Results 2,781-2,800 of 5,906 for speaker:Thomas Gould

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Children in Care (13 Oct 2022)

Thomas Gould: But not to wait until next year.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Water Services (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (6 Oct 2022)

Thomas Gould: I support Deputy O’Callaghan in this amendment. We fought a long campaign to prevent water being privatised. Some hundreds of thousands of people came on to the street. This issue does not seem to be on the Government’s agenda but there is still a concern there among people I speak to that until we have the referendum and until right to water issue is enshrined in the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Energy Prices (13 Oct 2022)

Thomas Gould: 20. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the way in which additional needs payments will be used to ensure that those with pay-as-you-go electricity meters do not face disconnection this winter. [49679/22]

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (13 Oct 2022)

Thomas Gould: 58. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she is increasing resources to reduce processing times of additional needs payment claims. [49678/22]

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Funding (13 Oct 2022)

Thomas Gould: 281. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if he has increased resourcing to MABS in view of the increase in financial insecurity within homes. [46260/22]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Departmental Funding (13 Oct 2022)

Thomas Gould: 454. To ask the Minister for Health the funding to be given to each of the local and regional drug and alcohol taskforces in 2023, in tabular form. [50987/22]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (11 Oct 2022)

Thomas Gould: I thank the witnesses for being here today. I have just a few quick-fire questions because there are a few issues I want to address. The first question is whether both local authorities believe they will meet their social, affordable and affordable cost rental targets for this year?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (11 Oct 2022)

Thomas Gould: Is it 5%, 10% or 20%? What is it roughly speaking?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (11 Oct 2022)

Thomas Gould: We are looking at probably a 60% delivery, roughly speaking, of what was estimated. Is that correct?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (11 Oct 2022)

Thomas Gould: That ties into my next question. With a lot of the projects in both witnesses' local authorities there are now much more, larger, more complicated projects where there is a mixture of tenure types. It just seems, however, that delivery is very slow. Earlier in the year a report was carried out about having maybe one single point of contact in the Department when trying to get these...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (11 Oct 2022)

Thomas Gould: Is there a way to streamline things? Are there actions the Department could take to help? I understand that these are really complex, major developments, but we need housing delivered. My disagreement with the Minister all the time is that, while we can talk about planned housing and commencements, delivery is the key. What can the Minister or the Department do to get these developments...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (11 Oct 2022)

Thomas Gould: Is Mr. Keegan saying there is nothing that can be done by the Department or the Minister to help speed things up?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (11 Oct 2022)

Thomas Gould: I am asking a straight question. I do not mean to badger. This is the housing committee. We have input into the Minister and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. What can be done to help speed things up? Does Mr. Curran wish to respond?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (11 Oct 2022)

Thomas Gould: I have a couple of brief questions remaining. Vacant homes officers are like sites officers. Was it Mr. Keegan who made the point earlier about having additional staff? As for vacancy and dereliction, in my constituency of Cork North-Central and Cork city and county we have 7,000 vacant properties. In the areas I represent there are 20, 30 or 40 buildings, former homes, lying idle. Even...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (11 Oct 2022)

Thomas Gould: Does Mr. Curran wish to comment?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (11 Oct 2022)

Thomas Gould: If the local authorities had additional staff, would they help to deliver more units? As Mr. Curran said, this is quite complicated, with the titles, people being sick and not knowing who owns the property. If the local authorities had a team working on that, would it speed it up? My last question - I thank the Chair for his leniency - is about when people go into rehab and are taken off...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (11 Oct 2022)

Thomas Gould: I thank the witnesses.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (11 Oct 2022)

Thomas Gould: Have the councils sold affordable housing this year and, if so, at what price?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (11 Oct 2022)

Thomas Gould: Has affordable housing been sold in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown?