Results 3,661-3,680 of 6,949 for speaker:Cian O'Callaghan

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (26 Jan 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: I am sorry to interrupt. I appreciate this reference is there regarding the ocean environment policy statement and that it states this should take this element into account, as appropriate, and gives a comprehensive list in this regard. My point is on the proposed Bill itself. Apart from those references about taking these aspects into account, there are no other links into that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (26 Jan 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: I am sorry, but on this point, will the navy be given resources concerning acoustic monitoring if it is engaged in enforcement?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (26 Jan 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: That is great but given the importance of carbon-rich habitats, should they not be mentioned in the Bill?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (26 Jan 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: I appreciate that rationale but in terms of climate change, carbon-rich habitats in our oceans are incredibly important so it seems strange to have legislation on marine protected areas that does not even mention that. I appreciate not wanting to have a long list but this is of incredible strategic importance to us in our climate change strategy.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (26 Jan 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: The heads allow for monitoring but there is no obligation for monitoring. The Minister can appoint someone to monitor. Monitoring is incredibly important for this to work.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (26 Jan 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: I appreciate the answer but according to the heads as they are written, monitoring can take place and someone can be appointed, not that he or she shall be. That is my concern. It is quite loose.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (26 Jan 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: If we are all agreed that monitoring is key, it should not be discretionary. We must imagine a scenario where a Minister at some point in the future is not interested in or hostile to this when we have passed legislation that allows him or her not to appoint anyone to monitor. We must protect against that scenario ever happening.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 Jan 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: I want to ask the Taoiseach about investment funds and the tax they pay. In 2021, the effective tax rate paid by Irish real estate funds fell from almost 18% to less than 6%. This is an incredible drop in the amount of tax they contribute. The Government has not done anything to tackle this. Why is the Government letting investment funds get away with paying so little tax?

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (24 Jan 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: Can the Taoiseach explain why almost €1 billion allocated to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in 2022 was not spent? What does he have to say to the thousands of people who are paying unaffordable and exorbitant rents, the hundreds and thousands of people who are in their 20s and 30s and still living in their childhood bedrooms, those who cannot afford to buy a...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (24 Jan 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: 7. To ask the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on housing will next meet. [60901/22]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Jan 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: I thank the officials from Mayo and Longford county councils for attending. I will ask Longford County Council about vacancy rates in local authority-owned dwellings and, in particular, the findings of the National Oversight and Audit Commission, NOAC, Local Authority Performance Indicator Report 2021. The report showed that the highest level of vacancy, percentage-wise, for local authority...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Jan 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: I thank Mr. Brannigan for those replies. Sligo County Council has made particular progress on this in recent years. Has Longford County Council engaged with Sligo County Council to see if there are any lessons to be learned from what it has done?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Jan 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: I am singling out Sligo County Council only because it has made particular progress on this. It has managed to significantly reduce quite high levels of vacancy over four or five years. As for obstacles or challenges in respect of getting vacancy rates down, is there anything else Longford County Council has identified that could be worked on or could make a difference in this regard?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Jan 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: So some of the vacancy was arising from those sorts of issues.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (24 Jan 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: 361. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when a school (details supplied) will receive its new permanent school building; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3160/23]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Qualifications Recognition (24 Jan 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: 445. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to tackle the barriers in place that prevent QQI and FETAC graduates in nursing, physiotherapy, speech and language therapy and so on from accessing university level education and progressing into their chosen field; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2975/23]

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Citizenship Applications (24 Jan 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: 464. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide an update on an application for citizenship by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3003/23]

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Control of Dogs (24 Jan 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: 650. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in relation to the Control of Dogs Act review group, the persons or bodies that are the members of the group; the terms of reference of the group; the persons or bodies that are the stakeholders involved; if academic research will be consulted during the process; the estimated timeline of completion of the review group; and if he...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Jan 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: People do not want to move to those areas because of those kinds of serious issues. Mayo County Council's opening statement referred to land banks and the difficulty it finds in acquiring additional land for social housing at a reasonable price. Could the witnesses tell us more about that and the challenges in acquiring land? Is there anything that could be done to assist local...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Jan 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: As for the derelict and vacant sites Mayo County Council is seeking to acquire, is it the case that it gets a site where there might be a derelict or vacant building and then it hopes, through infill, to be able to increase the density and get a number of homes there? Is that what the council is trying to do?