Results 41-60 of 511 for long speaker:Thomas Pringle

Health (Termination of Pregnancy Services) (Safe Access Zones) Bill 2023: Second Stage (Resumed) (13 Jul 2023)

Thomas Pringle: ...privacy violated for availing of legal, recognised forms of health care. I can assure the Minister that if the men in our society were facing this, day in, day out, it would have been made law and sorted out long ago. The stigma will not leave on its own, nor will it disappear overnight. The narrative, education and discourse surrounding abortion must change. The focus must shift from...

Situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory: Statements (13 Jul 2023)

Thomas Pringle: ...first introduced here. When are we going to take action? The international community is complicit in Israel’s crimes and Ireland is complicit in Israel’s crimes. We will continue to be as long as we continue this policy of inaction. I was horrified to read the report by Save the Children published on Monday. It outlined how Palestinian children are the only ones in the...

European Council Meeting: Statements, Questions and Answers (12 Jul 2023)

Thomas Pringle: ...peace facility? Fuelling war is not proactive; it is counterproductive. We should be nurturing peace, not feeding warfare. Ireland has not only allowed this to happen but we have also allowed our long-standing policy of neutrality to be completely undermined by the undemocratic public forum that was recently held. That forum did not represent an open debate on international security...

Investment in Football: Motion [Private Members] (12 Jul 2023)

Thomas Pringle: I am glad to hear it. The club has been waiting a long time. The completion of a new stadium, finally, is vitally important to ensure football can continue as best it can in the club. Despite underinvestment, we have managed to produce many brilliant soccer players, such as Séamus Coleman from my hometown of Killybegs. However, these players are forced to move abroad to further...

Nature Restoration Law: Motion [Private Members] (5 Jul 2023)

Thomas Pringle: ...There is no doubt that nature restoration is something that we have to do. It is essential that we restore biodiversity and bring our lands and water back to a condition where life can be sustainable in the long run. As the report states, “Without action, we will no longer be able to rely on nature for the very services we need to live.” It is devastating to me, then, that...

A5 Route Upgrade: Motion [Private Members] (4 Jul 2023)

Thomas Pringle: ...part of the main road link from Dublin to Donegal. I have used the road many times on my way to Dublin from various parts of Donegal, so I know exactly how unsafe it is. At least 47 people have died along this 86 km stretch of road since a plan to upgrade the entire route to a dual carriageway was approved by the Assembly at Stormont in 2007. That is shocking and it is clear that...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Jun 2023)

Thomas Pringle: ...will be released in the next few weeks. I hope that the extra measures taken by Ticketmaster are successful in stamping out ticket touts, and that tickets will go to actual fans who have waited a long time to see her live. The power of live music cannot be overstated, and it is something that I think is often overlooked. Studies have shown that people who regularly experience live...

Offences against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 and Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009: Motions (27 Jun 2023)

Thomas Pringle: ...the court is vitally important to protecting the State. That may be the case, but no evidence has been provided on that anywhere at all. The Special Criminal Court has been here in operation so long we do not know what effect it has had. As to the idea the Special Criminal Court had a calming effect on the IRA campaign that went on for 30-odd years or whatever, I do not think it did. I...

Public Health (Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill 2023: Second Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2023)

Thomas Pringle: ...not as harmful as traditional cigarettes, they are certainly not harmless. Risks of e-cigarettes and their impact may depend on frequency of use and other factors. Emerging research indicates that prolonged use of vapes may lead to an increased risk of heart and lung conditions. E-cigarette emissions typically contain nicotine and other toxic substances that are harmful to users and to...

Retained Fire Services: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (13 Jun 2023)

Thomas Pringle: ...of upgrading at this stage. The service needs to be dynamic and recognise that life and society have changed significantly since then. It is totally understandable that the rates of pay should go a long way towards recognising how to make it affordable for somebody to be a member of the fire service, if he or she decides to do that. This is something which should be recognised across...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: General Practitioner Services (1 Jun 2023)

Thomas Pringle: ...but it requires the Minister actually to ask, to pick up the phone and have a conversation with them in regard to the actual possibility of this happening. This could happen quickly and could go a long way towards easing the burden while we wait for all those training places, as the Minister outlined, to come on board. Fortunately, the training places seem to be happening now, which is...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: General Practitioner Services (1 Jun 2023)

Thomas Pringle: ...reluctance in the Department going by the fact that it does not respond to correspondence and by not actually doing something to bridge the gap that we are talking about. There is going to be a long timeframe, as seen by the number of questions this morning about the lack of trained staff, the lack of doctors and the lack of availability. There is going to be gap between what the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 May 2023)

Thomas Pringle: We have had an ongoing crisis for a long time in this country and it is one that has underpinned all other crises, that of inequality. Ireland is renowned for its wealth inequality and new data for 2022 show Ireland maintaining its status as the most unequal country in the EU by market income. The most recent EUROSTAT data show that Ireland's top 20% have about 15.5 times the income of the...

Hospital Waiting Lists: Motion [Private Members] (23 May 2023)

Thomas Pringle: ...to legislate for mandatory safe staffing levels in hospitals. The current waiting lists for Sligo and Letterkenny hospitals are completely unacceptable, and many of my constituents have reported long waiting times and understaffing in both hospitals. These hospitals are buckling under the strain following years of neglect and lack of investment into the north west. The Irish Hospital...

Accommodation Needs for New Arrivals: Statements (23 May 2023)

Thomas Pringle: ...Joan Collins. I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to speak on the issue of accommodation needs for new arrivals to Ireland. We have been dealing with an accommodation crisis for a long time; long before the war in Ukraine and the increase in the number of migrants coming into the country. This is not a new issue, and it certainly is not a migrant issue. Anyone who...

Consultative Forum on International Security Policy: Statements (18 May 2023)

Thomas Pringle: ...on this road and do it in the unthinking and cavalier way that the Government is proceeding, by supporting everything that is happening in Europe, not questioning anything, and not allowing debate to take place here in the Chamber. We do not want to continue on the road that Europe is proceeding along in respect of trying to become some sort of world power. We should be using our role...

Targeted Investment in the Health Service: Motion [Private Members] (17 May 2023)

Thomas Pringle: .... The fact that 2022 was the worst year on record for overcrowding in Irish hospitals is sadly not surprising. I have been contacted by many constituents in recent times regarding overcrowding and long waiting lists and some of the situations and wait times patients have been forced to endure are absolutely appalling. The fact that more than 812,000 patients were on national public...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Disability Services (16 May 2023)

Thomas Pringle: ...by everybody how bad it was, the HSE has attempted to cover up, to try to shut this down, to move on and say there is nothing to see in this regard. This is what has been going on for so long. I know the Minister of State is fully up to speed regarding this matter, but I am concerned now with whether the Government is up to speed on this issue. I know the Minister of State's interest...

Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Second Stage (Resumed) (16 May 2023)

Thomas Pringle: ...to this issue. I appreciate that it has brought forward this Bill today and I hope that this is a reflection of their priorities when in government, but I am not so sure. Unfortunately, in this country we have a long history of parties doing one thing in opposition and the exact opposite when they get into government. Four years ago, Fianna Fáil was in full support of the occupied...

Planning and Rural Housing: Motion [Private Members] (10 May 2023)

Thomas Pringle: ...and there is no doubt that the Government has failed spectacularly in addressing the current housing crisis. Recent EUROSTAT figures say it all. Ireland is the most expensive country in the EU, along with Denmark, and the cost of housing here is 88% higher than the EU average. That is an absolute disgrace, yet the Government's response has not only been wholly inadequate but has...