Results 241-260 of 4,645 for speaker:Victor Boyhan

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Residential Institutions Redress Scheme (9 Mar 2017)

Victor Boyhan: I welcome the Minister and thank him for coming to deal with what I consider to be an extremely important matter, particularly in the context of the various issues of abuse that have been arising in respect of many residential and non-residential institutions run and co-ordinated by the State and its agencies, as well as by religious orders.I have asked the Minister here to clarify and give...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Residential Institutions Redress Scheme (9 Mar 2017)

Victor Boyhan: I thank the Minister for his comprehensive response. It is something new for me. I will certainly look for the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General. I am conscious of the fact it is an indictment of the system, the State and the Legislature that a previous Government gave an indemnity scheme to a number of religious orders. Many other people who had been in institutional care...

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Mar 2017)

Victor Boyhan: I raised on the Commencement this morning an issue related to the residential redress scheme. While I do not wish to discuss the matter in detail, the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Richard Bruton, provided a comprehensive response in which he made clear that he understands the concerns related to the issue. It was interesting that the Minister's lengthy and informative...

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Mar 2017)

Victor Boyhan: I ask the Leas-Chathaoirleach to allow me to conclude.

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Mar 2017)

Victor Boyhan: I wish to be consistent because this is an important issue. The Minister helpfully explained to the House that a report from the Comptroller and Auditor General clearly identified a range of issues. The Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General issued a press statement in the past ten minutes which refers to outcomes and lessons that have to be learned. We also heard from the Minister...

Seanad: Commission of Investigation Announcement on Tuam Mother and Baby Home: Statements (9 Mar 2017)

Victor Boyhan: I had lunch today with two people who were tragically subjected to terrible institutional abuse. They wanted to talk and what better place to come than here? I have spoken before about the fact that I grew up in an institution. When I was two days old, I left St. Kevin's mother and baby home in Dublin and ended up in Dún Laoghaire, where I remained. We all want to belong and to be in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Quarterly Progress Report Strategy for Rented Sector: Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government (9 Mar 2017)

Victor Boyhan: Are we dealing with pillars four and five together?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Quarterly Progress Report Strategy for Rented Sector: Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government (9 Mar 2017)

Victor Boyhan: I am conscious that this will be dealt with in the Seanad on Tuesday week. We have been notified of that today so I will contain my comments. I welcome it. In terms of the reuse of houses, clearly, local authorities have housing stock that is not being used. I have had a report from my own local authority today. Can Mr. McCarthy tell us how that is going in terms of nailing down the 31...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Quarterly Progress Report Strategy for Rented Sector: Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government (9 Mar 2017)

Victor Boyhan: I have three issues I wish to raise. I will refer to them as 4.6, 4.12 and 4.13 of the report. In 4.6 there is reference to the introduction of a new affordable rental scheme to enhance the capacity of the private rental sector to provide for quality and affordable accommodation for a household which is currently paying a disproportionate amount of disposable income in rent. There is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Quarterly Progress Report Strategy for Rented Sector: Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government (9 Mar 2017)

Victor Boyhan: It was 4.6, 4.12 and 4.13. Mr. McCarthy dealt with one there.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Quarterly Progress Report Strategy for Rented Sector: Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government (9 Mar 2017)

Victor Boyhan: In respect of 4.13, Mr. McCarthy says regulations are required for the fast tracking. We are now three months into this scheme, which is very important. Can Mr. McCarthy give us a timeframe for putting these regulations through? That is not to take from the good work the Department is doing and I am highly impressed by the layering. This should have been in place years ago. I know from a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Quarterly Progress Report Strategy for Rented Sector: Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government (9 Mar 2017)

Victor Boyhan: In those regulations, is there any special exemption from fees for local authority members? We have had a lot of debate about this point.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Quarterly Progress Report Strategy for Rented Sector: Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government (9 Mar 2017)

Victor Boyhan: We were told all the detail is in the regulations. We are three months on and the scheme is well in place.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Quarterly Progress Report Strategy for Rented Sector: Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government (9 Mar 2017)

Victor Boyhan: I appreciate that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Quarterly Progress Report Strategy for Rented Sector: Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government (9 Mar 2017)

Victor Boyhan: He is on the way there.

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Mar 2017)

Victor Boyhan: The Irish Cancer Society is holding its 30th national fundraising Daffodil Day event on Friday. One might ask what its relevance is. Several national newspapers over the weekend reported that a senior consultant in oncology had expressed serious concerns about the shortage of beds and lack of consultants to deal with patients with cancer. It is an absolute disgrace.According to this...

Seanad: Rebuilding Ireland: Statements (21 Mar 2017)

Victor Boyhan: I thank the Minister of State, Deputy English for coming to the House today. I will start on a positive note. It is important to acknowledge the huge amount of work that has been done. The Minister of State referred to the fact the Government is building on work done by Senator Paudie Coffey. I am delighted the Government has not forgotten all the effort the Senator put into this area....

Seanad: Rebuilding Ireland: Statements (21 Mar 2017)

Victor Boyhan: The help-to-buy scheme for first-time buyers, involving refunds of income tax and DIRT paid over the previous four years, is also in place. Having acknowledged that progress, I want to focus on what we are discussing today, namely, a report on progress made in the fourth quarter of 2016, from September to December. I note that under Pillar 1 - homelessness, the progress report provides...

Seanad: Rebuilding Ireland: Statements (21 Mar 2017)

Victor Boyhan: I ask for an additional minute, given that there are only four Senators present.

Seanad: Rebuilding Ireland: Statements (21 Mar 2017)

Victor Boyhan: I ask the Minister of State to go back to the Department and examine the issue of NAMA lands and whether we can use them for housing. The Department must also approach the Conference of Religious in Ireland, CORI, and ask it to cough up lands that it offered to give the State in an indemnity scheme which was nothing short of a disgrace. CORI has not delivered but has the potential to...