Results 3,541-3,560 of 5,906 for speaker:Thomas Gould

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Disability Services (30 Mar 2023)

Thomas Gould: 33. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the actions being taken to resolve the staffing crisis in children's disability services in Cork. [15708/23]

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (30 Mar 2023)

Thomas Gould: 349. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the percentage of firewood felled that was exported in 2022; and if felling licences include a provision regarding destination of product. [15908/23]

Department Underspend and Reduced Delivery of Affordable Housing: Motion [Private Members] (18 Apr 2023)

Thomas Gould: We all accept the Government's targets for affordable housing have been too low. Yet, yesterday's announcement of the housing statistics highlights that even with these very low figures the Government still cannot hit its targets. Affordable housing represents the only opportunity for many families to ever be able to own their own home. Yet the Government still cannot give those people the...

Vacant Homes Tax: Motion [Private Members] (19 Apr 2023)

Thomas Gould: I commend the Social Democrats, and especially Deputy Cian O'Callaghan. Deputy Gannon was just talking about solutions and this is a straightforward solution. The Government recognises a vacant property tax is a tool that can be used to get properties back in circulation. The big difference is the Government has gone for a 0.3% tax, whereas the motion before us calls for 10%. That is not...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2023)

Thomas Gould: What about affordable housing?

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Apr 2023)

Thomas Gould: I have been contacted by a lady who has three children and is five months pregnant. She is being evicted from emergency accommodation on 5 May. The Minister might ask why this is happening. It is happening because this lady is earning too much over Cork County Council's income threshold for social housing. This is unbelievable stuff. I will ask the Minister a straight question. Is it...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Apr 2023)

Thomas Gould: I am talking about the policy.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Apr 2023)

Thomas Gould: Cork County Council-----

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (20 Apr 2023)

Thomas Gould: I will raise a case from the heart of the Tánaiste's constituency in the Douglas-Grange area, of a family who has lived in a property with the support of the housing assistance payment, HAP, for nine years. It includes three children, of whom the youngest is five years old. The family has received a notice to quit and were to be out on 31 January. After some back and forth with the...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (20 Apr 2023)

Thomas Gould: There-----

Organised Crime: Statements (20 Apr 2023)

Thomas Gould: You are asking the Minister of State.

Organised Crime: Statements (20 Apr 2023)

Thomas Gould: And then they leave.

Organised Crime: Statements (20 Apr 2023)

Thomas Gould: Organised crime causes heartache and misery for communities. I stand full square in my support for them and the gardaí who stand up to these criminals every day of the week. We have to get to grips with the scourge of organised crime. Everything possible must be done to tackle all the causes so we can grasp it at the root because communities need protection. Vulnerable people need to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (18 Apr 2023)

Thomas Gould: I understand there is a huge amount of work going on in the Department, and the work it is doing has probably never been so important. I have a couple of questions that I hope the witnesses will be able to talk me through. First, in 2022 the Department funded only 85 voids in Cork city and 2,307 nationally. The latest National Oversight and Audit Commission, NOAC, report shows that it...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (18 Apr 2023)

Thomas Gould: To return to the first point about the 85 voids, it is very easy to calculate how many voids come back or how many houses are returned to local authorities every year. In Cork I think the figure is about 20 a month. We are talking about the bones of 250 units a year. If Cork City Council knows that and the Department knows that, because it gets monthly reports from the chief executives,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (18 Apr 2023)

Thomas Gould: Realistically, and with all due respect, I became a councillor in 2009, and in the 14 years I have been a councillor and a Deputy, Cork City Council has carried out no preventative maintenance. The number one issue is, it said, that it had no funding stream from central Government. While what Ms Timmons says, therefore, might sound very credible; on the ground that is not what is happening....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (18 Apr 2023)

Thomas Gould: There is no security of tenure in HAP. I spoke to a lady last Friday who became homeless last Saturday because there is no security of tenure in HAP if a landlord provides the correct documentation for a person to leave. It may be a way to get people out of homelessness, but that is a double-edged sword because some people become homeless on the back of notices to quit from HAP tenancies.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (18 Apr 2023)

Thomas Gould: Earlier there was reference to the 19,000 units of social housing that are in the construction report as being in the pipeline. While looking at it earlier, there were just a few things that came up, and I will refer to a few examples that I found in the report. Of the 19,000, there were 18 homes in Laois on site since quarter 4 of 2018. In Waterford, 24 homes have been at stage 1 approval...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (18 Apr 2023)

Thomas Gould: I thank Ms Stapleton. My next question relates to the discussion we had earlier with regard to the vacant homes unit now within the Department. How many full-time staff are specifically dealing with vacancy? I raised this issue about two years ago, and again last year, so it seems like there has been great progress.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (18 Apr 2023)

Thomas Gould: Are they specifically dealing with vacancy and not doing three jobs?