DOCSLIB.ORG

Seanad Éireann

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Seanad Éireann Vol. 274 Friday, No. 7 19 February 2021. DÍOSPÓIREACHTAÍ PARLAIMINTE PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES SEANAD ÉIREANN TUAIRISC OIFIGIÚIL—Neamhcheartaithe (OFFICIAL REPORT—Unrevised) Insert Date Here 19/02/2021A00100Gnó an tSeanaid - Business of Seanad � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 488 19/02/2021B00200Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 490 19/02/2021B00250Driver Test � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 490 19/02/2021D00250Just Transition Fund � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 492 19/02/2021F00350An Bord Pleanála � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 495 19/02/2021J00050Special Educational Needs � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 498 19/02/2021K00350Covid-19 Pandemic � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 500 19/02/2021N00200Qualifications Recognition � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 502 100An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 505 19/02/2021HH00400Local Government (Use of CCTV in Prosecution of Offences) Bill 2021: First Stage � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 522 19/02/2021HH01300Sitting Arrangements: Motion � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 522 19/02/2021HH01600Planning and Development Regulations: Motions � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 523 19/02/2021MM00100Report of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation: Statements (Resumed) � � � � � � � � � � � 524 19/02/2021HHH00100Student Nurses (Pay) Bill 2021: Order for Second Stage � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 540 19/02/2021HHH00500Student Nurses (Pay) Bill 2021: Second Stage � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 540 SEANAD ÉIREANN Dé hAoine, 19 Feabhra 2021 Friday, 19 February 2021 Chuaigh an Cathaoirleach i gceannas ar 10.30 a.m. Machnamh agus Paidir. Reflection and Prayer. 19/02/2021A00100Gnó an tSeanaid - Business of Seanad 19/02/2021A00200An Cathaoirleach: I welcome the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, to the House� I thank him for taking time out from his busy schedule to take two of these important Commencement matters. If the Minister will bear with me, I will, under Standing Orders, read out the Com- mencement matters� I have received notice from Senator Aidan Davitt that, on the motion for the Commence- ment of the House today, he proposes to raise the following matter: The need for the Minister for Transport to make a statement on the backlog in driver theory tests and whether his Department will consider the introduction of online remote ac- cess theory testing. I have also received notice from Senator Timmy Dooley of the following matter: The need for the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications to allocate just transition funding to west Clare to offset the economic impact of the downsizing of Moneypoint power station� I have also received notice from Senator Victor Boyhan of the following matter: The need for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to indicate the timeline for the live roll-out of An Bord Pleanála’s Plean-IT project together with its linking to local planning authorities’ own e-planning initiative. I have also received notice from Senator Mary Seery Kearney of the following matter: The need for the Minister of State with responsibility for special education and inclu- sion to provide an update on the opening of Scoil Colm, Dublin 12, as an autism spectrum disorder, ASD, specific school. I have also received notice from Senator Erin McGreehan of the following matter: 488 19 February 2021 The need for Minister of State with responsibility for special education and inclusion to make a statement on the plans being put in place to enable all children with special needs to return to school on a full-time basis� I have also received notice from Senator Niall Ó Donnghaile of the following matter: The need for the Minister for Foreign Affairs to outline the steps the Government is tak- ing, together with the UK Government, the Northern Ireland Executive and EU institutions, to expedite a bilateral or a joint programme of regulator-to-regulator mutual recognition of professional qualifications between the North and South of Ireland and Britain. I have also received notice from Senators Gerard Craughwell and Vincent P. Martin of the following matter: The need for the Minister for Defence to make a statement on the independence of the recently appointed Jadotville independent review group. I have also received notice from Senator Malcolm Byrne of the following matter: The need for the Minister for Transport to provide an update on the timeline for comple- tion of the M11 motorway from Oylegate to Rosslare Europort, County Wexford. I have also received notice from Senator Seán Kyne of the following matter: The need for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on the new main wastewater scheme for east Galway city, previously referred to as the east Galway main drainage project. I have also received notice from Senator Barry Ward of the following matter: The need