Results 1-20 of 1,146 for long speaker:Éamon Ó Cuív

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Primary Care Centres (1 May 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: ...purchase done on that site in favour of Galway County Council and I cannot for the life of me see how it has taken 14 years to sort out the Inishbofin site. It is absolutely ridiculous how long things are taking. I have visited the Renvyle health centre. It is totally inadequate. It does not have the rooms. It does not have the physical space. I am someone who grew up in Dublin...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Impact of Means Testing on the Social Welfare System: Discussion (24 Apr 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: ..., than on the other side. Should self-employed income always be treated the same or is there any justification for what is done? The idea of a universal basic income is very interesting, but we are a long way from it. I have argued with people who have proposed it that the first issue is to adjust means-testing in order that we will lose the cliff edge aspect of 50%, 60%, 80%, 90% and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Northern Ireland (23 Apr 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: My concern is very simple. As they say in Irish, an rud a théann i bhfad, téann sé i bhfuaire. What goes on for a long time goes cold. We have an opportunity, if the opportunity is taken now. I appreciate that the delay is probably not on this side of the Irish Sea. The lack of an Executive was a challenge. I hope that when I ask this question the next time - if I get...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Medical Cards (18 Apr 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: ...recognise this well-recognised reality. For example, islanders pay cheaper car tax because their cars cannot go on the mainland. In most cases, they have to keep second cars. Islanders get an extra allowance under certain long-term welfare payments, for instance, the State pension, the invalidity pension and so on. What we are seeking is that, when the assessment is carried out, a...

Committee on Key Issues affecting the Traveller Community: Give Travellers the Floor: Discussion (18 Apr 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Today was very educational for us and that is important. The challenges are enormous. One thing I have found in politics - and I am at it a long time - is that as soon as you solve one problem, another problem appears on the horizon. That goes right across life. However, that does not justify not trying to solve problems continuously. We need to consider what overall progress we have...

Committee on Key Issues affecting the Traveller Community: Give Travellers the Floor: Discussion (18 Apr 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: ...One was the appointment by the Taoiseach of a Traveller to the Houses. The other was the setting up of a dedicated committee to deal with the challenges faced by the Traveller community. I am a long time in politics and the challenge in politics is that bringing change about is a slow business. Most of those present, as activists, have found that. No matter what level of government you...

Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill 2024: Second Stage (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: ...investment in fossil fuels and the arms industry. We should ban investment in fossil fuels because they are damaging the climate and in the arms industry because it is totally immoral to invest in that industry. We live in a world in which if we are not careful, we will not have to worry about pensions because we will all blow each other up long before they become a concern. That,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Impact of Means Testing on Farm Assist and Other Social Welfare Schemes: Discussion (17 Apr 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: ...all these pensioners over little bits of money. I would be interested in the views of the witnesses. Would any of them be opposed to such a change? I will put it that way to save them the bother of giving me a long answer. Do they think self-employed income should always be treated in the same way as employed income in means tests?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Impact of Means Testing on Farm Assist and Other Social Welfare Schemes: Discussion (17 Apr 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: ...of approaching it. We know if we had a clean sheet we would not have the systems we have now. It would be very different. We are, as they say, where we are. What we have to do is look at the long term but say how we, in integral steps, get to that long term. In other words, we must change year in year out to get to universal basic income or whatever. I do not ever believe we are...

Committee on Key Issues affecting the Traveller Community: Traveller Education Policy: Department of Education (11 Apr 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: ...we are failing. I noticed that there are 8,309 students in primary schools and 3,370 in secondary schools. Unless there has been a huge demographic shift, because primary school is eight years long and secondary school is six years long, one would expect that there would be 8,000 children in the secondary schools, give or take. Yet, there are 3,370 of them there. Therefore, from the...

Committee on Key Issues affecting the Traveller Community: Traveller Education Policy: Department of Education (11 Apr 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: What would be very useful for us would be a comparison of like with like. Nobody here would argue about a child with high dependency levels or special educational needs, as long as it is equal to all, but given the figures, it appears that there has been a dramatic drop in the number of children on short days since this reporting process started. Is there any evidence of that?

Committee on Public Petitions: Campaign for a Walking and Cycling Greenway on the Closed Railway from Sligo to Athenry: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Apr 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: ...Government is the ultimate arbitrator of all of this in terms of funding. Things can change and new governments can have new policies. Therefore, I welcome the rail strategy because it gives us long-term vision but it is not going to be a totally inflexible document that no government can touch or change over the coming years. Can Mr. Kenny tell me how many NDPs back did the Foynes to...

Committee on Public Petitions: Campaign for a Walking and Cycling Greenway on the Closed Railway from Sligo to Athenry: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Apr 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: So there was not a long 20-year plan that it was included in.

Committee on Public Petitions: Campaign for a Walking and Cycling Greenway on the Closed Railway from Sligo to Athenry: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Apr 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: In the Mayo county development plan there is talk about connecting, at enormous cost, for example, Shannon Airport, to the rail network. There is also the long mooted metro in Dublin which will cost billions of euro. It is a ten-minute bus ride from the terminal at Knock Airport to Charlestown station. Is it a policy of Mayo County Council to develop the Knock to Galway and Knock to Sligo...

Committee on Public Petitions: Campaign for a Walking and Cycling Greenway on the Closed Railway from Sligo to Athenry: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Apr 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: ...want to be able to get home. Some students only spend five days in their lodgings, some students only do two days in their lodgings because they commute in various ways, and some students do long-term commutes. We live in a very uncertain world and in a world where plans can become redundant very fast. Again, it would have been wiser to hold the railway line because experience would...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Impact of Means Testing on State Pension and Other Social Welfare Schemes: Discussion (10 Apr 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Is it long-term care?

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (21 Mar 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: The Tánaiste knows my concern about the treatment of republican prisoners in Maghaberry Prison and it is a long-term concern. I bring to his attention the case of a Dermot Burke, who is a prison in Maghaberry at present. He was arrested in January and is being held in solitary confinement since. During that period he has been scanned 18 times by an X-ray body scanner and he has had no...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Prison Service (21 Mar 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: ...there is a changed dynamic here. We need to build on that in a positive way to try to get everybody to move forward and to realise there is a political way and space for all political opinions, as long as they are followed peacefully in this country.

Committee on Key Issues affecting the Traveller Community: Traveller Accommodation: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Mar 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: ...living. The loan sum should involve standard repayment and so on. I think we are there, but we need to get the Government to introduce a scheme such as that and just do it. It should not take long. It is within the competence of the Government. The witnesses talked about the planning process and I think we all agree that, unfortunately, Part 8 is not working. I say "unfortunately"...