Results 781-800 of 1,350 for speaker:Mary Fitzpatrick

Seanad: Address to Seanad Éireann by Members of the European Parliament (20 Sep 2022)

Mary Fitzpatrick: In their responses, I would like to hear how the MEPs think the European Parliament and the European Union in general can support Ireland to accelerate our achievement of our offshore wind energy goals.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Private Rental Sector: Discussion (20 Sep 2022)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I thank all our guests for attending, for providing their statements in advance and for the ongoing work they all do. This is a very challenging sector of which we are all acutely aware. I have some questions about the proposals and suggestions made by Threshold, the first of which relates to renters, to giving them more support and to the reintroduction of the tax relief for them, something...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Private Rental Sector: Discussion (20 Sep 2022)

Mary Fitzpatrick: How would the budget be used?

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: National Monuments (13 Jul 2022)

Mary Fitzpatrick: The Minister of State is very welcome and I thank him for coming in to take this Commencement matter in which I seek a date from his Department for the appointment of a design team for the national monuments site at Nos. 14-17 Moore Street. It is more than 106 years since the 1916 rebels, including Pearse, McDermott, Connolly and Plunkett, surrendered on Moore Street here in the heart of our...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: National Monuments (13 Jul 2022)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I thank the Minister of State. Am I to understand from the reply that a design team will be appointed within the next three to four weeks? I hope that is what he is saying because there is genuine bewilderment as to what is happening. It is over a year since the report was submitted. The recommendations were accepted and endorsed, and they have been backed with €12 million of...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: National Monuments (13 Jul 2022)

Mary Fitzpatrick: Please do.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (13 Jul 2022)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I extend my sympathies to Senator Dooley and to Deputy Farrell, and to any Member of the Houses and the staff. Many of us have lost loved ones over the Covid period. It has been a strange time. I hope that everyone gets a bit of time during the recess to have that time to themselves. I thank all the staff in the Seanad who have assisted me and all of us. We have had a very heavy...

Seanad: Remediation of Dwellings Damaged By the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Bill 2022: Committee Stage (13 Jul 2022)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I thank the Acting Chairperson for allowing me to contribute. I thank the Minister for his reply, his officials for all the work they have done on the Bill, and all the homeowners who have been in contact with me and my colleagues in counties Donegal, Mayo, Clare, Sligo and other counties. Everyone who speaks here today speaks with the best interests of the homeowners. Perhaps some of us...

Seanad: Remediation of Dwellings Damaged By the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Bill 2022: Second Stage (11 Jul 2022)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I thank the Minister for coming to the House this morning. I thank not only him but also his Department, everyone who has worked on the defective concrete blocks working group and all of the homeowners who have so patiently engaged with the Minister, Department officials and the local authorities concerned. This legislation is very important. This is about families' homes. This saga has...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Social Welfare Offices (6 Jul 2022)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I welcome Deputy Troy and commend him on his role as Minister of State with responsibility for trade. He has been doing tremendous work since taking office in building trade relations and expanding Ireland's trade opportunities, which bring employment. I want to discuss the Intreo office on the Navan Road, which served people in the Dublin 7 area who find themselves without employment....

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Social Welfare Offices (6 Jul 2022)

Mary Fitzpatrick: Gabhaim buíochas. I appreciate what the Minister of State has said and I am not going to shoot the messenger in this instance. I must say, however, that his reply is revealing. It reveals that this had been in planning for a long time and that planning did not include any form of consultation with the clients of the Dublin 7 Intreo office. In fact, it demonstrates a complete...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Tax Code (5 Jul 2022)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I thank the Minister of State for attending the House to respond my Commencement matter calling for a vacant property tax. No more than anybody else I do not like taxes. We must accept, as everybody does, the housing emergency gripping our State. The Government has provided unprecedented funding and made changes to housing policy since taking office. A glaringly obvious waste of built...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Tax Code (5 Jul 2022)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I thank the Minister of State for the response. We all believe in reasonableness and fairness and we can all accept that properties can be from time to time vacant. Nobody has any argument with that. In fact, the joint Oireachtas committee states that reasonableness must be applied. I welcome the fact that the Department has made progress with the report and on its summary. I urge it to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Right to Housing: Discussion (5 Jul 2022)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I thank all the witnesses for attending today. I am delighted that this is at least the second time that this committee has met to discuss the right to housing since being established, which reflects the importance that this committee places on that right. The programme for Government contains a commitment to granting a right to housing and, as part of the Housing for All policy, the...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Jun 2022)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I again call on the Minister for Finance to commit to the introduction of a vacant property tax, which would discourage vacancy and encourage the renovation of vacant properties. Recent CSO figures indicate that there are more than 160,000 vacant properties nationally, with more than 30,000 in Dublin. In a housing emergency, it is morally, environmentally, economically and socially wrong to...

Seanad: Electoral Reform Bill 2022: Committee Stage (30 Jun 2022)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I support what Senator Kyne said about timing, in particular the monitoring of online activity. We live in a 24-7 world and social media is in everybody's pockets or palms nearly every waking moment of the day. The electoral process is not one that is isolated to the 12 opening hours at a polling station. It is an ongoing iterative process every single day, so we should adopt a stop-start...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (28 Jun 2022)

Mary Fitzpatrick: Now.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Inflationary Costs in the Construction Industry: Discussion (28 Jun 2022)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I will start with Ms Hegarty. While I want to get to discuss the costs she spoke about, I want to correct a point. She stated that "Under Housing For All, no housing is planned in Dublin city for households earning over €36,000 and under €80,000 per annum." We are talking about affordable housing there. The latest Dublin City Council housing report shows that on top of...

Seanad: Regulation of Providers of Building Works and Building Control (Amendment) Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (23 Jun 2022)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I also welcome these amendments. They come after other amendments that have been put in place by this Government over the course of the last year or so to protect renters, enhance their protections and increase their security of tenure, which is welcome. The protections that were put in place are all welcome and include: additional notice periods; caps on rent increases; and the extension...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (23 Jun 2022)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I would like to return to the issue of violence against women, which is an issue we have discussed in the Seanad. Yesterday, together with my colleague, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, and other members of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party, and with the support of Jason Poole, we launched our policy on tackling violence against women. The document is written from the perspective of the...