Results 101-120 of 1,172,219 for in 'Dáil debates' OR in 'Committee meetings' (speaker:Damien English OR speaker:Ruairi Ó Murchú OR speaker:Catherine Murphy OR speaker:Mary Lou McDonald OR speaker:Mairead Farrell OR speaker:Neale Richmond OR speaker:Duncan Smith OR speaker:Hildegarde Naughton OR speaker:Thomas Pringle OR speaker:John McGuinness OR speaker:Róisín Shortall OR speaker:Eamon Ryan OR speaker:Kieran O'Donnell OR speaker:Mark Ward OR speaker:Darren O'Rourke OR speaker:Robert Troy OR speaker:Éamon Ó Cuív OR speaker:Joe O'Brien OR speaker:Seán Fleming OR speaker:Cathal Crowe OR speaker:Matt Carthy OR speaker:Brian Leddin OR speaker:Gerald Nash OR speaker:Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire OR speaker:Heather Humphreys OR speaker:Thomas Gould OR speaker:Helen McEntee OR speaker:Catherine Martin OR speaker:Seán Haughey OR speaker:Dara Calleary OR speaker:Aengus Ó Snodaigh)

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Hedge Cutting (10 Oct 2024)

Dara Calleary: I am taking this on behalf of the Minister, Deputy McConalogue. The Minister believes that hedgerows are a significant component of the Irish landscape. We are fortunate in Ireland to have retained an extensive hedgerow network, with an estimated length of 689,000 km according to Teagasc research. As Deputy Ó Cathasaigh has said, hedgerows are multifunctional, acting not only as...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Social Welfare Payments (10 Oct 2024)

Bernard Durkan: I thank the Minister of State for his reply, which is exactly accurate. That is what the supplementary welfare payment is supposed to be. It is supposed to be a short-term interim payment while investigations are taking place. I was previously a Minister of State in that Department, so I am fairly familiar with it. I have never had that experience before either. Somebody obviously felt...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Employment Rights (10 Oct 2024)

Louise O'Reilly: The Minister tells me research is being conducted into the impact of paid sick leave. I could have saved the Department a fortune: the impact of paid sick leave being available to workers is that people who are sick can afford to not go to work. Hopefully they can afford to stay at home and get better and not bring whatever it is they have into their workplace and potentially infect other...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Employment Rights (10 Oct 2024)

Dara Calleary: Nobody is celebrating anything. I assure the Deputy that no official announcements have been made.

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Employment Rights (10 Oct 2024)

Louise O'Reilly: That is not the case.

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Employment Rights (10 Oct 2024)

Dara Calleary: The introduction of statutory sick leave marked a key policy development for this country. It was introduced by this Government. For the first time, employees have a statutory right to employer-paid sick leave. That was done without us having carried out any comprehensive analysis of the sick pay landscape in the country. The data being collected now will be valuable in bridging the gaps...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Social Welfare Payments (10 Oct 2024)

Social Welfare Payments

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Social Welfare Payments (10 Oct 2024)

Bernard Durkan: I apologise for my late entry. I assumed my matter was No. 4 but it is No. 1. I tabled this matter on the basis of a few experiences I have had in recent times. The first relates to a person who has serious health problems, who is not and will never be fit to work again. The person made an application for a disability allowance, which takes forever of course, as we all know. In the...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Social Welfare Payments (10 Oct 2024)

Dara Calleary: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta. I have a different topic. It is in the social protection area but it relates to obtaining payments. We can shoehorn it into what the Deputy has just said. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Humphreys. In my time I have not had any such experience. I have been fortunate in that we have had an excellent relationship with the...

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Róisín Shortall: Apologies for being late, but I was speaking on the statements on mental health and it was an unfortunate clash. Regarding smoking cessation supports, over the last two years this committee has dealt a lot with vaping and smoking. We urge the Minister to accelerate the production of the legislation to deal with the flavours and disposable vapes which we called for at this committee over...

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Róisín Shortall: We are getting mixed messages on this issue, at the very least, and also mixed objectives. The Minister said there is emerging evidence of harm to adults from vaping. I have not seen that evidence. It would be interesting to see it. However, such evidence is relative. Is it indicating that vaping is more dangerous than smoking to adult smokers?

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Róisín Shortall: If vaping is less dangerous than smoking, we should be encouraging people to vape in an attempt to get off cigarettes. We have talked about the importance of ensuring nicotine chewing gum remains affordable because it is an important tool in giving up cigarettes. Why would the Minister for Finance interfere in what is, in essence, a public health matter? It sounds a bit like the Government...

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Róisín Shortall: Does the Minister see no role for vaping in smoking cessation? I have never previously heard this theory. Is that what he is saying?

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Róisín Shortall: That is fine but why is the Minister discouraging vaping for smokers if, as he said, smoking is far more damaging than vaping?

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Róisín Shortall: That does not make sense in the real world. Is any other country taking this approach? It would be great if nobody smoked but the reality, unfortunately, is that lots of people still smoke and it does them damage. The Minister is saying that we know anecdotally that smokers who use vaping as a means of ceasing smoking, or at least reducing it, find it very beneficial. Is that something to...

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Róisín Shortall: That is in an ideal world. Presumably, the public health view is not really to move from smoking to nicotine replacement; it is to stop smoking.

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Róisín Shortall: However, that is not easy to do.

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Róisín Shortall: That is overly purist. I do not understand that approach.

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Róisín Shortall: My reason for raising this matter here today is that it is the only opportunity to hear from the Minister about his thinking. This measure will come in with the Finance Bill on Wednesday, as it is a provision of that Bill.