Results 11,221-11,240 of 15,090 for speaker:Eoin Ó Broin

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: Do not believe him.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: I agree. I am happy to withdraw the amendment on that basis, but I ask the Minister to let us know prior to the deadline for submitting amendments on Report Stage if he will be tabling an amendment. We could then decide whether we should resubmit the amendment on Report Stage. I am happy to withdraw it on the basis of what the Minister has said.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: I move amendment No. 17: In page 34, to delete line 3. We have had two relatively detailed discussions with Mr. Paul Lemass and his team on this. I am still not convinced that issues of tenancy management by AHBs, nominations to dwellings of tenants and allocations of dwellings to tenants are the function of the regulator. I am still convinced that these are matters of policy in the...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: As I indicated to Mr. Lemass and his team, I am open to supporting the inclusion of these things but the case has not been made strongly enough to me yet. In his response, the Minister talked about voids being brought back into use. The issue is that these two subsections are not about property management but about tenant management. If the Minister can give me a clear explanation of what...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: I do not wish to prolong the discussion but I have reviewed the Housing Agency note. Part of my concern is that the performance standards were devised and published by the non-statutory regulator, as it currently exists. There is talk about the standards and about the local authorities being involved, and there is an overlap with the National Oversight and Audit Commission, NOAC. If we...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: Who will set those standards?

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: I am a little more convinced than I was after the previous meeting and, therefore, I am happy to withdraw the amendment, although I may return to it later.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: I move amendment No. 18: In page 34, to delete lines 35 and 36. I will withdraw the amendment on the same basis that I withdrew amendment No. 17.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: In some senses, this amendment requires the report to do what the NOAC report does with respect to local authority housing, which is to document the additions to the stock annually. If it is good enough for NOAC and the local authorities, I do not see why it should not be in this Bill.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: I move amendment No. 20: In page 35, line 19, after “Minister” to insert the following: “, following consultation with the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government,”. Under this subsection the Minister may give a direction to the regulator to amend draft standards. That is quite a significant shift. Obviously, the Minister would...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: I agree with the Minister having the ability to do that because legislation and policy change and the regulator must operate within the democratically agreed policy, legislative and budgetary framework set out by the Oireachtas. My problem is that there are some instances where, for example, with respect to certain planning regulations, the Minister consults with this committee. We do not...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: That would only be the case if we had a vote on the matter. I do not propose that. All I am saying is that this is essentially a transparency measure in that if the current Minister or one of his successors intended to use this function, there would be a level of transparency in that he or she would have a consultation. Ultimately, my amendment does not prevent the Minister from doing what...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: Is the Minister willing at least to look at this between now and Report Stage or is he just saying "No"?

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: I saw his smile. He is saying "No". I will press the amendment.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: Yes.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: I move amendment No. 23: In page 41, lines 34 and 35, to delete “considers it is necessary to do so for the purposes of the performance of any of its functions” and substitute the following: “has reasonable suspicion that an AHB may not be fulfilling its responsibilities as set out in this Act and in particular the standards set out in section 38”. While it...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: In some senses what the Minister has done is add a second part of the sentence after "necessary" to define the word as meaning necessary for the fulfilment of the regulator's functions. If it said that in the Bill, I would agree with him, but it does not. If that is the meaning of "necessary", why not spell it out in the Bill? If he did, that would be a more than reasonable resolution of...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: On that basis, I am happy to withdraw the amendment, but I ask the Minister to consider clarifying the matter in an amendment on Report Stage.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: Otherwise, I may submit a similar amendment.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: These are important amendments. Again, this is a matter of due process. The investigations and reports, interim and final, are really important parts of the Bill and I fully support them. However, copies should be made available to the approved housing bodies or the individuals in those bodies, as appropriate. I have a concern about the publication of an interim report, particularly in...