Results 1-20 of 1,122 for speaker:Peter Fitzpatrick in 'Dáil debates'

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tourism Promotion (30 May 2024)

Peter Fitzpatrick: I welcome the announcement made by the Minister of State, Deputy Thomas Byrne, that €250 million will be available for sports capital and that every valid application will receive an allocation. I welcome that. I wish to ask about the large infrastructure sports grant, funding from which has not been released since 2018. I welcome that the Government has given €50 million...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tourism Promotion (30 May 2024)

Peter Fitzpatrick: 3. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the steps being taken by her Department to increase the tourism potential of County Louth and east Meath; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24349/24]

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tourism Promotion (30 May 2024)

Peter Fitzpatrick: What steps are being taken by the Minister's Department to increase the tourism potential of County Louth and east Meath? It has become evident that the tourism market is not only resilient but also evolving to meet the demands of a dynamic world. Could the Minister make a statement, please?

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tourism Promotion (30 May 2024)

Peter Fitzpatrick: This year will be remembered as one in which businesses struggled with rising costs, labour challenges and increased VAT. While many businesses may be enjoying a good trading year, the performance of tourism has not been even across the country, which shifts in volumes, values and the profiles of businesses across the market. In February, I was delighted to see the Battle of the Boyne...

EU Directive: Motion (29 May 2024)

Peter Fitzpatrick: Child sexual abuse is a heinous crime that has evolved significantly over the past years. One in five children suffers from some form of sexual violence, offline and online. Both increased online presence of children and technological developments create new possibilities for abuse and raises challenges for law enforcement to investigate this extremely serious and widespread crime. The...

Business Support Package: Statements (Resumed) (23 May 2024)

Peter Fitzpatrick: The Regional Group and I have remained steadfast in our commitment to advocating for the prosperity and growth of SMEs within our towns and villages to ensure that the voices and needs of small business owners are not only heard, but also acted upon. Microenterprises and SMEs are not merely a segment of our economy, they are its very pulse. SMEs constitute 95% to 98% of all businesses,...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (16 May 2024)

Peter Fitzpatrick: Based on a recommendation of the report of the child maintenance review group, child maintenance payments were due to be disregarded from the means test for social welfare payments from 1 May under the Social Welfare (Liable Relatives and Child Maintenance) Bill 2023. This means that many lone parents on reduced rates of payment will see their payments increase and others will qualify for a...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 May 2024)

Peter Fitzpatrick: Special needs assistants are being denied equal health and safety leave provision while pregnant. They are given just 21 days' leave if deemed at risk in the work environment. This means they have to use other leave to compensate for long-term absence if they encounter risk in the early stages of pregnancy. Contagious diseases are more common in younger children and these diseases are...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 May 2024)

Peter Fitzpatrick: SNAs are given 21 days' leave if deemed to be at risk in the work environment. Teachers and SNAs should be treated the same and I do not want to see any disparity. Providing special needs assistance is a vocation, as far as I am concerned. Tomorrow at my constituency office, there will be queues of people looking for facilities for their children. When a child goes to school and is looked...

Delivering Universal Healthcare: Statements (15 May 2024)

Peter Fitzpatrick: Ireland remains an anomaly in Europe in not providing universal healthcare. While there has been some progress in implementing the proposals set out in the Sláintecare report, much more is required to move towards universal healthcare in Ireland. We need to get to a point where we truly have healthcare delivered free at the point of delivery. Three principles should underpin all of...

Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Second Stage (2 May 2024)

Peter Fitzpatrick: As a former member of the Defence Forces, I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important Bill. On the back of key recommendations of the Independent Review Group on Dignity and Equality Issues in the Defence Forces and the statutory inquiry into systemic failures in dealing with individual complaints, including sexual misconduct, the creation of an external oversight body was...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Fodder Crisis (25 Apr 2024)

Peter Fitzpatrick: I am extremely concerned and I am sure the Minister is too. The adverse conditions have been really bad. There have been serious concerns around livestock and tillage. The Minister knows the spring crops such as barley have not been sown yet, even in County Louth, which is normally a very dry county. I ask the Minister again if he intends to reinstate the fodder schemes. There has been...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Fodder Crisis (25 Apr 2024)

Peter Fitzpatrick: Is it true that Ireland received €1.6 billion in pillar 1 funding from the EU? That figure is effectively the same as it was ten years ago, despite significant inflation. The Minister mentioned that fertiliser, diesel and so on have gone up in price. Farmers are really struggling. I am a spokesperson for them. Everything has been put on hold for the past number of months. Farmers...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Fodder Crisis (25 Apr 2024)

Peter Fitzpatrick: 55. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he intends to reinstate the fodder scheme to help compensate farmers for the financial losses they are facing due to the particularly wet conditions this spring; if flexibility is being extended and consideration being given to farmers who are struggling to meet the stipulated three-cop rule due to very difficult weather and...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Fodder Crisis (25 Apr 2024)

Peter Fitzpatrick: Does the Minister intend to reinstate the fodder scheme to help compensate farmers for the financial losses they are facing due to the particularly wet conditions this spring? Will there be flexibility and will consideration be given to farmers who are struggling to meet the stipulated three-crop rule due to very difficult weather and ground conditions? Will he make a statement on the matter?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Offices (25 Apr 2024)

Peter Fitzpatrick: I spoke to the Tánaiste about the criteria in respect of the fuel allowance yesterday. We spoke about people being on pensions, including private pensions. I know of a family where a husband is 66 years of age and the wife has a private pension. They are below the level to qualify for the fuel allowance, but still cannot get it. What will the Minister do about this? Will she update...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (24 Apr 2024)

Peter Fitzpatrick: Many people are struggling to pay their bills. The fuel allowance provides vital support for so many households across the nation and especially for older people and those with chronic pain. To qualify for fuel allowance one must live alone or with a spouse, in a civil partnership, or with a cohabitant who qualifies the person for an increase in his or her pension or social welfare. For a...

Support for Carers: Motion [Private Members] (24 Apr 2024)

Peter Fitzpatrick: The recent referendum has once again shone a light on the critical role carers play in our communities. In every corner of Ireland, there are family carers tirelessly devoting themselves to the well-being of their loved ones. In fact, family carers represent one in eight of the Irish population and have long been the cornerstone of care provision in this country. Whether it is caring for...

Acknowledgement and Apology to the Families and to the Victims of the Stardust Tragedy: Statements (23 Apr 2024)

Peter Fitzpatrick: On the night of 14 February 1981, many parents' worst nightmare came true. Forty-eight young people in the prime of their lives went out to the Stardust nightclub in Artane to celebrate St. Valentine's Day but never came home. Witnesses spoke of fire exits being locked and chained, which was denied by management. There were two inquests, one tribunal of inquiry, a compensation tribunal and...

Road Safety: Statements (17 Apr 2024)

Peter Fitzpatrick: As recently as five years ago, Ireland was being celebrated within the EU for its road safety. Yet, in 2024, it is on course to prove the most lethal for traffic fatalities in 15 years. An alarming trend is in the disproportionate number of young people aged between 16 to 25 years who are involved in road fatalities. Speeding and intoxicated drivers are contributing to dozens of fatalities...