Results 1-20 of 311 for long speaker:Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

Supports for Survivors of Residential Institutional Abuse Bill 2024: Second Stage (Resumed) (1 May 2024)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: ...schools, county homes and the mother and baby homes were all part of the same superstructure. There was a whole philosophy of putting people in residential institutions, often in ways that were a long way less than voluntary, and imposing significant hardship on them. Typically, these were people from the margins of society. In many instances, their experiences and what they endured...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: EU Regulations and Directive on International Protection, Asylum and Migration: Discussion (Resumed) (30 Apr 2024)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: ...resources for those who really are in need of protection. A reasonable point was made about the 12-week period and it is worthy of consideration. We have had the other extreme in Ireland for a long time, whereby people have spent years and years without a decision, living in limbo and uncertainty. That is not good for either the system or the individual to have that level of...

Civil Registration (Electronic Registration) Bill 2024: Second Stage (25 Apr 2024)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: ...than sometimes we acknowledge in this House or in society generally. It is worthy of consideration. I think the debate centred on the recognition that there is a loss here. It is a particular type of loss and it can be a very challenging time. It is something we can consider as this legislation passes along. The legislation contains updating of references in the Act on a variety of...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Citizens Information Services (25 Apr 2024)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: ...in recent times. It is not attracting people and it is easy to understand that. Previously, there would have been more than 200 applications for positions. Now, there is only a handful. Four long-serving staff members have recently left the national phone service in the past nine months. My understanding is that the employers group and the trade unions agreed a pay claim, brought it...

Support for Carers: Motion [Private Members] (24 Apr 2024)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: ...so. Aside from the fact that we need to respect, recognise and support carers, we need to recognise the challenges that other countries are facing. Increasingly, there is a challenge in terms of care. If someone is looking for care from the HSE, it is extremely difficult to access hours. The waiting lists are very long in many places, including in my own county of Cork, where they are...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Road Projects (16 Apr 2024)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: ...this is very shovel-ready. If there are other projects under these travel funds throughout the State that are ready to go further, faster, that funding should be reallocated. This project has been waiting long enough. I note it is potentially holding up access to public transport as well. The bus travels up most of the Lehenaghbeg side of the hill. It is a kind of horseshoe-shaped...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Road Projects (16 Apr 2024)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: ...I was given a timeline of quarter 1 of 2022 for publication of the CPO, quarter 2 of 2022 for the tender for construction contract and quarter 3 of 2022 for commencement of construction. We are a long way beyond that. The CPO was appealed to An Bord Pleanála. I understand that while it has not been heard by An Bord Pleanála, the council has progressed with dealing with the...

Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill 2024: Second Stage (16 Apr 2024)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: ...been that by the time people reached pension age, their accommodation had been settled, whether they were paying a local authority or differential rents or had paid off their mortgages. This is no longer a safe assumption. Unfortunately, more and more older people are finding themselves in precarious situations because of the mishandling of the housing crisis by this Government and...

General Practice and Local Health Services: Motion (20 Mar 2024)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: .... Under this Government, the situation has deteriorated and people's confidence has been reduced. I will make a final point on healthcare staff. The point has already been raised today about long Covid, nurses and their concerns about that scheme ending. I echo the concerns that have been expressed in that regard. Those staff worked very hard during the pandemic and are very...

Mental Health (Amendment) Bill 2023: Second Stage [Private Members] (27 Feb 2024)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: .... We could work with this through Committee Stage, absolutely, and I am sure there are elements that can be worked upon, but there is no reason to delay the passage of this Bill, given how long it has been promised. The system is in crisis and getting worse. I was just looking at the numbers for my own community health organisation, CHO, area. We talk about statistics and while...

Recent Arson Attacks: Statements (27 Feb 2024)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: ...misinformation. People have concerns, some of them are legitimate but unfortunately some are not, some of them are based on fiction. Some are based on things that are not even real. The fact it has taken so long for the Government to get to grips with that and to try to tackle that misinformation is a source of huge concern. The communication with communities has at times been poor....

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: School Building Projects (21 Feb 2024)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: ...one stage was subsequently given to Carrigaline Community Special School. This was no fault of Carrigaline Community Special School, which is an excellent school. However, what happened made the long- and medium-term planning for the Owenabue Education Together National School challenging. A permanent site for the latter was identified last year, which was welcome. The site is in the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: School Meals Programme (20 Feb 2024)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: ...any event, we have regarded this area as a vital priority. In any event, the programme is in an area that Sinn Féin sees as a priority. It is a good news story that it continues to be expanded. In the longer run, similar to Deputy O'Sullivan, I would like to see it expanded to all schools. In fairness, the Department and the Minister have done good work in this area, as did the...

Paediatric Orthopaedic and Urology Services: Motion [Private Members] (20 Feb 2024)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: ...who are present here today and outside the House that I hope it gets widespread support in the House. In 2017, the Minister, Deputy Harris, promised that no child would be left waiting for longer than four months for surgery for scoliosis and spina bifida. The Government has utterly failed to meet this promise. Not only has it failed to meet this target - from an already unacceptable...

Business Costs for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises: Motion [Private Members] (14 Feb 2024)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: ...year, Sinn Féin and, in particular, Deputy O'Reilly have been highlighting the crisis facing SMEs, particularly in the hospitality and retail sectors. In the city of Cork, we have seen a slew of long-established and well-regarded businesses close in the city centre. Since Christmas, we have seen the closure of Tung Sing, which had been there for 60 years, Pigalle, Twilight News and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Energy Poverty: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Feb 2024)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: ...is an invalidity pension. Maybe the angle is that the invalidity pension is a means-tested payment. Having said that, these are primarily people who are either not going to work again for a very long time or may never work again. A means test is done usually because the person's partner is earning a middle income. There is not a lot of money in the house usually in these circumstances....

Misuse of Drugs (Cannabis Regulation) Bill 2022: Second Stage [Private Members] (31 Jan 2024)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: ...proposition and worthy of discussion. I welcome the fact that we can have a discussion on it. Sinn Féin will not oppose this Bill. We think it should proceed to Committee Stage and we have long called for an increased emphasis on harm reduction in this area. My colleagues, Deputies Gould and Ward, have undertaken extensive work in the fields of mental health, rehabilitation and...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Library Projects (30 Jan 2024)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: ...of the city in the Mahon-Blackrock area. That ward does not have a library at the moment. Large parts of it have a young population. The current proposal also includes a youth centre. It is a long-standing demand. A site has been identified but there is a concern that if a request is put in for €10 million, €12 million or something in that region, there will not be...

Charities (Amendment) Bill 2023: Second Stage (25 Jan 2024)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: .... An awful lot of public services are discharged through what are, in the usual context, section 39 or section 56 organisations but which, in very many instances, are charities and are governed by the Charities Regulator. We rely on them for services in health, education and in a great deal of other areas. They are probably the largest two areas, along with disabilities. When I speak...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare and Civil Law (Liable Relatives and Child Maintenance) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (24 Jan 2024)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: ...of the temporary protection directive, the social welfare decisions that have been taken on foot of the directive and how we will deal with the situation after next May. A year is not a very long time in that context. A discussion needs to be happening now. This committee can be part of that discussion on how we prepare for that transition. There is no clear plan for a transition at...