Results 61-80 of 158 for speaker:Patricia Stephenson

Seanad: Ireland's Economic Outlook: Statements (28 May 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I thank the Minister for coming in. I apologise for missing his introduction. I know we are all trying to split ourselves in two at the moment. I will also miss his response as I am going to a committee but I will watch it back afterwards. I read the Minister's opening statement and as he said, along with most of the other Senators here, we are obviously facing unprecedented challenges...

Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Business of Joint Committee (27 May 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I am based in Carlow-Kilkenny but am originally from Belfast. I also have a huge interest in this area. I spent approximately a decade working in the international development and aid sector. I spent six years living in various countries in east Africa. I am particularly interested in exploring the challenges we are seeing in the aid sector and the mitigations we can put in place as a...

Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Business of Joint Committee (27 May 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I thank the Minister of State for coming in. I welcome his words on gender equality, women’s empowerment and maternal health, and I am glad the issue of development more broadly will be on the agenda for Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of Europe. I would like to see an increase and continued focus on funding for women's rights organisations, which I know Ireland has...

Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Business of Joint Committee (27 May 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: The Minister of State's comments have triggered a few points for me too so I will run through them quickly, since I only have two minutes. Obviously matters relating to the EU-Israel trade agreement are all concerning, but in the Irish Presidency, I would like to prioritise how we ever give credibility back to any trade agreement with the EU and another bilateral country. I feel like...

Seanad: Dereliction and Building Regeneration Bill 2025: Second Stage (28 May 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I thank the Minister of State for coming in. The wind was slightly taken from my sails by the vote, so I hope I can find my place and what I was thinking about saying. I welcome Senator Noonan and the Green Party bringing forward this Bill. It existed in a previous iteration during the previous government, which is why it is particularly disappointing that the Government has tabled an...

Seanad: Situation in Gaza: Statements (29 May 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I will share time with Senator Cosgrove. I thank the Minister of State for coming in. In his opening remarks, Senator Ahearn commented that he thinks the Opposition are just playing politics with this and that we do not really believe the Government has not done enough. I take great umbrage at that comment. As someone who grew up in post-conflict Belfast and who has worked for years in...

Seanad: Situation in Gaza: Statements (29 May 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I did not actually say that.

Committee on Infrastructure and National Development Plan Delivery: Uisce Éireann: Future Work Programme (28 May 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: Some of my comments might be a bit repetitive as other colleagues have already made some of the points. I appreciate the scale of the work Uisce Éireann is undertaking and has been undertaking over the past decade. Water supply and wastewater treatment are issues that are quite big issues in the public psyche at the moment, largely because we are receiving a lot of information around...

Committee on Infrastructure and National Development Plan Delivery: Uisce Éireann: Future Work Programme (28 May 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: What implications does that have? Does it have a negative implication in terms of the work Uisce Éireann is doing for larger planning?

Committee on Infrastructure and National Development Plan Delivery: Uisce Éireann: Future Work Programme (28 May 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: In terms of the capacity supply chain issues around construction, is that within Uisce Éireann's remit to address?

Committee on Infrastructure and National Development Plan Delivery: Uisce Éireann: Future Work Programme (28 May 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: Does Mr. Gleeson see a direct correlation there with the lack of multi-annual funding?

Committee on Infrastructure and National Development Plan Delivery: Uisce Éireann: Future Work Programme (28 May 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: My colleague, Deputy Rory Hearne, received correspondence from the Ceann Comhairle when he tabled a parliamentary question on Uisce Éireann to the Department of housing. He received correspondence back saying that Uisce Éireann is not accountable to the Department of housing. Is that Mr. Gleeson's understanding of the lines of responsibility? Would Uisce Éireann, as a...

Committee on Infrastructure and National Development Plan Delivery: Uisce Éireann: Future Work Programme (28 May 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I am asking because there has been a bit of football with regard to responsibilities when people are in the public sphere. There has been a narrative around chronic water challenges and issues, and there has been a sort of "It is the Department's fault", "No, it is Uisce Éireann's fault", and a challenge there around where responsibility lies. I am not saying that necessarily to point...

Committee on Infrastructure and National Development Plan Delivery: Uisce Éireann: Future Work Programme (28 May 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I think from what Mr. Gleeson has said today I will know the response to this, but I think Uisce Éireann's chairperson a few weeks, or maybe months, ago had an article in The Irish Times that talked about Uisce Éireann not having a mandate around future growth related to housing developments. What is the status of that now?

Committee on Infrastructure and National Development Plan Delivery: Uisce Éireann: Future Work Programme (28 May 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: Yes, I can imagine Uisce Éireann then updates the system there. Uisce Éireann is in the programme for Government, the growth and development programme, and the NDP - various policy documents. It has a connection to growth within those documents, so I suppose there is a slight contradiction in that regard. The Department or Government feels Uisce Éireann has a remit, or a...

Committee on Infrastructure and National Development Plan Delivery: Uisce Éireann: Future Work Programme (28 May 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: The issue might be a lack of supply or lack of a treatment plant, which is impacting on the growth of development.

Committee on Infrastructure and National Development Plan Delivery: Uisce Éireann: Future Work Programme (28 May 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: When the witness was speaking before about the prefabs, was that to do with water supply or treatment?

Committee on Infrastructure and National Development Plan Delivery: Uisce Éireann: Future Work Programme (28 May 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: A standard approach for those prefabs was talked about. How do they differ from existing wastewater treatment infrastructure? We probably all have many examples from our own areas of communities being told they will not have new developments for the next five years. What does that look like? How does it differ from what exists? The positives are that it can get done, but what are the...

Committee on Infrastructure and National Development Plan Delivery: Uisce Éireann: Future Work Programme (28 May 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: Is there any barrier to doing that legislatively or-----

Committee on Infrastructure and National Development Plan Delivery: Uisce Éireann: Future Work Programme (28 May 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: Okay, there is.