Results 161-180 of 338 for speaker:Patricia Stephenson

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I wish to touch on the question of safeguarding in the context of EU battle group missions. We know a lot about the different safeguards that come with a UN deployment. UN missions are a whole holistic thing that include safeguardings, the monitoring of human rights violations and ensuring missions are compliant. Mr. Andrews mentioned in his earlier interventions that the EU’s...

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: Were there violations in any of the Mali or Niger missions?

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: Absolutely. I fundamentally agree with that. To come back to the battle groups-----

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: Absolutely. That piece of credibility is what I am getting at. That is my concern when it comes to battle groups. Please let me know whether there are mechanisms at Parliament or the European Court of Human Rights levels to monitor battle groups. I have that sense of safety around the UN missions because of the mechanisms that exist when they are deployed. I do not believe - correct me...

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: It would lead us to engage in EU battle groups without the UN mandate. It is linked.

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: Only up to 12 personnel, surely. The triple lock fundamentally changes our relationship with the EU battle groups and deployments.

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I disagree with that point. I thank Mr. Andrews.

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: We currently only provide training in EU battle groups-----

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: While we will not be obliged, there are no safeguards to say we will not do it. We may not be obliged but-----

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: At every opportunity we have had to deploy our 12 troops to any place, Ireland has done it.

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: We have deployed troops to Afghanistan. Any opportunity that has been given to us to deploy our 12 or below troops on a rolling basis, Ireland has participated in that, including missions. While I am not saying our troops were ever involved in anything that was human rights non-compliant, they have been deployed to such missions in an overall sense, including Afghanistan. That has happened...

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: Yes, I understand that.

Seanad: Domestic Violence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I want to confirm that we are just speaking on the amendment.

Seanad: Domestic Violence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I commend Senator Ryan on her bravery and honesty. It is very difficult to speak about personal issues in the Chamber. It takes incredible strength so well done and thank you. It is important that people do because it adds so much colour and weight to what we are talking about. So often we talk about these things in legalese terms and it loses the meaning in many ways. As Senator Ryan...

Seanad: Domestic Violence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I appreciate the intervention of Senator Comyn, but the legal age for children is 18 for a reason. We deem anyone under 18 as a child and it is not appropriate for us to make a distinction between a younger or older child when they are witnessing domestic abuse. A boy of 17, an example the Senator gave, watching his mother being abused will suffer long-term psychological trauma. We spoke...

Seanad: Domestic Violence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: As we heard already, domestic violence and violence against women continues to be an epidemic across the island and that is why we need this Bill. Since 2020, 37 women have been killed in the South and 27 women have been killed in the North of the country. The vast majority of those women were killed in their own home. I also want to mark the latest tragic killing of Sarah Montgomery, who...

Seanad: Domestic Violence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: Why does violence against women happen? It is because of the patriarchy. It is because we have had decades of decades, hundreds of years, where it has been acceptable to be violent towards women. We cannot just call on individual men, although allies are always welcome. It is great to have strong voices of men in the Seanad calling this out, of course, but we need a really strong response...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: General Scheme of Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: Yesterday, we heard from officials from the Department. They acknowledged there is an obligation to prevent trade with the illegal settlements and this obligation pertains to both goods and services. We had that conversation and they acknowledged that point. At the same time, however, those officials said the heads of Bill are not inconsistent with the obligation as identified in the ICJ...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: General Scheme of Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I thank Mr. Liston. We also spoke yesterday about advice from the Attorney General's office. I know it is not advice that pertains to this Bill but to the previous Bill as it related to services. The Attorney General's opinion draws a distinction between public policy under EU law as regards the goods and services aspects. This opinion is in the public domain. Do the witnesses have a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: General Scheme of Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Jul 2025)

Patricia Stephenson: I thank Mr. Liston. We also heard yesterday there is a question of reconciliation between obligations under customary international law and then EU law. What law are we most beholden to? I use that language but it is probably not the correct legal term. Can the witnesses explain this point from their perspective in terms of the law we are most required to meet?