Results 1-20 of 856 for in 'Dáil debates' speaker:Martin Browne

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Nursing Homes (9 May 2024)

Martin Browne: It is dependent on the 96-bed unit being finished.

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Nursing Homes (9 May 2024)

Martin Browne: As I mentioned earlier in the Chamber, plans have been announced to repurpose the new community care nursing unit in Nenagh. The decision to change it from a public facility to a privately run stepdown facility, in order to take pressure off UHL, is a prime example of robbing Peter to pay Paul and moving the deckchairs around. Again, it is the elderly in the area who will suffer. It...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Nursing Homes (9 May 2024)

Martin Browne: On the Minister of State's last point, 50 patients will come from UHL to the new unit. Twenty patients in the existing St. Conlon's facility are waiting to move into the kind of facility that the Minister of State is talking about. They will be left in the old St. Conlon's. I did not give the impression that HIQA turned down St. Conlon's. All I said was that HIQA had previously reported...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Nursing Homes (9 May 2024)

Martin Browne: I accept that "rejected" is probably the wrong word. They have been told the unit is not fit-for-purpose anymore. I do not want my parents or other people having to walk on unsafe floorboards in a nursing home. I want them to have toilets in their room and visitors not having to sit on beds. If hoists have to be used for elderly people, I do not want lockers and so on to have to be...

Challenges Facing the Childcare and Nursing Home Sectors: Motion [Private Members] (9 May 2024)

Martin Browne: I want to speak on the Government’s appalling attitude towards the elderly in this country. I am speaking against the backdrop of the suggested repurposing of the new community nursing home in Nenagh as a step-down facility to take the pressure off University Hospital Limerick, caused by Government failures. I am also speaking in the wake of the repurposing of St. Brigid’s...

Progressing Special Education Provision: Statements (9 May 2024)

Martin Browne: I welcome the opportunity to discuss this matter because only last weekend there was a public demonstration organised by parents who are continuing to encounter significant difficulties in getting school placements for their children. Every year, we come across the same range of challenges facing parents who are seeking a suitable school place for their children. The reason for this is a...

Affordable Housing: Motion [Private Members] (8 May 2024)

Martin Browne: I thank Deputy Ó Broin for tabling this motion. Each time the housing crisis is discussed in the House, the Minister tries to avoid his failures by producing misleading figures. How many affordable houses have been delivered under the local authority affordable purchase scheme in Tipperary? The answer is "None". At the same time, people are facing a rental market collapse, with the...

Supports for Survivors of Residential Institutional Abuse Bill 2024: Second Stage (Resumed) (1 May 2024)

Martin Browne: What we must bear in mind when discussing this Bill is whether its provisions reflect the needs of survivors of institutional abuse. They are the ones whose lives were changed due to the conditions and treatment to which they were subject. We cannot forget that their lives have also been shaped by the disregard shown to them in the decades subsequent to their confinement in places like Sean...

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

Martin Browne: I would have been happy to allow Deputy Conway-Walsh speak for another minute if she wanted. As has been said, the Government is taking the wrong path here. The majority of measures in the EU's migration and asylum pact are not in Ireland's interests. Through its determination to bind itself to every element of this pact, the Government believes it can distance itself from its own...

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

Martin Browne: As other speakers have said, we all appreciate the importance of this Bill as regards gambling, especially the online part of it. There is not a TD in this Chamber who has not been approached by some charity, GAA club or school raising money. It is unbelievable that this is being brought in when there is so much uncertainty out there. We are asking for it to be referred back to the...

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

Martin Browne: One of the issues we generally come across when responding to the needs of farmers is the delay in appropriately addressing things as they happen. The particularly wet weather at the end of last year and to date in 2024 has extended the season in which farmers have had to keep their livestock housed and, as a result, has had a significant impact on feeding costs. Despite the signals that...

Road Safety: Statements (17 Apr 2024)

Martin Browne: We need an all-round approach to road safety to reverse the worrying trend of road deaths we have seen recently. The last time I spoke about this, in February, I drew attention to the fact that the manned deterrent on the roads needs to be increased, yet the ability to provide that increased Garda presence is hamstrung by the shortage of available gardaí. This was pointedly outlined in...

National Cancer Strategy: Motion [Private Members] (16 Apr 2024)

Martin Browne: I also want to thank Deputy Cullinane for tabling the motion. The Minister of State said in her contribution that she would give figures; I am also going to give figures. First, we have had 13 years with Deputies Harris, Varadkar and Stephen Donnelly as Minister for Health that have made the health service worse, with higher hospital overcrowding, hospital waiting times and wasteful...

Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill 2024: Second Stage (16 Apr 2024)

Martin Browne: We are living in an ageing society, and it is important we get auto-enrolment right. It is important to provide a financial vehicle to help people to supplement the State pension to enable them greater financial security in retirement, so we must get it right. It is to reward workers and improve their lives post retirement. I refer to the mandatory nature of the automatic opt-in for six...

Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Second Stage (10 Apr 2024)

Martin Browne: Sinn Féin is supportive of establishing of a sovereign wealth fund. With the significant growth in corporation tax receipts in recent years, it is important that the moneys collected in this regard are treated in a manner that protects them in order that they can be used to combat future challenges and crises as they may arise. The design of such a fund must take various factors into...

Pre-European Council Meeting: Statements (20 Mar 2024)

Martin Browne: I note that the inadequate response to the Israeli Government's actions in Gaza has given the Israeli Government the feeling it can do what it likes and act with impunity. We have seen this all along and we have seen it result in the death of 40,000 Palestinians, which is unbelievable. It is happening in front of our eyes on social media. Most recently we have heard the Israeli Government...

Housing Targets and Regulations: Motion [Private Members] (6 Mar 2024)

Martin Browne: Yesterday the Taoiseach indicated that the Government would not be opposing this motion but I take it that is just for appearance. Many of the ambitions in the motion are in stark contrast to the view of the value of a home beyond that of a commodity. The motion calls for an EU plan that will end the financialisation of housing and tackle speculation in the housing system. This is clearly...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (5 Mar 2024)

Martin Browne: I wish to raise with the Minister of State a meeting I attended last night regarding Mr. Sean Meehan, who is facing homelessness and legal action because he has been ordered to demolish his current residence. This is absolutely crazy in the middle of the housing crisis we have. Does the Government actually believe that people who have had to house themselves should be made homeless at this...

Protection of Employees (Trade Union Subscriptions) Bill 2024: Second Stage [Private Members] (28 Feb 2024)

Martin Browne: I also thank Deputy Collins for bringing this legislation to the House. The Bill aims to standardise the deductions of trade union subscriptions at wage source for presentation to the union. This would be a positive development for workers who may encounter employers who take advantage of trade union disputes, seek to prevent the establishment of trade unions or attempt other trade...

Recent Arson Attacks: Statements (27 Feb 2024)

Martin Browne: Let me be clear - arson cannot be tolerated or justified and it cannot be seen as any form of protest. Arson is not a way to express frustration. Its only purpose is to sow division, fear and distrust in our communities. For the people who do this and who seek to do the same in other forums, the truth is secondary. It is not a primary concern for them because if the truth and accuracy of...