Results 1-20 of 174 for long speaker:Mary Seery Kearney

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Apr 2024)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...doing that, and that if people caring for family members with disabilities raise their heads above the parapet, the might of the HSE will come down to cover its own back over the abject failure over a long period to deliver services to people. I have previously called for statements in the House on the delivery of services. Where are we with that delivery? We have held a couple of...

Seanad: Employment (Collective Redundancies and Miscellaneous Provisions) and Companies (Amendment) Bill 2023: Second Stage (24 Apr 2024)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...was a time when people could just download the form but we want to move away from that because the current system is much more efficient. It is incredibly efficient. In some instances, there can be long waiting times for decisions in the WRC. Over the past year, people in my sphere have had to write to the director to ask where the decision is and state they have been waiting a long...

Seanad: Smartphone and Social Media Use: Motion [Private Members] (24 Apr 2024)

Mary Seery Kearney: Everybody is welcome. I thank the Minister for taking the time to attend. I appreciate that she is very busy at the moment so she is very good to come here. As long ago as 2010, the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Use published an article that said smartphone use and social media platforms - platforms, apps and games - were designed to be addictive, which is what is addressed in this...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Ireland's International Obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child: Discussion (23 Apr 2024)

Mary Seery Kearney: I was curious about how the panel was made up and how long it was serving. I am glad to know this is something that is working. Again, we should probably have an advisory panel as a committee as well, and why not? It seems bizarre we would speak about children and young people and not actually hear from them. I am a little bit ashamed that we are four years in, and although this is not...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (16 Apr 2024)

Mary Seery Kearney: ..., which is on the edge of famine, if not already dipping into that. It is necessary and I certainly support that. That was supported elsewhere this morning by Senator O'Sullivan. Senator Dooley, along with others, also raised the situation with Eir yesterday. It has become apparent there is a systemic intentionality in denying people their rights.It is disgraceful. I am glad that it...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Protection of Children in the Use of Artificial Intelligence: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Apr 2024)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...for us to look up cat videos and all that kind of funny stuff. We have an eight- going on nine-year-old daughter who likes TikTok because she hears other people talking about it and she is allowed see it so long as she is sitting beside one of us. She did a video because she saw a filter she liked. He let her do a video and supervised. The algorithm immediately picked up on the fact...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Mar 2024)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...to see how has the uptake gone. If there are any issues arising for people making claims, we should get to address them in statements in the House. I urge the House to do that. Senator Burke, along with Senator Murphy, who gave some very frightening statistics, raised the issue of road safety. It is a disgrace that there were 1,800 speeding offences over the bank holiday weekend. I...

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Feb 2024)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...to addressing the disparity of views on the Constitution has been a commitment of the Government, with discussion taking place with the women's caucus and various other groups and NGOs for a very long time.

Seanad: Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 (Section 4(2)) (Scheme Termination Date) Order 2024: Motion (15 Feb 2024)

Mary Seery Kearney: I completely support the motion. In a way I regret that it is needed. It has certainly been a very long two years and quite horrific. There are invitations in and I have already committed to events on the weekend of 24 February. As of today, how many thousands are dead? How many homes have been destroyed? How many lives have been completely and utterly destroyed? While we are all...

Seanad: Family Carers: Motion [Private Members] (31 Jan 2024)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...the Free Travel Scheme to include people who are medically certified as unfit to drive; - entitling, since 1st September, 2023, family carers to qualify for the Contributory State Pension, by being credited with contributions where they have been Long-Term Carers for periods in excess of 20 years; - work on the feasibility and funding of a statutory home care scheme has been ongoing since...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Foreign Birth Registration (23 Jan 2024)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...expediting the process and no way of pushing them up the list, even though everything that is before the Department of Foreign Affairs has already had judicial oversight. There is an appallingly long delay in the Department of Foreign Affairs. In instances like that, it is an unwarranted delay. It is a very straightforward system. The people are living here in the country and could go...

Seanad: An Bille um an Naoú Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (An Teaghlach), 2023: An Dara Céim - Thirty-ninth Amendment of the Constitution (The Family) Bill 2023: Second Stage (22 Jan 2024)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...issue but on the basis that she was married and had an entitlement to privacy. That is an obscene consequence of the Constitution. While the Constitution also makes provision for divorce, for as long as we recognise the fact that marriage can break down, we need at the same time to honour the fact that families can constitute a whole heap of different things. There are families that are...

Seanad: An Bille um an Daicheadú Leasú ar an mBunreacht (Cúram), 2023: An Dara Céim - Fortieth Amendment of the Constitution (Care) Bill 2023: Second Stage (22 Jan 2024)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...that rape could not happen within marriage. There are Senators in this House who are younger than that. There have been traditional attitudes that ascribed particular roles to people and we have long since moved on from that. If women choose to stay at home and the families make the decision that to do so is in their best interests, they are quite entitled to do it. The same is equally...

Seanad: Health (Termination of Pregnancy Services) (Safe Access Zones) Bill 2023: Second Stage (14 Dec 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...give them a right to challenge, silence, guilt and judge those who would try to attend. There is only one function, and the function is judgment. It is paternalistic and now well outdated. We are long since past the place where they know better than the woman who is choosing the service. I congratulate the Minister. I know they have all had a lot on their plate. I thank him for...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Nov 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...are saying nothing about the Iranian ambassador. The fact is it should equally apply to the Iranian ambassador and we should have calls on the credentials there and the veracity. It is not that long ago since we got a complete and utter piece of propaganda sent to all of us from the ambassador, telling us a different version of events - their version of events - when it came to the...

Seanad: Rights-Based Care Economy: Motion (27 Sep 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...Senators from that perspective, because there could not be a vote and it could go to the next Stage rather than being delayed. That was contrary to Cabinet's decision. A lot of us went out on a long limb to make sure that Senator Clonan's Bill went through, contrary to the instructions we received. I am proud to have led on that. Senator Clonan called me out last week to specifically...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Child Protection: Discussion (20 Sep 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: I appreciate that, and I thank Mr. Brophy. When we talk about prioritising a child for allocation, how long does that process take, once there is an identification? Presumably, a child is identified and there is some sort of assessment of which category they fall into. How long are they waiting an allocation, and is there a geographical challenge in that allocation?

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Child Protection: Discussion (20 Sep 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: That sounds very sensible and proactive and I commend Ms Murphy on that. How long does the CORU process take?

Seanad: Disability (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Second Stage (11 Jul 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...the SNA training that are perfectly adaptable. People in preschool or school can identify and do AONs and they are competent and qualified to assess children and this prevents children needing the long AON. These children should be diverted off as quickly as possible and then we should make sure we have all the supports. The Minister of State came in here and spoke powerfully about all...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Assisted Dying: Developing a Legal Framework for Assisted Dying: Discussion (11 Jul 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...is arrived at and the ethics involved. I am not sure we can get into that space but we can put in frameworks. I tired to figure that through. I thought about the temporal matter, that is, how long we decide. How long should that period of time be? How do we support medical people who will be obliged to make those decisions? Points were made about decision-makers, assisted decision...