for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide fund- ing to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council for harbours that were transferred to it under the Harbours Act 2015� I have also received notice from Senator Tim Lombard of the following matter: The need for the Minister for Education to provide an update on the delivery of a perma- nent extension to the Sacred Heart Secondary School, Clonakilty, County Cork. I have also received notice from Senator Garret Ahearn of the following matter: The need for the Minister for Justice to provide an update on the new Garda station in Clonmel, County Tipperary� I have also received notice from Senator Lynn Boylan of the following matter: The need for the Minister for Justice to make a statement on issues relating to the hous- ing assistance payment, HAP, schemes and access to the courts through the civil legal aid scheme� Of the matters raised by the Senators suitable for discussion, I have selected Senators Davitt, Dooley, Boyhan, Seery Kearney, McGreehan and Ó Donnghaile and they will be taken now. I regret that I had to rule out of order the matter raised by Senator Kyne on the ground that the Minister has no official responsibility in the matter. The other Senators may give notice on 489 Seanad Éireann another day of the matters that they wish to raise� 19/02/2021B00200Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters 19/02/2021B00250Driver Test 19/02/2021B00300An Cathaoirleach: I again thank the Minister for coming into the House. 19/02/2021B00400Senator Aidan Davitt: I thank the Cathaoirleach and I appreciate that he has selected this matter today� I welcome the Minister to the House� I know he has a busy portfolio and is very active in it� I wish him well in all his endeavours� I am sure the Minister is aware that there is quite a large backlog in relation to the theory test. This has been flagged to me by several councillors nationwide� Councillors Arthur McDonald and Paul Taylor have recently con- tacted me about clients who are trying to book a theory test. Some spots available were as late as November of this year. Following further inquiries, I believe there are 54,000 people booked to do theory tests between the middle of March and November� There was talk of a pilot scheme to bring the driver theory test online. There is no reason- able excuse not to conduct the theory test online, particularly as the Covid crisis is lasting much longer than anticipated. Every other facet of Irish life has moved to Zoom, Teams and other formats. There is no reasonable excuse for the theory test not to be carried out online safely, securely and, most of all, to the benefit to the Irish road user. I know there a pilot scheme but we have had very little feedback on that� I ask the Minister, as the senior Minister in this Department, to think outside the box, come up with an answer and allow people who need transport for school, work and everyday life to take the test� If they do not have their theory test, they cannot progress to get their driver test. I am hopeful the Minister will have a positive response to this issue. It is not the first time I have flagged it with his office. 19/02/2021B00500Minister for Transport (Deputy Eamon Ryan): I thank the Senator for raising this mat- ter� The driver theory test service is the statutory responsibility of the Road Safety Authority� My Department has been in constant contact with the authority since the start of the pandemic regarding all of its services. The impact of Covid-19 on these services and how they can best be maintained in the current circumstances is a critical issue for us� The driver theory test has not been deemed an essential service under level 5� As a consequence, the
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Sunday Independent
    gjj Dan O'Brien The Irish are becoming EXCLUSIVE ‘I was hoping he’d die,’ Jill / ungovernable. This Section, Page 18Meagher’s husband on her murderer. Page 20 9 6 2 ,0 0 0 READERS Vol. 109 No. 17 CITY FINAL April 27,2014 €2.90 (£1.50 in Northern Ireland) lMELDA¥ 1 1 P 1 g§%g k ■MAY ■ H l f PRINCE PHILIP WAS CHECKING OUT MY ASS LIFE MAGAZINE ALL IS CHANGING, CHANGING UTTERLY. GRAINNE'SJOY ■ Voters w a n t a n ew political p arty Poll: FG gets MICHAEL McDOWELL, Page 24 ■ Public demands more powers for PAC SHANE ROSS, Page 24 it in the neck; ■ Ireland wants Universal Health Insurance -but doesn'tbelieve the Governmentcan deliver BRENDAN O'CONNOR, Page 25 ■ We are deeply suspicious SF rampant; of thecharity sector MAEVE SHEEHAN, Page 25 ■ Royal family are welcome to 1916 celebrations EILISH O'HANLON, Page 25 new partycall LOVE IS IN THE AIR: TV presenter Grainne Seoige and former ■ ie s s a Childers is rugbycoach turned businessman Leon Jordaan celebrating iittn of the capital their engagement yesterday. Grainne's dress is from Havana EOGHAN HARRIS, Page 19 in Donnybrookr Dublin 4. Photo: Gerry Mooney. Hayesfaces defeat in Dublin; Nessa to top Full Story, Page 5 & Living, Page 2 poll; SF set to take seat in each constituency da n ie l Mc Connell former minister Eamon Ryan and JOHN DRENNAN (11 per cent). MillwardBrown Our poll also asked for peo­ FINE Gael Junior Minister ple’s second preference in Brian Hayes is facing a humil­ FULL POLL DETAILS AND ANALYSIS: ‘ terms of candidate.
