News

Local MEP backs calls for Norway to be banned from fishing in Irish waters

By Kilkenny Now 29th October 2024 0

Ireland South MEP Kathleen Funchion has called for Norway to be banned from fishing in Irish waters. The former Kilkenny TD backed calls by the Irish fishing sector for the ban, saying:  “Irish coastal and fishing communities have been neglected by successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael governments. What should be a thriving community and […]

News

Voluntary school contributions heaping ‘unfair pressure’ on Kilkenny families

By Kilkenny Now 11th March 2022 0

A Kilkenny TD has called on the Government to “take action” against voluntary school contributions which are placing unfair pressure on local families’ finances. Deputy Kathleen Funchion was speaking as the Dáil debatd the Education (Voluntary Contributions) Bill 2021, which she said would “prevent families being singled out for not being able to

News

Covid not to blame for soaring waiting lists at Kilkenny Hospital, says TD

By Kilkenny Now 12th September 2021 0

Soaring waiting lists at Kilkenny’s main hospital is not a result of Covid-19, a local TD has said. Deputy Kathleen Funchion criticised Taoiseach Micheál Martin for suggesting the pandemic is to blame for spiralling hospital waiting lists. Examining figures for waiting lists locally and nationwide, the local Sinn Féin TD argues the major rise in […]

Business

‘A historic moment’ – Kilkenny TD’s birth cert Bill passes in Dáil

By Kilkenny Now 11th March 2021 0

Legislation from a Kilkenny TD to give adopted people in Ireland a legal right to access their own birth certificates has passed the second stage in Dáil Eireann. Speaking after the Government agreed not to oppose her bill, Deputy Kathleen Funchion, who is Sinn Féin’s spokesperson for children, said: “This is a historic moment which […]

News

Kilkenny TD wary of Government promises of new pay deal for childcare workers

By Kilkenny Now 15th December 2020 0

A Kilkenny TD has given a cautious welcome to the Government’s announcement of a new pay deal for people working in the childcare sector. In a statement, Deputy Kathleen Funchion said she is hopeful that new discussions on the pay and conditions in the sector will result in a positive outcome. Last week Children’s Minister […]

News

‘This is not acceptable’ – Kilkenny TD writes to school that told female students not to wear ‘tight fitting’ PE gear

By Kilkenny Now 25th November 2020 0

A Kilkenny TD has weighed in on the controversy involving a school that reportedly told female students not to wear “tight fitting” PE clothing because it was distracting to staff. Deputy Kathleen Funchion, who is Sinn Féin spokesperson for children, descibed reports involving Presentation College Carlow as “very concerning”. The Carlow Nationalist

News

LATEST: Kilkenny among 866 new cases of virus as six further deaths confirmed

By Kilkenny Now 29th October 2020 0

A further six people have died after contracting the coronavirus as 866 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed this evening. The overall death toll as a result of the virus now stands at 1,902. There are now 60,297 confirmed cases of Covid-19 across the country, according to the latest daily briefing from the National Public […]

News

‘Survivors of Mother and Baby Homes must have their voices heard’ – Kilkenny TD

By Kilkenny Now 28th October 2020 0

Kilkenny TD Kathleen Funchion has called on the Oireachtas committee she chairs to ensure survivors of Mother and Baby Homes “have an opportunity to have their voices heard”. Deputy Funchion, who is Sinn Féin’s spokesperson on children and Chair of the Oireachtas Children, Disability, Equality and Integration Committee, spoke out amid the deepening

News

Thousands of volunteers but Kilkenny has just eight new health workers ‘on call’

By Kilkenny Now 2nd July 2020 3

Just eight healthcare workers have been hired through the ‘Be On Call for Ireland’ campaign for a region that includes Kilkenny. More than 70,000 volunteers throughout the country applied to help fight Covid-19 but only 185 health and social care workers have been recruited. Just eight workers have been recruited for Area 5, which incorporates […]

News Opinion

MICHAEL WOLSEY: At long, long last, the war is over

By Kilkenny Now 1st July 2020 0

THE first shots of the Civil War were fired on 18 February 1922, when an IRA unit commanded by Ernie O’Malley seized a police station in Clonmel. The last shots were fired in April this year when Séamus Ó Néill, president of Fianna Fáil’s  Comhairle Dáilcheantair for Waterford, issued a statement criticising Micheál Martin for proposing a government coalition