Results 6,581-6,600 of 27,945 for speaker:Michael McGrath

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Flood Relief Schemes Data (15 Jul 2014)

Michael McGrath: 332. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the position regarding the planned flood relief scheme in Cork city; the timeline for the delivery of the project; the nature of the public consultation that will be held; if he will ensure that a fully manned consultation period over a number of days in the city is held; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31088/14]

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Shared Ownership Scheme (15 Jul 2014)

Michael McGrath: 493. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the number of shared ownership arrangements which are currently in place with local authorities; the total value of loans outstanding for this category of home ownership; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31311/14]

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Shared Ownership Scheme (15 Jul 2014)

Michael McGrath: 494. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the number of shared ownership arrangements with local authorities which are in arrears; if a process is in place for dealing with such arrears cases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31312/14]

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Insolvency Service of Ireland Data (15 Jul 2014)

Michael McGrath: 587. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of cases that have been concluded by the Insolvency Service of Ireland to date; the number which have involved a restructuring of mortgage debt; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31307/14]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Water Fluoridation (15 Jul 2014)

Michael McGrath: 607. To ask the Minister for Health his views on the fluoridation of water; the steps that have been taken to deal with any public health concerns; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31414/14]

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Living City Initiative (16 Jul 2014)

Michael McGrath: 68. To ask the Minister for Finance the position regarding the living city initiative; when he expects the scheme to commence; the details of the operation of the scheme; the exact geographic areas to which it will apply; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31987/14]

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Mortgage to Rent Scheme Applications (16 Jul 2014)

Michael McGrath: 169. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the position regarding a mortgage to rent case in respect of persons (details supplied) which is currently awaiting approval; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31796/14]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Michael McGrath: I welcome our guests and thank them for their presentations. I will start with the pre-budget document from Social Justice Ireland. There has been debate for some time about refundable tax credits. It is included in Social Justice Ireland's proposal to deal with what it generally calls the working poor. That is an accurate description of a cohort of people in Ireland today. The proposal...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Michael McGrath: Basically, if somebody's tax liability is not sufficient to absorb all their PAYE credit and their personal tax credit, they would be refunded the difference.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Michael McGrath: The main purpose of it is to incentivise people to take up employment, even if the pay attached to it is not great. However, taking the refund into account, it provides an extra incentive to work.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Michael McGrath: There are barriers facing people on social welfare at present who wish to get back into work, even if they have an offer of employment. Ms Murphy has identified one avenue for dealing with that. Another issue is the area of secondary benefits. The rent supplement, in particular, appears to be the main barrier. Holding on to that if one gets work is a problem. The medical card is another...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Michael McGrath: Mr. Claffey drew attention to the issue of broadband in rural communities in his submission. Will he give his view on the level of broadband provision in rural areas in general? He says what is required is an investment strategy to deliver fibre-based broadband to the last 500,000 rural homes. Is that the number of homes in Ireland that do not have fibre-optic broadband at present?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Michael McGrath: There are approximately 2 million households in the country, so Mr. Claffey is saying that about one in four do not have access to fibre-optic broadband. However, the Government has various programmes for rolling out broadband in rural areas. Is Mr. Claffey saying that is not making an impact and is not making inroads into that deficit?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Michael McGrath: This is addressed to Mr. Harty. We regularly hear from the Government that the priority is to allow people to stay in their home for as long as possible due to the cost of long-stay nursing home facilities and so forth and the cost of having people in acute hospitals. The experience on the ground appears to be quite different, certainly from my point of view as a practising politician. One...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Michael McGrath: Does Mr. Harty have figures on the typical cost to the State of supporting somebody to stay in the home as opposed to the typical cost through the nursing home scheme? I accept some people are higher dependency than others and perhaps, eventually, have to be in a long-stay facility. Has Mr. Harty the numbers to back up what he is saying?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Michael McGrath: If it is so clear cut, why is there such resistance to it? If it makes sense financially and it keeps people happy, what is the barrier?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Michael McGrath: I would like to ask Mr. Hanan about the poverty proofing of budget proposals, to which he referred in his statement. I believe we would all agree in principle with that. The question is how it would work in practice and to what extent it would slow down and make more bureaucratic the decision-making process. Ultimately, the Government and the Legislature have to make decisions. How would...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Michael McGrath: I will group my last two questions. With regard to Ms Fahy's work with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, what role does personal debt play in the whole situation? Obviously, many people who rely on support from the St. Vincent de Paul are experiencing unemployment and are in very low income households, but not all I suspect, and many would have very high mortgages, credit union loans,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Michael McGrath: That is really high, is it not?

Betting (Amendment) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (17 Jul 2014)

Michael McGrath: I move amendment No. 1:In page 15, between lines 8 and 9, to insert the following:“(c) the holder of the certificate failed to take adequate steps to prevent persons under the age of 18 undertaking betting transactions.”.This issue was discussed on Committee Stage. While I did not press the amendment then, I feel it is important to highlight the issue of under age betting...