Results 121-140 of 708 for speaker:Rory Hearne
- Select Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (2 Oct 2025) Rory Hearne: I thank everyone for attending. I have a couple of questions that relate to when the Minister was in the last day. Maybe he can explain to me and the public the overall figure that has been spent on housing. I want to deconstruct this a little bit because there is a level of spin, or whatever one wants to call it, in the Minister's statement that €8 billion a year is spent on...
- Select Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (2 Oct 2025) Rory Hearne: Yes, the information would be useful, even for the Government. The Taoiseach is saying that we have never spent as much money on housing but a lot of that money is being spent on other things. In the budget, for example, there is mention of estate regeneration, energy efficiency, mortgage allowances and the Residential Tenancies Board. There are a lot of things mentioned that do not...
- Select Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (2 Oct 2025) Rory Hearne: A figure was not mentioned. What are the inflation costs, for example, for projects that have come in over the last two years? What is the actual contribution of inflation to their cost versus the budget increase that is necessary to cover that?
- Select Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (2 Oct 2025) Rory Hearne: I suppose it is the issue of an increase in the expenditure allocation to housing automatically translating into more units but if inflation costs are increasing beyond what the increased allocation is then, similar to what Deputy Ó Broin said, we will not actually achieve an increase in units. This is something that needs to be in the public domain and in the arguments and discussions...
- Select Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (2 Oct 2025) Rory Hearne: The public would be quite surprised at this because we were told that money was no object.
- Select Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (2 Oct 2025) Rory Hearne: No, not that there is a budget but that decisions are being made not to fund projects and it is simply a case that we do not have enough money. The Government has said and is saying that money is not the problem and there is no lack of money. We hear this over and over but what the Minister is saying follows up on what we have heard and what we hear from AHBs, which is that there are...
- Select Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (2 Oct 2025) Rory Hearne: Let us say the Department does all of that and the project is fine and value for money but then it says there is not enough money in the pot to invest in it.
- Situation in Gaza: Statements (1 Oct 2025)
Rory Hearne: In many ways, our words have lost meaning. The words we speak include "genocide". Genocide is ongoing right now in Gaza. The word "genocide" has almost lost its meaning because we have all watched it live-streamed on our phones and have seen thousands and thousands of people murdered by Israel, yet what has been done? The word "genocide" has lost meaning for the people of Gaza. Our...
- Abolition of Carer's Allowance Means Test: Motion [Private Members] (1 Oct 2025)
Rory Hearne: It is the responsibility of the Government to ensure the welfare and well-being of everyone in this country, especially the most vulnerable. Carers provide for those most vulnerable. They are some of the most incredible people in this country. Their tireless and important work needs to be properly recognised. Often when people in the Government talk about carers, they note how...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Peter McVerry Trust: Discussion (30 Sep 2025)
Rory Hearne: I thank the witnesses for their presentation. In the context of sustainability of funding for services, the level of money that comes from donations was mentioned. What is the status of donations relative to the past two or three years? Has there been a significant fall?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Peter McVerry Trust: Discussion (30 Sep 2025)
Rory Hearne: Does that leave the Peter McVerry Trust in a situation with regard to the viability of services? I imagine contracts were entered into and the whole model, as Deputy Ó Broin mentioned, is based on charities being able to provide a certain amount of their own finances through donations.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Peter McVerry Trust: Discussion (30 Sep 2025)
Rory Hearne: Does Mr. O'Brien think part of the reason the Peter McVerry Trust reached this crisis point is the pressure to provide emergency accommodation and a response to homelessness on a huge scale and that the State has essentially outsourced that to charities? It has been relying on charities fundraising, rather than paying the full cost.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Peter McVerry Trust: Discussion (30 Sep 2025)
Rory Hearne: Absolutely, and they play an absolutely key role in providing many services, as the Peter McVerry Trust does. We are all concerned that those services be provided to people, including emergency accommodation and the huge number of other services the trust provides. It is important that people remember that. That is why it is unfortunate and upsetting for people that this happened because...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Peter McVerry Trust: Discussion (30 Sep 2025)
Rory Hearne: Is there sufficient funding from the State to provide adequate safeguards and supports in emergency accommodation, particularly in family hubs for children and families?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Peter McVerry Trust: Discussion (30 Sep 2025)
Rory Hearne: Yes.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Peter McVerry Trust: Discussion (30 Sep 2025)
Rory Hearne: Concern has been raised about the services that are provided. The core issue was that funding was not sufficient to ensure that there were sufficient services, including enough social workers, support services, on-site support and so on. There were reports of family hubs having only one staff member. That was not particularly the case with the Peter McVerry Trust, but in others, especially...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Peter McVerry Trust: Discussion (30 Sep 2025)
Rory Hearne: I have just one or two more questions. I apologise if I missed this being discussed already. Was an update given in terms of the number of new units of social housing planned that have been delayed as a result of all of this?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Peter McVerry Trust: Discussion (30 Sep 2025)
Rory Hearne: Yes. There are no projects that the trust is currently responsible for developing.