Results 181-200 of 1,862 for speaker:Mary Seery Kearney

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Nov 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: All of us would agree the Covid vaccination programme was an extraordinary success. It has been fantastic. All of us queued up, got our vaccinations, stayed safe and were kept safe in the main. So it is worrying that today Professor Éamonn O’Moore, director of national health protection in the HSE, has said there has been a low uptake of vaccinations and that we need an urgent...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Assisted Dying: Access to Palliative Care and Social Supports: Discussion (21 Nov 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: I thank the witnesses for their statements, and also for the decades of incredibly hard work that has gone into the care of people. There is not one person in this room or listening to us who has not been touched in some way by a family member receiving beautiful and person-centred palliative care in a hospice. I commend the witnesses on that. What struck me in reading the opening...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Assisted Dying: Access to Palliative Care and Social Supports: Discussion (21 Nov 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: Kathryn Mannix is very strong on that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Assisted Dying: Access to Palliative Care and Social Supports: Discussion (21 Nov 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: I have mentioned Ms O'Reilly's movement.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Assisted Dying: Access to Palliative Care and Social Supports: Discussion (21 Nov 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: In principle, I am one of the people who, had I been asked, would have said I broadly support the choice of assisted dying. I do not want to give a misconception about myself. I differ from Deputy Higgins in that I think over these three sessions on coercion we have looked at mental health and discussed that. We have looked at palliative care supports and I hear the witnesses loud and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Assisted Dying: Access to Palliative Care and Social Supports: Discussion (21 Nov 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: I appreciate that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Assisted Dying: Access to Palliative Care and Social Supports: Discussion (21 Nov 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: I have two things. First, is it not reasonable that an individual, in anticipating their death and knowing they will have palliative care, would decide or want the option to decide that they would die while aware and that there would be a sense of being part of the saying goodbye? That is where I would see, perhaps, an option or choice of assisted dying appearing within palliative care,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Assisted Dying: Access to Palliative Care and Social Supports: Discussion (21 Nov 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: Somehow, that myth needs to be broken. The discussion needs to happen so that people know what death looks like rather than this preconception of how it will be painful, because that is not necessarily the case.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consideration of the Citizens' Assembly Report on a Directly Elected Mayor of Dublin: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Nov 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: I thank Deputy O Broin for letting me in and I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach for the elevation. I am a mere Senator, but I will take that as future intent. We have already had Mayor Higgins. I thank the assembly very much for its work. I find it inspiring. As a Dub, I feel we should declare independence. We are sick of Cork across all of these decades; let us just go with it. There...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consideration of the Citizens' Assembly Report on a Directly Elected Mayor of Dublin: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Nov 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: My apologies for cutting across Mr. O'Leary. Those are national issues that everyone around the country can own. This is about Dublin.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consideration of the Citizens' Assembly Report on a Directly Elected Mayor of Dublin: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Nov 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: I see what will happen with rural Independent Deputies down the road. This will go to the people of Dublin and they will vote in the plebiscite, which is great. Then there is the financing and everything which flows from that. My apologies for cutting across Mr. O'Leary, but then rural Independent Deputies will say "Look at the Dubs, they are getting everything for themselves", "Who are...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consideration of the Citizens' Assembly Report on a Directly Elected Mayor of Dublin: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Nov 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: We will hand over to Dr. Quinn, if she would like any final words. I am conscious that Deputy Matthews would like to contribute.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consideration of the Citizens' Assembly Report on a Directly Elected Mayor of Dublin: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Nov 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: I am among them.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consideration of the Citizens' Assembly Report on a Directly Elected Mayor of Dublin: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Nov 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: We can do what we want like.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consideration of the Citizens' Assembly Report on a Directly Elected Mayor of Dublin: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Nov 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: Would Ms O'Connor like to say any final words to finish off?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consideration of the Citizens' Assembly Report on a Directly Elected Mayor of Dublin: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Nov 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: That is great. I thank all the witnesses sincerely for their time, for all the work to get us even to today, and for the report.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Legislative Process (15 Nov 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: The Minister of State is very welcome and I thank him for taking this matter. I got an email of apology from the Department of Health regarding this, as it is a very important matter. I have no doubt the Minister of State will deal with it very properly. Last year in March the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill 2022 commenced in the Dáil. It passed Second Stage and moved on to...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Legislative Process (15 Nov 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: I will hold on to the words "in the coming weeks". I am aware from my own sources - and to be fair, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, is in regular touch with me as well - that that is actually faithful. I want to puncture one misleading piece in all this. We are not putting in a piece of legislation that has extrajudicial impact. We are saying if an Irish couple is going to pursue surrogacy...