Results 23,381-23,400 of 27,945 for speaker:Michael McGrath

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: I thank Deputy McDonald for raising the issue of back to school costs, which are a serious issue for thousands of families across Ireland at this time. We have said all along, and we are sticking to this position, that the budget will be on 27 September. This week we published the summer economic statement, which sets out what the underlying position is with the public finances. It means...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: There are income limits associated with this scheme. The Deputy quoted the lowest one. It depends on the number of children a person has. Certain incomes are excluded from consideration and are not reckonable, including housing assistance payment, working family payment, rent supports and so on. The Deputy is now advocating for the very families she believes should be paying 50% income...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: That is not going to fool anyone. The Government has adopted a coherent strategy.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: This is an important intervention and we will do more in September when the budget comes.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: I would make the case that providing a free hot meal to a child in a DEIS school is real change. This Government has expanded the DEIS programme by the single largest amount ever, to include more than 300 schools. It is the right thing to do. Deputies have all issued press releases with the details of what schools in their constituencies were given DEIS band 1 and band 2 status in recent...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: For any family looking at costs it feels it cannot meet and that currently is above the income eligibility criteria for the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance, it should reach out for help to the Department of Social Protection. There is an additional needs payment available there and the cost of returning the child back to school is a qualifying cost. As the Deputy is aware, we...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: I thank Deputy Boyd Barrett. As a Government, we do fund the ESRI, which does outstanding work. It is important that we have bodies such as the ESRI providing an independent analysis of what the Government is doing about the challenges we face as a country, and we take the output from the ESRI very seriously. The report's key conclusion is that interventions, including increased supply,...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: All of the Government’s interventions help people to buy a home. The Deputy has opposed and stood against all of the policy decisions and legislation that the Government has brought forward to support people to buy a home, whether it be the help to buy scheme, the setting up of the Land Development Agency, which had to be put on a statutory footing-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: It is now on a statutory footing and Government has approved Shanganagh, for example, which will provide almost 600 homes.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: The Deputy has opposed all of the affordable housing initiatives, including the shared-equity first home scheme. He is great at the rhetoric. He comes in here and talks about helping people to buy a home.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: Every time the Government makes an intervention to assist people to buy a home, the Deputy stands against it. That is the reality. This is the only way of addressing this massive challenge that we face as a country. We acknowledge that for many people, home ownership now seems to be out of reach. We have to address that and bridge that gap. We do that through a massive public capital...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. She highlighted a number of individual cases that underline a real crisis for those individuals and families. If she wants to provide the details of those individual cases to the Minister, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, I have no doubt that he will follow up. While the emergency accommodation system is undoubtedly under strain, emergency...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: It will be addressed. We acknowledge the strain that is there in relation to the provision of emergency accommodation at this time. I attend all of the housing Cabinet committee meetings where we go into detail on all of the strands of this. The Government is working collectively, using every resource available to us to make sure that accommodation generally is made available to meet all...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: -----to get out of the market. Those are questions that need to be answered as well because we need an adequate supply of rental accommodation, which currently is falling. It falls to us in this House to make decisions that ensure that is a continued adequate supply of rental accommodation in the private sector. It is an important part of the overall system.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: Perhaps if the Deputy adopted a more supportive and less obstructive position when it comes to the initiatives the Government is bringing forward to provide homes for our people, we might be in a better place.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: Every single major initiative the Government has brought forward the Deputy has sought to block, frustrate and obstruct. You do not want people to be in a position to buy homes. It suits the Deputy politically for the housing crisis to continue.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: It does and you will seek to make maximum political advantage out of it.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: That is the only logical reason why she comes into this House-----

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: -----consistently to oppose every positive measure the Government looks to bring in to ease the housing challenge. That is the only conclusion I can reach.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (6 Jul 2022)

Michael McGrath: The Government has brought in six different rental Acts since coming into office two years ago. We have capped rent increases in rent-pressure zones to 2% per annum. All new tenancies created on or after 11 June this year will become tenancies of unlimited duration after six consecutive months in occupation under the tenancy. Ultimately, the only answer here is for us to build enough homes...