Results 161-180 of 375 for speaker:Margaret Cox

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (8 Mar 2005)

Margaret Cox: I agree with Senator Terry that, as we said before in this House, child benefit is one of the most effective methods of tackling child poverty. It must be recognised that in the past few years the Government addressed the matter appropriately. We encountered a blip because of the situation regarding incoming revenue. There are only so many things one can do when less money is coming in than...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (8 Mar 2005)

Margaret Cox: In support of the Minister, one feature of a fair and equitable social welfare system is a method to ensure that only those who should benefit from it do so and that those who try to defraud the system do not succeed. I became aware of at least two recent cases in the Galway area, which I reported, of incredible fraudulent abuse of the social welfare system. The relevant regional manager was...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (8 Mar 2005)

Margaret Cox: I have a particular query on a matter that came to my attention recently but it may not relate to this section. We in the parish of Salthill were lucky to have a missionary sister of the Holy Rosary, the Killeshandra sisters, speak about her mission during mass. One of her points was that the missionary orders did not provide for the care of their people in old age after sending them abroad...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (8 Mar 2005)

Margaret Cox: I am fearful of social welfare changes, especially in the area of lone parenting. Everybody agrees that the best place to bring up children is in the family unit. In assisting those who are unfortunate enough not to be in a family unit, we must ensure we do not discriminate against those who choose to live in a family unit. It is a major challenge to walk that fine line between the two....

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Second Stage (Resumed). (2 Mar 2005)

Margaret Cox: I welcome the Minister to the House. We are becoming familiar with him from earlier debates on transport and more recent debates on pensions and social welfare provision. It is a great occasion to be able to welcome legislation in this House that provides for the largest ever social welfare expenditure of €12 billion. It is indicative of the attitude of the Government and its focus and...

Seanad: Waste Management: Statements. (2 Mar 2005)

Margaret Cox: I am delighted the Minister has been able to join us for this debate. I thank the Leader for arranging this discussion, for which we have been calling for the past couple of weeks. I am opposed to the concept of incineration as a method of reducing or getting rid of waste. That is a strongly held personal view. I was a member of the local authority in a city that introduced one of the first...

Seanad: Waste Management: Statements. (2 Mar 2005)

Margaret Cox: A municipal waste incinerator will emit dioxins. If we do not have a municipal waste incinerator, these dioxins will not be emitted. I am not saying dioxins will not be emitted by other methods of waste disposal but why introduce a technology into a country which is clean and green and which has not had this type of technology heretofore? Why introduce this technology when we can simply wait...

Seanad: Child Care Services: Statements. (22 Feb 2005)

Margaret Cox: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Fahey, to the House. I am the first speaker from my party as Senator Kett, our spokesman in this area, was good enough to allow me to use his slot to give me more time to make my points. It is not the case that he is not interested in the subject as he will speak later in the debate. There are many men in Fianna Fáil who are interested in the child...

Seanad: Child Care Services: Statements. (22 Feb 2005)

Margaret Cox: Of all issues which have arisen since I entered the House in 1997, none has caused me greater concern or made me feel more of a failure in Fianna Fáil than the Government's approach to child care. Despite attempts on many occasions to solve the problem, I stand here in 2005 to note that we have not done so. I have had two children since becoming a Senator and after the birth of each I...

Seanad: Child Care Services: Statements. (22 Feb 2005)

Margaret Cox: It does. Has anybody tried to do all this, then get the children ready, put them into the car and do the drop-off at the crèche? School does not start until 8.50 a.m. but one must be in work at 8.30 a.m. and everybody is going in different directions. It is impossible. What is one like when one gets to work at 9.30 a.m? We should probably not even consider that. Earlier I alluded to the...

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2004: Second Stage. (2 Feb 2005)

Margaret Cox: I am pleased to contribute to the debate on the Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill. There are a couple of issues to which I wish to draw the attention of the Minister and his officials. As the Bill moves from Second Stage to Committee Stage perhaps we can deal with some of the difficulties caused by its implementation. I speak as a mother of four children and an owner-manager of a small...

Seanad: Order of Business. (27 Jan 2005)

Margaret Cox: Will the Leader arrange a debate with the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government on waste management? As we head into 2005, it is timely to look back over the success of the recycling, reuse and reduction strategies that have been in place, and supported by the Government, at all local authority levels. It is important to focus on the possibility of rewarding the efforts...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2004: Committee and Remaining Stages. (16 Dec 2004)

Margaret Cox: I thank the Minister and his officials for the way they have dealt with the legislation. During Second Stage most Senators complimented the Department of Social and Family Affairs officials on the way they do business and the ease of communication with them. This Bill represents the largest ever social welfare spend, which has increased by €1 billion. I compliment the Minister on his...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2004: Motion for Earlier Signature. (16 Dec 2004)

Margaret Cox: I move: That pursuant to subsection 2° of section 2 of Article 25 of the Constitution, Seanad Éireann concurs with the Government in a request to the President to sign the Social Welfare Bill 2004, on a date which is earlier than the fifth day after the date on which the Bill shall have been presented to her.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2004: Committee and Remaining Stages. (16 Dec 2004)

Margaret Cox: I note Senator Terry has asked this question. The Minister will know from our connections in Galway that the business in which I have been involved for many years is in the area of recruitment of people for jobs. I am personally aware of a number of people who abused the system and gave up jobs in order to go on the live register for a period of six months and benefit from this scheme in the...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2004: Committee and Remaining Stages. (16 Dec 2004)

Margaret Cox: We are in agreement regarding the importance of this project, which is very beneficial to people who qualify for it. For many training schemes and so on for which businesses apply, a fairly detailed application process must be gone through. Members may be familiar with the Skillsnet programme of the Department of Enterprise and Employment under which proposals are made and evaluated by...

Seanad: Order of Business. (16 Dec 2004)

Margaret Cox: I ask the Leader to arrange a debate in the new year on education. I compliment the Minister for Education and Science on her new initiative under which she is providing funding for all schools to invest in CD players. Music, and culture generally, are important to the education system. Many Departments have lo-call numbers whereby people outside the Pale can phone up for the same rate as a...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed). (15 Dec 2004)

Margaret Cox: At 10.30 a.m. tomorrow.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2004: Second Stage. (15 Dec 2004)

Margaret Cox: I welcome the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Deputy Brennan, to the House. I will start with the suggestion that Fianna Fáil has adopted a new image and has apparently made a miraculous conversion to giving to the people. In the context of total spending on welfare, which has more than doubled since 1997, it is a joke to make such a suggestion. If the Government had suddenly found...

Seanad: Order of Business. (3 Dec 2004)

Margaret Cox: With regard to Senator Henry's comments, a book published a number of years ago listed by name every person killed in Northern Ireland.