Results 521-540 of 1,352 for speaker:Mary Fitzpatrick

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: National Monuments (25 Apr 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. I appreciate that this issue is not one of his portfolio responsibilities and I am grateful to him for giving of his time to address it. I acknowledge the importance he places on national monuments and the historic heritage of our capital city. I welcome that a multidisciplinary professional team, including architects and conservationists, is...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (25 Apr 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: Déanaim comhghairdeas leis an gCathaoirleach Gníomhach. On behalf of the Fianna Fáil group in the Seanad, I send our best wishes to all those in the Defence Forces who are involved in the evacuation of Irish citizens from Sudan.Our hearts and minds are with the people in Sudan. We hope for an early resolution to the unrest and the troubles there and most importantly we hope...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I thank the Ministers and officials for attending. One year into Housing for All, our public hearings have shown to us and anybody paying attention that there is a broad welcome and broad support for Housing for All. It has been recognised as a comprehensive, ambitious plan. Some of the results are already being realised. We have the biggest housing numbers in a decade, the biggest social...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (19 Apr 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I will talk about the issue of the dangerous and criminal antisocial behaviour relating to stolen cars. Recent Garda numbers indicate that in the first three months of this year alone, more than 1,300 private cars and vehicles were stolen. That is a 21% increase on last year in just the first three months of this year. It is an upsetting thing for anyone to have any of their property...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (18 Apr 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I thank the officials for being with us today and for the work they and all their colleagues are doing in the Department on Housing for All. I think any independent analysis would conclude that Housing for All is the most comprehensive housing plan in the history of the State and the best resourced. It has significant funding and legislative changes backing it up. The commitments to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (18 Apr 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: That is all great and very welcome. We are coming out of a decade of undersupply of homes in the city, accepting that the greatest need is here in the city. It is welcome that the Croí Cónaithe scheme grant to deal with vacant properties has been made available in the city, but this is very much dependent on owner occupiers and individuals. It will deliver some homes, though, and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (18 Apr 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: Go raibh maith agat.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (18 Apr 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: Regarding construction inflation, Mr. Ó Coigligh talked a lot about costs earlier. What is the Department working as a percentage for construction inflation over the past three years, cumulatively?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (18 Apr 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I ask Mr. Ó Coigligh to come back to us on that as that information would be useful. The construction inflationary effect on the price of housing is obviously very pertinent to anybody wanting to secure an affordable home. The other issue Mr. Ó Coigligh mentioned was the differentiation between the cost of the building standards we are delivering in Ireland versus those in other...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (18 Apr 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: That is great to hear. It is very positive. My concern is that my sense from the AHBs is that it is much easier for them to deliver in the commuter belt, in Dublin county and the surrounding counties, than in the city. I do not see the AHBs acting on affordable cost-rental housing in the city. I am encouraged that O'Devaney Gardens is finally going ahead after, mother of God, over a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (18 Apr 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: That would be excellent. I apologise for running out the door but there is a vote in the Seanad. Go raibh míle maith agat.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Mar 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I, like other speakers, wish to express a míle buíochas to Noel Murphy. I thank him for all his work, service and support. I wish him well and a long, happy and healthy retirement. He deserves all of that. I would like to welcome the commencement of works on phase 3 of the Royal Canal greenway in my own constituency in Dublin 7. From when I was first elected to the Dublin City...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (29 Mar 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I commend and congratulate everybody involved in the Five Lamps Arts Festival, which brings the north inner city to life from a cultural perspective. It celebrates everything that is great about Dublin's north inner city, our diversity and heritage, including everything from the built heritage through to the literary heritage and the natural heritage. I congratulate the organisers,...

Seanad: Housing: Statements (29 Mar 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire agus gabhaim buíochas leis as a bheith anseo inniu. This is a really important debate. None of us can turn on the radio or look at social media, television or newspapers without seeing or hearing a discussion about housing. Everybody is an expert. God love the Minister for being the man with the job. In case he did not get the newsflash, he is not...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Mar 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I refer to climate change and climate action. Climate change is all around us and is happening all the time and everywhere. Last week, the sixth report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, was issued and has been described as the final warning. We all need to think about the kind of legacy we want to leave to our children and grandchildren. If we want to leave them a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Tenant In Situ Process: Discussion (21 Mar 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I thank the witnesses for attending. I will share a typical message somebody sent to me: Oh my god. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I can't put into words how grateful I am. You have restored my security, my safety, my sanity. What you have done for me and my family is beyond words. I could barely eat. I could barely sleep. I had lost all sense of my own self security. You have...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Tenant In Situ Process: Discussion (21 Mar 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: If somebody gets a notice to quit over the weekend or out of hours, what happens?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Tenant In Situ Process: Discussion (21 Mar 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I will ask another question. The challenges of tenant in situwere mentioned. Housing has so many challenges in every respect. Why would a landlord sell? If a landlord is selling already, why would he or she sell to the local authority? Why would landlords not just put it on the market and sell to the highest bidder?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Tenant In Situ Process: Discussion (21 Mar 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: Great. My next question is for the Department. On the housing supply numbers, how confident is the Department that the local authorities are ramping up to increase supply commensurate with the Housing for All targets?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Tenant In Situ Process: Discussion (21 Mar 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: Senator Cummins mentioned the RTB report. The RTB was not able to join us today, but it did provide a report. It tells us that approximately 40% of notices to quit relate to Dublin. The county with the next highest number is Cork, at 10%. The percentage for every other county stands at 2%. As well as the points that my colleagues have put to the CCMA, I must state the following. In the...