Results 3,161-3,180 of 20,057 for speaker:Brian Stanley
- Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jul 2015)
Brian Stanley: The Minister referred to the local government fund. I am surprised at the Fine Gael Deputies. I note the young man from Limerick who threw a tantrum before lunchtime has disappeared again. He was not on for staying too long.
- Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jul 2015)
Brian Stanley: The Government has cut farm assist, bus routes on rural transport and the local improvement schemes. The Government did not cut the schemes, it has done away with them. The local improvement schemes served to help people living in rural areas who wanted to roll up their sleeves. I have dealt with many of these people over the years and I continue to deal with them. They are good...
- Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jul 2015)
Brian Stanley: The Government cut Garda stations as well. I am surprised at Fine Gael. Turning to water supplies in rural areas, the Government has caught many people with this. These people are the so-called Irish Water customers and have an Irish Water meter outside their front door. I have seen many of them in recent months. There are many of them in rural areas. The Government has caught all...
- Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jul 2015)
Brian Stanley: He threw something of a tantrum when he was faced with the truth and ran out of the Chamber when he was unable to take the heat. Imagine a Fine Gael Deputy for a rural constituency not knowing the basic facts regarding the availability of those grants. The problem with the €540 million is that the Government is doing what was done in previous years. It does not matter which way...
- Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jul 2015)
Brian Stanley: Hear, hear.
- Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jul 2015)
Brian Stanley: On a point of information, payment of the grant, as it stands, is not a good idea. It is not about conserving water.
- Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jul 2015)
Brian Stanley: There has been no rowing back.
- Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jul 2015)
Brian Stanley: On a point of order, the problem is that the conservation grant will not help to save water. It is not about conservation. If it is genuinely to be used for the purposes of conservation, it is a good idea, whether in a rural or an urban area. I have suggested some ways it could be used. I support the idea behind conservation grants to conserve water, but not a grant which is used as a...
- Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jul 2015)
Brian Stanley: I welcome that.
- Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jul 2015)
Brian Stanley: I am very concerned about amendment No. 21 because in it the Minister is effectively turning landlords into enforcers and the landlord will be responsible for ensuring this money is paid. This would include local authorities and voluntary housing associations, because it applies to the owner of the house. In the case of a local authority, the owner is the local council and in the case of a...
- Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jul 2015)
Brian Stanley: It is a very difficult situation and it has become increasingly difficult to solve the problems. One does not know where to send people. Tenants will be in a difficult position because the landlord is the enforcer and he or she will lean on the tenant. The responsibility will be carried over from one tenancy to another. I have seen it happen with electricity bills and other utility bills...
- Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jul 2015)
Brian Stanley: Who will read the meter?
- Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jul 2015)
Brian Stanley: I have read it in detail.
- Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jul 2015)
Brian Stanley: I listened carefully to the Minister's reply. He has not dealt with the central issue raised by me. On the issue concerning long-term and short-term tenancies, Deputy Paul Murphy made a point, on which I disagree with him, that it will not become an issue between landlords and tenants. It will become an issue in private rental accommodation in many cases given the short-term nature of...
- Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jul 2015)
Brian Stanley: I am referring to the day of the meeting about housing. A total of 91 households presented as homeless in the first 90 days of the council this year. Laois has a relatively small council. I had four people in my office last week who were experiencing different types of homelessness. Two came in on the Monday. They are going to add to the numbers because of the hangover of bills, the...
- Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jul 2015)
Brian Stanley: The fact of the matter is that the Minister has not brought that in yet. All this is on top of the crosses that people are already carrying. It amounts to a crucifixion of people in the private rented sector. The multitude of problems that people have to deal with already is more than enough. We hear about it from them daily. I lived in private rented accommodation at different times in...
- Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jul 2015)
Brian Stanley: Some kind of deposit retention to secure deposits for tenants is needed. One suggestion was that it could be put into an account. We would not get much interest on it at the moment, but the interest on the account could fund the operation. I am unsure whether we could do that at the moment. The fund could lend the money to Irish Water, because Irish Water is paying 3% on borrowings. Is...
- Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jul 2015)
Brian Stanley: It could be one of those investments.
- Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jul 2015)
Brian Stanley: There is an absence of some kind of deposit retention scheme, some mechanism, agency or body. There is an absence of strong legislation to improve the lot of tenants and provide for long-term and more secure tenancies. There is an absence with regard to what I had thought the Minister would do in respect of the Private Residential Tenancies Board. None of us wants to see bloated quangos,...
- Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jul 2015)
Brian Stanley: It gives some kind of framework. However, it is not used and has not always been satisfactory. The big problem is the delay. It can take a year or two years for a case to get through the door, get under way and for progress to be made. That is too long. Sometimes within a year or 18 months the tenant in question may have moved two or three times. It is chaotic. In the case of a dispute...