    [Show full text]
  • 25Th August 2021 an Taoiseach Mr Micheál Martin, TD Department of the Taoiseach Merrion Square Dublin 2
    25th August 2021 An Taoiseach Mr Micheál Martin, TD Department of the Taoiseach Merrion Square Dublin 2 Re: Covid-19: Next phase of ‘Return to Work’ Dear Taoiseach, I refer to the above and my understanding that the Government intends to set out it’s future plan in this regard early next week. In light of the fact that the next meeting of the Stakeholder Group on the National Safety Protocol, under the chairmanship of your department, is currently scheduled post these announcements I feel it appropriate that I set out for your attention some of our principle concerns for your consideration. Vaccinations Notwithstanding the fact that there has been widespread participation in the vaccination programme, we are aware of cohorts of workers who may not be vaccinated. As previously indicated, we agree with the Government’s non- mandatory approach to this programme and we believe there are strong Constitutional, legal and human rights reasons underpinning same. While some workplace conflict can be expected on this subject it is our view that such exigencies should be managed within an overall framework agreement with the employer side. It is in this context that we have initiated discussions with IBEC on the subject and I understand a similar process is ongoing within the joint Public Services structures together with engagement on specific sectoral issues. Current Health and Safety Legislation As you are no doubt aware, the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, through regulation 227(2), explicitly excludes occupational disease, the effect of which is that employers have no reporting obligation to the Health and Safety Authority on the matter who, in turn, have no investigative responsibility in relation to the occurrence of Covid-19 in the workplace.
    [Show full text]
  • Donations to TDS, Senators and Meps 2016
    Donations to TDS, Senators and MEPs 2016 furnished to the Standards in Public Office Commission by Members of both Houses of the Oireachtas and Members of the European Parliament, pursuant to section 24 of the Electoral Act 1997, as amended Report by the Standards in Public Office Commission to the Ceann Comhairle in accordance with section 4(1) of the Electoral Act 1997 June 2017 Standards in Public Office Commission 18 Lower Leeson Street Dublin 2 D02HE97 Telephone: (01) 6395666 E-Mail: [email protected] Website: www.sipo.ie Twitter: @SIPOCIreland Contents Foreword Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 General information relating to donations Chapter 3 Donations disclosed Chapter 4 Donor statements Chapter 5 Publication of donation statements furnished to the Standards Commission Appendices Appendix 1 Donations disclosed by Members Appendix 2(a) Donations disclosed by Section 24(1A) donors – listed by party Appendix 2(b) Donations disclosed by Section 24(1A) donors – listed by donor 1 Foreword I am pleased to furnish this report to the Ceann Comhairle in accordance with the provisions of section 4(1) of the Electoral Act 1997, as amended (the Act). The donation statements/statutory declarations described in the report were furnished to the Standards in Public Office Commission pursuant to section 24 of the Act. The certificates of monetary donations/statutory declarations and statements from financial institutions were furnished pursuant to section 23B of the Act. ____________________ Justice Daniel O’Keeffe Chairperson Standards in Public Office Commission June 2017 2 Chapter 1 Introduction In accordance with the provisions of Part IV of the Act, each person who, in the preceding year, was a Member of Dáil Éireann (TD), a Member of Seanad Éireann (Senator) or a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is required, by 31 January each year, to furnish to the Standards Commission a donation statement/certificate of monetary donations/statutory declaration and, where appropriate, a bank statement in respect of the previous year.
    [Show full text]
  • Written Answers
    26 November 2020 Written Answers. The following are questions tabled by Members for written response and the ministerial replies as received on the day from the Departments [unrevised]. Questions Nos. 1 to 7, inclusive, answered orally. 26/11/2020WRA00400Israeli Settlements 26/11/2020WRA005008. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will re-examine the proposed legislation to ban the import of goods from illegal settlements in Palestine in view of recent attacks by the Israeli state there on human rights and the ongoing demolition of homes by the Israeli state; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38339/20] 26/11/2020WRA00600Minister for Foreign Affairs (Deputy Simon Coveney): The demolition by Israeli au- thorities of private property is of grave concern. Demolition and confiscation of humanitarian assets, including education infrastructure, is contrary to Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law, and in particular the Fourth Geneva Convention. I was deeply dismayed to learn of the demolition by Israeli authorities on 3 November of more than 70 structures, in the community of Humsa Al Bqai’a located in the northern Jordan Valley. I issued a statement on 6 November and Ireland’s Representative Office in Ramallah has visited the site of the demolitions. Ireland, the EU, and the wider humanitarian community are ready to support those impacted and the West Bank Protection Consortium, of which Ireland is a member, is providing emergency shelter and support to affected families. Ireland has a very clear position on Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory. They are illegal under international law and actively undermine the prospects for a Two-State solution.
