Results 3,121-3,140 of 13,375 for speaker:Pat Rabbitte

Written Answers — Election Management System: Election Management System (13 Jun 2006)

Pat Rabbitte: Question 139: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of e-voting machine storage facilities which are the subject of long-term lease agreements between the State and the owners of such facilities; the locations of each of these facilities; the length of time each agreement lasts; and the amount the State is liable to pay per annum in respect of these...

Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (13 Jun 2006)

Pat Rabbitte: Question 109: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of social and affordable houses short of the national development plan targets the country will be by the end of 2006, not withstanding the recent announcement of extra money allocated for housing purposes in June 2006; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22499/06]

Leaders' Questions. (14 Jun 2006)

Pat Rabbitte: What does the Government propose to do about the plight of thousands of people, most of them young, who find themselves burdened with management companies in housing estates located for the most part around Dublin? These are young people who in many cases did not know when they purchased their homes that they would end up contractually wedded to a management company for an excessive fee to...

Leaders' Questions. (14 Jun 2006)

Pat Rabbitte: The local authority will not assume responsibility for these estates until they are finished to a satisfactory standard. The estates are left unfinished or some units are retained by the developer so that residents do not have the facility to assert themselves in the direction and control of the management company. There may be a case for setting up a management company in an apartment block...

Leaders' Questions. (14 Jun 2006)

Pat Rabbitte: The system introduces rates by the back door. Most management companies are not responsive. These young people are already in hock up to their eyes after purchasing apartments or duplexes and now find themselves faced with fees which were once €200 or €300 but are now over €2,000 in some cases. What will the Government do about this? It represents an abuse of power which management...

Leaders' Questions. (14 Jun 2006)

Pat Rabbitte: I have encountered this phenomenon in several areas of Dublin, Kildare and Galway and I am sure it exists elsewhere. In the debate which took place in this House last November during which Deputy Gilmore introduced a Private Members' Bill, the only offer made by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government was that he would examine the proposals that would come from the Law...

Leaders' Questions. (14 Jun 2006)

Pat Rabbitte: That should mean he is in power and is able to do something about this matter. I agree with the Taoiseach when he says legislative changes can be made, but will they be made? The answer given last night to my colleague, Deputy Burton, by the Minister, Deputy Roche, did not provide much hope. There is a practice of local authorities making it a condition of planning approval. The backlog of...

Leaders' Questions. (14 Jun 2006)

Pat Rabbitte: It is a new innovation. Whatever chance I have with the Ceann Comhairle, if the House takes me on as well——

Leaders' Questions. (14 Jun 2006)

Pat Rabbitte: Whatever the Law Reform Commission might recommend down the road, can the Minister not take action now, legislatively if necessary or directly with council managers, to end this practice and permit management companies for specified services only in traditional apartment blocks?

Commemorative Events. (14 Jun 2006)

Pat Rabbitte: Question 1: To ask the Taoiseach the amount allocated in the Estimates in his Department for 2006 for commemorations; the way in which this money will be allocated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17888/06]

Commemorative Events. (14 Jun 2006)

Pat Rabbitte: I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. Does the Government plan to allocate any moneys to commemorate the Great Famine and its victims? Some rewriting of history is taking place at the moment but we are all agreed on the impact of the Famine on the psyche of the Irish people. I am aware the Taoiseach has received correspondence on the subject from the Famine commemoration committee, and that...

Commemorative Events. (14 Jun 2006)

Pat Rabbitte: I am not trying to restrict the Taoiseach to specifying precisely how we might commemorate the victims of the Famine but the essence of the case being made by the commemoration committee is correct. At a time of transformation in the country's fortunes and unprecedented prosperity, it would be appropriate for this State to commemorate the cataclysmic impact the Famine had on the Irish people...

Constitutional Referenda. (14 Jun 2006)

Pat Rabbitte: Question 8: To ask the Taoiseach the progress made to date with regard to the implementation of the reports of the All-Party Committee on the Constitution; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19219/06]

Constitutional Referenda. (14 Jun 2006)

Pat Rabbitte: Question 9: To ask the Taoiseach his plans to hold a constitutional referendum before the end of 2006; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19220/06]

Constitutional Referenda. (14 Jun 2006)

Pat Rabbitte: It was only a kite anyway. If we let the Deputy finish, we will have a bit of craic with it. It was only a kite from Dermot.

Constitutional Referenda. (14 Jun 2006)

Pat Rabbitte: He did not mean it.

Constitutional Referenda. (14 Jun 2006)

Pat Rabbitte: The committee recommended legislation rather than constitutional change to give rights to non-marital heterosexual and same sex couples. The Taoiseach is correct that a constitutional amendment was not recommended. However, the committee took the view that people in non-traditional marital or couple arrangements should have the same rights as other citizens and it recommended legislative...

Constitutional Referenda. (14 Jun 2006)

Pat Rabbitte: They refer to the report of the All-Party Committee on the Constitution, which I have before me and which recommends precisely what I have said.

Constitutional Referenda. (14 Jun 2006)

Pat Rabbitte: Does the Taoiseach intend to introduce legislation in this area during the lifetime of this Dáil?

Order of Business. (14 Jun 2006)

Pat Rabbitte: Will the Taoiseach say if I am correct in interpreting our exchanges this morning as meaning the Government is promising legislation to regulate and control housing estate management companies?