Results 221-240 of 1,203 for speaker:Mary Fitzpatrick

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Housing Provision (10 Oct 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I am raising the issue of the provision of social and affordable housing in Dublin city and, specifically, in Dublin Central. As the Minister of State will know, this is the constituency where I grew up and where I live. Today, I wish to talk specifically about the proposal to deliver homes on a Dublin City Council site at Stanley Street. For...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Housing Provision (10 Oct 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: It is welcome to hear of the thousands of homes that are being delivered. I take the direction of Dublin City Council, the relevant local authority, which has had success in partnering in the delivery of homes.In fact it has already delivered homes in Stoneybatter just a stone's throw from Stanley Street. I am concerned about the reply and I would like the Minister of State to bring this...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Analysis of Private Rental Sector Discrepancies: Discussion (10 Oct 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I thank all the witnesses for being here. It feels as if there will be more questions than answers, even from their side. It is an important piece of work. There is a concerning discrepancy between the two data sets in a general sense, so it is good that the organisations represented are all engaged in it and there is a commitment to try to come up with a unique, authoritative and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Analysis of Private Rental Sector Discrepancies: Discussion (10 Oct 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: Do both organisations believe they are resourced to undertake that piece of work?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Analysis of Private Rental Sector Discrepancies: Discussion (10 Oct 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: Okay. It really is important that we get to the bottom of this. We can accept the analogy of the vacant properties and so forth, but it is very frustrating for people. There is obviously always going to be an amount of churn. That is a feature of the whole housing sector. However, we need at least one verifiable baseline, let us say, from which to do analysis and potentially develop...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Analysis of Private Rental Sector Discrepancies: Discussion (10 Oct 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: Anecdotally they would say that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Analysis of Private Rental Sector Discrepancies: Discussion (10 Oct 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: Okay. It just seems like a very high percentage, but it is based on a very small sample. It is important that we would clarify that. I would expect that the vast majority of landlords are compliant or at least are registering, otherwise we would not have as high a number of registered tenancies as we do. I appreciate that the witnesses are here today largely to talk about the statistics...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Analysis of Private Rental Sector Discrepancies: Discussion (10 Oct 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I thank Mr Byrne. I realise I am out of time. Perhaps Mr. Byrne could return to this and provide the committee with some further detail on the work that the RTB is doing to look at the timelines, look at the availability and look at the effectiveness on the mediation, the adjudication and the tribunals. I appreciate it is only anecdotal but the feedback I get is that it is taking far too...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Analysis of Private Rental Sector Discrepancies: Discussion (10 Oct 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I thank Mr. Byrne.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (5 Oct 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: Before I commence, I extend my condolences and sympathies to the friends and family of a woman who was killed in a hit-and-run yesterday evening on Phibsborough Road. I appeal to anyone who was in the Phibsborough area to contact Garda with information. It is very sad. We will have the budget next week. Yesterday, the largest Opposition party published its version of a budget. I will...

Seanad: Visit of Slovak Delegation (4 Oct 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I second the proposal of my colleague, Senator O'Loughlin, that leave be granted to introduce the Sex Offenders (Amendment) (Coercive Control) Bill 2023. The Bill originated as a suggestion from Jason Poole. Jason and his family tragically lost their beloved sister, Jennifer, on 16 April 2021. Jennifer was the mother of two young children, and was brutally murdered and left to die by an...

Seanad: Address to Seanad Éireann by An Taoiseach (28 Sep 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I welcome the Taoiseach and thank him for taking the time to come to the Seanad, and for the work he does as Taoiseach representing the Government and the country. I thank him for the leadership he has shown in regard to bringing our three parties together, Fine Gael, the Green Party and Fianna Fáil, which are three distinct parties, at a time when democracy is under attack from...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: School Accommodation (27 Sep 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, for coming to the House this morning. I want to discuss the wonderful St. Peter's National School in Phibsboro, Dublin 7. I am not sure if the Minister of State is familiar with it. It is one of Dublin's oldest schools. It is located on St. Peter's Road and Cabra Road - right in the heart of Phibsboro. It was founded in about 1890 and is...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: School Accommodation (27 Sep 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I commend the Minister of State on the work she is doing to support children, not just in St. Peter's but all around the country, to be educated appropriately in appropriate settings with the right supports. That is very welcome and she is to be commended on that work. It is welcome that the Department's building section is going to meet the school. I would appreciate if I could be advised...

Seanad: Crime and Policing: Motion (27 Sep 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I thank the Minister for coming to the House to debate the Fianna Fáil motion on crime and antisocial behaviour. I commend her, the Department, the gardaí and everyone who works to try and make our communities and our country safer. However, it would be completely disingenuous of me not to tell the Minister straight to her face that the people in Dublin city who I speak to every...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Proposed Changes to River Shannon, Grand and Royal Canals and River Barrow Navigation By-laws: Discussion (21 Sep 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: Can we get two minutes each?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Proposed Changes to River Shannon, Grand and Royal Canals and River Barrow Navigation By-laws: Discussion (21 Sep 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: Deputy Gould is a gentleman. Go raibh maith agat. I thank the witnesses for attending today, not only Waterways Ireland but all those who live on our waterways. They are incredibly valuable resources to us. The Royal Canal is in my neck of the woods at the city end, from Spencer Dock out. The work going on there is commendable. We always knew it was a great resource, not only as a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Cost Rental Tenant In Situ Scheme: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (21 Sep 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I thank the Aire and the Department for the opening statement. The tenant in situscheme has worked spectacularly well for anyone who has been able to avail of it. I want to commend Dublin City Council on having piloted it a number of years ago. I welcome the fact that it has been put on a permanent footing with the Department. The numbers refer to the numbers of houses but do not reflect...

Seanad: Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2016: Motions (13 Jul 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I move: That Seanad Éireann do not insist on Seanad amendment No. 1.

Seanad: Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2016: Motions (13 Jul 2023)

Mary Fitzpatrick: I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for bringing this legislation to the House. As my colleague indicated, the Bill has had something of a meandering route to get us to where we are today. It is important legislation. I do not intend to compound or overcomplicate the convoluted nature of dealing with the amendments by speaking at length on them. We support the Minister of State...