Results 5,821-5,840 of 7,082 for speaker:John Paul Phelan

Local Government Bill 2018: Report and Final Stages (13 Dec 2018)

John Paul Phelan: I believe we will have the same head of steam, and I think it will be bigger, because we are dealing with those rawest of Irish emotions, hard borders and soft borders, which are topical in other areas currently. At least we will have the opportunity for people to think about it. That is a fair assessment, but I do not believe there will ever be a situation where there would be full...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Commercial Rates (18 Dec 2018)

John Paul Phelan: Local authorities are under a statutory obligation to levy rates on any property used for commercial purposes in accordance with the details entered in the valuation lists prepared by the Commissioner of Valuation under the Valuation Acts 2001 to 2015. The Commissioner of Valuation has responsibility for valuation matters, including determination of relevant property under the Acts for the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Property Valuations (18 Dec 2018)

John Paul Phelan: The Valuation Acts 2001 to 2015 provide for the valuation of all commercial and industrial property for rating purposes. The Commissioner of Valuation is independent in the performance of his functions under the Acts and the making of valuations for rating is his sole responsibility. I, as Minister, have no function in decisions in this regard. The Deputy may be aware that, under the...

Seanad: Local Government Bill 2018: Second Stage (18 Dec 2018)

John Paul Phelan: I thank the Seanad for facilitating the taking of Second Stage this evening. The main purpose of this Bill is to alter the boundary between Cork city and Cork county councils and to provide for the boundary alteration arrangements and consequential matters. It also provides for the holding of plebiscites on the direct election of a mayor for Cork city, Limerick, Galway city and Galway...

Seanad: Local Government Bill 2018: Second Stage (18 Dec 2018)

John Paul Phelan: There will be one management structure.

Seanad: Local Government Bill 2018: Second Stage (18 Dec 2018)

John Paul Phelan: The Senator looks well and will respond with shocking insight.

Seanad: Local Government Bill 2018: Second Stage (18 Dec 2018)

John Paul Phelan: I thank the Senators for their very reasonable contributions. Sometimes in politics people will say to those with whom they do not agree that they have not listened to them, which seems to be a unique way of looking at how people should think. Senator Kieran O’Donnell and I lost two years of our lives in the dungeons of Leinster House at the banking inquiry. For ten years...

Seanad: Local Government Bill 2018: Second Stage (18 Dec 2018)

John Paul Phelan: Irrespective of the title - Senator Craughwell spoke at length about subsidiarity - the reality is that since the abolition of domestic rates in 1977 effectively local government has had to subsist by having limited sources of funds from a very small pool of people and a handout from central Government. That has meant that real power in local government has been strangled since then and much...

Seanad: Local Government Bill 2018: Second Stage (18 Dec 2018)

John Paul Phelan: He was the youngest mayor; I had forgotten. At council level outside the budget and maybe particular issues that arise from time to time with the election of the leader or chair, very little party politics comes into it. It is mostly about people who want to do the right thing for their own area. That type of collaborative approach would be very welcome. I agree with the Senator that it...

Seanad: Local Government Bill 2018: Second Stage (18 Dec 2018)

John Paul Phelan: Yes, and heritage. It is important that heritage protections are taken into account. Senator Buttimer spoke passionately about Cork matters, as he always does. At operational level, there has been extensive co-operation between the city and county of Cork. When people have come out of their trenches, politically, there has also been co-operation. Nevertheless, there is always a view...

Seanad: Local Government Bill 2018: Second Stage (18 Dec 2018)

John Paul Phelan: -----because the issue was a Cork one. I do not know where Senator Craughwell got the idea. We have reached a stage in Cork, as I hope we will in Galway next year, of general consensus and some level of agreement but there is still not agreement. There are still local politicians in Cork in my own party and others who would run me out of town if I arrived into the place.

Seanad: Local Government Bill 2018: Second Stage (18 Dec 2018)

John Paul Phelan: There is no agreement in Galway but I hope that there can be some semblance of agreement. Senator Craughwell made the point that there is no councillor on the expert group. There is a long-held practice in Irish politics that politicians do not sit on groups that determine boundaries, for obvious reasons. In Galway, managers were brought into the process. They agree with the process and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Commercial Rates (19 Dec 2018)

John Paul Phelan: The Valuation Acts 2001 to 2015 provide for the valuation of all commercial and industrial property for rating purposes. The Commissioner of Valuation is independent in the performance of his functions under the Acts and the making of valuations for rating is his sole responsibility. I, as Minister, have no function in decisions in this regard. The Deputy may be aware that, under the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Legislative Process (19 Dec 2018)

John Paul Phelan: The legislative basis for the levying of rates is spread over a number of enactments, some dating back to the 19th century. My Department has developed legislative proposals to modernise and consolidate the legislation governing commercial rates, and last year the Government approved the drafting of a Rates Bill. The Local Government (Rates) Bill 2018 was published on 9 August 2018. The...

Seanad: Local Government Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Dec 2018)

John Paul Phelan: The brief answer is if the asset is being transferred and there is an outstanding debt upon it, that debt will also be transferred. For example, if Cork County Council has invested in a public project in the transfer area or the area that is under consideration by the Bill, there cannot be a question that it would still have the liability of paying for the debt. In one sense, it is a paper...

Seanad: Local Government Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Dec 2018)

John Paul Phelan: The purpose of any local authority is to provide public infrastructure and services. What has became apparent in the Cork review is that somewhere between 600 and 700 different services are provided by the local authority, a number that also shocked me. It concerns the idea that a local authority would invest public money - in this case, money it has received either from a Department such...

Seanad: Local Government Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Dec 2018)

John Paul Phelan: What I am trying to make clear is that there will be a full transfer of both liabilities and assets. Assets provided decades ago were provided on the basis of meeting local need. If the local population moves, the asset moves. That is the position.

Seanad: Local Government Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Dec 2018)

John Paul Phelan: There is not much disagreement among Senators or from me. The Leader of the House probably put it best in his contribution which echoed what he said last night. These sections essentially provide for the biggest boundary change in the history of the State. As well as the transfer of assets and liabilities, there is the much more important transfer of 80,000 to 85,000 people who, crucially,...

Seanad: Local Government Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Dec 2018)

John Paul Phelan: I have come to know Leitrim in recent years and I will spend Friday and most of the next two weeks in the county. While it is geographically large and takes one hour to drive from one end to the other, it is extremely small in population terms. However, I believe 18 councillors is too few for such a large geographical area. Wexford is also a huge county and when I was standing for election...

Seanad: Local Government Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Dec 2018)

John Paul Phelan: I am familiar with the Senator's correspondence, on a daily basis, on matters relating to local government and no Oireachtas Member is responsible for more.