Results 161-180 of 1,203 for speaker:Mary Fitzpatrick

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2020: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Dec 2020)

Mary Fitzpatrick: It is with the agreement of elected representatives.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2020: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Dec 2020)

Mary Fitzpatrick: That is how it works in practice.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2020: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Dec 2020)

Mary Fitzpatrick: It is the pre-draft consultation.

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

Mary Fitzpatrick: I support Senator Flynn's comments about the deaths of homeless people. I raised the issue last week, having stood outside with Inner City Helping Homeless, who were protesting at the deaths of 56 homeless people this year in Dublin. It is far too many. I welcome the Minister's response to my request, which is that he has tasked the HSE and the Dublin Region Homeless Executive, DRHE, to...

Seanad: Annual Transition Statement on Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015: Statements (9 Dec 2020)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I thank the Minister for coming to the House and for all the work he and his Department are doing. I thank everybody on the Joint Committee on Climate Action, which is meeting daily. It is great to see such energy and cross-party consensus. Similar to how we all tried to suppress the virus, there is a political movement whereby collective energy is being applied to try to have the Seanad...

Seanad: Annual Transition Statement on Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015: Statements (9 Dec 2020)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I saw it.

Seanad: Annual Transition Statement on Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015: Statements (9 Dec 2020)

Mary Fitzpatrick: The Minister was feeling the love.

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

Mary Fitzpatrick: I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to respond to my Commencement matter, which calls on the Minister for Health and the Department to commit to providing €2.5 million in funding for the Rotunda Hospital on Parnell Square in Dublin. For those who are not aware, the Rotunda Hospital is the world's oldest maternity hospital. It is the country's busiest maternity...

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

Mary Fitzpatrick: I appreciate the Minister of State's reply, but I am disappointed. I cannot be satisfied with it. I do not mean that personally where the Minister of State is concerned, but this saga has been ongoing for years. I believe the first proposal to move the Rotunda dates back to the 1990s. The women of Dublin and the women of Ireland deserve better. There was a planned move in 2007. In 2015,...

Seanad: Access to Contraception: Motion (15 Dec 2020)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I did not have the opportunity to follow the debate as I was in committee, so problem is that aside from being aware of the issue that was being debated, I have no idea what has been spoken about in my absence. I thank the Minister of State for giving his time to this motion, and I apologise for not being present. Unfortunately, I was attending a committee meeting at which we were dealing...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Children's Unmet Needs: Engagement with Minister of State at the Department of Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth (15 Dec 2020)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I thank the Minister of State for giving her time and engaging with the committee. The report from the ombudsman was a real indictment of the State's failure of children with special needs, their families, carers and supporters. I really welcome the Minister of State's appointment. As a spokesperson for the Opposition she demonstrated passion and energy and she has brought that to her...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Children's Unmet Needs: Engagement with Minister of State at the Department of Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth (15 Dec 2020)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I thank the Minister of State. I really appreciate that. The Minister of State did not respond to my issue about the housing needs assessment. It is not the Minister of State's remit but-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payment: Discussion (15 Dec 2020)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I thank the witnesses for the work they and their organisations do every day. I also thank them for attending the meeting today. My background is as a city councillor and I am from Dublin Central where the Society of St. Vincent de Paul is headquartered. Ms Stakem spoke about her work every day and the effect housing poverty has on people's lives. I share her concern and understand that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payment: Discussion (15 Dec 2020)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I thank Ms O'Reilly. If we look in 2020 at a survey from back in 2019, Covid has had a dramatic impact. Our homes and living space have become more important to all of us. There has been a big change in Dublin, in particular. A year ago people could not get landlords to take the HAP or they could only do so with great difficulty. With the arrival of the Covid pandemic, foreign students...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (16 Dec 2020)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I wish to remind the House that today, 16 December, is the deadline for submissions for the BusConnects bus corridor project. The Cathaoirleach will be familiar with it. It is a highly ambitious programme to improve our public transportation and address climate action but I also see it as a social equality issue in terms of providing better public transport services in the city to...

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Engagement on Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (16 Dec 2020)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I thank the Congressman for his time and all the work he and his party have done for this country. We really appreciate it. I am from Dublin, which is not a Border county, but I was born in 1969 and grew up with the Troubles throughout my childhood. I was lucky enough to win a green card in a lottery in the late 1980s and I had the privilege of living in the Congressman's country for eight...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (18 Dec 2020)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I am delighted to be standing here just before Christmas. It is a real honour and a privilege for all of us to be in this House. I am conscious of what a difficult year it has been for everyone, with most of us facing into a difficult Christmas. I and all of us in this House are very privileged to be here and I am grateful for that. I thank all my colleagues in the Seanad. I thank you, a...

Seanad: Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Bill 2017: Second Stage (18 Dec 2020)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for coming to the House. The sharing of intimate images without consent is a serious issue, which warrants legislation and severe penalties. We need to call it out as a criminal offence and we need to hold those who offend in this way to account. I am very pleased to join with other Senators and to support Coco's Law today. I am thinking...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (19 Jan 2021)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I wish the staff in the complex a happy new year. I thank all the essential workers who worked over the Christmas period and got us this far. We will talk about the mother and baby homes report later so I will reserve my comments on that until the Minister is in the House.I will briefly address three issues. First, I support the call for the acceleration of citizenship approval for all the...

Seanad: Report of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation: Statements (19 Jan 2021)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I thank the Minister for coming to the House. I thank all of the mothers, children and survivors who gave their testimony to the commission of investigation and all those who could not do so for various reasons. I am humbled, as I think we all are, by their courage and strength. It is a huge privilege to be here today to contribute. The report of the commission of investigation was never...