Results 101-120 of 132 for long speaker:Mary Fitzpatrick

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (28 May 2021)

Mary Fitzpatrick: ...a strategic change in respect of the State's role in this area. For the first time in the history of the State, this legislation is introducing the affordable cost-rental model, which can deliver security of tenure, affordable long-term rents, diverse and intergenerational communities and facilitate the Vienna model referred to by Senator Boyhan.However, we not only need the legislation...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (28 May 2021)

Mary Fitzpatrick: ...is obvious there was unanimous support in the Chamber. This is a practical amendment that will greater strengthen the legislation. I, too, welcome the housing need and demand assessment. It is a long overdue tool. I am delighted that it is in place. It can greatly enable us to tackle the housing crisis, but it is only one side of it. That tells us the housing need. We are proposing...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Local Government (Directly Elected Mayor with Executive Functions in Limerick City and County) Bill 2021 (18 May 2021)

Mary Fitzpatrick: ...by other Senators on behalf of local authority members. I am very encouraged to hear that the Moorhead report will finally be signed off by Cabinet today. I hope that is the case because it is long overdue. That is good news. It is an important signal to send to our local authority members. They are invaluable to their communities and to our democracy. They are on the coal face of...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Second Stage (17 May 2021)

Mary Fitzpatrick: .... If we all believe sincerely that we want to tackle the housing crisis then we need to use every single available tool to do so. There is no one silver bullet and no quick fix. In addition, people have waited too long. The urgency and need for modest income earners to know that they can have a secure and affordable home is real. They cannot tolerate any further delay. Covid-19 has...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill: Discussion (11 May 2021)

Mary Fitzpatrick: Great. I just did not want to cut the AILG out. I thank Councillors Hoade, Colgan, Sheahan, Fennelly and Anglim. It has been invaluable to have the AILG and LAMA before the committee. It was long overdue. The two Bills are very important. Local authorities were initially established essentially to be housing authorities. The biggest social housing project in a decade is under way and...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (30 Apr 2021)

Mary Fitzpatrick: .... Today is a hopeful day. The announcement yesterday was very welcome to all sectors of industry and community and we are all looking forward with much greater hope today than we have been for a long time. I commend the Minister of State and the Government. It has been a challenging year. I acknowledge the support the Government has put in place for businesses, community organisations...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Public Transport (23 Apr 2021)

Mary Fitzpatrick: ...of the city towards Terenure and Walkinstown. It is important that feasibility study is completed before any railway order application is made. Second, I have described the route, and it is a very long route with significant residential communities, commercial properties and community facilities along the route. When metro north was proposed, I worked with the residents from the Griffith...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: General Scheme of a Certain Institutional Burials (Authorised Interventions) Bill: Discussion (14 Apr 2021)

Mary Fitzpatrick: ...and international leadership as a State? I would also like to hear from Ms Corless, Ms Lohan and Ms Harney. I appreciate the urgency because it has been four years and it has taken us too long to get this far but where does the balance come between trying to progress what we have in front of us and starting again from scratch?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: General Scheme of a Certain Institutional Burials (Authorised Interventions) Bill: Discussion (14 Apr 2021)

Mary Fitzpatrick: ...will be involved and, most importantly, the time that will be involved in terms of the survivors and their relatives being given some answers? As the work will obviously be conducted over a prolonged period of time, what is best practice in communicating progress over a long period of time to survivors?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Affordable Housing Bill 2020 (Resumed): Land Development Agency (9 Mar 2021)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I spent a long time on Dublin City Council and, with great frustration, witnessed decades pass with little delivery of social housing. I appreciate that the local authority did not have the legislation or the schemes to provide affordable rental or affordable purchase over the last decade or so. On the Land Development Agency working with this affordable legislation, can Mr. Coleman outline...

Seanad: International Women's Day: Statements (8 Mar 2021)

Mary Fitzpatrick: ...International Women's Day. I am very proud and delighted to stand here today. It is a huge honour for me. As I have often said, I live closest to Leinster House, but it has probably taken me the longest to get elected. Every day when I get here I take great pride in taking my place among all of the women and men. It is a huge honour. On my way here, I pass the Countess Markievicz...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Affordable Housing Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Mar 2021)

Mary Fitzpatrick: My first question is for the CCMA. Mr. Curran referenced the county and city development plans. This process takes about two years. Considering all the pent-up need for affordable housing and how long we have all waited for an affordable rental scheme, I really hope we will not be waiting for two years for the local authorities to give us a projection on the need for affordable housing for...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Feb 2021)

Mary Fitzpatrick: ...of our National Gallery. Most visionary and altruistic of him was his commitment to open a modern art gallery in Dublin for the people of Dublin. I was delighted that, ultimately, after a very long saga, they did locate it on Dublin's north side, despite fierce opposition from conservative forces who felt that it would keep workers away from their work and queried why they would want to...

Seanad: Councillors' Pay: Motion (22 Feb 2021)

Mary Fitzpatrick: ...xe1;il Senators insisted that it include a commitment regarding local authority members. While we do not have unanimity regarding the Moorhead report, as a person who has worked at local authority level for a long time I certainly take issue with several of the assertions. I have only three minutes left, however, so I will not get into that area. We did insist, however, that a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Homelessness: Discussion (29 Jan 2021)

Mary Fitzpatrick: ...was an emergency response required, but I will give one example of how the emergency response has manifested itself in North Frederick Street in my constituency. The street is only 100 m or so long but seven privately operated hostels have opened on it in the past six months. They are operated by bouncers and security personnel. When they were open I would not have gone into a pub in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Water Treatment (Abstractions) Bill 2020 and Electoral Reform Bill 2020: Discussion (22 Jan 2021)

Mary Fitzpatrick: ...and without a fully functioning electoral process, it is impossible to have fair and free elections, which are essential. The idea of the independent electoral commission is very welcome and long overdue. I am interested to know whether there is any estimate of what the required budget will be for an independent electoral commission. I want to talk a bit about, and understand better, the...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Maternity Services (15 Dec 2020)

Mary Fitzpatrick: ...wing in a four storey building over a basement. It is considered the most cost-benefit advantageous solution with a 2:1 ratio. It would provide the greatest range of benefits and is consistent with the long-term plans for the Rotunda. To move the project forward next year will only cost an investment of €2.5 million. It is a very modest investment not just in the women, babies...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 Dec 2020)

Mary Fitzpatrick: ...I wish to raise women's health. I welcome the announcement by the HSE that it will allow partners of pregnant women attend their maternity visits and scans with them. That is very welcome and long overdue. Recently, I was in the Rotunda Hospital myself to meet with the master there. The Rotunda is the world's oldest maternity hospital and it is the busiest maternity hospital in the...

Seanad: Reopening Ireland (Department of Health): Statements (26 Nov 2020)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House for this important debate. We appreciate his time as there are enormous demands on him and his Department. His Department is to be commended, along with NPHET and all of government, for the continuing efforts and outstanding commitment to helping our country tackle and survive this pandemic. Before I say anything else, it is important...