Results 4,101-4,120 of 5,949 for speaker:Paul McAuliffe

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consideration of the Citizens' Assembly Report on a Directly Elected Mayor of Dublin: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Oct 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: I want to flesh out that issue of funding. I ask our guests to clarify for the committee the process of drawing down or attracting funding for a project like a Luas or metro line. What mechanism is used currently?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consideration of the Citizens' Assembly Report on a Directly Elected Mayor of Dublin: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Oct 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: Who is the decision-maker in those cases?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consideration of the Citizens' Assembly Report on a Directly Elected Mayor of Dublin: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Oct 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: The NTA makes a proposal to the Department of Transport and I presume that Department, in conjunction with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, makes the decision. Is that correct?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consideration of the Citizens' Assembly Report on a Directly Elected Mayor of Dublin: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Oct 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: Most of the decisions are already made. Given that funding is already allocated, why would any Minister say "No" or delay something?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consideration of the Citizens' Assembly Report on a Directly Elected Mayor of Dublin: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Oct 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: That is useful in helping us to understand the decision-making process. Is there an element of borrowing or the ability to borrow involved or is it all set-aside public resources? In terms of a revenue-raising ability or an ability to borrow, a directly elected mayor may be able to increase the overall pot of money coming to Dublin. Would an ability to borrow be beneficial or would that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consideration of the Citizens' Assembly Report on a Directly Elected Mayor of Dublin: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Oct 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: If there was a dedicated NDP budget for Dublin, within which individual decisions could be moved around or swapped, would that give more flexibility to progress projects that might be ready more quickly than others or does the way it is set out at the moment provide a degree of certainty?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consideration of the Citizens' Assembly Report on a Directly Elected Mayor of Dublin: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Oct 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: If either a Dublin section of the NTA or a directly elected mayor in conjunction with a Dublin section of the NTA had a ring-fenced public transport budget for Dublin, with a huge degree of flexibility in terms of how it can be spent without having to resort to the Minister, would that lead to greater delivery? Does sending it to the Minister and waiting for the Department of Public...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consideration of the Citizens' Assembly Report on a Directly Elected Mayor of Dublin: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Oct 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: Thank you. That is useful.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consideration of the Citizens' Assembly Report on a Directly Elected Mayor of Dublin: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Oct 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: That is dealt with in the Road Traffic and Roads Act 2023, which was passed in June.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consideration of the Citizens' Assembly Report on a Directly Elected Mayor of Dublin: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Oct 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: I have one last point, and it is coming back to what Deputy O'Callaghan said. It is the democratic thing. In some ways, the purpose of a directly elected mayor would be to get national agencies like the NTA to do things that it may not want to do, or that it may have good reasons for not doing. The NTA might have a national focus, and a Dublin mayor would say, "Yes, that is your national...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consideration of the Citizens' Assembly Report on a Directly Elected Mayor of Dublin: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Oct 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: In a Department, the Minister will often set the priorities, and then between Governments, the Secretary General will make sure of consistency and so on. The problem for the NTA is that there are people out there who believe that we should not have any more cycle lanes. I am not one of them but there are people who believe that. They believe that they have no democratic way of expressing...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consideration of the Citizens' Assembly Report on a Directly Elected Mayor of Dublin: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Oct 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: We are straying out of Ms Graham's expertise but that is the frustration. They are national Government priorities and decisions, and not Dublin decisions. That is the accountability element, and that is the real challenge. I thank our witnesses for being with us today. We have concluded all of our questions, and I will adjourn the meeting.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (25 Oct 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: 32. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade when a passport will be issued for a person (details supplied). [46804/23]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Mental Health Services (25 Oct 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: 170. To ask the Minister for Health the status of a primary care appointment for psychology for emotional regulation and socio-emotional communication for a child (details supplied). [47027/23]

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (26 Oct 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: I raise with the Tánaiste the issue of the public counter of the Probate Office having been closed since Covid. As he is aware, the death of a family member and the processing of probate can be a difficult experience for many families. It is not acceptable that a public counter is not available. Delays are being created because people have to put documents into a drop box and wait for...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (26 Oct 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: Hear, hear.

Road Safety: Statements (26 Oct 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: I will be sharing my time with Deputy Flaherty. We will take seven and four minutes, respectively. Deputy Flaherty can take over whenever I run out of issues for the Minister. I want to first deal with the Road Traffic Act, as it is now, having been passed and signed by the President over the summer. It contains many initiatives and measures to improve the safety of people on our roads...

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2022
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage
2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Chapter 3: Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Chapter 4: Accountability of the Central Funding of Local Authorities. (26 Oct 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: We have a large array of witness before us. I hope they can assist us in getting to the bottom of some of our questions. I will return to an issue I have raised many times, namely, the HAP and RAS. I have characterised these as accounting for one of the largest spends being left in the hands of some of the least equipped and most vulnerable people. The target and output for 2022 was...

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2022
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage
2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Chapter 3: Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Chapter 4: Accountability of the Central Funding of Local Authorities. (26 Oct 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: This means well over €600 million of procurement by the State of housing supply was negotiated by recipients with their landlords on an individual basis. Is that correct?

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2022
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage
2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Chapter 3: Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Chapter 4: Accountability of the Central Funding of Local Authorities. (26 Oct 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: Again, with RAS the individual relationship is set up between the landlord and the tenant.