On prevailing side: this member voted with the winning side in 25 of 177 decisive votes (0 abstentions excluded). Read it as a government-or-opposition indicator rather than a measure of influence — the figure is near 100% for members supporting the government of the day and near 0% for those opposing it.
This is the point of the site: contributions keep the party held on the day, not the one held now.
| Party | Recorded as | Contributions | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| IND | Independent | 1,687 | 2020-01-21 – 2026-09-23 |
Membership spells on record: IND 2007-07-23–2011-04-25 · IND 2011-05-25–2016-04-24 · IND 2016-03-10–2020-03-29 · IND 2020-03-30–2025-01-29 · IND 2025-01-29–present
I will tell the Minister of State why. It was very difficult for people to get on that gender committee. I think my friend and colleague, Senator Keogan, was kept off the committee.
I thought the Minister of State was asking me a question.
I make no apologies to my friend, the Minister of State, for choosing my own forum in which to ventilate the major problems with what the Government is doing by twisting gender and gender identity. It has the HSE pretending that men can have babies and breast-feed. It leads to the erasure of women as men with dysphoria lay claim to women's spaces. In our playschools and schools, the normal securing of children's certainty of their personal identity at an early age could be turned upside down. They are being told fa…
The Minister of State just could not answer my argument; that is her problem.
Some women are horrified with the approach the Minister of State-----
Congratulations on your good work.
No argument.
The Minister of State should be consistent, then, and not damage women's issues and interests-----
Not at all. I would also like to welcome the guests and to wish everybody here the best for the forthcoming term. I was struck by an observation by Professor Orla Feely, during her inaugural lecture as president of University College Dublin, UCD, on Monday evening. She pointed out that the ratio of students to staff in Irish universities is, as she put it, "much, much worse" than it was during the economically bleak 1980s. She said that then, "The student-to-faculty ratio in UCD... was around 13 to one. Now... it i…
Knock yourself out.
I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." The Bill we are discussing this evening is not a knee-jerk reaction to the controversy that has broken out in and about RTÉ in recent weeks. The payment of RTÉ celebrity top talent has been a controversial topic for many years for the obvious reason that RTÉ gets most of its money from ordinary people by way of the television licence and people have certain expectations of what public service broadcasting should be and what it ought to mean. In 2019, I said, and wa…
They have moved from scoring points to scoring own goals at this point. I thank the Minister for attending this debate and for agreeing that it is an important and timely debate. I also want to thank my colleagues Senators Keogan, Byrne, Carrigy, Warfield, Sherlock, Craughwell and McDowell for contributing. Thankfully, we do not use terminology like "top talent" here in the Seanad. We are all the same, and that is why we like each other so much. I welcome the Minister's considered response to the Bill. However, now…
I propose an amendment to the Order of Business, that No. 7 should not be brought to a conclusion at 5.15 p.m. by the putting of a question but should instead be adjourned. There is a strong tradition of opposing the guillotine in this House. It would be disgraceful for the Government to push for a guillotine on any legislation, but especially the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, when one considers the fine advocacy of my colleagues in the House, including Senators McDowell and Craughwell, pointing to flaws i…
Yes.
They look like Ireland's fittest family.
I request a walk-through vote.
Under Standing Order 83(3)(b) I propose that the vote be taken by other than electronic means.
I also thank Senator Keoghan and, indeed, the Seanad Office for guiding us through the necessary formalities on this. I propose an amendment to the Order of Business: "That No. 15 be taken before No. 1 today." This relates to my Bill, the Broadcasting (Restriction of Salaries) Bill 2023, which I hope will be debated in the Seanad next week. We are all aware of the crisis that has broken out at RTÉ. It is a crisis of transparency and accountability. We do not know the full details yet but there is major public conce…
I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Broadcasting Act 2009 to provide for transparency in the public interest in relation to the remuneration of certain individuals pursuant to contracts of employment and contracts for services with corporations, and to provide for connected matters.
Next Tuesday.