Results 1-20 of 20 for speaker:Maria McCormack

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (10 Apr 2025)

Maria McCormack: I raise the urgent concerns about the state of the National Ambulance Service, particularly in County Laois. There are concerns about response times, patient safety and the well-being of front-line staff. Paramedics in Laois are doing heroic work in impossible conditions. Despite significant population growth in Laois, 8% since 2016 and a 25% rise in those aged over 65 years, the county...

Seanad: Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2023: Report and Final Stages (10 Apr 2025)

Maria McCormack: We are happy with everything in this Bill except for the vulture funds which I must comment on because there were promises made. These are mortgage prisoners and they are still very unhappy. There is great progress with this Bill. My colleague, Deputy Doherty, did a lot of work and the Government accepted some of the amendments. However, we need to put on record there are still mortgage...

Seanad: Flooding: Statements (9 Apr 2025)

Maria McCormack: I thank the Minister of State for coming to speak to us about flooding issues. We have known for many years now that the effects of climate change will bring about more dramatic weather events and certainly, as we have seen in the past year, we have had our fair share of storms recently. The severe damage throughout the country from Storm Éowyn should serve as a wake-up call for the...

Seanad: Prohibition of Advertising or Importuning Sex for Rent Bill 2025: Second Stage (9 Apr 2025)

Maria McCormack: I welcome this Bill tabled by Senators Harmon, Stephenson, Noonan and Cosgrove. This will be the third Bill of its kind introduced in the Oireachtas in an attempt by Opposition parties to highlight the horrendous behaviour of some predatory landlords seeking sex in lieu of rent. I wish to acknowledge Ms Ann Murphy, who first highlighted this in the Irish Examiner, and thank her for all her...

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

Maria McCormack: St. Francis School is a special school in Portlaoise. It got a new school building in 2021. Because it took so long for the new school to be built - 14 years - as a result of all of the hoops that had to be jumped through, when it opened in 2021, it did not have the capacity it needed. The principal made accommodations by turning 19 classes into 12. Since 2021, the school has been...

Seanad: Disability Services: Statements (8 Apr 2025)

Maria McCormack: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I wish her well in her role. We do really need her to succeed in it. I want to highlight a serious and ongoing issue that I hope she will give serious attention to, which is the continued exclusion of people with disabilities from the planning and design of public projects. Time and again, infrastructure schemes are rolled out nationwide...

Seanad: Housing: Statements (2 Apr 2025)

Maria McCormack: Yes.

Seanad: Housing: Statements (2 Apr 2025)

Maria McCormack: As the Sinn Féin spokesperson for housing, I am glad to have the opportunity to speak to the Minister today. It is one of the most pressing issues for people, especially for families throughout the country and in my constituency of Laois. My constituents tell me they feel there has been a real lack of political will from the Government for far too long. It has been unable to find an...

Seanad: Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2023: Second Stage (26 Mar 2025)

Maria McCormack: I welcome the Minister of State. I definitely will not take the ten minutes. Sinn Féin will be supporting the Bill. We welcome this debate, notwithstanding the delay with the Bill moving from the Dáil to the Seanad. The Minister listened to my colleague Deputy Pearse Doherty and made amendments in the Dáil. As reported in today's edition of the Irish Examiner, the...

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

Maria McCormack: I second the motion and call for a clear commitment. I thank the Minister of State for attending. I rise not just as a Senator but as a mother and someone who listens carefully to families across this country, especially in my county of Laois, who are in crisis. There is a severe lack of special school and autism spectrum disorder, ASD, school placements in this State. This is not just...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Mental Health Services (19 Mar 2025)

Maria McCormack: I rise today to highlight an urgent crisis in mental health services in my constituency of Laois and all across Ireland. Save Our Sons and Daughters, SOSAD, is a vital front-line mental health organisation. It is on the brink of closure due to financial constraints at a time when its services have never been in more demand. Last week alone, SOSAD in Portlaoise saw 108 clients compared to...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Mental Health Services (19 Mar 2025)

Maria McCormack: I thank the Minister of State and I appreciate that this is not her brief. The concern is that the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, met with SOSAD in November 2024 - Deputy Harkin is correct about that - at which stage a promise was made that interim funding would be given while the process of the HSE governance for applying for funding was in place. That promise was made, but it still has...

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

Maria McCormack: I congratulate the Minister on her appointment. I am delighted she is here and to hear all her plans. I was really delighted to hear her mention endometriosis, which is what I will talk about today. It was great to hear other Senators discuss it. As Senator Clifford-Lee mentioned, it is a disease that affects one in ten women in Ireland, yet it remains widely misunderstood, underfunded...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (4 Mar 2025)

Maria McCormack: I stand here today with deep frustration and disgust at the Government's continued failure to address the dire lack of special needs school places for children in Ireland. This is an issue very close to my heart and you are all going to hear me talking about it quite a lot until the time comes that every child on this island has a suitable education place. Every day I receive calls from...

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

Maria McCormack: I will keep it local to Laois because many of the points have already been covered. In rural areas like Laois, power cuts do not just mean the lights go out. They mean that families lose access to heating, water pumps and vital medical equipment become unusable, and farmers struggle to feed or milk their livestock. Small businesses that are already under pressure lost trade and stock. We...

Seanad: Community Safety: Statements (25 Feb 2025)

Maria McCormack: I thank the Minister for coming back to us. I welcome that he will look at sentencing. The family of Joe Drennan lives in my constituency. Joe Drennan was a 21-year-old fourth-year student in journalism who lost his life by someone with 46 previous convictions. I quote his dad in the court, who asked whether that person would not serve one day for killing his son. I would welcome the...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (13 Feb 2025)

Maria McCormack: In light of what has been raised in relation to Fine Gael Senator, Martin Conway, can I ask the Leader of the House to request that the Tánaiste, Simon Harris, make him available to this House so he can make a statement regarding his party's investigation into Senator Martin Conway for inappropriate behaviour towards a female staff member?

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (13 Feb 2025)

Maria McCormack: I think that it is appropriate, given that this is now my new place of employment.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (13 Feb 2025)

Maria McCormack: Okay.

Seanad: Cathaoirleach a Thoghadh - Election of Cathaoirleach (12 Feb 2025)

Maria McCormack: I do not need a microphone. I congratulate the Cathaoirleach. I am looking forward to working with everyone here. It is great to hear such positivity and inclusion in the Chamber. I hope it can stay like that and we can work together to share our visions for a better Ireland, a united Ireland. It is with immense pride and gratitude that I stand here today as a woman elected to represent...