Results 5,361-5,380 of 5,587 for speaker:Kevin Humphreys

Seanad: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018: Second Stage (14 May 2019)

Kevin Humphreys: I welcome the Minister to the House and thank him for bringing forward this badly-needed legislation. I do not intend to delay its progress on Committee or Report Stages but I have submitted some amendments, which I hope the Minister will have time to consider before tomorrow. One of my concerns relates to the enforcement of short-term lettings. We must make it as easy as possible for...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 May 2019)

Kevin Humphreys: I raise the issue of RehabCare and the 3,000 people who avail of the services. The shortfall in funding is causing great anxiety and there is concern that the service will not be provided in 2020. Will the Deputy Leader ask the Minister of State with responsibility for disability, Deputy Finian McGrath, to come into the House and make a statement on the future funding of that very important...

Seanad: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (15 May 2019)

Kevin Humphreys: I move amendment No. 1:In page 7, between lines 29 and 30, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 12 of Act of 20046. Section 12 of the Principal Act (Obligations of landlords) is amended by inserting the following subsection: “(6) A deposit (howsoever described, being money payable on entering into an agreement for the tenancy of a dwelling and intended to be held as...

Seanad: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (15 May 2019)

Kevin Humphreys: This is about as simple as it gets. It is to provide for a certain degree of reassurance. The amendment relates to the deposit system in the way it has always operated in this country. The Minister is bringing forward unnecessary complications. I will be pressing the amendment.

Seanad: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (15 May 2019)

Kevin Humphreys: I want to make it clear that at no stage did I say the Minister was rushing the Bill. There is a responsibility on this House to interrogate the legislation as it goes through. I believe this amendment will make a difference because it will set a public floor. It will make it clear that if someone tries to gain a deposit of more than one month's rent, to keep the money or to get two...

Seanad: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (15 May 2019)

Kevin Humphreys: In 2014, the Cabinet approved the development of legislation providing for a deposit protection scheme. Senator Craughwell has made a generous offer that I would have been happy to go along with if the Minister had not clearly indicated that the Government is not prepared to work on a deposit scheme. Therefore, I will press this amendment.

Seanad: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (15 May 2019)

Kevin Humphreys: In certain cities, there are clearly houses from before 1960, including Georgian houses, that will find it difficult to reach the standards. We need a clear definition from the Department about what standards they have to reach and how they could go about reaching them. The local authorities and An Taisce only allow certain works to be carried out on a house in a conservation zone or...

Seanad: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (15 May 2019)

Kevin Humphreys: Could the Leas-Cathaoirleach give us some guidance because there seems to be a contradiction in what is being ruled in or out of order? This is not aimed at the Sinn Féin amendment but the Labour amendment was more of a scalpel than a sledgehammer and would be similar except that we did not mention specific areas. That would be like Senator Murnane O'Connor submitting that...

Seanad: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (15 May 2019)

Kevin Humphreys: It is an inconsistency. It is nothing to do with the Minister.

Seanad: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (15 May 2019)

Kevin Humphreys: I complement the Senators on the amendment because this gets to the nub of the problem with the rental sector, namely, the insecurity. I presume the Minister has had the same experiences where families have had to move three, four or five times and their children have had to shift schools. That brings a level of insecurity and the breakdown of friendships, so anything that gives a little...

Seanad: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (15 May 2019)

Kevin Humphreys: While I accept the Minister's good intentions, it is not acceptable to this House to give the power to charge a mediation service fee without coming back to this House first. If it is not the intention or the Minister does not foresee a need in the short to medium term to charge a fee for the mediation service and where he expresses the view that he hopes it will remain free of charge, if...

Seanad: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (15 May 2019)

Kevin Humphreys: I cannot accept the argument the Minister has made. It would be prudent to provide that the RTB would have to come back to this House to make the argument for the charging of a fee. The position may change in the future, but it is not acceptable at this stage to give that power to the RTB. It is a free service and it should remain free, unless there is a strong case to be made for charging...

Seanad: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (15 May 2019)

Kevin Humphreys: I accept the Minister's good intentions. He may be right when he predicts that the next Government will be a minority Government. The Government after that could be a majority Government. All we can deal with is the way the legislation in front of us is framed. We cannot take a punt on the composition of the next Government in 2020 or 2028. The manner in which this Bill is framed will...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (16 May 2019)

Kevin Humphreys: Yesterday I commended the Government on bringing in the €20 million pilot fund for pyrite and mica remediation, and I welcome it for the people of Donegal and Mayo. The Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Ring, said:The scheme is an exceptional measure in response to an exceptional need. Some homeowners are in dire straits. There is many an apartment block with...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (16 May 2019)

Kevin Humphreys: An understandable mistake.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (16 May 2019)

Kevin Humphreys: Yes.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 May 2019)

Kevin Humphreys: Last week the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, explained that the Government had conflicting priorities around the business of this House. To facilitate the Minister, I propose an amendment to the Order of Business that Report Stage of the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018 be taken immediately after the Order of Business, and that...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 May 2019)

Kevin Humphreys: Senator McDowell was out casting the swing vote lately.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 May 2019)

Kevin Humphreys: But he is not stoned.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 May 2019)

Kevin Humphreys: Yes.