Results 61-80 of 1,687 for speaker:Billy Timmins in 'Dáil debates'

Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Dec 2014)

Billy Timmins: I am just giving the basis for my opposition to the amendment. It is an extension of a flawed concept, so I cannot support it.

Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2014)

Billy Timmins: I appreciate the Minister's comments. If we do not dispute his costs in refuting the argument from Deputy Donnelly, he is taking in more revenue than it costs to finance the operation. Let us say we agree in principle with that.

Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2014)

Billy Timmins: It is a mathematical issue and this is not a matter of opinion. We are dealing with mathematical facts with respect to the 1.3 million households. There seems to be a mental block on the Government's side in this respect, which is a weakness. It is a mathematical fact there are at least 1.65 million households in the country. The Minister has argued that if a grant went out to every...

Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2014)

Billy Timmins: It is a certain percentage. Even if there are 50,000 or 100,000-----

Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2014)

Billy Timmins: If all those households sign up, the cost must be greater than €130 million. That is where the argument does not stack up. Deputy Donnelly may disagree but if I give the Government the benefit of the doubt on the cost of financing the issue, the figure of 1.3 million households does not stack up. Where have the 365,000 houses disappeared to?

Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2014)

Billy Timmins: Yes.

Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2014)

Billy Timmins: The Deputy should not scroll down; he might lose it.

Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2014)

Billy Timmins: Houses or people?

Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2014)

Billy Timmins: This is a very simple issue and there should be a simple answer to it. If every eligible household in the country registered for Irish Water, how many households would register? If I am a tenant in a pre-1963 house on the North Circular Road in which there are nine units with nine different tenants on which property tax has been paid, would I be entitled to the conservation grant and would...

Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2014)

Billy Timmins: I do not think that people are trying to entrap the Minister and I am certainly not doing so. I appreciate it has been a long day for him.

Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2014)

Billy Timmins: I ask for clarification because it is an important issue. The Minister mentioned the figure of 1.3 million primary residences. Does that mean that if someone has a rental property and it is let to tenants, the tenants will be paying water charges but they will not be able to receive the grant? Is that what we are talking about?

Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2014)

Billy Timmins: On PPS numbers, people generally did not have a difficulty in the past giving that information to Government agencies. In fact, in 2012, the Joint Committee on the Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht recommended that PPS numbers be used as a method of collating information for a body that would be set up in the future to deal with water services. What caused the difficulty in actuality...

Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2014)

Billy Timmins: Deputy Catherine Murphy spoke about PPS numbers in her contribution.

Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2014)

Billy Timmins: The same issue arose in regard to the non-principal private residence tax and gave rise to a great deal of difficulty. It should be a policy of government, irrespective of which parties are in office, that if something is included in a Bill which goes beyond the original remit of that Bill, the Title will be amended to reflect the change. In the case of Irish Water, the manner in which the...

Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2014)

Billy Timmins: Even the most partisan Government Member would acknowledge that this has turned into quite a fiasco. I acknowledge that the previous system did not work with 34 local authorities overseeing a system that did not get adequate investment over the years and could not be managed. It is impractical to expect a utility to have so many bodies overseeing it. However, what should have been a good...

Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (5 Dec 2014)

Billy Timmins: The Leas-Cheann Comhairle has only one more minute to listen to me.

Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (5 Dec 2014)

Billy Timmins: A lot of water will flow under the bridge before Deputy Shane Ross turns down a Cabinet position if he can get himself into such a position. The challenge for all of us on this Bill is to have the public believe any of us. I am not an advocate for the concept of independence per se. It is nice and touchy-feely and many Independent Members make a fantastic contribution here, but from the...

Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (5 Dec 2014)

Billy Timmins: I thought members of the Labour Party were utilising Dublinbikes to enable them to weave in and out of traffic.

Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (5 Dec 2014)

Billy Timmins: Labour Party and other Government Deputies have tended to travel incognito around Dublin in the past few months.

Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (5 Dec 2014)

Billy Timmins: It is not something they should continue doing; they need to show their faces.