Results 1-20 of 228 for speaker:Déirdre de Búrca

Seanad: Election of Cathaoirleach (13 Sep 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: On behalf of myself, a newly elected Senator, and my colleague, Senator Dan Boyle, I congratulate Senator Moylan on his election to the position of Cathaoirleach of this 23rd Seanad. I do not know the Cathaoirleach personally but I have heard the tributes paid to him and people have spoken of his fairness. I look forward to working with him in this new Seanad. As others have said, this...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Sep 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: I wish to take advantage of this opportunity to express my sincere condolences to the families of the two firemen who died so tragically this morning in Bray in the course of carrying out their duties. I am sure the rest of the House will join me in this. We have long had debates in the Bray area about the adequacy of our part-time fire service. It has been a live issue given the...

Seanad: Cancer Services: Motion (26 Sep 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome the Minister to the House and thank her for attending this important debate. The motion addresses the important issues of the delivery of cancer services throughout the country and the recently announced freeze on recruitment in the health service. The recruitment freeze raises a central question. What should be the optimal size of the health service and, in particular, what...

Seanad: Food Supplements (26 Sep 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: I thank the Cathaoirleach for the opportunity to table this motion which concerns the food supplements directive 2002/46/EC. A decision by the European Commission is imminent on the setting of maximum permitted levels of food supplements available for open sale. When I speak of food supplements, currently it is the setting of maximum permitted levels of vitamins and minerals for sale on the...

Seanad: Voluntary Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2007: Second Stage (27 Sep 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: I congratulate the Leas-Chathaoirleach on his election. I thank the Minister also for her overview of the Voluntary Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2007. As other speakers have said, this Bill is about changing the corporate status of the VHI. It is a rather technical Bill. The Green Party broadly supports its thrust but we see the Bill as significant in that it may be the necessary...

Seanad: Climate Protection Bill 2007: Second Stage (3 Oct 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome this Bill and the opportunity to discuss it. As a member of a political party that has taken the lead in pushing for real action on climate change, it is encouraging to see the issue being raised as a priority in the early weeks of the 23rd Seanad. I commend Senator Bacik on proposing the Bill. I welcome that the provisions in the legislation closely mirror the ambitious...

Seanad: Coroners Bill 2007: Second Stage (4 Oct 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome the Minister to the House and thank him for his comprehensive overview of the Coroners Bill 2007. The Green Party welcomes this legislation because, as the Minister has pointed out, the legislative changes proposed within it represent a major reform of the law dealing with the investigation of deaths and the overall role of the coroner. The Bill will allow the coroner service,...

Seanad: Access to Education: Motion (10 Oct 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: I wish to share my time with Senator Ned O'Sullivan.

Seanad: Access to Education: Motion (10 Oct 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome the Minister to the House. I also welcome the opportunity to debate the Labour Party motion on the important issue of education, planning for it and the provision of primary school places. Our rapid population growth is a starting point for this debate. My constituency of Wicklow falls within the greater Dublin area and it had an increase of 10% in population between 2002 and...

Seanad: National Drugs Strategy: Statements (17 Oct 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: I thank the Minister of State for his overview of the current national drugs strategy and his intentions in regard to the new strategy for 2009-16. Until recently I was a member of the Bray local drugs task force, so I had an opportunity to experience directly the implementation of the national drugs strategy at a local level. I was very impressed by the cross-sectoral and partnership...

Seanad: Medicinal Products (18 Oct 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: The subject of my Adjournment matter is to ask the Minister for Health and Children to review the permission given for the use of a drug called Depo Provera. It is a long-term reproductive controlling substance. It is an injectable contraceptive that is injected into the arm or buttocks four times annually. It has been approved by the Irish Medicines Board despite the fact that it has...

Seanad: Suicide Prevention Strategy: Statements. (24 Oct 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Devins, to the House and thank him for his presentation. I also welcome the opportunity to discuss the important issue of suicide and the adequacy of the Government's current strategy on suicide prevention. Senator Doherty used the word "emergency" in the context of suicide. It is increasingly clear that...

Seanad: Education and Training: Motion (24 Oct 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: I thank the Minister of State for his contribution and commend the Government on the support it has given to lifelong learning. The integration between the Department of Education and Science and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is a welcome development as it helps integrate and amalgamate the education and training sectors and ensures proper co-ordination between the...

Seanad: Education and Training: Motion (24 Oct 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: ——how we are doing and what we are achieving. I welcome the White Paper on Adult Education's extension of the remit of adult literacy services to cover asylum seekers. Significant pressure is placed on those services because many non-English speaking individuals try to access the courses. As it is estimated that 27% of adult literacy learners are non-English speakers, we must develop a...

Seanad: Housing Market: Statements (31 Oct 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. The statements we have heard on developments in the housing market have been interesting. We must admit that the construction sector has been one of the most buoyant areas of the economy over the past ten or 15 years. The housing market has favoured developers and investors during that time. When one considers that the average house price...

Seanad: Housing Market: Statements (31 Oct 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: Those of us who have served on local authorities are aware that waiting lists for social housing and housing in general remain stubbornly high. The Simon Communities of Ireland reminded Members recently that 1,725 households live in unfit accommodation, 4,112 households live in overcrowded accommodation and 3,375 households are involuntarily sharing. There are good grounds for the...

Seanad: Pre-Budget Outlook: Statements (1 Nov 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: I thank the Minister for his pre-budget outlook. As other Senators have done, the Green Party welcomes the introduction of a pre-budget outlook as part of the overall reform of the budgetary process which the Minister has initiated. This will help in making the budgetary process easier to examine and easier for the public and public representatives to understand how our national finances...

Seanad: Order of Business. (7 Nov 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: I call for the Minister for Education and Science to come to the House to hear the concerns I and other Members have with regard to the policy she proposes to introduce for gaelscoileanna, namely, two and a half hours of obligatory instruction through English. I was at a meeting last night in Greystones, where a new gaelscoil is proposed. Many of the parents and those involved in Foras...

Seanad: Community Child Care Subvention Scheme 2008-2010: Statements (7 Nov 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: I thank the Minister of State for his presentation and his clarification on some of the issues surrounding this important debate on State subvention for the community child care scheme. The availability of quality child care services is very important for working parents and parents who want to access education and training. It is especially important where people from disadvantaged areas...

Seanad: Community Child Care Subvention Scheme 2008-2010: Statements (7 Nov 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: I have said what I wanted to say. I thank the Minister of State and move the adjournment.