Results 21-40 of 289 for speaker:Rory Hearne

Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen: Engagement with the Office of the Ombudsman (24 Jun 2025)

Rory Hearne: I thank the Ombudsman for his work. The housing assistance payment is an area that I have researched and done work on. The Ombudsman's findings on HAP are important in highlighting the problems with the payment. Perhaps we could discuss a few of them. The other area I want to discuss is disability and the Office of the Ombudsman's powers and resources. Mr. Deering spoke about...

Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen: Engagement with the Office of the Ombudsman (24 Jun 2025)

Rory Hearne: To push Mr. Deering a bit on this, and I understand he does not want to comment directly on the legislation, if we look at it in terms of housing need, we have the housing waiting list which comprises people on the local authority waiting list and not on the transfer list. It is in the region of 58,000 households. Most of those in receipt of HAP are not on this waiting list. How we define...

Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen: Engagement with the Office of the Ombudsman (24 Jun 2025)

Rory Hearne: Even when they are in receipt of HAP they are still in housing need in relation to security of tenure and paying extra rent on top of differential rent. Mr. Deering has mentioned the issue of access to it if they have to move. There are also people with disabilities, lone parents and migrants.

Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen: Engagement with the Office of the Ombudsman (24 Jun 2025)

Rory Hearne: Perhaps Mr Deering can speak in a bit of detail about a couple of the cases that have been brought to the Office of the Ombudsman. It would be useful to indicate this housing need.

Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen: Engagement with the Office of the Ombudsman (24 Jun 2025)

Rory Hearne: It comes to the fundamental point on the inequality that has been pointed out between those in receipt of HAP and those in receipt of social housing. There are 60,000 households deemed to have their housing needs met, yet here they are facing all the issues outlined, and going to the Office of the Ombudsman, which shows it is not the case.

Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen: Engagement with the Office of the Ombudsman (24 Jun 2025)

Rory Hearne: I have a broad question about the overall approach to public services. There has been strong criticism in social policy literature down the years that the Irish welfare state and its public services show charity values rather than taking a human rights approach and perspective. Many problems stem from that. The approach we take is not that citizens are entitled to public services as a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Key Challenges to Tackling Homelessness: Discussion (24 Jun 2025)

Rory Hearne: I thank everyone for coming in. I have a couple of questions, the first of which is for the representatives of the children's ombudsman. Why do they think the scale of child and family homelessness is not a national scandal? It is institutionalisation and we know that it leaves lasting damage. Do they see a future requirement for a redress scheme for children who have been through...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Key Challenges to Tackling Homelessness: Discussion (24 Jun 2025)

Rory Hearne: Over the last decade, how many children have been through emergency accommodation?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Key Challenges to Tackling Homelessness: Discussion (24 Jun 2025)

Rory Hearne: If we could get that information, that would be great.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Key Challenges to Tackling Homelessness: Discussion (24 Jun 2025)

Rory Hearne: The Cathaoirleach should go with the order.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Key Challenges to Tackling Homelessness: Discussion (24 Jun 2025)

Rory Hearne: The issue I wanted to raise before the ombudsman goes is the right to housing. How important does he believe putting a right to housing in law and in the Constitution would be in addressing the housing crisis?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Key Challenges to Tackling Homelessness: Discussion (24 Jun 2025)

Rory Hearne: I have a question for Ms Hayes. Given the suspension of the tenant in situ scheme and that last year the scheme prevented hundreds of families and in the region of 1,500 children nationally from becoming homeless, does Ms Hayes think the suspension of the tenant in situ scheme this year will result in a rise in homelessness?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Key Challenges to Tackling Homelessness: Discussion (24 Jun 2025)

Rory Hearne: It was helping to prevent people being made homeless.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Key Challenges to Tackling Homelessness: Discussion (24 Jun 2025)

Rory Hearne: Now it is not available.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Key Challenges to Tackling Homelessness: Discussion (24 Jun 2025)

Rory Hearne: In regard to the issue of rising rents, people will still be able to be evicted for rent arrears into the future. The legislation will not change that. That is likely to still be a cause of homelessness, is it not?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Key Challenges to Tackling Homelessness: Discussion (24 Jun 2025)

Rory Hearne: I have just one more brief question and another for Mr. Mulhern. Does Ms Hayes think the HAP limits need to be increased? The Simon Community's look at the market shows very few properties available.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Key Challenges to Tackling Homelessness: Discussion (24 Jun 2025)

Rory Hearne: Okay, I thank Ms Hayes. On the PPPs and the impact on social housing delivery, I have gone through the figures there for Dublin City Council for 2027 and 2028. In 2027 15% of the social homes were due to be delivered via public-private partnership, which was 342 of the 2,200. In 2028 it goes up to 57% of the social homes due to be delivered by the city council coming through public-private...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Key Challenges to Tackling Homelessness: Discussion (24 Jun 2025)

Rory Hearne: That legislation will not come into effect until next March.