Results 6,661-6,680 of 7,777 for speaker:Joe Costello

Topical Issue Debate: Local Authority Housing Provision (3 Feb 2015)

Joe Costello: I raise this issue again, having raised it first on 26 November 2014. I refer to the scandal of a very substantial housing development consisting of 99 units which has been lying idle since July 2014, in the middle of a housing crisis. I raised it out of frustration in November and again in December and January, but nothing has happened to date other than a decision taken during a...

Topical Issue Debate: Local Authority Housing Provision (3 Feb 2015)

Joe Costello: I thank the Minister of State for his detailed reply. Clearly the matter is not yet resolved. A difference of €180 per month is extraordinary. That equates to approximately €45 per week which is roughly the amount of rent that is paid by a tenant in the differential rent scheme. So that is almost double what is expected from a tenant. We cannot continue with this charade...

Topical Issue Debate: Aviation Issues (4 Feb 2015)

Joe Costello: I welcome the Minister. This is the first opportunity we have had to engage in dialogue on the floor of the House. I congratulate him on his appointment and have no doubt that he will continue to do a very good job. There is some confusion over the negotiation of the IAG proposal to purchase Aer Lingus. Both the Minister and the Minister for Finance have stated that they are limited in...

Topical Issue Debate: Aviation Issues (4 Feb 2015)

Joe Costello: I thank the Minister for his response in which he indicated that any offer would have to come before the Dáil for its approval. This means the Dáil will not have any say in the negotiations leading up to a decision, which places a significant limitation on the role the House would play in such a decision. I ask the Minister to consider bringing the matter to the attention of the...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (5 Feb 2015)

Joe Costello: I was not aware that the issues that we discussed with that particular lady had taken a turn for the worse. The note that NAMA presents to us indicates that it has been successful in 160 of the 162 completed cases and that a number were mediation cases in which the success rate was equally high. Perhaps we need an in-depth presentation on the nature of the mediation, for example, whether it...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (5 Feb 2015)

Joe Costello: Yes, especially the correspondence on the sale of Shelbourne Park. Can I take it that-----

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (5 Feb 2015)

Joe Costello: Yes. According to the extra note at the back, the board is disposing of 1.5 acres at Shelbourne Park.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (5 Feb 2015)

Joe Costello: Having disposed of them, are the grounds still available? As the letter puts it, Shelbourne Park is now the flagship of greyhound racing in Europe and attracts in excess of 2,500 patrons each Saturday night. Greyhound racing will continue-----

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (5 Feb 2015)

Joe Costello: -----despite the suggestion that further houses may be constructed.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (5 Feb 2015)

Joe Costello: I think the Chairman might have missed out on one or two items of correspondence. No. 3B.4, for example, relates to the 2002 indemnity agreement.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (5 Feb 2015)

Joe Costello: I wanted to raise the matter.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (5 Feb 2015)

Joe Costello: Certainly, of course. It is 100% withdrawn. The Chair would never miss anything - neither an opportunity nor an item of correspondence.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (5 Feb 2015)

Joe Costello: I want to refer briefly to this matter because today's edition of The Irish Timescontains quite an amount of information and freedom of information material which indicates that approximately €300 million is still outstanding in relation to the indemnification that was agreed in 2002 by the various religious orders. The reason that is given for this is the fluctuation in market...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (5 Feb 2015)

Joe Costello: I refer to a financial statement made by the Comptroller and Auditor General when he is presenting an account or a report to us in relation to the indemnification that was promised by the religious institutions in terms of the redress legislation. The religious orders are referring to the fluctuation in the property market as an excuse for their apparent failure to provide to the Department...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (5 Feb 2015)

Joe Costello: So a legal contract is a legal contract and market fluctuation does not affect it.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (5 Feb 2015)

Joe Costello: I thank the Chair.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (5 Feb 2015)

Joe Costello: In regard to the DDDA report, if we get a written report at this point in time, can we make specific reference to the procedure for the disposal of properties that the DDDA is exercising at present?

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (5 Feb 2015)

Joe Costello: Did the Chairman not indicate that we would get a written report first?

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (5 Feb 2015)

Joe Costello: Would that be included as part of the specific request?

Public Accounts Committee: Vote 25 - Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government
Chapter 6 - Land Aggregation Scheme
Chapter 7 - Matters Arising from Audit of Vote 25 - Environment, Community and Local Government in Relation to Water Services (5 Feb 2015)

Joe Costello: I have a few quick questions. In regard to the sites, I did not see in the documentation the extent of the land bank of Dublin City Council. Does the Secretary General have any figures on that?