Results 3,061-3,080 of 5,906 for speaker:Thomas Gould

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: The figure is 2,416. If 700 people are added to the list each year, and I am just taking that as an approximate figure, that is 2,800 so we will be 400 worse off. This is no criticism of the local authority. My criticism is that the Government targets are too low.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: Yes. What about Meath County Council?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: To clarify this point, Meath County Council's figure is 1,969 between 2020 and 2026. Is that figure correct?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: Yes, including them all. My issue is that even if the figure is rounded off at 2,000, if 900 new applications are added to the list every year, those targets do not meet the need.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: To finish, I thank-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: I know great work is being done in both local authorities. We see that from their submissions. I thank them for that. It is not a criticism of them but we are looking at the crisis and we need to come up with solutions.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: Unfortunately, there are issues with antisocial behaviour by some tenants. Do the local authorities have a tenant enforcement officer or something similar? How do they deal with antisocial behaviour by tenants?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: Do the local authorities ever find there is a need to go further than that? In some local authorities, this can be a major issue. If a person or group engages in antisocial behaviour, it can drag down the whole community. Have the witnesses come across that or have they had to tackle it?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: Is that organised? It sounds excellent. I know nobody wants to be signing those orders but where communities are being destroyed, the local authority must do everything in its power to save the whole community. What Ms Kavanagh described is an approach the Department should support. When we see an issue developing, we should get all the different agencies involved to find out if the...

COP27: Statements (29 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: I echo the comments made by our party spokesperson on climate action, Deputy O'Rourke. Sinn Féin believes in more than just tackling climate change. We believe in a just transition to a sustainable, cleaner and better future life for all of us. We believe climate action can and must be achieved without penalising the most vulnerable in society. It is amazing that after two and a...

Toll Charge Increases: Motion [Private Members] (29 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: People are sick to the teeth of this Government hiking prices left, right and centre. Ordinary people are sick of being at the bottom of the pile time and again. Once again this Government is trying to sneak through measures that will put even more pressure on the pockets of ordinary people. We are talking about a counterbalance to Dublin in Cork but the reality is that without public...

Drugs Policy: Motion [Private Members] (30 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: I listened to the Minister of State's description of what the Government has done. This Government's treatment of and support for people in recovery, recovery services and people at the coalface of addiction have been shocking. Deputy Martin Kenny made the point that in the alternative budget Sinn Féin put forward, we pledged €45 million for this. A sum of €45 million...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: There should be a budget. Where is the budget?

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: It should have been budgeted for.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Strategies (29 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: 108. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the work that her Department has carried out to increase work capacity among vulnerable cohorts including those in addiction recovery. [53846/22]

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Legislative Measures (29 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: 269. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of amendments that have been made to the Planning and Development Act 2000. [58880/22]

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Official Engagements (29 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: 309. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has spoken with the South African ambassador to Ireland in the past six months. [59074/22]

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (29 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: 319. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the details of the planned upgrades that will be carried out to Defence Forces buildings in 2023. [59076/22]

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Medical Aids and Appliances (29 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: 419. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons who received a grant to purchase a hearing aid under her Department’s medical appliances scheme in 2021 and to date in 2022, in tabular form. [59075/22]

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Service (29 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: 573. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if she will instruct the Irish Prison Service to release the report into the death of a person (details supplied) to the Cork city Coroner. [59042/22]