    [Show full text]
  • Dáil Éireann
    DÁIL ÉIREANN AN ROGHCHOISTE UM CHUMARSÁID, GNÍOMHÚ AR SON NA HAERÁIDE AGUS COMHSHAOL SELECT COMMITTEE ON COMMUNICATIONS, CLIMATE ACTION AND ENVIRONMENT Dé Máirt, 26 Samhain 2019 Tuesday, 26 November 2019 The Select Committee met at 6.10 p.m. Comhaltaí a bhí i láthair / Members present: Teachtaí Dála / Deputies Richard Bruton (Minister for Communica- tions, Climate Action and Environment), David Cullinane, Eamon Ryan. I láthair / In attendance: Deputy Jack Chambers. Teachta / Deputy Hildegarde Naughton; Seanadóir / Senator Hildegarde Naughton sa Chathaoir / in the Chair. 1 SCCAE Estimates for Public Services 2019 Vote 29 - Communications, Climate Action and Environment (Supplementary) Chairman: Today’s meeting is to consider the Supplementary Estimates for Public Ser- vices for 2019 in respect of Vote 29 - Department of Communications, Climate Action and En- vironment. I remind members that in accordance with Standing Orders, the discussion should be confined to the items constituting the Supplementary Estimates. I invite the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment to make his opening statement. Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment (Deputy Richard Bruton): I thank the Chairman for accommodating this meeting. I know the committee has had a long day. This is essentially a token Supplementary Estimate to create a new subhead, F12 just transition, under which the €6 million allocated in the budget for the just transition fund will be paid. The early establishment of the subhead will facilitate expenditure from the just transition fund to commence in early 2020. Everyone knows the background to this, which is the recognition that just transition is a core part of the climate action plan.
    [Show full text]
  • Don't Tax Our Health Choices!
    DON’T TAX OUR HEALTH CHOICES! From March 1st 2019 the Government will be applying VAT at 23% to all Vitamin, Probiotic & Food Supplements. These supplements have been VAT free for the last 40 years! A2 POSTER CODE: VAT03 A4 POSTER CODE: VAT04 +23% Available from Wholefoods VAT HEALTH IS NOT A LUXURY! SIGN THE PETITION TODAY! @stopthisvat www.stopthisvat.ie What is happening: The Revenue Commissioners have decided that on March 1st 2019, 23% VAT will be applied to all health food supplements. This includes Vitamins, Probiotics and Fish Oil. What does this mean? On March 1st 2019, retailers must apply 23% VAT to all health food supplements, resulting in a 23% price increase for consumers. Such a sudden and radical increase in taxation will put a huge strain on consumers and cause many to have to reconsider their approach towards managing their health. This is bound to seriously damage the local Irish businesses that are the cornerstone of the industry sector, particularly if consumers turn to the international Internet to try and obtain a better priced product. What can I do: • Sign the petition (online and in-store) which can be found at www.stopthisvat.ie. • Additional petition hardcopies are available from Wholefoods Wholesale (product code: VAT02). Wholefoods drivers will happily take completed petitions back from you. Please ensure that all petitions are returned to Wholefoods by February 18th. • Actively encourage customers to sign the petition and highlight what VAT will mean for their purchases. • Email or write to your local minister or TD. Sample text can be found on page 3 of this document.
