Results 181-200 of 511 for long speaker:Thomas Pringle

Ombudsman for Children's Initiative on Eliminating Child Poverty and Child Homelessness: Statements (23 Sep 2021)

Thomas Pringle: ...in a modern country with a fair and equal society with numbers like that? This needs to be addressed urgently and in order to do this we need to look at, as Professor Aoife Nolan says, pre-existing long-term structural inequalities and social vulnerabilities. The latest figures have shown a significant drop in children living in emergency accommodation. There is no doubt this is due...

Adoption (Information) Bill 2021: Second Stage [Private Members] (16 Sep 2021)

Thomas Pringle: I am delighted to jointly move that the Bill be read a Second Time. I introduced the Bill at the beginning of this year alongside my colleague, Deputy Connolly. This Bill aims to address the State's very restrictive laws on adopted people accessing information. Under current law, adoptees do not have automatic entitlement to access their birth certificate or records relating to their...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Health Service Executive (8 Jul 2021)

Thomas Pringle: ...quite stark that a Minister of State has to come into the House and make a speech like that in response to this issue. This should never have got to this stage and it should have been dealt with long before now. It is a serious problem when the HSE behaves like this towards a Government. We all want this to be dealt with and resolved and for the families to be protected. It is also...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Asylum Applications (8 Jul 2021)

Thomas Pringle: ..., the real world is not in the IPO. The real world is that experienced by the asylum seekers who must live under the system in this State. That is appalling. For people to have to spend as long as they have spent trying to get their cases heard is wrong. It is important that we put the words of the people concerned on the record. One said, "I came to Ireland to seek to protection, my...

Ban on Rent Increases Bill 2021: Second Stage [Private Members] (6 Jul 2021)

Thomas Pringle: There is no doubt the rental sector in this country is facing a crisis. I strongly support the long overdue ban on rent increases. However, let us be clear: this crisis has not happened overnight. Under successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael governments, rents have soared exponentially over recent decades and there is no sign of it stopping anytime soon. Fianna Fáil and Fine...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Waterways Issues (6 Jul 2021)

Thomas Pringle: ...for Housing, Planning, and Local Government when dredging will commence at Magheroarty Pier, Magheraroarty, Gortahork, County Donegal (details supplied); the reason the application has taken so long to be processed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36235/21]

Affordable Housing Bill 2021 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed) (24 Jun 2021)

Thomas Pringle: ...to pay the mortgage, and pay rent somewhere else while the repairs are taking place is unaffordable. The 90% mica redress scheme is not fit for purpose and I reiterate my call for 100% redress for affected homes, alongside the other necessary measures such as covering rent and pausing mortgage repayments. Last Monday, the Take Four blog by Unite the Union was launched, as part of which...

State Pension Age: Motion [Private Members] (22 Jun 2021)

Thomas Pringle: ...a statement entitled "Disjointed Pensions Policy will fail Older People", in which it advocated for the following changes: of tax relief on private pensions from 40 per cent to 20 per cent and second increasing employers PRSI by 0.5 per cent. These, along with some other smaller measures, would raise in the region of €949m, which is €200m+ more than the additional cost of...

Regional Airports and Aviation: Statements (17 Jun 2021)

Thomas Pringle: .... The new contract will be subject to the maximum term of seven months and will operate until EU law. I also welcome the fact that while the emergency contract is going to be put in place the long-term service must be put in place as well, and the processes will run parallel to each other. I commend the Minister of State on the fair play in that regard. We must ensure that the service...

Pyrite and Mica Redress Issues: Motion [Private Members] (15 Jun 2021)

Thomas Pringle: ...the north west. The Taoiseach stated today that this issue had not been highlighted in manifestos, yet I know of one manifesto that did highlight it. That manifesto reads: MY SOLUTION: - Deliver the long-awaited Mica Redress Scheme. - Address insurance cost issues for homeowners affected. - Ensure timely implementation of the scheme by Donegal County Council. - Provide 100% grants...

Health and Criminal Justice (Covid-19) (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (2 Jun 2021)

Thomas Pringle: ...of last year was lost because the Government did not learn or put anything in place on this issue. We have spent a whole year with these measures in place, which is just wrong. I am not go on any longer because everybody else went on for too long and other Deputies are waiting to make their contribution. I oppose the Bill.

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Disabilities Assessments (1 Jun 2021)

Thomas Pringle: ...the criteria. He received the refusal letter on 27 November 2018. He was told he would not qualify until the criteria change. This gentleman had to get a loan to buy an automatic car as he was no longer able to drive a manual vehicle. No supports were available for this man and his family even though he had a registered carer. Another example is a woman in her late 40s who is...

Health and Criminal Justice (Covid-19) (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (Resumed) (27 May 2021)

Thomas Pringle: ...not a normal pandemic response and, in fact, represent a radical departure from normal practice in responding to pandemics. Moreover, the original rationale for the restrictions - to flatten the curve - has long since passed. It is difficult to argue with some of these points. Indeed, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, ICCL, produced and circulated an analysis on the renewal of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (27 May 2021)

Thomas Pringle: The Minister is outlining a long-term plan and the actions that will take place. That is welcome and will protect many of the sites. The problem is that many of the sites may be gone by the time that long-term plan is in place. At the moment, every county is renewing its county development plan. Now is the time for the Minister and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage...

Companies (Protection of Employees' Rights in Liquidations) Bill 2021: Second Stage [Private Members] (12 May 2021)

Thomas Pringle: ..." because it is a service. People working in retail have to deal with customers, management, stock control and many other aspects of working in that sector. When employees are on their feet for long periods and have to show courtesy in the face of sometimes rude customers. It is a multifaceted and multi-skilled role. During the pandemic, retail employees have been front-line staff and...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 May 2021)

Thomas Pringle: ...testing centre will be opening in Milford Mart today, but it will only be open for three days. Additional facilities are to be announced, but we do not know where they will be located or for how long they will be open. Since the start of the pandemic, I have been asking about access to test centres and vaccines for people in Donegal. I have been calling for an all-island zero-Covid...

Residential Tenancies (Student Rents and Other Protections) (Covid-19) Bill 2021: Second Stage [Private Members] (28 Apr 2021)

Thomas Pringle: ...part of many third level institutions. Students have to be on-site for lectures, find a room to rent or move only to find out that their lectures will be remote. For many more rural areas, this has been a positive, as long as there is an adequate broadband connection to enable students to partake in online learning. It means that smaller towns and villages have not haemorrhaged as many...

Prime Time Investigates Programme on Department of Health: Statements (1 Apr 2021)

Thomas Pringle: ...external Senior Counsel. This review was completed in November 2020. That means the former Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, and the current Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, knew about this long before it appeared on "RTÉ Investigates". The Department stated that it took the issue very seriously and I presume that very serious issues are brought to the attention of the...

Caring for Carers: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (31 Mar 2021)

Thomas Pringle: ...vaccinate and protect directly the most vulnerable amongst us, that is, those most likely to have a poor outcome if they contract the virus ... hence the focus on the over 65-year-old cohort in long term residential care facilities, and healthcare workers in frontline services often caring for the most vulnerable. The Minister's replies have noted that "Persons being cared for in the...

Young People and Access to Further and Higher Education: Motion [Private Members] (11 Mar 2021)

Thomas Pringle: ...to qualify for the SUSI grant that way as the system does not accommodate them otherwise. It is absolutely crazy. The relevant age should be lowered to at least 21 years. Young people may live at home longer in Dublin due to skyrocketing rents, but in rural areas they are more likely to live independently than their Dublin counterparts and should be treated as independent students...