Results 141-160 of 228 for speaker:Déirdre de Búrca

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Mar 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome the proposed publication of the referendum Bill on the Lisbon treaty tomorrow. It is anticipated that the legislation will come before the House for adoption in the next two weeks. I ask the Leader to invite the Minister for Foreign Affairs to address the House while the debate on the Bill is taking place. I would welcome clarification from the Minister on a number of issues, for...

Seanad: Fairtrade: Statements (4 Mar 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: I wish to share my time with Senator Mary White. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Kitt, to the House and thank him for his statement on fair trade. I also welcome the opportunity to participate in this debate during Fairtrade fortnight. I acknowledge the long record of support by Irish Aid of the Fairtrade movement and the hard work of the Irish Fair Trade Network, which is supported...

Seanad: Order of Business. (4 Mar 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: I echo Senator Alex White's call for the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to come to the Chamber to discuss the reports in the newspapers today that certain senior members of the Refugee Appeals Authority have taken a divergent position from the chairman of the tribunal. It is a serious issue that requires clarification. Under the new Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill...

Seanad: Civil Marriage: Motion (27 Feb 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome the Minister to the House. I also welcome this opportunity to speak on this Private Members' motion tabled by the Independent Senators not only because this issue deserves a good airing and debate but for the purposes of clarification. The Green Party supports the principle of equality through giving legal recognition to same sex unions. Our party's policy is that same sex couples...

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Feb 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: Yesterday I asked the Leader to invite the Minister for Health and Children to discuss with the House the new nursing home regulations. I would also like her to address the future role of pharmacies in the delivery of health care services.

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Feb 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: I see in this morning's newspapers that the regulator for the pharmacy sector is considering ways of expanding the services provided by the pharmacy sector to include important primary care services such as screening for diabetes and other common disorders, managing long-term stable conditions and dealing with minor ailments in order that people do not have to attend their GPs.

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Feb 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: The Green Party has always believed that the pharmacy sector——

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Feb 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: The pharmacy sector has an important role to play in health promotion and prevention. The current stand-off between the pharmacy sector and the HSE is unfortunate because it is in all our interests that the sector takes on a new and expanded role in terms of providing various health services. When the Minister comes to the House, I will ask her to address this issue and her vision of the...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Feb 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: I would like the Leader to invite the Minister for Health and Children to the House to address the new regulations for nursing homes which the Health Information and Quality Authority approved yesterday. They are welcome because they cover many of the issues raised in recent scandals in nursing homes for the elderly which showed that the standards in public and private nursing homes left...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Feb 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: In general I welcome the package and look forward to an opportunity to discuss it with the Minister for Health and Children.

Seanad: Special Educational Needs: Statements (Resumed). (21 Feb 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: In her speech on Private Members' business in the Dáil on 12 February, the Minister acknowledged special needs education has undergone a transformation in the past ten years. Credit must be given to the Minister and her predecessors for putting in place the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 and providing extra resources and funding for special educational needs....

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Feb 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: I agree with the remarks of Senator Quinn and express my regret at the comments attributed to the Taoiseach this morning in the national newspapers. He is reported to have said that those opposing the Lisbon treaty were on the "loonie left", and made other comments to which Senator Quinn referred. I say this with reluctance because if it were not for the Taoiseach I would not currently be a...

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Feb 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: I ask the Leader to invite the Minister for Foreign Affairs to the House to discuss Ireland's position on Kosovo's declaration of independence, because this issue is causing much tension within the EU. The Irish Government has expressed its support for Kosovo's independence. However, it is a complex issue because other newly formed states will also wish to declare independence in the future...

Seanad: Forestry Issues: Statements (20 Feb 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Wallace, to the House. I congratulate her on her new portfolio and wish her well with it. I have no doubt she has various ideas on the way she would like that portfolio to develop and change. Perhaps I could be so bold as to make some suggestions to her. The Green Party has long been interested in the issue of forestry and we now find ourselves a...

Seanad: Northern Ireland Issues: Statements (Resumed) (20 Feb 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome this opportunity to make statements on the report of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Rights on the violent incidents arising from conflict in Northern Ireland. A good context in which to put this debate is the acknowledgement in the Good Friday Agreement that: "We must never forget those who have died or have been injured, and their...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Feb 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: I join with other Senators in highlighting the importance of this House facilitating a comprehensive debate on the Lisbon treaty. Like other Senators, I am a member of the European Affairs committee which is in the process of finalising the stages of a first report examining all aspects of the treaty and reflecting the views of the groups that have come before the committee. If we are...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Feb 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: ——because it is important that we have a balanced debate and that we are seen to listen to all of the arguments being made about the treaty.

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Feb 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: Some Members mentioned inaccuracies. The best way to deal with inaccuracies being put around about the treaty is to confront them in a debate and correct them. I suggest that if we have a debate on the treaty we invite in both sides of the debate, hear all sides of the argument and have a balanced debate.

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Feb 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: The Government launched its information booklet on the Lisbon treaty yesterday. Will the Leader clarify what role this House will play in educating and informing the public about the treaty? Most people are aware there is a deficit of information on it. Members of the public have said they do not know enough about it and repeated polls have shown that. The House should play an important...

Seanad: Millennium Development Goal: Motion (13 Feb 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: I also welcome this opportunity to recognise the important contribution that Ireland is now making towards achieving the millennium development goals, in particular goal No. 5, which has been referred to by other speakers, to improve maternal health and specifically to reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality rate in developing countries. Under this commitment the aim is to reduce...