Results 1-20 of 220 for long speaker:Mairead Farrell

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (2 May 2024)

Mairead Farrell: "It was crazy. People sitting on the floor. A long queue winding its way up to reception. People lying across chairs. This was Tuesday morning. Some had been there since Sunday. Staff under huge pressure, stressed with their workload. No time to think. It was just panic. At one point, I thought I'm going to die". Those are the words of Niamh, who presented at the accident and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: European Year of Skills 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (30 Apr 2024)

Mairead Farrell: ...backlogs and so on.. We have had discussions on the matter and tabled parliamentary questions on it. Last week, I got a response to a parliamentary question in which I was trying to establish how long it takes for an apprenticeship to finish. All going according to plan, it should take four years. There are backlogs, however. I have been contacted by hundreds of apprentices about...

Disability Justice: Motion [Private Members] (17 Apr 2024)

Mairead Farrell: ...to raise the issue of respite in Galway. It was good to see that two weeks ago, we saw the opening of Summer Lodge Respite House and Four Seasons day services. That was very positive but it was long and hard fought for. We can already see the impact it is having on families across Galway, which was extremely evident on the day of the opening as well. We are all too aware of the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Bus Services (21 Mar 2024)

Mairead Farrell: .... I frequently hear from people in Loughrea in particular, that the bus that was meant to replace the 20X20 passes them by without stopping due to it being full. I hear what the Minister is saying. How long will this process take? When is he going to make sure there is some type of service available to people so that they can get that access to Dublin Airport?

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Student Accommodation (20 Mar 2024)

Mairead Farrell: ..., means many students feel completely locked out of third-level education because they simply cannot afford to live in the areas where they might want to study. Students have been very clear for a long number of years that what they need is affordable student accommodation - basic student accommodation that meets their needs. They do not need the accommodation that is being provided by...

Pre-European Council Meeting: Statements (20 Mar 2024)

Mairead Farrell: ...more than 100 Palestinians and injured more than 750 as they tried to get food for their families. Watching in horror is not enough. We need the world to end this genocide. This Parliament has long called for a ceasefire. The Irish people have been clear in their calls for a ceasefire and an end to this genocide. We need the international community to step up to the mark on this....

Research and Innovation Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages (6 Mar 2024)

Mairead Farrell: ...those affected, including researchers and people generally in the third level sector, feel the provisions are strong enough with respect to parity of esteem. The issue of parity of esteem has long come up in the third level sector and it had regularly come up when the Bill was being developed. It was clear on Committee Stage that we were all in agreement that there should be parity of...

Seachtain na Gaeilge: Ráitis (6 Mar 2024)

Mairead Farrell: ...do ghrúpa pobalbhunaithe atá tar éis teacht le chéile i gConamara chun díriú ar chúrsaí tithíochta. Is é Bánú an t-ainm atá ar an ngrúpa. Deireann a ráiteas an méid seo a leanas: Ó saolaíodh thú is mairg a rá, Go raibh an long anonn i ndán duit. Tá na focail chumhachtacha...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (27 Feb 2024)

Mairead Farrell: .... There are around 9,000 people waiting for levels 2, 4 and 6 training, which is a crazy figure. I have been inundated with messages from young craft apprentices who have been waiting for long periods of time, which is, naturally, very frustrating for them. People have told me they have been waiting for three years, which is a significant amount of time especially when we want to...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (27 Feb 2024)

Mairead Farrell: ...-job training is of huge concern to those impacted, including the impact on their wages. Some people have said it is taking them six years to finish an apprenticeship when it should not take that long. This is an issue of concern. I am interested in hearing whether the current situation affects levels 4 and 6 training.

Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Bill 2024: First Stage (27 Feb 2024)

Mairead Farrell: ...of the failure to address the lack of affordable student accommodation or, indeed, the lack of any student accommodation at all, digs have turned into the accommodation that many students and those in long-term lodging arrangements rely on now. As the Ministers and Minister of State will be aware, there has long been generous tax relief for those who rent out a room in their homes for this...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Early Childhood Care and Education (8 Feb 2024)

Mairead Farrell: ...bhfuil siad ina gcónaí sa Ghaeltacht. I thank the Minister of State for taking this Topical issue. This relates to an ionad tacaíochta teaghlaigh that has been open since 2009 and specifically deals with children from six months to 12 years of age and early education. I am sure the Minister of State has heard me speak about the issue of making sure that we have...

Conflict in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory: Motion (23 Jan 2024)

Mairead Farrell: ...of thousands of them who have protested against the genocide unfolding in Gaza, see is a proud but defenceless population of Gazans who are currently undergoing a genocide, a population that has long been starved, subjugated and stripped of their most basic human rights and dignity. One in four are now at risk of starvation. The entire population of Gaza is at risk of famine. Women are...

Investment Funds Trading in the Residential Property Market: Motion [Private Members] (17 Jan 2024)

Mairead Farrell: ..., one of the big vulture funds, said, "We've never seen rental increases like this in any jurisdiction that we're aware of", before adding: "I truly feel bad for the Irish people." That CEO has long retired, but I wonder what he would say if he was looking at rents today. Does the Minister of State know what the average rent was when the former CEO expressed that regret for the Irish...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Flood Risk Management (28 Nov 2023)

Mairead Farrell: ...to me this will only get worse so how do we ensure we have the people trained up? In the here and now we want to get this progressed as quickly as possible. However, we also need to look at the long term or fadtéarmach to make sure we have specialists who are able to do the work going forward. As a result of that I hope these issues will not take so long to be rectified. I welcome...

Neutrality: Motion [Private Members] (28 Nov 2023)

Mairead Farrell: ...It is absolutely insulting to the intelligence of the Irish people to tell us that our eyes are lying to us. It is an insult to say that all the NATO partnerships that have been entered into are not part of a long-term project to get on board. The Minister of State and the Tánaiste could have put this to a referendum if they wanted to do the decent thing. Instead, they are trying...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (28 Nov 2023)

Mairead Farrell: ...specific problems exist with its governing legislation? If he has any specifics on what the relevant section of the legislation is, I would like to hear it. The governing Act is obviously particularly long and I would like to look into it further. A lot of the time people say it is difficult to access the National Training Fund for different reasons. However, from what I understand,...

Science Week: Statements (16 Nov 2023)

Mairead Farrell: ...other issue is the fact that many lecturers are struggling with the precarity of contracts. Many lecturers are on rolling contracts from year to year. It is an historic issue that has been going on for a long period of time. We know that almost one third, or 32%, are employed on fixed-term or hourly-paid casual contracts, academics are working, on average, 11 hours per week over their...

Imposing Sanctions on Israel: Motion [Private Members] (15 Nov 2023)

Mairead Farrell: ...when other war crimes are committed. The lives of all must be deemed equal, and the double standards must end. Ireland has been a strong voice in solidarity with the people of Palestine for a long, long time. Ours is a unique voice in western Europe, an outlier. Our voice, therefore, must continue to be strong. We are on the right side of history on this. Far more importantly, we...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 Nov 2023)

Mairead Farrell: ...but also to the growing community that depends on the services these businesses provide. They need security and support, and they need both now. They need to know the Government is looking at a long-term plan to protect these businesses in the future as climate change worsens. Can the Minister give an assurance to the business owners, the community?