Results 121-140 of 1,343 for speaker:Mary Fitzpatrick

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I thank everyone for being here today. Well done on the work in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. My first contributions will be on housing and maybe we can get to the other two aspects afterwards if time permits. The waiving of the development levies and the refunding of the water connection charges was designed to reduce the cost of homes being built and to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: It was welcome that the Minister extended the timeline, and this was seen in the commencement numbers. There were 12,000 commencements in the first three months and 18,000 alone in the month of April. I do not know when it was last the case that there were 30,000 commencements in one quarter. What is the sector saying now about the expiry of the development levy waiver and the water refund?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: Can I ask one more question? Those questions were around new supply. We all agree that the fastest and most sustainable way to increase housing supply is to reuse vacant and derelict properties. It is indisputable how well received the Croí Cónaithe vacant and derelict property grants have been. It is important that funding was given to the local authorities to appoint vacant...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I agree.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: Excellent.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I absolutely agree. May I remind the Minister of State-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: -----that he did not answer one question, the one on the extension from 13 months to 18 months. If the Minister of State can come back to me with an answer on it, it will be fine. I do not need an answer now.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: The Government has given discretion to them. Excellent.

Committee on Drugs Use: Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I thank the witnesses for being here today and for all the work they have done to get us this far. The citizens' assembly has done incredible work. This is an incredibly important issue for us as an Oireachtas committee and for society more generally. When you see the statistics that 20% of our young people use drugs, that Ireland has the second highest rate of MDMA use, and when we see...

Committee on Drugs Use: Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: Apologies as I had to attend a vote. I apologise if I ask questions that were asked while I was out, but I ask the delegates to bear with me. I want to return to recommendation 17. I heard very clearly what Mr. Reid said about the citizens' assembly and the advice given by the legal experts. Could he articulate what the assembly wants to achieve? I am not asking him to worry about the...

Committee on Drugs Use: Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I am sorry to be pedantic about this. It was not about decriminalising the substance.

Committee on Drugs Use: Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: That is what I thought but I appreciate Mr. O'Neill's confirmation. A challenge occurs for the Garda when dealing with this issue. I appreciate that we are dealing with only one of the recommendations and that there are very many more, all of which are equally important, if not more. However, this is an issue that we will have to grapple with, so I want to tease it out. The problem for...

Committee on Drugs Use: Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: Is the legal responsibility similar to the child protection obligation of a school principal?

Committee on Drugs Use: Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: It is a legal obligation on the individual. How does that work in practice? When the member of the police force comes into contact with the individual, is the latter referred there and then electronically? Is the individual referred to a court similar to the drugs court that has been in pilot for 20 years, in which case the court would issue a direction?

Committee on Drugs Use: Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: It would be a referral from the Garda that would compel the individual to attend the service-----

Seanad: Order of Business (30 May 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I want to start by acknowledging and welcoming the Government’s recognition this week of the State of Palestine. Ireland, along with Spain and Norway, is leading the way in giving recognition to the Palestinian people. I want to commend and thank the Tánaiste, everybody in the Government, the Department of Foreign Affairs and various NGOs, and all who have worked to get us to...

Seanad: Housing Commission Report: Motion (29 May 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after “That Seanad Éireann:” and substitute the following: “notes that: - the Government established the Housing Commission in 2021 to consider long-term housing policy post-2030 and examine how to build on the policy changes outlined in Housing for All and related Government policies; - the Report of the Housing...

Seanad: Housing Commission Report: Motion (29 May 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: It is 30,000.

Seanad: Housing Commission Report: Motion (29 May 2024)

Mary Fitzpatrick: At 9.30 a.m. tomorrow.

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

Mary Fitzpatrick: That is correct, Máire Nic Giolla Phádraig anseo. I will start by recalling that this week is the 50th anniversary of the Dublin-Monaghan bombings. The bombings which took place, without any prior notice, in Dublin and Monaghan killed 34 people and injured more than 300 people. The bombings on Parnell Street, Talbot Street and South Leinster Street in Dublin city and in...