Results 101-120 of 1,352 for speaker:Mary Fitzpatrick

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Jul 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: Can Members keep to the group?

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Jul 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I commend Senator Currie’s amendment. I hope that we all recognise that we live in a world of instant communication. Everyone recognises the essential nature of telecommunications infrastructure. Like much infrastructure, though, it is planned by engineers in an abstract way based on the optimal performance of the technology. Where the tension arises is where that infrastructure...

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Jul 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I thank the Minister of State for joining us. He does not have the benefit of having been here yesterday evening when Senator McDowell raised what are very serious concerns. I utterly reject the insinuation that anyone who votes for this section is in some way endorsing it. It is wrong to present it as a fait accompli when we are on Committee Stage and every Member of the House understands...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Jul 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I welcome our guests from San Francisco. I also welcome our new colleague, Senator Bradley, a champion of people of all abilities. I look forward to working with her. I call for a debate with the Minister for Justice on crime and antisocial behaviour in Dublin. Last week, I and some Fianna Fáil colleagues from Dublin released the results of a public sentiment survey which we...

Seanad: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2024: Second and Subsequent Stages (11 Jul 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I thank the Minister of State for bringing this legislation to the Seanad. I do not know who needs to know this but it is totally unacceptable that students would be asked to pay for accommodation they are not occupying. Students paying for accommodation they are not availing of is beyond perverse. We encourage students of all ages to invest in themselves, their education and in being...

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Jul 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I thank the commander for his time and this is really helpful for the committee. What I hear from him is that the decriminalisation of drugs in Portugal has saved lives and policing, court and jail time. Drug use has increased but drug overdoses and deaths have decreased. Mr. Leitão da Silva mentioned individuals, drug users and identification and I am not sure if I understood him...

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Jul 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: My question was quite specific about this requirement to have an ID in Portugal and if the ID requires people to self-identify as being a drug user. There is no requirement.

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Jul 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: That is fine. I thought that and I was concerned I was missing something and picked it up wrong. It was a specific question. The Irish police - we call them the Garda-----

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Jul 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: We have a very strong culture of alcohol and alcohol abuse. It is largely socially accepted as part of our culture. The way drugs are in other cultures is in many ways how alcohol has been in Ireland for far too long. I hear what Mr. Leitão da Silva is saying about an attitudinal change. It requires an investment in attitude and the police force being required to adopt a humane...

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Jul 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I presume instances where drug suppliers or traffickers are using drug users to distribute small amounts of drugs on a repeated basis require the police to repeatedly target that drug user.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies Board: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I thank Mr. Keegan, Ms Crimin and Ms Loughlin for coming to the committee today and for their work and the reports they produce. I thank all staff at the RTB. Mr. Keegan said the RTB has an important role in the private rental sector, which it does. There is an increasing reliance on the RTB to be efficient, accessible and robust in the performance of its duties. He mentioned in his...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies Board: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: The question users have is why it is taking so long. The IT system was introduced in 2017 and it was recognised in 2021 there were problems. In May 2024, three years later, the board approved significant investment. I presume the investment is significant and the witnesses might advise the committee how much the budget is. Will they share with us why it has taken so long?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies Board: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: Has the RTB changed vendor? Has it gone to a new and different platform?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies Board: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: Everybody would accept that it is certainly very challenging for everybody at the RTB and challenging for everybody trying to use the system. The RTB has not shied away from this. I have never heard the RTB shy away from it. Has the RTB gone with a completely new supplier?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies Board: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: Is there a timeline associated with this new contract with the new supplier as to when it can be expected to have all of this new functionality and improvement in place and operational?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies Board: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: How will it be measured?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies Board: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: The improvements will affect not only the registration process, as Mr. Keegan has alluded to the dispute process becoming more streamlined.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies Board: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I appreciate they are two separate issues.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies Board: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I thank Ms Loughlin. What is the average dispute processing time?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies Board: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: Is it fair to say the expectation is that the timelines will reduce for registering and having disputes actioned and resolved?