Results 1-20 of 23 for speaker:Nicole Ryan

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

Nicole Ryan: I raise the increasingly urgent issue of access to youth mental health supports in rural villages, particularly in my constituency of Cork North-West. In towns across the constituency like Kanturk, Millstreet and Charleville, parents have been contacting me in despair about the lack of timely access to CAMHS. We are seeing long waiting lists - some for months, if not years - for younger...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Further and Higher Education (1 Apr 2025)

Nicole Ryan: I thank the Minister for coming in today. I wish to highlight a long-standing and unjust issue affecting Youthreach staff, specifically the ongoing failure to pay these dedicated educators for the correction and grading of locally devised assessments. This issue of these staff members not being paid to the same standard as those in other FET centres was brought to my attention by a very...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Further and Higher Education (1 Apr 2025)

Nicole Ryan: It was a teacher in Macroom Youthreach. I thank the Minister for clarifying that. The biggest issue with Youthreach centres across Cork and maybe more generally is that there is not a clear guideline so the information is fed down clearly and they can understand what course they can be paid for. As the Minister said, some Youthreach centres are starting to put on level 5 courses and I do...

Seanad: Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 (Section 4(2)) (Scheme Termination Date) Order 2025: Motion (27 Mar 2025)

Nicole Ryan: I move amendment No. 1: To insert the following after “6th March, 2025”: “: provided that this Order shall take effect only after the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 has been amended to provide for the Accommodation Recognition Payment (ARP) Scheme termination date to be extended only for the following: - existing recipients with respect to the...

Seanad: Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 (Section 4(2)) (Scheme Termination Date) Order 2025: Motion (27 Mar 2025)

Nicole Ryan: Tá mé anseo inniu mar dhuine Éireannach agus Úcránach. I stand here today as both Irish and Ukrainian. I want to remind people why this scheme was introduced in the first place. When the war broke out in Ukraine, families were torn apart and people fled with nothing but the clothes on their backs. They arrived in Ireland in desperate need of safety. Thankfully,...

Seanad: Special Education Provision: Motion (26 Mar 2025)

Nicole Ryan: I am speaking today not only as a representative but as a witness to the asylum struggle that so many parents endure across this country. These struggles are invisible to the system but are devastatingly real for the people who must live them every day. I will speak about Andrea and her daughter, Joanna, a family in my constituency whose story, sadly, is not unique but remains deeply urgent...

Seanad: Health (Scoliosis Treatment Services) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (19 Mar 2025)

Nicole Ryan: I move amendment No. 1: In page 3, between lines 16 and 17, to insert the following: “Maximum waiting time targets 2. (1) Subject to subsections (2) to (4), the Minister for Health shall, in relation to the performance by the Executive of its functions under section 1, specify— (a) priorities to which the Executive shall have regard to in relation to maximum waiting...

Seanad: Health (Scoliosis Treatment Services) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (19 Mar 2025)

Nicole Ryan: It is great to see the Minister in the Chamber again. I welcome her back. This Bill is not just legislation, but a statement of our values as a nation. I thank Senator McDowell and the Independent Group for bringing it forward. It is a recognition that no child in Ireland should be left behind to suffer in pain while he or she waits for medical treatment, and it is an assertion that our...

Seanad: Health (Scoliosis Treatment Services) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (19 Mar 2025)

Nicole Ryan: Yes.

Seanad: Seachtain na Gaeilge: Ráitis (6 Mar 2025)

Nicole Ryan: Is onóir mhór dom é seasamh anseo le linn Seachtain na Gaeilge. Is teanga beo bríomhar pobail í an Ghaeilge ach tá an Ghaeltacht i ngéarchéim. Tá teaghlaigh ag streachailt lena gcuid leanaí a thógáil trí Ghaeilge. Tá oibrithe á bhrú amach de bharr géarchéim tithíochta agus tá ag teip ar...

Seanad: International Women's Day - Women's Health: Statements (5 Mar 2025)

Nicole Ryan: As a woman, I have experienced at first-hand the shortcomings of our medical system, as have so many female Members. One of the glaring issues is the overreliance on the contraceptive pill as a default treatment for women's health concerns. Instead of offering proper investigation, testing and a wide range of options for women, the pill is often handed out as a quick fix. Women are told to...

Seanad: Care, Supports and Enhanced Provision of Services for Older People: Motion (5 Mar 2025)

Nicole Ryan: I welcome the Minister of State. We are here to discuss the future of healthcare for older people, an issue that affects every family, every community and ultimately every one of us as we age. We support this motion and welcome any focus on the needs of older people in our healthcare system. However, supporting a motion does not mean we ignore the reality of the crisis at hand. There is...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Gaeltacht Policy (4 Mar 2025)

Nicole Ryan: I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I am really delighted he is including the likes of Údarás na Gaeltachta in the plan. Will the language testing mentioned make it more difficult for people who want to live in or move to a Gaeltacht area or who have lived there and who may not have the best of Irish to access it? As we all know, there is a housing crisis. If people...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Gaeltacht Policy (4 Mar 2025)

Nicole Ryan: I welcome the opportunity to raise this issue, especially during Seachtain na Gaeilge. It is not just about planning or housing, but about Gaeltacht communities and the Irish language itself. Census data shows the number of daily Irish speakers in Gaeltachtaí has fallen from 69% in 2011 to 66% in 2022. This decline is not a coincidence. It has been directly linked to young people...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Feb 2025)

Nicole Ryan: I raise an urgent issue that highlights the serious administration failures of the local authority purchase and renovation loan, LAPR. This scheme was announced last June and was intended to help families purchase and renovate their homes, especially where housing has been scarce. Eight months on, however, applicants are still facing delays, misinformation and uncertainty with no clear...

Seanad: Response to Storm Éowyn: Statements (26 Feb 2025)

Nicole Ryan: It is lovely to have the Minister of State here. I will bring him back to the first week of January. In my constituency of Cork North-West, we were hit with snow, and we were one of the hardest areas that was hit. The roads were impassable and people were trapped in their homes. In Rockchapel, people had to melt snow for water. This continued for a week for them. Why is it that year...

Seanad: Public Transport: Motion (26 Feb 2025)

Nicole Ryan: I am sharing time with Senator Andrews.

Seanad: Public Transport: Motion (26 Feb 2025)

Nicole Ryan: It is lovely to have the Minister here today. Good evening to him. Since we are talking about transport and transport infrastructure, I want to address a really urgent concern for the people of north Cork and Kerry, namely, the dangerous condition of the N72. I am talking particularly about the stretch between Cullen and Clonbanin. I have been contacted by numerous locals who have had...

Seanad: Community Safety: Statements (25 Feb 2025)

Nicole Ryan: It is great to see the Minister back again. Community safety is a fundamental right. Too often we discuss crime and safety with the focus placed on urban areas. There is no doubt the cities face serious crime issues but the conversation cannot ignore rural Ireland, where crime, harassment and fear are just as real and sometimes more so given the lack of Garda presence and resources. For...

Seanad: Election of Leas-Chathaoirleach (19 Feb 2025)

Nicole Ryan: I want to echo the sentiments of Senator McDowell and others in this House. For us, this is our first test of justice and fairness. We talk about this and we all work together but the system here right now is not just and fair. It is in favour of other people. I want to talk about this because I feel really strongly about it. For years and years, I have not seen someone who looks like me...