Results 1-20 of 734 for in 'Dáil debates' speaker:Michael Lowry

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (8 May 2024)

Michael Lowry: The HSE currently has a plan to use the new community nursing home in Nenagh as a step-down facility to tackle overcrowding from University Hospital Limerick, UHL. This initiative is contentious and controversial as it denies the long-awaited opportunity for the transfer of patients from St. Conlon's community nursing unit, which is deemed by HIQA as unfit for purpose. After consultation...

Gambling Regulation Bill 2022: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (1 May 2024)

Michael Lowry: This measure makes no sense at all. It is unnecessary and foolish in the extreme. It is politically mad and counterproductive. The feedback I have got from organisations in my county is that they are absolutely amazed and cannot understand it. They are asking me if this is for real. They are asking if it is possible that this will get through the Houses of the Oireachtas. It is a highly...

Gambling Regulation Bill 2022: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (1 May 2024)

Michael Lowry: People are saying it did not come from the justice committee and that this measure was never intended to be a part of the Bill. In my county of Tipperary, there is a hospice movement. I was recently at a fundraising venture that raised something like €200,000. That would not have happened if this restriction was in place. It would be outside the law and could not happen. The...

European Union Migration and Asylum Pact: Motion [Private Members] (1 May 2024)

Michael Lowry: People's confidence in the Government's handling of migration was low before they learned that newly-arrived asylum seekers to Ireland were escaping deportation from the UK to Rwanda. It was a shocking and worrying revelation that raises serious questions. People immediately wanted to know how suddenly this detailed information had become available. How do we determine the number of...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Apr 2024)

Michael Lowry: I welcome that the Taoiseach acknowledges that we cannot have disruption and that it should be avoided. A myriad of issues threaten people if Imagine and the other broadband suppliers decide to leave the market in advance of the arrival of the national broadband roll-out. We must do everything possible to avoid that scenario but at the moment, we are drifting towards it. I will be here...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Apr 2024)

Michael Lowry: The subsidised provision of fibre broadband across all regions of the country is critical to Ireland's economic and social progress. Despite being plagued by delays, National Broadband Ireland has stated it is confident that all 227 deployment areas will be completed by early 2028. While the broadband project may be almost four years away from its projected completion, existing commercial...

Gambling Regulation Bill 2022: Report Stage (24 Apr 2024)

Michael Lowry: I am very concerned. We have to protect charities, voluntary organisations and sporting organisations. Numerous charities and such bodies have contacted me expressing their reluctance and concern about this aspect of the Bill. In general, I believe that everybody supports the principle behind the Bill. If we have reduced services because the sponsors of those services are unable to...

Weather-Related Supports for Farmers: Statements (Resumed) (24 Apr 2024)

Michael Lowry: This year will go down in living memory as the year that brought farmers across the country to their knees. Incessant rain has caused devastation across every county, leaving farmers and their families reeling in its wake. We have an estimated 6.9 million ha of land overall in Ireland and 64% of this land is suitable for agriculture. However, the Irish agricultural sector overall has...

Support for Carers: Motion [Private Members] (24 Apr 2024)

Michael Lowry: Becoming a family carer can happen at any stage in life. It comes about as a result of need. It is undertaken as a result of love. While need and love are the driving forces behind one family member undertaking to attend to the needs of another, the long-term reality of what is involved can prove to be daunting. Neither the need nor the love diminish as time moves on. Until people stand...

Road Safety: Statements (17 Apr 2024)

Michael Lowry: A total of 16 people lost their lives on roads in Tipperary last year. This was more than double the number who died on the county's roads the previous year, making Tipperary the county with the highest number of road fatalities in 2023. Nationally, fatalities occurred across all categories of road users, including drivers, passengers, motorcyclists, pedal cyclists and pedestrians. Sadly,...

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

Michael Lowry: Family carers play a crucial and irreplaceable role in homes across our country. Without them there would be a catastrophic crisis in care for people of all ages. Family carers are ordinary men and women who are motivated by love. This love drives them to put a family member's needs before their own. They sacrifice their own plans and desires because a family member needs their care....

Taoiseach a Ainmniú - Nomination of Taoiseach (9 Apr 2024)

Michael Lowry: I will be supporting the nomination of Simon Harris as Taoiseach. I could join in the sound bite populist chorus of negativity. I could contend that everything in the country is a disaster and demand a general election. That might make better headlines but that is not my style of politics. There is no denying we have serious problems in housing, in health, particularly at University...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Mar 2024)

Michael Lowry: Farming across every sector is struggling. Bureaucracy is smothering farmers. Farmers have become so bogged down in adhering to a myriad of directives and tackling mountains of paperwork that the actual pleasure and satisfaction of farming is slipping from their grasp. Farmers throughout Ireland are facing changes and challenges unlike anything ever witnessed. Reduced sale prices,...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Mar 2024)

Michael Lowry: Another issue is the shambolic management of Ireland's forestry policy, which has led to farmers losing complete confidence in the forestry sector. That is compounded by the refusal of the Department to provide appropriate recompense for farmers impacted by ash dieback. The total amount of land planted for forestry in 2023 was 1,650 ha. That corresponds with the lowest volume in the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Driver Test (21 Mar 2024)

Michael Lowry: I thank the Minister for that information. While there is an obvious and steady improvement, too many people are still waiting a prolonged period for a test, which is causing a great deal of stress, strain and inconvenience. The facts and the figures there regarding all of the centres in Tipperary are above the service level agreement. On the SLA, are there penalties and what kind of...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Driver Test (21 Mar 2024)

Michael Lowry: It would be helpful to all of us as elected representatives where some months ago I engaged with the chief operations officer of the National Driver Licence Service, NDLS. Among a number of matters, I strongly criticised its issuing of generic letters to elected representatives. Part of the reason is this suspicion by public representatives of the information they are getting is because the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Driver Test (21 Mar 2024)

Michael Lowry: 65. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will report on the current waiting times for driving tests in all County Tipperary test centres; the number waiting in each test centre; the reason for the extended delays in each test centre; the steps he is taking to address these driving test delays; these matters require immediate attention and swift action to alleviate the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Driver Test (21 Mar 2024)

Michael Lowry: What are the current waiting times for driving tests in County Tipperary in all its test centres? What is the number for those waiting in each test centre? What is the reason for the extended delays in each test centre? What steps is the Minister taking to address driving test delays? These matters require immediate attention and swift action to alleviate the distress and inconvenience...

Child and Youth Mental Health: Statements (29 Feb 2024)

Michael Lowry: It came as no surprise to hear on Tuesday night that new laws to overhaul the country's existing mental health legislation would be brought forward before the summer recess. Considering the legislation has been in draft form since 2016 and has taken eight long years to reach this stage, it certainly cannot be deemed to have been rushed. As I mention that legislation, I thank the Minister of...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (29 Feb 2024)

Michael Lowry: I welcome the Government's decision to review and revise the regulation on eligibility for school transport. The bus pass travel scheme has been a shambles for years. The scheme is not fit for purpose and needs a radical overhaul. From my experience across Tipperary, the scheme is riddled with anomalies and inconsistencies. The rigid interpretation of rules and regulations has deprived...