Results 1-20 of 915 for speaker:Tom Clonan

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 May 2025)

Tom Clonan: I echo the call by Senator Fitzpatrick for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. I am particularly concerned that in the past few days Netanyahu's Government has called for a major call-up and mobilisation of Israel Defense Forces reservists. We are on the precipice of another major expansion of Israel's military operation in Gaza. Before I speak about the situation, I want to be clear that I...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 May 2025)

Tom Clonan: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (13 May 2025)

Tom Clonan: I echo the sympathies for Garda Flatley and his family. My father was a garda. I remember as a child that you expected your mum or dad to come home from work every day. I was particularly struck to hear in the reporting of the tragic incident that the number of gardaí who are injured in roads policing is up to 70 every year. I hope that the Commissioner and the representative...

Seanad: Higher Education: Motion (7 May 2025)

Tom Clonan: I thank Senator McCarthy for sharing time. I commend my colleagues on this motion and thank them for it. Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire agus déanaim comhghairdeas leis on his appointment to this portfolio. It was mentioned that the Department of further and higher education can be transformational. That is the case. I have two asks for the Minister in the brief time I have....

Seanad: Protection of Retail Workers Bill 2025: Second Stage (30 Apr 2025)

Tom Clonan: I thank the Minister for coming in. I commend this Bill and those who have proposed and seconded it. I echo comments concerning former Senator and current Deputy Malcolm Byrne who brought forward this legislation during the previous Administration. Retail workers are literally on the front line in our cities and towns. They are on the front line interacting with members of their...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Care Services (29 Apr 2025)

Tom Clonan: I thank the Minister of State for coming in. I want to raise here again the case of Caitlin Hassan. Caitlin's mum, Louise Hassan, is here in the Visitors Gallery. Caitlin Hassan was sexually assaulted while in the care of Avista healthcare. Since the assault she has had no supports and is currently at home with Louise. Caitlin is deeply traumatised and cannot dress or get out of the...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Care Services (29 Apr 2025)

Tom Clonan: I have the full consent of Louise and Caitlin Hassan, and this is a matter that has been covered on the public record in all the national newspapers and on RTÉ, the national broadcaster. All the parties have been named and all the detail has been published, and this is the reason we are here. Here is a family that has been completely failed by the State. To get the help and support...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Care Services (29 Apr 2025)

Tom Clonan: With no disrespect to the Minister of State, that response is wholly inadequate. Saying, "We do not comment on individual cases" or, "This is a matter for the relevant authorities" is a rhetorical device that is used by the HSE, the Department of Health and previous Ministers. These are the systemic failures identified quite clearly in the Grace case. When people like Louise and Caitlin...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (29 Apr 2025)

Tom Clonan: I raise the issue of Ireland's triple lock. Over the weekend, the Taoiseach said that he has no difficulty whatsoever bringing to the democratic Parliament of this Republic the proposal to remove the aggressor's veto. By that, the Taoiseach is referring to the veto of UN Security Council mandates and resolutions. I understand where he is coming from intellectually on that, but I ask that...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Visa Applications (9 Apr 2025)

Tom Clonan: I thank the Minister of State for coming along to take this Commencement matter. I want to raise the case of Jehad Sabah. He is a 57-year-old man. He has managed to get away from Gaza and all of the destruction there. He is currently being held at El Arish hospital in North Sinai in Egypt. Jehad's daughter, Walaa Sabah is here. Ahlan wa sahlan, I welcome her to this House. Jehad is...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Visa Applications (9 Apr 2025)

Tom Clonan: I thank the Minister of State. Jehad and Rina al Sabah are actually out of Gaza. That is the most critical aspect of this. They are now in northern Egypt and therefore some of the barriers and the obstacles to their liberation from what is effectively a ghetto, a concentration camp created by the Israeli military, have been removed. I am heartened to hear of the precedent of Palestinian...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (8 Apr 2025)

Tom Clonan: I echo the sympathies offered to Micko's family. As for the assertion that Kerry has had the best football team in history, I will just say “five in a row”. As someone who used to go to my grandmother in Killorglin, Kerry, in the 1970s, I remember the great rivalry between Dublin and Kerry, and Heffo's Army. However, the question of which football team was the greatest ever...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (8 Apr 2025)

Tom Clonan: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Disability Services: Statements (8 Apr 2025)

Tom Clonan: The Minister of State is welcome to the House and I congratulate her on her appointment to this important portfolio. According to the World Health Organization, everybody in this room, everybody outside and everybody in the world will have a disability for an average of between eight and ten years of their lifespan. For most of us, it comes at the end of life. Unfortunately for disabled...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (2 Apr 2025)

Tom Clonan: This week I want to raise the case of a 14-year-old boy in Tralee, County Kerry. His name is Daniel Collins.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (2 Apr 2025)

Tom Clonan: Let me be clear: I would never use the name of a family or a child without their express permission.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (2 Apr 2025)

Tom Clonan: Actually, it is an interesting point because this is the situation for disabled citizens in Ireland, where to get any kind of support or assistance, they have to go public with their situation.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (2 Apr 2025)

Tom Clonan: Hold on a minute, a Leas-Chathaoirligh. I have the permission of the parents, so I will not be impugned.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (2 Apr 2025)

Tom Clonan: I will not be impugned in this way. If anybody thinks that vindicating or advocating for the rights of a disabled child will somehow embarrass them in the future, that is an absolute disgrace. I call on you, a Leas-Chathaoirligh to withdraw the formula of words you have just used there and have them struck from the record, because I will not have my contributions here framed in that...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (2 Apr 2025)

Tom Clonan: No, you are not making it clear. You are making it unclear. You are creating an element of doubt. You are obfuscating, you are conflating and you are eliding, and I will not tolerate it.