    [Show full text]
  • State Involvement in the Magdalene Laundries
    This redacted version is being made available for public circulation with permission from those who submitted their testimonies State involvement in the Magdalene Laundries JFM’s principal submissions to the Inter-departmental Committee to establish the facts of State involvement with the Magdalene Laundries Compiled by1: Dr James M. Smith, Boston College & JFM Advisory Committee Member Maeve O’Rourke, JFM Advisory Committee Member 2 Raymond Hill, Barrister Claire McGettrick, JFM Co-ordinating Committee Member With Additional Input From: Dr Katherine O’Donnell, UCD & JFM Advisory Committee Member Mari Steed, JFM Co-ordinating Committee Member 16th February 2013 (originally circulated to TDs on 18th September 2012) 1. Justice for Magdalenes (JFM) is a non-profit, all-volunteer organisation which seeks to respectfully promote equality and advocate for justice and support for the women formerly incarcerated in Ireland’s Magdalene Laundries. Many of JFM’s members are women who were in Magdalene Laundries, and its core coordinating committee, which has been working on this issue in an advocacy capacity for over twelve years, includes several daughters of women who were in Magdalene Laundries, some of whom are also adoption rights activists. JFM also has a very active advisory committee, comprised of academics, legal scholars, politicians, and survivors of child abuse. 1 The named compilers assert their right to be considered authors for the purposes of the Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000. Please do not reproduce without permission from JFM (e-mail: [email protected]). 2 Of the Bar of England and Wales © JFM 2012 Acknowledgements Justice for Magdalenes (JFM) gratefully acknowledges The Ireland Fund of Great Britain for its recent grant.
    [Show full text]
  • Oireachtas Monitor 233 Published
    Oireachtas Monitor 233 Published: 13 February 2017 1. Coming up this week in the Houses of the Oireachtas (13 February 2017 – 17 February 2017) Dáil and Seanad Agenda 2. Last week's Oireachtas Questions and Debates (6 February 2017 – 10 February 2017) a. Asylum and Immigration b. Education (incl ECCE and Child Care) c. Child Protection/ Child and Youth Services/ Children in Care d. Health and Wellbeing e. Disability and Special Educational Needs f. Child Benefit / Social Welfare/ Poverty / Housing a. Asylum and Immigration Parliamentary Questions- Written Answers Department of Justice and Equality Refugee Resettlement Programme, Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) Refugee Resettlement Programme, Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) Direct Provision System, Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) b. Education (incl ECCE and Child Care) Parliamentary Questions- Written Answers Department of Education and Skills Schools Establishment, Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) National Educational Psychological Service Data, Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein) School Patronage, Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein) School Transport Eligibility, Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) Department of Children and Youth Affairs Area Based Childhood Programme, Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) Child Care Services Funding, Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) Child Care Services Regulation, Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) Department of Health Defibrillators in Schools
    [Show full text]
  • Honoring St. Patrick Convention News
    D A T E ® D M A T E R I A L —HIS EMINENCE, PATRICK CARDINAL O’DONNELL of Ireland Vol. LXXXIII No. 2 USPS 373340 March-April 2016 1.50 Honoring St. Patrick In This Issue… Missouri Irish Person of Year James Dailey Wahl & wife, Kathleen Masses, parades and dinner-dances and celebrations of all kinds filled the days of March for AOH and LAOH members throughout the Page 17 country. Here is just a small sampling of the Hibernians on parade. AOH Father Mychal Judge Hudson County, NJ Division 1, from left, Ron Cassidy, Jim Miller, Laurie Lukaszyk, Ray Tierney, Michael Sweeney, Mike Collum, and Jim O’Donnell. Photo George Stampoulos: Respect Life Treasurer-AOH Father Mychal Judge Hudson County, NJ Division 1. See page 12 for more St. Patrick’s Parade photos. Convention News of the Jersey Shore” Buffet and Complimentary Draft Beer at Harrah’s famous “Pool.” Casual Attire. Irish Night Banquet on Wednesday July 13th - “Irish Night” includes a Duet of Chicken and Shrimp. Entertainment provided by the Willie Lynch Band. Business Casual Attire. D.C. President Walsh and NYS Installation Banquet on Thursday July 14th - Choice of: President McSweeney Chicken, Beef or Salmon. Entertainment provided by the Page 10 Eamon Ryan Band. Black Tie Optional. Marching in Maryland A la carte options are also available on line. If you prefer to reserve your package by mail use the application in the Digest. You can even submit and pay for your journal ad on line by clicking on the Journal Ad Book tab. Prefer to submit ad by mail, see journal ad book form in the Digest.
