Results 1-20 of 756 for long speaker:Mary Lou McDonald

Ceisteanna - Questions: Constitutional Amendments (30 Apr 2024)

Mary Lou McDonald: .... If the Government believes this is a good idea and a worthy move, it needs to go back to the people and get their democratic sanction by means of a referendum. Anything less than that will have long-term consequences that have no purchase and no widespread public support. No amount of rhetoric or fancy footwork on the Government's part can alter that fact. The removal of the need for...

Acknowledgement and Apology to the Families and to the Victims of the Stardust Tragedy: Statements (23 Apr 2024)

Mary Lou McDonald: ...bang. The lighting in the nightclub failed. Darkness. Mass panic. People rushed towards the exit in a desperate bid to escape. The section of the crowd that rushed for the main exit was carried along in a crushing sea of desperation. Only one door of the main exit was open. The other had to be kicked open. Some people lost their footing as they reached for air and to escape....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (17 Apr 2024)

Mary Lou McDonald: ...us in some way during our lives. When somebody receives a cancer diagnosis, the world stands still. In that moment, life comes to a shuddering halt as all of the possibilities hit at once and the long hard road to be travelled then opens up in a flash. When a child receives such a diagnosis, these feelings are amplified beyond what most of us could even contemplate. A cancer diagnosis...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Apr 2024)

Mary Lou McDonald: ...organs making it increasingly difficult to breathe. It is especially tough on young children. Where children do not get the surgeries they need on time, the consequences are devastating. The longer they wait, the more complex the procedures they will eventually need and without timely care, children end up in wheelchairs. Some children wait so long that they become inoperable and they...

Ceapachán an Taoisigh agus Ainmniú Chomhaltaí an Rialtais - Appointment of Taoiseach and Nomination of Members of Government (9 Apr 2024)

Mary Lou McDonald: ...in 13 years. People did not come down in the last shower. They know this is just more spin and promises from a Government that is big on announcements, but falls very short on delivery. In the century long history of this State, there have been 15 taoisigh. We have had three in the past four years alone in order just to keep this charade on the road, even though the wheels have fallen...

Taoiseach a Ainmniú - Nomination of Taoiseach (9 Apr 2024)

Mary Lou McDonald: ...the fiction you are spinning today, a story that dresses up failure as progress. Micheál Martin said this Government would be the one to fix housing, but it got worse. Then Leo Varadkar came along saying he would sort out housing, and it got worse again. Now we hear Simon Harris say he will fix housing once and for all. Frankly, the people brace themselves. So, here we go...

Death of Charlie Bird: Expressions of Sympathy (20 Mar 2024)

Mary Lou McDonald: ...Bird. For four decades, his voice was to be heard across the most important news stories of our times. His incredible, heartbreaking work on the Stardust tragedy is a stand-out from that very long career. He will always be remembered for his role, of course, in covering the emerging Irish peace process, including as the RTÉ contact person for the IRA in those years. I pay...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (20 Mar 2024)

Mary Lou McDonald: ..., but a change of Government and a change of direction. Tá sé in am don athrú, ní hamháin athrú Taoisigh ach athrú Rialtais agus athrú treo don tír. Fine Gael has been in government for far too long. Ireland had one of the highest rates of homeownership in Europe when Fine Gael came to office in 2011. That has collapsed. Fine Gael has...

International Women's Day: Statements (5 Mar 2024)

Mary Lou McDonald: ...and activism. We celebrate the women who dream big dreams and get the job done. On Friday, we are presented with the opportunity to remove from the Constitution a sexist decree that women belong in the home. However, real change must see carers and the incredible, compassionate work they do fully recognised and supported. It must ensure those who need care receive full services and...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (20 Feb 2024)

Mary Lou McDonald: ...debacle has played its way out. Instead of soundbites, what we need to hear from the Government is what accountability looks like. When will there be consequences for those who have breached the public trust and those who have played fast and loose with taxpayers' money? As long as this saga continues, people are voting with their feet. Hundreds of thousands have chosen not to pay the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Properties (20 Feb 2024)

Mary Lou McDonald: 237. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the Garda is still actively using a premises (details supplied); and if so, how long it will remain there. [7930/24]

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Properties (20 Feb 2024)

Mary Lou McDonald: 239. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform what long-term uses are being considered for a premises (details supplied). [7932/24]

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (14 Feb 2024)

Mary Lou McDonald: A long-term strategy for climate, nature and energy was one of the key themes of the World Economic Forum. This brought the gap between rhetoric and action into public view again. Every single report published in the last year from the EPA, the SEAI or Wind Energy Ireland follows a worrying trend. They predict that Ireland is to blow right through our 2030 targets and miss the momentous...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (13 Feb 2024)

Mary Lou McDonald: ...on Rafah is inhumane, that Israel behaves as a rogue state and that Netanyahu is not listening to anyone. Why then is the Israeli ambassador still in Ireland, justifying genocide on RTÉ? It is long past time she was sent packing. It is also time for European states, Britain and the United States to stop arming Israel's genocide. When will we hear that call from Government? The...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2024)

Mary Lou McDonald: The long-running debacle surrounding the construction and, more importantly, the completion of the national children's hospital rumbles on. This afternoon we learned that the staggering cost of the hospital has increased again by almost €500 million. This pushes the current cost up to €2.2 billion, a cost that is frankly unbelievable. What is even more outrageous is that we...

Death of Former Taoiseach: Expressions of Sympathy (7 Feb 2024)

Mary Lou McDonald: I was very sorry to hear of the passing of former Taoiseach John Bruton yesterday. Through his long career, he had a significant impact on politics and life in this State, and 'though we held very clear and very important political differences, I want to express my respect for John Bruton's commitment to public service and to representing people. It speaks to his dedication and...

Tribunal of Inquiry into certain matters relating to the Complaints Processes in the Defence Forces: Motion (24 Jan 2024)

Mary Lou McDonald: ...us. We very much welcome that a tribunal of inquiry is to be established into incidents of abuse in the Defence Forces, including the exposure of personnel to hazardous chemicals. This is a long time coming and it is long overdue. An RTÉ investigative radio documentary in 2021 brought to the fore deeply concerning and serious allegations of sexual violence and harassment in the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (24 Jan 2024)

Mary Lou McDonald: ...which, as the Taoiseach knows, have been vocal on this issue. Corporate insolvency has reached its highest level in five years, with a 25% rise in 2023. Across the country, towns and villages see long-standing businesses, particularly restaurants and pubs, are closing their doors. Jobs are being lost and communities hollowed out. SMEs are particularly vulnerable and, no doubt, are...

Confidence in the Minister for Justice: Motion (5 Dec 2023)

Mary Lou McDonald: ...dire consequences. Bhí an tAire, An Teachta McEntee, i gceannas nuair a thit an phóilíneacht inár bpríomhchathair as a chéile. Ní féidir léi fanacht sa phost. Caithfidh sí imeacht. For a very long time now, our streets have not been safe. Despite communities and businesses crying it from the rooftops, there has been no step change or...

Confidence in the Minister for Justice: Motion (5 Dec 2023)

Mary Lou McDonald: The streets of Dublin's north inner city have not been safe for a long time. The area is scourged by open drug dealing, drug-taking, on-street nuisance drinking, and constant and threatening antisocial behaviour. It is in this abnormal atmosphere that people go about their daily lives. People make their journeys to work and parents do the school drop-offs with the ever-present hum of...