Results 3,721-3,740 of 5,922 for speaker:Thomas Gould

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Review of Part B (Fire Safety) of Building Regulations: Dublin Fire Brigade (23 May 2023)

Thomas Gould: I appreciate the opportunity to listen to the witnesses' knowledge and insight. There is an issue I am concerned about and I have been speaking to firefighters in Cork about it. The witnesses might give me their thoughts on derelict buildings. In the last couple of years, numerous derelict buildings in Cork have gone on fire repeatedly, on more than one occasion. I personally believe that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Review of Part B (Fire Safety) of Building Regulations: Dublin Fire Brigade (23 May 2023)

Thomas Gould: I believe that whoever owns those buildings should have a legal responsibility because firefighters are going out and putting their lives at risk. We have seen it in Cork multiple times. It is good to hear that the problem has reduced in Dublin but I imagine it is still a danger or a risk. There is another issue I wanted to raise. The witnesses are probably aware of it. I am talking about...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Review of Part B (Fire Safety) of Building Regulations: Dublin Fire Brigade (23 May 2023)

Thomas Gould: Listening to the witnesses, it sounds like they have been very lucky to get the retained fire staff. We have not been so lucky in Cork. The other question was about pumps and how many pumps we needper capita.

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Sports Facilities (18 May 2023)

Thomas Gould: 39. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she will provide funding to Cork City Council to source and provide pitches for Glanmire Ladies Football Club. [23535/23]

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (18 May 2023)

Thomas Gould: 137. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of meetings he has had with directors of housing to discuss their readiness for phasing out of the voids return programme. [23531/23]

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (18 May 2023)

Thomas Gould: 176. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of homes in the construction status update; the number that have been at their particular stage since Q1 2022; and the number expected to be completed by year end. [23532/23]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Land Value Sharing and Urban Development Zones Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed) (25 May 2023)

Thomas Gould: I thank our visitors for being here and giving us the opportunity to pick their brains. I will not go over many of the questions that were asked by my colleagues. One of my big issues is around the derelict sites levy. The Derelict Sites Act came in in 1990 yet the vast majority of local authorities are either not collecting anything or only a fraction of what they should. How can we be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Land Value Sharing and Urban Development Zones Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed) (25 May 2023)

Thomas Gould: So Ms Scully can see no obvious loopholes in the legislation?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Land Value Sharing and Urban Development Zones Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed) (25 May 2023)

Thomas Gould: Some of my colleagues touched on staffing earlier. In the local authorities I deal with, everyone is to the pin of their collar. For this to work, it must be resourced. Ms Farrelly made that point earlier. We want this to work so surely the necessary resources have to be there in advance. We do not want the local authorities to have to deal with this without the tools they need from the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Land Value Sharing and Urban Development Zones Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed) (25 May 2023)

Thomas Gould: I am sorry, I must go to the Chamber. I want to thank the CCMA representatives. I listened intently to their comments today and I appreciate it.

Home Ownership: Motion [Private Members] (31 May 2023)

Thomas Gould: I thank the Social Democrats and Deputy O'Callaghan for bringing forward the motion. Will the Government ever take ownership, and put its hands up and admit that it is wrong? We all make mistakes. It takes a bigger person to say that they have made a mistake and their housing policy is wrong, and that we should get together, take on the Opposition's constructive support and ideas and work...

Home Ownership: Motion [Private Members] (31 May 2023)

Thomas Gould: We have been talking about it for years. Simon and Threshold came before the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage yesterday. The homelessness figures are only the tip of the iceberg considering how many people are affected. Families are staying in their parents and grandparents houses because they have nowhere to go. They cannot get money for a mortgage. I wish to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Homelessness Issues: Discussion (30 May 2023)

Thomas Gould: I thank the witnesses for being here today and for all the work they do. Looking back over the years at where the homeless figures were previously and where they are now, we recognise the important front-line work that has to be done. I thank the witnesses and everyone in their organisations for their tremendous work. My first two questions are for Threshold. From a parochial point of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Homelessness Issues: Discussion (30 May 2023)

Thomas Gould: I thank Mr. McCafferty.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Homelessness Issues: Discussion (30 May 2023)

Thomas Gould: It used to be the case that having a steady income from work was a preventative against becoming homeless. That is no longer the case. In the past five days, I have had four people present to me who are in very good full-time jobs. Three of them will not qualify for social housing because they are over the income limit. Cork City Council's income threshold for an individual is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Homelessness Issues: Discussion (30 May 2023)

Thomas Gould: In hindsight, the Government should have brought in the tenant in situ scheme earlier. If it had been brought in two years ago, we would see fewer people homeless. Is that a fair enough statement for me to make?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Homelessness Issues: Discussion (30 May 2023)

Thomas Gould: No, it was only enacted last July. It was probably from August and September that local authorities actually started purchasing housing. That is the information I have.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Homelessness Issues: Discussion (30 May 2023)

Thomas Gould: I thank our guests for their contributions. The figures released by the RTB today show that 525 families in Cork received notices to quit in quarter 1 of 2023. There were 1,000 such notices between quarter 3 and quarter 4 of 2022. This means that in Cork city approximately 1,500 families have received notices to quit. Threshold and the Simon Communities are doing tremendous work but do...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Homelessness Issues: Discussion (30 May 2023)

Thomas Gould: Under the French model, there is a winter eviction ban every year.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Homelessness Issues: Discussion (30 May 2023)

Thomas Gould: I get the point on it being built into the system; but would it not provide safety, especially for rough sleepers, when the weather is at its worst, which is probably from November to February? The witnesses deal with rough sleepers on the front line and will realise that we surely need some kind of protection. The DRHE gathers data on the number of tragic deaths. The witnesses made a...