Results 121-140 of 289 for speaker:Patricia Stephenson

Seanad: Supports for Survivors of Residential Institutional Abuse Bill 2024: Report Stage (25 Jun 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: We did hear last week that the Health (Amendment) Act card was originally designed for hepatitis survivors and that, in the instance of survivors of institutional abuse, they might not have the same medical needs. We have heard reports and I went back and had a discussion with people and that is simply is not the case. Many survivors have both physical and long-term mental health conditions...

Seanad: Nursing Homes and Care for Older Persons: Statements (26 Jun 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I thank the Minister of State and the other contributors. We were all appalled and disgusted by the "RTÉ Investigates" programme, which made for really disturbing viewing. It showed how older people in our communities are being neglected and failed by those responsible for their care. I worry about the reactionary response we take when we see a documentary or TV show that precipitates...

Committee on Infrastructure and National Development Plan Delivery: IBEC Report on Infrastructure Ambition for a Competitive, Productive and Resilient Economy: Discussion (25 Jun 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I apologise; I was in the Chamber discussing the Supports for Survivors of Residential Institutional Abuse Bill 2024. I have not been following along with what the witnesses have said, but I will go back to it. This might be a bit duplicative, for which I apologise if it is the case. The witnesses have been talking about tax challenges. I think in May last year, IBEC warned the...

Committee on Infrastructure and National Development Plan Delivery: IBEC Report on Infrastructure Ambition for a Competitive, Productive and Resilient Economy: Discussion (25 Jun 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I suspect in the case of data centres it would be, given where the priorities lie in terms of infrastructure developments. It is often quite geographically based. It sometimes depends on what business is in that geographical area, leading to other communities missing out.

Committee on Infrastructure and National Development Plan Delivery: IBEC Report on Infrastructure Ambition for a Competitive, Productive and Resilient Economy: Discussion (25 Jun 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: They have the right to make an input but some voices are heard more readily. Perhaps that is not in IBEC's remit.

Committee on Infrastructure and National Development Plan Delivery: IBEC Report on Infrastructure Ambition for a Competitive, Productive and Resilient Economy: Discussion (25 Jun 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: Who is the individual?

Committee on Infrastructure and National Development Plan Delivery: IBEC Report on Infrastructure Ambition for a Competitive, Productive and Resilient Economy: Discussion (25 Jun 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: On the planning Bill, which IBEC probably followed at the end of last year into October, how does the outcome of the Bill relate to IBEC's analysis around the public good and the changes that Bill introduced to the planning system?

Committee on Infrastructure and National Development Plan Delivery: IBEC Report on Infrastructure Ambition for a Competitive, Productive and Resilient Economy: Discussion (25 Jun 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: Forgive me if this is not the right question, as it relates to the planning legislation. I would be interested to hear Mr. Sweeney's perspective on that when he is talking about the good of the local community. With the planning legislation, many local communities felt that decision making was being taken away from them and brought upwards to higher levels rather than sitting with the...

Committee on Infrastructure and National Development Plan Delivery: IBEC Report on Infrastructure Ambition for a Competitive, Productive and Resilient Economy: Discussion (25 Jun 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: Many environmental activists think that it does not provide enough safeguards in this area. Mr. Sweeney talked about constitutional change regarding the concept of the public good. Does Mr. Sweeney have ideas about how to define the term "public good", at any given time, if he were to seek constitutional change? I say this because what the "public good" was ten or 20 years' ago compared...

Seanad: Domestic Violence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I want to confirm that we are just speaking on the amendment.

Seanad: Domestic Violence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I commend Senator Ryan on her bravery and honesty. It is very difficult to speak about personal issues in the Chamber. It takes incredible strength so well done and thank you. It is important that people do because it adds so much colour and weight to what we are talking about. So often we talk about these things in legalese terms and it loses the meaning in many ways. As Senator Ryan...

Seanad: Domestic Violence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I appreciate the intervention of Senator Comyn, but the legal age for children is 18 for a reason. We deem anyone under 18 as a child and it is not appropriate for us to make a distinction between a younger or older child when they are witnessing domestic abuse. A boy of 17, an example the Senator gave, watching his mother being abused will suffer long-term psychological trauma. We spoke...

Seanad: Domestic Violence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: As we heard already, domestic violence and violence against women continues to be an epidemic across the island and that is why we need this Bill. Since 2020, 37 women have been killed in the South and 27 women have been killed in the North of the country. The vast majority of those women were killed in their own home. I also want to mark the latest tragic killing of Sarah Montgomery, who...

Seanad: Domestic Violence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: Why does violence against women happen? It is because of the patriarchy. It is because we have had decades of decades, hundreds of years, where it has been acceptable to be violent towards women. We cannot just call on individual men, although allies are always welcome. It is great to have strong voices of men in the Seanad calling this out, of course, but we need a really strong response...

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I know that much of this discussion is bound up in the changing context and the changing world we have today. The witnesses touched on the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia and also mentioned France, China and the US in Iraq. It sounds like what the witnesses are describing with the Security Council has been a long-existing issue and the global context has not really changed. Will they...

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: On the Golan Heights and also the scenarios for the 50 troops?

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: Where would Mr. Kelly see those 50 troops being deployed under this legislation given that there are already those mechanisms for evacuation under the 2006 Act?

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I thank both witnesses for coming in. Mr. Andrews made a really interesting point there regarding soft power and soft power being let go of being a massive mistake. We are seeing a decrease in development spending and, indeed, peace spending as a consequence of the increases in defence spending. I know Mr. Andrews is chair of the European Parliament Committee on Development as well. How...

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: And it is being cut by the EU in favour of defence spending.