Results 761-780 of 2,064 for speaker:Pat Casey

Overcrowded Housing Bill 2018: Second Stage [Private Members] (14 Nov 2019)

Pat Casey: We will put it into our diaries.

Overcrowded Housing Bill 2018: Second Stage [Private Members] (14 Nov 2019)

Pat Casey: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." This Bill forms a small part of Fianna Fáil's practical and evidence-based suite of measures designed to produce an emergency-level response to the ongoing crisis in housing. A generation face being left scarred from the Government still not admitting the scale of the crisis or making the necessary decisions. The unprecedented costs...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Nov 2019)

Pat Casey: I refer to the programme for Government in the context of job creation and rural development. On Monday night senior management at Rondo Foods in Arklow announced the potential relocation of the facility to Germany. That would result in 130 jobs being lost in the Arklow area, the impact of which on the families affected and the wider area would be immeasurable. The company has had...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Traveller Accommodation Expert Review: Discussion. (13 Nov 2019)

Pat Casey: I thank our guests for their presentation. As previous speakers noted, it has taken a long time to get here and we appreciate how quickly the review group has acted in preparing its report. We thank it for that. A lot of this has probably been dealt with and we have spoken about many of these issues already. One of those issues is the collection of data and how important that is moving...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Traveller Accommodation Expert Review: Discussion. (13 Nov 2019)

Pat Casey: Yes. It does not add to overall stock.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Traveller Accommodation Expert Review: Discussion. (13 Nov 2019)

Pat Casey: I understand the point being made by Deputy Ó Broin. I do not think this committee has worked very well together. We do not wish to be a stumbling block but we have genuine concerns about removing powers from local authorities. I was a local councillor for 12 years and in that time I was not aware of any Part 8 application being refused. As we do not have the data available, this is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Traveller Accommodation Expert Review: Discussion. (13 Nov 2019)

Pat Casey: It is a technical point which we are teasing out here, or of which we are gaining a better understanding. We are removing responsibility for the final Part 8 decision from the local authorities.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Traveller Accommodation Expert Review: Discussion. (13 Nov 2019)

Pat Casey: That is a significant change.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Traveller Accommodation Expert Review: Discussion. (13 Nov 2019)

Pat Casey: It is, but we do not know that that is where the problem is. We do not have the data to show that is the case. It has been mentioned clearly by Deputy Ó Broin and me that the problem actually lies elsewhere. I am gaining a better understanding of the Office of the Planning Regulator, the local area plans and the tying in to plans. I can understand it better now than I did this morning.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Traveller Accommodation Expert Review: Discussion. (13 Nov 2019)

Pat Casey: That is not where the blockage is. It is one of the blockages. In my 12 years as a councillor no Part 8 application put in front of us was ever refused.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Traveller Accommodation Expert Review: Discussion. (13 Nov 2019)

Pat Casey: What we are talking about is removing the power of local authority members to make the final decision and giving it to the executive, but we do not have data to show that the problem lies with the members. We have anecdotal information that the blockage is somewhere between the point in question and where the consultation started and that it is not associated with the vote of the local...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Traveller Accommodation Expert Review: Discussion. (13 Nov 2019)

Pat Casey: We are all trying to get to the same point.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Traveller Accommodation Expert Review: Discussion. (13 Nov 2019)

Pat Casey: In my first contribution I spoke about the lack of will of the administration to deal with this problem. That is a fundamental part of it. How does the proposal deal with the lack of will of the administrations of local authorities to get a Part 8 application to a final vote? That is where the Office of the Planning Regulator intervenes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Traveller Accommodation Expert Review: Discussion. (13 Nov 2019)

Pat Casey: By people who are paid more than councillors.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Traveller Accommodation Expert Review: Discussion. (13 Nov 2019)

Pat Casey: I can accept the rationale behind it and have no problem with it, but it just looks like we have added another layer of bureaucracy to the process and that we are trying to deal with an emergency. We still have to get to the final Part 8 proceedings, but they will be undertaken by the manager. That is where the blockage is.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Traveller Accommodation Expert Review: Discussion. (13 Nov 2019)

Pat Casey: We could be here all day.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Latent Defects: Discussion (7 Nov 2019)

Pat Casey: I am concerned that we have a second session and everybody wants to make a contribution.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Latent Defects: Discussion (7 Nov 2019)

Pat Casey: I thank the witnesses for their presentations. As the debate progresses, we begin to see the impact this is having on human beings and hear their stories. The witnesses have highlighted the apartment sector but we know it goes way beyond that. Sometimes we think of urban areas. It goes beyond those too, down to one-off rural houses, the self-builds. A good friend of mine had no recourse...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Facilities (6 Nov 2019)

Pat Casey: 134. To ask the Minister for Health the status of his plans to upgrade and refurbish St. Colman's Hospital, Rathdrum in view of the need to do so as stated by recent HIQA reports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45646/19]

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Direct Provision System (5 Nov 2019)

Pat Casey: 332. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if a social support worker has been assigned to the temporary direct provision centre (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44907/19]