Results 13,261-13,280 of 15,379 for speaker:Eoin Ó Broin

Topical Issue Debate: School Accommodation Provision (27 Mar 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: I have some sympathy for the Minister of State who is simply reading out the answer he has been given by the officials. However, I hope he will express our disappointment to the Minister who is responsible for the response because it does not deal with the concerns we are raising, in particular in terms of the inadequacy of the two other schools which have been proposed either due to...

Topical Issue Debate: School Accommodation Provision (27 Mar 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: I add my voice to the calls for a stand-alone secondary school in Citywest and Saggart. I have no doubt the Minister of State will tell us in his answer that, when making decisions, the Department analyses all the relevant demographic data, has regard to the school planning areas and uses its geographical information system. The problem with all the data sources is that they do not...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Business of Select Committee (27 Mar 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: No. My understanding is the building is not new but a conversion of an existing building. We had all seen works happening but they related to a conversion. It came to our attention in the first instance because housing applicants in South Dublin County Council's list wanted to take up regular tenancies and applied for the housing assistance payment, HAP. When they applied for that, South...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Business of Select Committee (27 Mar 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: In terms of the sequence of events, for Deputy Casey's information, a planning application was submitted and approved for 27 units in 2016. A revised planning application was submitted in 2017 to amend that to 48 units. That application was rejected and appealed to An Bord Pleanála but it appears that during the period of time the appeal has taken, which was approximately six months,...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 34 - Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government (Revised)
Vote 16 - Valuation Office (Revised)
Vote 23 - Property Registration Authority (Revised) (27 Mar 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: I have a general comment. When the officials appeared before the joint committee earlier to discuss the review of rates legislation, they and we experienced some frustration because the Valuation Office has come under a different Department and legislative code. It would be a good idea, once the Valuation Office has settled into its new home, as it were, if the relevant officials were to...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Business of Select Committee (27 Mar 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: The Minister is aware of a serious problem regarding Larkfield House where 44 families have been placed in a difficult position as a result of a decision by a developer to build and tenant the property without planning permission and proper building certification. Last week, An Bord Pleanála made its determination that the refusal of the planning permission was upheld and therefore...

Order of Business (27 Mar 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: To be helpful, we had a detailed presentation by Irish Water, the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government and the Environmental Protection Agency last week and we agreed unanimously that we would consider the report that was in front of us today. I have no difficulty with the debate or the Business Committee re-examining the issue. I think when people see what the committee is...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 34 - Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government (Revised)
Vote 16 - Valuation Office (Revised)
Vote 23 - Property Registration Authority (Revised) (27 Mar 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: The first table in programme C shows a deficit of €240 million this year over last year. Is it the case that the local authorities are getting this funding in some other way or is it that there were services that were being funded with the €240 million last year that are no longer being provided? If this €240 million is not a cut in funding to local government services,...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 34 - Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government (Revised)
Vote 16 - Valuation Office (Revised)
Vote 23 - Property Registration Authority (Revised) (27 Mar 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: It was funding provided to the local authorities in 2017 which they then paid on to Irish Water.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 34 - Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government (Revised)
Vote 16 - Valuation Office (Revised)
Vote 23 - Property Registration Authority (Revised) (27 Mar 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: So this deficit does not represent a reduction in the funding to local authorities from the local government fund.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 34 - Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government (Revised)
Vote 16 - Valuation Office (Revised)
Vote 23 - Property Registration Authority (Revised) (27 Mar 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: I have a question on local government but that is programme C.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 34 - Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government (Revised)
Vote 16 - Valuation Office (Revised)
Vote 23 - Property Registration Authority (Revised) (27 Mar 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: I have one question for the Minister. I believe he answered it earlier but he was speaking at the Minister of State, Deputy English's speed so I will ask him to repeat the answer more slowly.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 34 - Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government (Revised)
Vote 16 - Valuation Office (Revised)
Vote 23 - Property Registration Authority (Revised) (27 Mar 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: Incidentally, speaking at the Minister of State, Deputy English's rapid pace was a compliment. Under the local government fund, on the first table, the total last year was €365.3 million and this year it is €124.8 million. That is a difference of €240 million. The Minister gave an explanation for that accounting, but perhaps he would repeat it a little more slowly so...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 34 - Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government (Revised)
Vote 16 - Valuation Office (Revised)
Vote 23 - Property Registration Authority (Revised) (27 Mar 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: The Minister's statements always add plenty to the meeting.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 34 - Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government (Revised)
Vote 16 - Valuation Office (Revised)
Vote 23 - Property Registration Authority (Revised) (27 Mar 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: I have a couple of follow-up points. I thank the Minister for that update in respect of group water schemes. I met a number of group water schemes in Mayo a couple of months back. These were older and smaller schemes. The voluntary boards are dwindling in terms of age and numbers. They expressed real concern, not on the annual subvention but about the current state of the capital...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 34 - Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government (Revised)
Vote 16 - Valuation Office (Revised)
Vote 23 - Property Registration Authority (Revised) (27 Mar 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: I met three or four schemes but they all had similar sets of concerns. It is a general point. To return to the potential impact of the drinking water directive. The Minister has confirmed what I understood. If there are additional capital requirements, the difficulty for Irish Water will be the capacity to deliver them in respect of planning permissions, tendering and all of that stuff....

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 34 - Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government (Revised)
Vote 16 - Valuation Office (Revised)
Vote 23 - Property Registration Authority (Revised) (27 Mar 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: Does the Minister have an update on the infringement proceedings? What is the current status of those proceedings?

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 34 - Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government (Revised)
Vote 16 - Valuation Office (Revised)
Vote 23 - Property Registration Authority (Revised) (27 Mar 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: I am not disputing that this is the Minister's view. The point he made was that a lot of people like the option. He seemed to suggest that they had some other option, whereas for the vast majority of people taking housing assistance payment, HAP, it is their only option.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 34 - Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government (Revised)
Vote 16 - Valuation Office (Revised)
Vote 23 - Property Registration Authority (Revised) (27 Mar 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: Excellent. I have a final question. Can the Minister tell us on what day this week's homelessness figures will be published? On what day and on what hour?

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 34 - Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government (Revised)
Vote 16 - Valuation Office (Revised)
Vote 23 - Property Registration Authority (Revised) (27 Mar 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: To be clear, I complimented the Minister on how he released the figures the last time. It was on the publication of the previous figures that I criticised him, because he had a different media strategy. That is a matter for him and the strategic communications unit.