    [Show full text]
  • Annual Report 2008
    North South Ministerial Council 2008 ANNUAL REPORT Contents Introduction by Joint Secretaries 5 Chapter One Summary of Key Developments 7 Chapter Two NSMC Plenary Meeting 11 Chapter Three NSMC Meetings in Sectoral Format 15 3.1 Agriculture 17 3.2 Education 18 3.3 Environment 20 3.4 Health 21 3.5 Tourism 22 3.6 Transport 23 3.7 Aquaculture and Marine 25 3.8 Food Safety 27 3.9 Inland Waterways 29 3.10 Language 31 3.11 Special EU Programmes 33 3.12 Trade and Business Development 35 Annex One North South Ministerial Council Joint Secretariat 37 Annex Two North South Bodies’ Board Members 39 3 4 INTRODUCTION BY JOINT Secretaries Introduction We are pleased to report that 2008 was a year of further consolidation for the North South Ministerial Council. On 7 February 2008 there was a successful NSMC Plenary meeting at the Dundalk Institute of Technology at which Ministers discussed the work of the Council. Among the practical issues progressed at the meeting was Child Protection, where Ministers agreed to take forward work designed to enhance collaboration and co-operation on this sensitive and important issue. At the NSMC meetings throughout the year, Ministers continued to oversee the work of the North South Implementation Bodies and Tourism Ireland. Ministers received progress reports from Chairs and Chief Executives, reviewed objectives and targets against business plans and discussed future work by the Bodies. The Secretariat maintained a fruitful dialogue with The focus of Ministerial attention has been to ensure that organisations relevant to the work of the NSMC, such as both jurisdictions obtain maximum value for money from cross border partnerships, community and voluntary the work of the Bodies.
    [Show full text]
  • Green Party Convention 13-14 July
    LEADING THE CHANGE 2019 BLACKHALL PLACE GREEN PARTY12 - 15 JULYCONVENTION 13-142019 JULY WELCOME TO STONEYBATTER! FÁILTE GO BÓTHAR NA GCLOCH! Welcome to Dublin Central! It is 1,200 years since the Vikings first stepped ashore from their longboats onto the muddy northern shores of the River Liffey; just down the road from where we’re holding our Convention. Dublin 7 has long been known for cattle-dealing and glass- making, and in recent years has become a creative hub with cultural and food businesses attracted to the area. You’ll be able to savour hand-made ice-cream from Christiano in Sorrento’s chipper, or a flat white from Love Supreme. The Lilliput Press is just around the corner off Arbour Place, and Bí Urban is an amazing studio for social creativity on Manor Street. The National Museum at Collins Barracks is nearby, as are the graves of the 1916 leaders. In 1997 I ran in the General Election here before being elected in 2002 in Dún Laoghaire. Cllr. Neasa Hourigan now represents Cabra and Glasnevin just up the road, and is our candidate for the next General Election. Cllr. Michael Pidgeon’s ward is a stone’s throw away across the river. As a councillor here for the last five years I have focussed on making the city easier to get around, tackling disadvantage, and the housing crisis. Recently the City Council has upgraded older persons’ housing at St. Bricin’s off Arbour Hill to a Passive House standard. Plans for the Liffey Cycle route are in the pipeline, as are proposals to regenerate the nearby Fruit and Vegetable Markets.
    [Show full text]
  • General Election 2011 Background After a Short Research Period, An
    General Election 2011 Background After a short research period, an internal consultation procedure and consultation with the Internet Memory Foundation (IM) the parameters of this project were defined as follows: 1. A focused/ thematic web crawl. 2. 100 sites. 3. Combination of election candidate sites, political party sites, political commentary sites and government sites. Site Selection Selection of sites was carried out by Della Murphy and Maria O’Shea of the National Library of Ireland. Crawl parameters The crawl of websites was undertaken twice, on the 21/22 February and again on the 10 March by our web archiving partners Internet Memory using the Heritrix web crawler. General Selection Criteria 1. Website presence. Websites were evaluated on the basis of use. Only those sites that received regular and recent updates were included. Token websites were in the main excluded. 2. Technical reasons. Websites that were ‘clunky’ or that contained substantial moving image (YouTube) or flash were more likely to be excluded as there was no certainty around final capture. 3. Cut-off date. Sites had to be selected by the 7 February which meant that some sites may not have been up and running in a meaningful way by that time and were therefore not included. 1 4. Women Candidates. Much has been made of the dearth of women candidates in this election. We consciously tried to include women candidates and have 9 out of 51 candidates, slightly higher than the national average at 17.6%. 5. Twitter is being captured by the Library of Congress (USA) so where decisions between sites for inclusion were tight our preference was for the non-Twitter sites.
    [Show full text]