Results 3,001-3,020 of 4,676 for speaker:Dessie Ellis

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Report Stage (7 Jul 2015)

Dessie Ellis: I move amendment No. 2:In page 6, line 29, after "land" where it secondly occurs to insert "not owned by a local authority or publicly owned housing body".The purpose of the amendment is that local authority sites and publicly owned sites should not be the subject of a vacant levy. Although all efforts should be made to use such lands for social housing, this is not possible due to the lack...

Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2015: Second Stage [Private Members] (7 Jul 2015)

Dessie Ellis: Last month, my colleague, Deputy Pearse Doherty, introduced a Bill to deal with this very issue. It is timely that we are again debating these matters just as another deadline has passed without any satisfactory move to change interest rates. The banks agreed to review their rates and products by the beginning of July, but that did not happen. Our Bill, like the one we are debating this...

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2015)

Dessie Ellis: It is unfortunate that the Minister of State does not see the problems we see in terms of local authority sites, housing bodies and publicly-owned sites. There is a huge problem in terms of funding. 11 o’clock Dublin City Council has not been given its budget to deal with homelessness and there is a major crisis.

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2015)

Dessie Ellis: There was a meeting the other day and all the councillors and officials agreed. The Minister of State mentioned the voids that have been returned. There is no funding to return more voids in Dublin City Council. I have spoken to the officials. We might have got so many returned but those would have been in a natural progression anyway had they been dealt with and the housing budget not...

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2015)

Dessie Ellis: I am glad to hear the Minister of State will provide more funding for the homeless. It is taking a long time and the situation is getting worse. There is chaos at present. The amount of people being reported as homeless is crazy at this stage. The amendment is straightforward. It identifies a problem and the Minister of State should accept it. The local authorities should not be...

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2015)

Dessie Ellis: I move amendment No. 4:In page 6, to delete line 33.I have tabled this amendment because I am not very happy with the definition of "a vacant site" in this Bill. My amendment proposes the deletion of section 5(1)(a)(i) of the Bill, which defines such a site as one "situated in an area in which there is a need for housing". One could say there is a need for housing in many places. I believe...

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2015)

Dessie Ellis: With regard to a site that is situated in an area where there is a need for housing, that is true for many areas. I believe it is unnecessary. We have seen what the local authorities determine to be a vacant site. That definition has been in place for a long time, rather than simply referring to a site in an area that is in need of housing. There are many such sites in areas that are in...

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2015)

Dessie Ellis: On the revised threshold for designating vacant sites, to what does the new size equate? Will it cover in-fill sites on housing estates, for example? Will the Minister of State clearly define the revised site size?

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2015)

Dessie Ellis: I would like him to respond because this change is causing confusion.

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2015)

Dessie Ellis: I understand but I would be grateful if the Minister of State would provide a clear definition of the revised size because it is unclear.

Leaders' Questions (8 Jul 2015)

Dessie Ellis: Will the Government provide people with houses?

Order of Business (8 Jul 2015)

Dessie Ellis: The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly, has repeatedly said he will introduce urgent legislation to bring about rent certainty. When will that happen? Will it come under the auspices of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004? It is a really urgent issue.

Order of Business (8 Jul 2015)

Dessie Ellis: Is there a date?

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2015)

Dessie Ellis: I move amendment No. 9:In page 7, line 17, to delete "1 January 2017" and substitute "1 January 2016".The amendments are about the time factor in terms of the register of vacant sites. I do not know why we have to wait until January 2017 and, as such, we have put down a series of amendments to change the provision to 2016. I do not know the purpose of waiting so long. This has been a...

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2015)

Dessie Ellis: It might be a problem for the local authorities to deal with these issues in a particular period, but because we have such a severe housing crisis, and this measure could leverage many more properties and much more action in terms of housing, what is being asked in this amendment is reasonable.

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2015)

Dessie Ellis: I move amendment No. 10:In page 7, to delete lines 26 to 37.I am happy to allow Deputy Wallace deal with this amendment.

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2015)

Dessie Ellis: I support the amendment. I agree with Deputy Wallace that there should be an onus on owners to register sites. Such an onus will entail recording what a site is used for and whether it is vacant or used for some activity. It is a sensible thing to do.

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2015)

Dessie Ellis: I do not see any reason why owners could not be asked to register. Local authorities could examine such registrations and decide whether it is appropriate to take action depending on replies. There would be a mechanism in place to check what was registered and whether the information was correct. I do not see the logic in the Minister of State's argument. Other people have to register for...

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2015)

Dessie Ellis: I move amendment No. 12:In page 8, line 33, to delete "with 2018" and substitute "with 2017".

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2015)

Dessie Ellis: My amendment is an attempt to stop developers or other people delaying or stalling through an appeals mechanism. On the face of it, that seems a tricky route as there are so many ways in which people can argue their case. The process must be much more straightforward. Allowing people to appeal is to give them time and leverage for delaying a process. We should employ the levy and then...