2017)

Colette Kelleher: As we have a quorum of four members, we will commence the meeting and we are in public session. I wish to inform members that an apology has been received from the Chairman, Deputy Sean Sherlock. I also wish to advice members that Standing Order 93(3) of Dáil Éireann states:In the unavoidable absence of the Chairman, the vice-Chairman shall perform the duties devolved upon, and...

Committee on Public Petitions: Business of Joint Committee (8 Mar 2017)

Colette Kelleher: Those apologies are noted. Members are requested to ensure that for the duration of the meeting their mobile phones are turned off completely or switched to flight or safe mode, depending on the device. It is not sufficient for members to just put their phones on silent mode as this will maintain the level of interference with the broadcasting system. I propose that we go into private...

Committee on Public Petitions: Promoting Awareness of the Public Petitions Process: Discussion (8 Mar 2017)

Colette Kelleher: We are resuming in public session. We will now deal with the issue of promoting awareness of the public petitions process. I thank the witnesses for attending. Before we commence the discussion, I remind members, witnesses and those in the Public Gallery to turn off their mobile phones. I formally welcome Ms Angela Black, chief executive of the Citizens Information Board, Mr. Graham...

Committee on Public Petitions: Promoting Awareness of the Public Petitions Process: Discussion (8 Mar 2017)

Colette Kelleher: I thank Ms Black for a very comprehensive overview of the work of the Citizens Information Board, as well as specific ideas and suggestions on how this committee could work with the CIB and other organisations to promote public petitions. We will now take questions from committee members.

Committee on Public Petitions: Promoting Awareness of the Public Petitions Process: Discussion (8 Mar 2017)

Colette Kelleher: It is interesting to explore trends. Ms Black has a bird's eye view from the perspective of citizens regarding how everything is going for them. She made interesting comments about the depth and complexity of the queries. It is not, therefore, just about the numbers. There are also trends relating to people's financial circumstances. The board has made good suggestions to the committee,...

Committee on Public Petitions: Promoting Awareness of the Public Petitions Process: Discussion (8 Mar 2017)

Colette Kelleher: All those suggestions would be gratefully received. The committee had a public policy remit and we are arguing the toss about having that reinstated. If it is, are there public policy issues that would be useful for us to explore? Ms Black may wish to consider that and come back to us because the board encounters a great number of people with many issues. Deputies Cassells and Mitchell...

Committee on Public Petitions: Promoting Awareness of the Public Petitions Process: Discussion (8 Mar 2017)

Colette Kelleher: That would be great. With regard to extending the committee's remit, there was a question about us bringing forward our pet projects. The Deputies and I are concerned about many issues but that is not the point of this forum. However, the petitions must be evidence-based and come from individual queries which are grouped together and analysed to establish whether are trends and public...

Committee on Public Petitions: Promoting Awareness of the Public Petitions Process: Discussion (8 Mar 2017)

Colette Kelleher: We would welcome the CIB continuing its dialogue with us regarding the practical suggestions outlined by Ms Black. Perhaps we can flesh those out and work together on the public policy ideas and on visibility. We do not want to do the board's job but we would like to link in and work on them through the board in order that citizens have access to this important part of Parliament and that...