Results 13,481-13,500 of 15,379 for speaker:Eoin Ó Broin

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Voluntary Sector (1 Feb 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: 349. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he or officials in his Department have played a part or have attempted to interfere, limit or prevent voluntary sector organisations funded by his Department from engaging in advocacy work on behalf of their service users; if he or his officials would seek to or have sought to prevent voluntary sector organisations funded...

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (31 Jan 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: On a point of order, if I want to call a vote on the Bill before it passes is this the point at which I do it?

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (31 Jan 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: We heard the Minister of State.

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (31 Jan 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: On a point of order-----

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (31 Jan 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: Is that the only way to do it?

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (31 Jan 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: I move amendment No. 94: In page 53, between lines 19 and 20, to insert the following:“Amendment of section 7 (requests to Board after consultation meeting has been held) of Act of 2016 27.Section 7(3) of the Act of 2016 is repealed.”.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Vacant Housing Refurbishment Bill 2017: Discussion (Resumed) (31 Jan 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: I apologise for having to step out there but I will check the transcript for what I missed later. I will re-emphasise, and am sure that everybody else said this at the start of their comments, that those of us who are sympathetic to this legislation do not in any way want to compromise fire safety or building standards. These sessions are very useful because they allow us to clarify and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Role of Chairperson of Housing Agency and Related Matters: Discussion (31 Jan 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: I thank Mr. Skehan for attending. I will make a couple of initial comments. I am a strong defender of free speech. People have a right to express their opinions and I would not try to curtail that. Likewise, the rest of us have a right to respond to those publicly. People in public bodies should express their views even when they do not necessarily coincide with the views of politicians...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Role of Chairperson of Housing Agency and Related Matters: Discussion (31 Jan 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: Let me respond to that. This is very important and in some senses I am even more concerned now than I was at the start. Again I will be as measured as I can be. Third-party accounts of very complex family situations are not evidence. I am not disputing that the person who sent Mr. Skehan that may believe that. However, that is not evidence of people gaming the system. That is somebody's...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Role of Chairperson of Housing Agency and Related Matters: Discussion (31 Jan 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: On a point of clarification. When somebody is in homeless accommodation, emergency offers of accommodation are not made on the same basis, so that very often somebody will be offered accommodation not in their area of preference but so far away from their area of preference and family support networks that it is not an appropriate offer. That is an important distinction to make....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Role of Chairperson of Housing Agency and Related Matters: Discussion (31 Jan 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: There is one very small point. Mr. Skehan is absolutely correct, the report dates from 2016 and the logic of the report was the dramatic rise in the increase in the number of families presenting as homeless. What he did not mention, but I am sure it was an oversight, was that this was also the period when we had a dramatic increase in the number of landlords increasing rents, but before we...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Role of Chairperson of Housing Agency and Related Matters: Discussion (31 Jan 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: I have a supplementary question but if you want to go ahead Chairman I will come in after you.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Role of Chairperson of Housing Agency and Related Matters: Discussion (31 Jan 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: Yes, I will just throw them in quickly here. Data accuracy is one of the things we talk about a lot. The recently announced Government housing needs assessment figures of 80,000 plus is for June or July of last year. I have subsequent figures from every local authority under FOI of the same net need figures from September and they are 99,000. I would not get too excited that there has...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Role of Chairperson of Housing Agency and Related Matters: Discussion (31 Jan 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: I would also say we have 32,000 households on the housing assistance payment, HAP, which is a short-term response to their particular housing situation. We have 20,000 households on the rental accommodation scheme, RAS. One could argue that we have a gross housing need of approximately 130,000. The reason I say that is because all of us in here represent all of those people in our...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Role of Chairperson of Housing Agency and Related Matters: Discussion (31 Jan 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: I asked when Mr. Skehan asked the Housing Agency to conduct a further study given his view that the 2016 study was out of date. Is he saying he did not ask the Housing Agency to do another study?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Role of Chairperson of Housing Agency and Related Matters: Discussion (31 Jan 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: Would it not have been appropriate to ask the agency to do a study before floating the idea publicly that he was not satisfied with the 2016 report? Would that not have been more sensible given that Mr. Skehan is the chairman of the body?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Role of Chairperson of Housing Agency and Related Matters: Discussion (31 Jan 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: Given Mr. Skehan's concern about the possibility of gaming the system and his view that the 2016 report was out of date and in light of his statement that part of the job of the board is to challenge the Housing Agency, why did he not ask the agency to conduct a follow-up report on this issue?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Role of Chairperson of Housing Agency and Related Matters: Discussion (31 Jan 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: That is a "Yes" or "No" question.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Role of Chairperson of Housing Agency and Related Matters: Discussion (31 Jan 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: That is a "No" in reply to my question.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Role of Chairperson of Housing Agency and Related Matters: Discussion (31 Jan 2018)

Eoin Ó Broin: It is a "No".