Results 721-740 of 1,352 for speaker:Mary Fitzpatrick

Seanad: Transport Police Service: Motion (25 Jan 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I move: “That Seanad Éireann: recognises that: - there is a recent increase in anti-social behaviour on public transport across the country; - this increase is dissuading the public from utilising the transport network; - young people, the elderly and women are particularly impacted; - this behaviour is undermining the significant investment and funding allocated to the...

Seanad: Transport Police Service: Motion (25 Jan 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for coming to the House for this motion, which I am proposing, seconded by my colleague, Senator Ardagh, and the rest of the Fianna Fáil Senators. The topic is the issue of public transportation, and most importantly, safety on our public transportation. For the benefit of the House, I will start by reading the motion and then we can have...

Seanad: Transport Police Service: Motion (25 Jan 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: It was disturbing. The young girl and her friends were harassed by a group and one of the group lunged at the girls repeatedly. They found it bizarrely amusing to intimidate and harass young women like that but they did so and the young girl fell onto the tracks. She sustained injuries but thankfully none of them were that physically serious. However, we need to stop and think about the...

Seanad: Transport Police Service: Motion (25 Jan 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I thank the Minister of State. I appreciate that he is deputising today for the Minister. It is disappointing that he cannot be here. I appreciate that he had other demands on his time, however. I thank everybody across the House for their support for the motion. It is a really important piece of legislation that speaks to a real need. It is not something myself or my Fianna Fáil...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (2 Feb 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: Senator Clonan is right. Society is measured by how it treats and values its most vulnerable. That is something none of us should ever forget. I am calling for a debate with the Minister for Justice on the motion passed unanimously in this House last week calling for a dedicated public transport Garda unit. My party campaigned on this issue in the last general election and included it in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (resumed) (31 Jan 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I thank Professor Crowe for his presentation and the work he has done to get us this far. It is hugely important legislation because our seas are such a rich resource for us all. We have a number of these public meetings and then we will make our report. He mentioned in his opening statement the importance of our putting in place legislation, a framework and a process that can evolve. We...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (resumed) (31 Jan 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: Will Mr. Crowe clarify that the expert group will be a permanent, dedicated group? Is that what he imagines? I am just trying to size in my mind organisationally how this looks and operates and what type of resources it will require.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (resumed) (31 Jan 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: Is there a model internationally Professor Crowe could point us to?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (resumed) (31 Jan 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: Could he have a think about it?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (resumed) (31 Jan 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: It will be created from scratch, and it is important for us to understand that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (resumed) (31 Jan 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: That would be great. That would be very helpful.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (resumed) (31 Jan 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: Yes. I am trying to imagine if these people are dedicated full time to this as an occupation, apart from being experts in their field and coming from different perspectives. In addition, what is their remit? Do they make recommendations to the Minister? How does that work? What is the relationship? If Professor Crowe could explore that for us-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (resumed) (31 Jan 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: Could people who are not in a permanent position dedicated to that be best positioned to do that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (resumed) (31 Jan 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: What about resources to do that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (resumed) (31 Jan 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: Would there be people from a commercial background in that group?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (resumed) (31 Jan 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: Will Professor Crowe come back to us, if he can, with an example of an international scenario he is working in which is best practice?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Feb 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I thank our guests for their attendance and submissions. This is hugely important and long overdue legislation, so we want to get our work done as expeditiously as possible. Like our guests, we want to move on to having some robust and comprehensive legislation to protect Ireland’s marine areas, which are among the largest. It is not just about protecting it; as was said, it is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Feb 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: That is great. On wind energy, there were some specific asks. I know time will be constrained. I will start with the first one. I refer to the ask about airspace. Can the guests elaborate on that? I understand what the ask is, but can they explain the practical implications of it? What is the benefit? I would like a response from IEN representatives on that proposal as well and how...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (8 Feb 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I call for a debate with the Minister for Justice on the deployment of a dedicated public transport Garda unit. I have raised this issue many times in the House, including, most recently, on the Order of Business last week, following on from the debate in the Seanad on 25 January this year. I welcome the students in the Gallery. I am sure many of them use public transport in this city,...