Results 4,961-4,980 of 5,964 for speaker:Thomas Gould

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Thomas Gould: That is acquisitions.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Thomas Gould: Cork County Council is refusing to put a lady into emergency accommodation because she lost her tenancy through addiction. It turns out that she had been abused by her partner. He has since gone into prison and she has gone into recovery. She is a year into recovery and is trying to get her two children back. She cannot get them back because Cork County Council is refusing to put her into...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Thomas Gould: People who are in recovery should be supported by their local authority, especially when it is a battle every day to stay in recovery. This woman is trying to access her children.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Thomas Gould: She had a house and lost it because of her situation.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Thomas Gould: She has applied now but it could take up to six months.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Thomas Gould: My point is that if the Minister were to direct local authorities to work with people who are in recovery-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Thomas Gould: I will take that up and will tell the woman in question that I raised this case today. I will look at the response. If I have to contact the Minister-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Thomas Gould: In a seven- or eight-week period at the start of this year, 31,000 bids were made on 145 properties in Cork city and county. That goes to show the level of the housing crisis in Cork. People contact me at 12.05 a.m. every Thursday. The houses come up at midnight. People send me messages or emails, which is fine. People are desperate and are logging on at 12.01 a.m. There were 31,000...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Thomas Gould: People bid every week so it is not 31,000 people but 31,000 bids. People are bidding on properties every week and not getting them. Some 145 units received 31,000 bids. The crisis in Cork is unbelievable. The Minster talks about targets but his targets are unrealistic and are not meeting the level of demand. I will make a suggestion that I have made numerous times to Cork City Council...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Thomas Gould: The Minister is saying that for 13 years when Fine Gael was in government, its housing policy-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Thomas Gould: The Minister said nothing was built for ten years. Those were the Minister's words. He said there were ten years of undersupply. There were ten years of Fine Gael undersupply.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Thomas Gould: I am conscious of the time limits.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Thomas Gould: I have two questions. I support the roll-out of cost rental but in Cork, 32 properties were available for cost rental and 900 people applied. That means 868 people or families did not get a property. Every week, people are devastated because they cannot get cost rental, affordable or social housing. There is a problem in Cork with Uisce Éireann's inability to deliver clean water to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Thomas Gould: I ask the Minister to take up the matter.

Offences against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 and Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009: Motions (25 Jun 2024)

Thomas Gould: I normally welcome the opportunity to speak on legislation. It is a very important part of our democratic process. However, it is beyond belief that we are here once again reviewing emergency powers that were put in place five decades ago. The emergency was declared over in 1995 with the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. Twenty-six years later the Government announced a review. This...

Affordable Electricity: Motion [Private Members] (25 Jun 2024)

Thomas Gould: A gentleman came to my clinic last week. He is a lovely man in his early 70s. He is a fine fresh guy. He said he pays €20 a week out of his pension to put towards his electricity bill. At one stage last year he was more than €700 in credit but because the price rises kept coming, the €20 a week is not enough to meet the bills coming in. He has slowly run into arrears...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Student Accommodation (25 Jun 2024)

Thomas Gould: To follow on from the previous two speakers, there is a crisis in Cork regarding student accommodation and the affordability of such accommodation. That is why it is so important that the strategy is now delivered. I know the Minister is not long in the job but surely his predecessor had advanced this. It should be at a certain stage now. When will we have sight of it? It is a very...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Student Accommodation (25 Jun 2024)

Thomas Gould: How much were they?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Student Accommodation (25 Jun 2024)

Thomas Gould: How much were they?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Thomas Gould: Unfortunately, Senator Cummins might not know. I will explain how it works.