Results 3,141-3,160 of 4,706 for speaker:Dessie Ellis

Other Questions: Dormant Accounts Fund Administration (12 Jun 2013)

Dessie Ellis: The Dormant Accounts Fund has been very good to many areas of the country, including my own. The Minister made reference to the fact that the Dormant Accounts Fund comprises a number of different accounts. Are Prize Bonds included at all? I know there are countless bonds sitting in drawers and elsewhere for many years. Nobody seems to know what is happening in this regard and there is no...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Rental Accommodation Scheme Administration (12 Jun 2013)

Dessie Ellis: It is unacceptable that some contracts are for three and four years but landlords are saying properties must be sold six months into the contracts because the banks are forcing them to do so. Under the forthcoming insolvency system, I can see this increasing because banks are putting more and more pressure on landlords to meet their obligations. The families pay the price and it is...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Rental Accommodation Scheme Administration (12 Jun 2013)

Dessie Ellis: 5. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the problem that many tenants are having finding suitable accommodation under the rental accommodation scheme following the completion of their original RAS contract and that in some cases families with young children are being forced to enter emergency accommodation despite a local...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Rental Accommodation Scheme Administration (12 Jun 2013)

Dessie Ellis: The first thing we must do is recognise that there is a major problem with the rental accommodation scheme. Many landlords are now saying they must sell the houses which have been available for rent, with the result that people are ending up homeless or looking for new rental accommodation which is not forthcoming. Rents are rising and it is more attractive in some cases to move into the...

Housing (Amendment) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (12 Jun 2013)

Dessie Ellis: I know.

Housing (Amendment) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (12 Jun 2013)

Dessie Ellis: I acknowledge the Minister of State's intention in this legislation of moving towards a fairer system with more consistency across the board in terms of rents. Action must be taken as a matter of urgency to bring rents into line across the country. The Minister of State seems to be working towards that objective, but the pace of progress is too slow. There are massive differences in rents...

Housing (Amendment) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (12 Jun 2013)

Dessie Ellis: I support Deputy Boyd Barrett's amendments. The setting of rents across local authorities is very important and there must be consistency. One of the main problems is that different local authorities apply different rent rates. Differential rent rates should be based on the income of tenants, which is the fairest way to determine them. Ability to pay should be taken into account. It is...

Order of Business (12 Jun 2013)

Dessie Ellis: We have all received complaints regarding unruly and noisy residents and the lack of power the Garda and other enforcement agencies have to tackle this. The noise nuisance Bill that is due to be published should allow for fines and mediation between neighbours. It is embarrassing that the gardaí are obliged to call to these houses and use peer pressure to get people to turn down the...

Order of Business (12 Jun 2013)

Dessie Ellis: What about the noise nuisance Bill?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Roads Maintenance: Discussion with County and City Managers Association (12 Jun 2013)

Dessie Ellis: Is there a contingency fund of any description, or is it that if something happens the local authority goes to the Government?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Roads Maintenance: Discussion with County and City Managers Association (12 Jun 2013)

Dessie Ellis: I thank our guests for their presentation. It is difficult to see how we are going to maintain high standards in view of the cuts that have been imposed and the fact that funding has almost been halved since 2007. In the context of the €50 million provided by the Minister recently, will our guests outline how this money will be prioritised? I had already heard about the rating...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Homeless Persons Supports (12 Jun 2013)

Dessie Ellis: 38. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the recent report from Dublin Region Homeless Agency on the number of persons sleeping rough in the city; his plans to address the growth in these numbers and to provide sufficient emergency accommodation spaces; and his Department's short, middle and long term targets in relation to...

Finance (Local Property Tax Repeal) Bill 2013 [Private Members]: Second Stage (11 Jun 2013)

Dessie Ellis: When this Government was elected in 2011, it was a massive change in Irish politics. However, the reality is that while a lot changed in terms of faces and names, the politics pretty much stayed the same. It stayed the same for two reasons, namely, because Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are not really all that different, when it comes to policy anyway, but also, despite what Fine Gael and...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Eligibility (11 Jun 2013)

Dessie Ellis: 429. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to the fact that the EU Commission has initiated an infringement procedure against Ireland due to its failure to provide carer's allowance to Irish citizens entitled to it who are living elsewhere within the EU; the way this procedure will affect her Departments dealings with a person (details supplied) who had...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Back to Work Allowance Appeals (11 Jun 2013)

Dessie Ellis: 457. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide an update on the appeal of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 11 who is seeking to get on to the back to work scheme. [27764/13]

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Rental Accommodation Scheme Administration (11 Jun 2013)

Dessie Ellis: 573. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the fact that rental accommodation scheme currently costing Dublin city Council €1.5 million a year above Department funding to administer; his views on whether this is sustainable; and if he is aware of any other local authorities running at a deficit due to RAS. [26677/13]

Written Answers — Department of Health: National Substance Misuse Strategy (11 Jun 2013)

Dessie Ellis: 884. To ask the Minister for Health his plans with regard to alcohol firms and the sponsoring of sporting events; if he will provide specific details in terms of the actions he intends to take and the date when a ban will be enforced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27799/13]

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Taxi Regulations (11 Jun 2013)

Dessie Ellis: 1070. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans and rationale for the new rural hackney scheme that he has proposed. [27170/13]

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Taxi Regulations (11 Jun 2013)

Dessie Ellis: 1071. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the reason he has not responded to a request from the Taxi Alliance for a meeting to discuss the proposed rural hackney system. [27171/13]

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Taxi Regulations (11 Jun 2013)

Dessie Ellis: 1072. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if there are any special circumstances in which persons applying for SPSV licences will be awarded the licence having achieved a lower score on tests than is required of other applicants. [27183/13]