Results 2,541-2,560 of 2,569 for speaker:Peter Fitzpatrick

Health Insurance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2011: Second Stage (Resumed) (1 Dec 2011)

Peter Fitzpatrick: I welcome the opportunity to speak about the Health Insurance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2011. The four principles of private health insurance in Ireland are community rating, open enrolment, lifetime cover and minimum benefit. The Health Insurance Act 2009 introduced, on an interim basis, a system to deliver on the policy position supporting community rating, which is achieved by risk...

Road Transport Bill 2011: Second Stage (Resumed) (23 Nov 2011)

Peter Fitzpatrick: I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Road Transport Bill 2011. This Bill not only supports the previous legislation but also enhances it with three new additional provisions. It is these new stronger measures, allied to the maintenance of selected previous provisions, that I feel make this excellent legislation. A strong and competitive road transport sector is important for the...

Review of Serious Incidents including Deaths of Children in Care: Statements (17 Nov 2011)

Peter Fitzpatrick: I welcome the opportunity to comment on the annual report of the National Review Panel for Serious Incidents and Child Deaths. The panel was established in June last year to review deaths and serious incidents experienced by children in State care or known to the Health Service Executive's children and family services. To put this report and the role of the national review panel in context,...

Health (Provision of General Practitioner Services) Bill 2011: Second Stage (Resumed) (10 Nov 2011)

Peter Fitzpatrick: I am sharing time with Deputy Buttimer.

Health (Provision of General Practitioner Services) Bill 2011: Second Stage (Resumed) (10 Nov 2011)

Peter Fitzpatrick: One of the results of the programme introduced by the EU-IMF is the provision to remove restrictions to trade and competition in sheltered sectors by the end of September 2011. This encapsulates restrictions on general practitioners wishing to treat public patients. It is with this in mind that the Bill provides for the elimination of restrictions on GPs wishing to treat public patients...

Competition (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (Resumed) (9 Nov 2011)

Peter Fitzpatrick: The Competition (Amendment) Bill marks the completion of the requirements set out in the terms of the EU-IMF programme of financial support for Ireland. This Government, and particularly Ireland, has again lived up to its commitment; in this instance, to strengthen the enforcement of competition law. The Bill provides for new and increased sanctions for anyone who engages in...

Report of the Interdepartmental Working Group on Mortgage Arrears: Statements (Resumed) (26 Oct 2011)

Peter Fitzpatrick: I would like to talk about negative equity. Is it that the homeowners cannot afford to pay or is that they are declining to do so because their homes are now worth less than their mortgages, which is known as negative equity? Economists are divided on the relative importance. One school thinks that even in cases of negative equity, most homeowners will not default if they can afford their...

Health Services Delivery: Motion (Resumed) (26 Oct 2011)

Peter Fitzpatrick: I welcome the opportunity discuss the crisis that has arisen due to overcrowding in accident and emergency department of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda. The debate on this motion is opportune as a delegation of the HSE visited the hospital last week. Its remit was to assess the situation with regard to the overcrowding at the accident and emergency department. The planned visit...

Hospital Services (18 Oct 2011)

Peter Fitzpatrick: I raise the issue of overcrowding at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda. As the Minister of State is aware, the hospital provides an essential service for the people of the north east. As part of the Louth-Meath hospital group, it is also a teaching hospital. It provides acute medical and surgical services, as well as an excellent maternity service, for patients from across counties...

Hospital Services (18 Oct 2011)

Peter Fitzpatrick: I thank the Minister of State for her response and I look forward to hearing updates on this issue. I realise that repairing and reforming our health services at this time of economic austerity will take serious hard work, innovation and flexibility. I am confident the staff at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, have the determination to provide a high quality service, even if further...

Road Traffic (No. 2) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Second Stage (4 Oct 2011)

Peter Fitzpatrick: Last year was the safest year since records commenced in 1959, with 212 deaths. Those are still 212 deaths too many. We want to improve on that number this year. Approximately 135 people have died on the roads so far this year, still too many but a big improvement on last year's figure and even greater than on the figure for 2000, when 415 were killed on our roads. The Road Traffic Act...

Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (Resumed) (29 Sep 2011)

Peter Fitzpatrick: I wish to share time with Deputy Tom Barry. The Veterinary Practice Act 2005 provides a very general definition of "practice of veterinary medicine", which has proved to be lacking in certainty. It includes procedures traditionally carried out by people who are not qualified as veterinarians. This leaves the practice of such procedures by non-veterinarians very much open to criminal...

National Tourism Development Authority (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (22 Sep 2011)

Peter Fitzpatrick: I wish to share time with Deputies Walsh, Barry and Jim Daly.

National Tourism Development Authority (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (22 Sep 2011)

Peter Fitzpatrick: The main purpose of the Bill is to amend the National Tourism Development Authority Act 2003 to increase the level of funding for capital expenditure projects. The proposed change to the legislation is required to allow funding for tourism product development as set out in the annual Estimate to be provided to Fáilte Ireland. The Bill offers an opportunity to highlight the Government's...

Defence (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Second Stage (13 Jul 2011)

Peter Fitzpatrick: As I was a member of the Permanent Defence Force for three years I have a good understanding and knowledge of how the Defence Forces work. Subsequent to the enactment of Defence (Amendment) Act 2007, which modernised the military justice system, a number of issues have been identified which need to be addressed to ensure the smooth operation of the system. The first point concerns the...

Requests to move Adjournment of Dáil under Standing Order 32 (21 Jun 2011)

Peter Fitzpatrick: I seek the adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 32 to raise a matter of national importance, namely, the undue problems being faced by small national schools as a result of the economic constraints placed on the Department of Education and Skills. For example, Ballaphousta national school in Ardee, County Louth will lose a class teacher because it is short one pupil for the quota....

Motor Fuels (8 Jun 2011)

Peter Fitzpatrick: I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to discuss this important matter with the Minister of State. The Government has lost a vast amount of revenue throughout the years as a result of fuel laundering. I congratulate the Garda and Customs and Excise officials for their work in trying to stamp out this illegal activity. Last week, they made an important find near Castleblayney,...

Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (7 Jun 2011)

Peter Fitzpatrick: Question 49: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will introduce legislation to regulate the construction sector to ensure that subcontractors are treated in a fair manner and that they are paid in a timely fashion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9058/11]

Requests to move Adjournment of Dáil under Standing Order 32 (7 Jun 2011)

Peter Fitzpatrick: I seek the adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 32 to debate the following urgent matter: to discuss the huge loss to the Exchequer as a result of illegal fuel laundering and the difficulties being experienced by fuel traders in County Louth and elsewhere who are unable to compete against this illegal activity.

Job Losses (1 Jun 2011)

Peter Fitzpatrick: In three months, 102 people from Dundalk will be out of work. The announcement was made last Friday by the Vodafone company. Of the 102 people, 82 work for Rigney Dolphin which provides services to Vodafone, while the remaining 20 work directly for Vodafone. The people affected had a very miserable weekend. Many of them are very highly qualified and have contributed to the success of...