Results 41-60 of 231 for long speaker:Eugene Murphy

Seanad: Local Government (Maternity Protection and Other Measures for Members of Local Authorities) Bill 2022: Second and Subsequent Stages (15 Dec 2022)

Eugene Murphy: ...My former PA, Mairéad O'Shea, has been very much involved. The Minister of State met with her. Those people are doing a lot of work to encourage more women into local politics. Of course it is long past time that women had the entitlement to maternity leave. I hope this Bill will encourage more people. In my county of Roscommon the rate of female participation is about 22%. I...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 Dec 2022)

Eugene Murphy: ...for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Humphreys, has made an investment in excess of €27 million in the town and village programme up and down the country. It is good to see that a long-vacant building in Ballinasloe is to be repurposed as a hub and €500,000 will be allocated for the redesign of Arigna, County Roscommon, a little village well known to many which was...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: School Meals Programme (13 Dec 2022)

Eugene Murphy: ...Minister of State and the officials on the work they are doing in respect of it. I acknowledge that the scheme is being evaluated at present but I warn on the time span for this. We cannot afford to hang around too long on this matter. More and more suppliers will drop out. This would be a tragedy. It is one of the best schemes we could have. It is focused on young people who may not...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (13 Dec 2022)

Eugene Murphy: ...though the outlook provided by those with responsibility for this area seems fairly positive. We have to move quickly with offshore wind projects, but planning issues are holding them up for too long. An Bord Pleanála has not been fit for purpose for a number of years. It must be changed. We must gear up, get our planning system working perfectly and respect people who want to...

Seanad: Statements on COP27 (8 Dec 2022)

Eugene Murphy: .... My own town has Strokestown House to which 60,000 or 70,000 people come to see the National Famine Museum every year. We are fortunate at the moment because Bus Éireann provides a good bus service along the N5 national primary route. However, if we want to remove cars or certainly not let car use expand, then in rural areas particularly we have to be innovative and radical and...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (1 Dec 2022)

Eugene Murphy: ...UTP enforcement functions to the remit of a new regulator. This is crucially important. I understand that the Minister and the Government will not be hanging around in respect of this issue. It is long overdue. As I said, it was a commitment in the programme for Government. It is now going to happen fairly rapidly. Payments to 71,000 farmers under the 2022 fodder scheme have just...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (23 Nov 2022)

Eugene Murphy: ...junior certificate students, who are getting their exam results today. Possibly most of them have received their results by now. There were 67,000 students involved and they have been waiting a long time for them. I know that this junior certificate was different from the 2019 one, with all of the difficulty with Covid-19. As I always say in situations like this, I offer my...

Seanad: Private Nursing Home Sector: Statements (16 Nov 2022)

Eugene Murphy: ...and sat down with them. We spent a day on the road and met so many groups. The feel-good factor for everybody involved was fantastic. I hope that she is allowed to continue that work for a long period because she is very good at it. I will make a few very brief comments. I will not repeat much of what has been said except to say that we all acknowledge staff and what they do. Senator...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 Oct 2022)

Eugene Murphy: ...Bank stated that separated or divorced people may now be considered first-time buyers as part of a fresh start policy - this is has been an issue for politicians up and down the country - as long as they no longer have an interest in their former properties. I welcome that as well. This proposal will bring new life to the construction industry, especially in regard to those badly needed...

Seanad: Summer Programme: Statements (18 Oct 2022)

Eugene Murphy: ...for mainstream pupils with complex needs and those at greater risk of educational disadvantage. There are people who cannot adapt to education as it is. That was probably not recognised for a long time, but with all of this happening now, we recognise it now. It is very important, whatever road we go down, that everybody gets the advantage of education. Education is very advantageous,...

Seanad: Electricity Costs (Domestic Electricity Accounts) Emergency Measures and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Second Stage (13 Oct 2022)

Eugene Murphy: ...credits and accept everything is not perfect, but if one were to go down the road of separating customers with holiday homes from others, the credit would, according to the experts and others, be a long time coming to those who desperately need it. Although everybody said the credit was not enough, nobody referred to the benefits of the fuel allowance. For example, it has now been...

Seanad: Situation in Iran: Motion (11 Oct 2022)

Eugene Murphy: ...continuing repression and organised discrimination against women, and many in this Chamber today have repeated that particular line. We must at all times, even in this country and even though we are a long way from Iran, stand up for these people and these women because they are entitled to freedom of opinion, expression and belief. I am glad to see that this Chamber is totally...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Sep 2022)

Eugene Murphy: ...deal with facts in the context of the budget. Sometimes the whole role of carers is thrown about by a minority of politicians who use it to exploit their situation politically. We need to take a long look at what this budget has done for carers. There will be a cost-of-living double payment to carers in October. A cost-of-living lump sum of €500 for people getting the carer's...

Seanad: Budget 2023 (Finance): Statements (27 Sep 2022)

Eugene Murphy: ...that are there, put a tax on them and get them into use, but there are a lot of houses for which that vacant tax will not work. It will be found not to be constitutional and all sorts of issues will hold things up for quite a long period.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 Sep 2022)

Eugene Murphy: ...I will insist that the staff get a proper deal. Everybody accepts that. I refer to Senators' staff in particular. Each Senator has one member of staff. They work very hard and, at times, very long hours. We have to look after them. I think of the campaigners outside the gates of Leinster House today, particularly those campaigning with regard to cystic fibrosis. I think of the 35...

Seanad: Energy: Motion (14 Sep 2022)

Eugene Murphy: ...can. I am a fan of wind energy and it can work. We need to get energy generation at sea working. When energy generation takes place inland, we need to be careful that we do not upset people too much. We have been waiting for regulations for a long time to ensure wind turbines are more than 500 m from any person's house. That has not changed. It has been going on for years and it...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Dental Services (28 Jun 2022)

Eugene Murphy: ...and understand that dental healthcare is extremely important, particularly for young people. It is not good enough that people have to wait and suffer. As we all know, some of those dental healthcare problems can become lifelong problems for people if they are not handled at an early age. Most politicians, irrespective of what side of the House they are on, whether they are in government...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (23 Jun 2022)

Eugene Murphy: ...national or local. Will Faulkner, Ellen Butler, Sinéad Hubble and Robert Fahy from Midlands 103 got a merit certificate. These people are all doing fantastic work so let us laud them today. Long may they live and continue to do this kind of work. It is always nice to have a good news story. I know there is a lot of talk about the cost of living and the hardship people are going...

Seanad: Electoral Reform Bill 2022: Second Stage (21 Jun 2022)

Eugene Murphy: ...to move 7,500 votes out of north Roscommon into Sligo-Leitrim-South Donegal. They had done it with Cavan previously - they put them in with Sligo-Leitrim-South Donegal - and the Cavan people were not long saying that they had to get that changed. Certainly, in a Roscommon context, we want our county intact. It is something that we will be looking at in the future. I suppose the...