Results 1-20 of 181 for long speaker:Pat Buckley

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (25 Apr 2024)

Pat Buckley: That is agreed. An awful lot of work has gone into that but, my God, we will have to get to the end of it at some stage. It is going on too long. It is mad.

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (21 Mar 2024)

Pat Buckley: ...clues, so we will not be able to get the answer. We should then call in the representatives and ask them straight out what is so complicated about excavation. We could go back to Stagg a long time ago, when his body was covered in concrete and they still took him out. Let us call a spade a spade. I am always a straight talker, but I cannot understand this. These people are so...

Committee on Public Petitions: Business of Joint Committee (21 Mar 2024)

Pat Buckley: ..., and it politely tells me to - you know the two words I would use. It hides behind legal threats again, and we have had that in committees before. That is why we amended the committee's powers a long time ago to give it the strength to bring people in and be held accountable. It should be borne in mind that this is taxpayers' money. I have it on the record, as I have said previously,...

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (21 Mar 2024)

Pat Buckley: ...because when I heard that, my heart sank. I still get emotional about it because I feel responsible that I did not do enough. We have to approach this as a matter of urgency. I do not know how long it has been going on but these people should not be let down, and those who failed these people should be held to account and held responsible for this because somebody has to pay.

Report of the Joint Committee on Autism: Motion (7 Mar 2024)

Pat Buckley: ...to carry the whole weight themselves. Members referred to mental health and so on. It is worrying and, of course, very stressful. I was on a disability committee in the previous Dáil term along with former Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin. My God, the harrowing stories we heard about families who were out of options. One family had in their kitchen an Alsatian cage...

Sustainable Fisheries Sector and Coastal Communities: Statements, Questions and Answers (15 Feb 2024)

Pat Buckley: The Minister mentioned in his opening speech the €305.5 million in support schemes. It is a long time since I worked in a fish plant. We used to process fish in this country that were caught in this country. We have the possibility here of having a more than €1 billion sustainable industry in this country. We are going the wrong way when I hear previous speakers talking...

Committee on Key Issues affecting the Traveller Community: Traveller Accommodation: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Feb 2024)

Pat Buckley: ..., they will know I am from Cork and not from Mayo, so I will concentrate on Cork. A number of years ago, I sat on the Cork County Council Traveller committee. This issue has been going on for a long time. I welcome the news that the stage 2 funding is on track and also the other information given in the opening statement. We have discussed this at the committee and we knew there were...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Flood Risk Management (25 Jan 2024)

Pat Buckley: ...we can go back to our constituents and say, God forbid should it ever happen again, they will have five, six, or seven hours to prepare for something, that would a start. We know it will take a long time to solve this problem but I will just keep an eye on it. I thank the Minister of State for the response and it is encouraging it is moving forward.

Committee on Public Petitions: Campaign for a Walking and Cycling Greenway on the Closed Railway from Sligo to Athenry: Discussion (25 Jan 2024)

Pat Buckley: ...were not opening the railway. Then the strategy report comes out in which the park-and-ride is mentioned four times and the railway link from Youghal to Waterford is mentioned six times, but that is a long way away. I told those at the meeting to be realists and make use of what they had. I am well used to the one in Waterford that was mentioned here. It is absolutely flying, and...

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (25 Jan 2024)

Pat Buckley: ...everybody else. I am not going to name names because I will leave somebody out. The beauty of this - and this is what makes me so proud of being part of the petitions committee, and I said it a long time ago here - is that it is lastchance.com for people to have their voices heard and to raise genuine concerns. Sometimes there could be a lot of toing and froing, dialogue and arguments....

Committee on Key Issues affecting the Traveller Community: Traveller Accommodation: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Pat Buckley: .... Mr. O'Sullivan said that 32 applicants are still waiting for a loan. We have spoken in the committee numerous times about providing alternative accommodation such as pods, which could last longer and be better value for money. The solution requires people to think outside the box. I was very interested in what Ms O'Shea said about the submissions. We have to take at face value...

Committee on Public Petitions: Reform of Insurance for Thatched Heritage Buildings: Discussion (30 Nov 2023)

Pat Buckley: ...opened the conversation. I thank the Ministers of State for engaging with the committee and for going out to all stakeholders and engaging with them. Hopefully, please God, it will not be too long before we might be here again having a conversation on the progress report and whether there have been new entrants. This is not a committee to bash people. This is about opening a...

Committee on Key Issues affecting the Traveller Community: Traveller Accommodation (30 Nov 2023)

Pat Buckley: ...home. I was asking if, thinking outside the box, people would be interested in getting the likes of pods. I have seen pods that are massive two-bedroom domes, fully serviced and probably with a longer lifespan than a caravan or mobile home. Are Travellers open to something different? I was reading correspondence from Cork City Council on another site in the city. I have no words for...

Committee on Public Petitions: Consideration of Public Petition to Reopen Ennis, Nenagh and St. John's Emergency Departments: Discussion (16 Nov 2023)

Pat Buckley: .... The Sláintecare approach is community led, fully integrated and with each service complemented by another. There is a massive vacuum at the moment for our guests. They have been at it a long time now and it is going to take another long time even to get something back. I seriously think that no matter what Government is in place, there has to be a major, realistic push on what...

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (19 Oct 2023)

Pat Buckley: Just to say that it is nice to see some progress being made. The issue has been ongoing for a long time. It has been very stressful. I congratulate the secretariat staff on their work. I agree with it.

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (19 Oct 2023)

Pat Buckley: This has been going on for a long time. I remember one time when we discussed it I said I would write to my own council. I have put the question to it and I mentioned authorised and unauthorised developments on its section of Waterways Ireland waterways. In fairness to Cork County Council, it came back very fast in response to authorised developments but there was supposed to be another...

Committee on Public Petitions: Reform of Mental Health Services: Discussion (28 Sep 2023)

Pat Buckley: ...in the public interest. It is huge that it refers to being in the public interest. Somebody is lagging. Somebody is not prepared to pick up the slack here. I do not know why this has taken so long. I have said it before that the one thing that is missing here 99% of the time is bloody common sense; that we cannot do it. This is not the first time we have got notification from the...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Bus Services (21 Sep 2023)

Pat Buckley: ...asking if the National Transport Authority, NTA, or Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, would consider a park-and-ride model of transport to run from Youghal to the train station in Midleton, along the N25, for connectivity. It would service Youghal, Killeagh, Castlemartyr and go into Midleton. Unfortunately, the response I got from the NTA was that, building on the work developed as...

Energy (Windfall Gains in the Energy Sector) (Cap on Market Revenues) Bill 2023: Second Stage (21 Sep 2023)

Pat Buckley: ...Bill, but it is back to closing the stable door after the horse has bolted. The Bill is a bit late. Given the effect of energy poverty we in Sinn Féin have called for this windfall tax for a long time. I will give the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, the story of a gentleman I know personally who went on radio and had no problem saying it. He works in pharma, has a semi-detached...

Committee on Key Issues affecting the Traveller Community: Accommodation for Travellers: Discussion (21 Sep 2023)

Pat Buckley: ...went into a particular halting site with a particular age group and asked people if they knew there were alternatives to a caravan, very similar to a caravan but which would be way better, last a lot longer and be of a better and high-quality standard? I am talking about modular homes on-site because they are going to be plumbed the same way anyway for water, storage and electricity. Are...