Results 41-60 of 158 for speaker:Patricia Stephenson

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: Offences against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 and Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009: Motions (24 Jun 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I am a bit out of breath as I was running all over the place trying to get from committees. I am very concerned about the continued renewal of this Act without any reforms. I understand the historical debates we have had, as I looked through the records. The question of reform is something that is discussed annually. The provisions introduced in the wake of the Omagh bombing were always...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: EU Directives (19 Jun 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I welcome the Minister of State. I think this is the second time he has come in for a Commencement matter for me and I really appreciate his continued engagement on international development. I have asked him to come to the Chamber today to address the deeply concerning developments regarding the EU corporate sustainability due diligence directive, which I will refer to as CSDDD. It is a...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: EU Directives (19 Jun 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I am grateful to the Minister of State for his commitment to those four areas and putting it on the record. I recognise what he says about simplification not being a race to the bottom and it is not about deregulation. We met Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment officials yesterday at the enterprise committee and had a good engagement with them there. I was concerned with...

Seanad: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Bill 2025: Second Stage (19 Jun 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I will borrow some time from Senator Cosgrove, as she is not in the Chamber. She had a previous engagement.

Seanad: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Bill 2025: Second Stage (19 Jun 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: We have heard phrases like "confusion", "uncertainty", "doubt", "ambiguity", "chaos" and "mess" used in the past week to describe the new rental regulations. When these words are used to describe new regulations, we know the Government is not doing its job. The Government has failed renters for too many years. While we in the Social Democrats support the expansion of rent pressure zones in...

Seanad: Supports for Survivors of Residential Institutional Abuse Bill 2024: Committee Stage (19 Jun 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I move amendment No. 6: In page 7, line 18, after “2002,” to insert “such a service to be provided by professionals with expertise in institutional abuse and forced family separation,”. This amendment focuses on the quality of professional support that survivors receive, recognising their specific needs and the professional experience counselling providers...

Seanad: Supports for Survivors of Residential Institutional Abuse Bill 2024: Committee Stage (19 Jun 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I want to read the text of the amendment into the record myself, which is Senator Boyhan's recommendation for amendments that are ruled out of order. I recognise that there is a potential cost on the Exchequer regarding the HAA card rather than the enhanced medical card that is provided to survivors. I would like to speak about the experience of many survivors when they access services...

Seanad: Supports for Survivors of Residential Institutional Abuse Bill 2024: Committee Stage (19 Jun 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I move amendment No 15: In page 8, between lines 15 and 16, to insert the following: “(2) Where a survivor living abroad receives the once off health support payment, it shall not count as income for the purposes of means tested benefits or entitlements in the country where the survivor resides.”. This amendment relates to the many survivors who, as Senator Boyhan...

Seanad: Supports for Survivors of Residential Institutional Abuse Bill 2024: Committee Stage (19 Jun 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I appreciate that the wording of the amendment would tie the Minister to obligations that are outside her remit. Before Report Stage, will she look at finding a wording that would hold the Department to a commitment to ongoing dialogue with neighbouring states, in recognition of the large number of Irish citizens, as Senator Boyhan described so eloquently, who were forced to flee there...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (18 Jun 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: It is better than Stephanie. I get Stephanie a lot. The rise in hate speech in recent years both online and offline is very real, measurable and corrosive and causes great harm to those who fall victim to it. In 2022 alone the Garda reported a 29% increase in hate speech and hate-related incidents. Marginalised communities, ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+ people and people with disabilities...

Seanad: Report of the Farrelly Commission: Statements (18 Jun 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I will share time if the other Senator makes it in time. I thank the Minister. Grace was failed over and over again by the State. The people who were supposed to protect Grace failed her. The whistleblowers who came forward time and again were also failed. While we hope that Grace is now living a better life, the failure of the State has not ended with her experience in foster care....

Seanad: Report of the Farrelly Commission: Statements (18 Jun 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: You are welcome. We need comprehensive safeguarding legislation and we need to allow State bodies to conduct unannounced inspections, obtain court orders to enter and remove individuals where necessary, receive and act on reports of abuse and advocate for the rights of adults at risk, among a range of measures. We need mandatory reporting, much like we have with the child safeguarding...

Committee on Enterprise, Tourism and Employment: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (18 Jun 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach. I also thank the committee for inviting members of the foreign affairs committee to join the meeting. It is important to highlight that no assessment was done on the impact of the omnibus on the CSRD and the CSDDD at European level. A complaint has been filed and an inquiry is under way into the fact there has been no impact assessment. It was noted that...

Committee on Enterprise, Tourism and Employment: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (18 Jun 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I do-----