Results 10,781-10,800 of 11,997 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: No one is evicted from international protection accommodation. I want to make that clear. In a situation where people have status, they are entitled to the full range of supports we spoke about earlier that people in the international protection application process are not entitled to. When people get their status, they are entitled to the same set of rights and supports as every Irish...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy for his question. He is right that I know where Killarney is. I had a very enjoyable experience of visiting it with my family for a weekend in July. On the journey there, like pretty much everyone, we spent 30 minutes caught in the notorious traffic jam in Adare. As we were caught there, I noticed the work on the Adare bypass-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: -----which is a roads project approved and funded by the Government.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Deputy would probably agree that the project will probably be of benefit to many of his constituents when it has been completed. I make that point because the Government is building new road infrastructure and upgrading existing roads. No doubt the Deputy was at the opening of the Listowel bypass last month, another major piece of new infrastructure in the Deputy's constituency. The...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy for his long-standing invitation. With respect, it does sound like he is complaining about the allocation of money to cyclists. We do not need to be setting one off against the other. We did not invest in cycling infrastructure in this country for a long time. Plenty of the cyclists who are now benefitting from schemes, some of them urban and others rural, are cycling...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy for raising a very important matter. It is one that has public health dimensions to it, environmental dimensions and also development and housing dimensions. I will not pretend for a moment that I am in any way an expert on the intricacies of the wastewater infrastructure deficits and challenges the Deputy and her constituents face in Galway. If she does not mind, I will...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I absolutely hear the Deputy's valid concerns about the risks here, particularly in respect of those two pipes, the structural integrity of one and the risks there, as identified by the EPA. I am happy to bring those concerns forward. I think the investment Irish Water has undertaken nationally and the investment it will be able to undertake with additional capital funding will allow the...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy for bringing our attention to the incredibly tragic events that happened in Creeslough. I remember the way in which the country rallied around at the time. Even earlier this year, one of the local GAA clubs came down to my local GAA club in Castleknock and there was a wonderful day of support. It is entirely reasonable that families are asking questions about how the...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: On the matter of housing and meeting our international obligations, I am very clear that I do not agree with the comments Deputy Doherty put forward. As a Minister who has the job to provide accommodation for people and is providing accommodation through that payment, I am not clear what his solution is in respect of the thousands of people who rely on that payment right now if it is...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: What we are doing to tackle it is make core funding as attractive as possible for providers. Ultimately, providers have a right to make decisions, and we look to make core funding attractive to them. We have done that by growing the overall amount of core funding available to funders. This year, it will go to €331 million, a 15% increase. We have also recognised, however, that the...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank Deputy Barry. I am aware of this issue. There is nothing more frustrating than the ghost bus or service that goes past because it is full. In my own area, Dublin Bus took measures in the last two years to increase recruitment, which is a major challenge for public transport operators all over the country. Dublin Bus has been able to increase recruitment by 10%. I strongly support...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank Deputy Shanahan. I had the opportunity to meet with the chamber of commerce and its new chief executive when I was in Waterford. We discussed a range of issues in respect of the enhanced level of infrastructure in Waterford. We talked about the university. I was glad to see the veterinary school that we discussed has now been awarded. I absolutely understand that clarity on the...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: As the Deputy is aware, as part of our emergency response to both the needs of Ukrainians and international protection applicants, we have opened accommodation all over the country. Many times this accommodation is welcomed by the local communities. Sometimes, there are questions and tensions. That is why is I set up a community engagement team within my Department. The community...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: At a broad level, the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and I, like all Ministers across government, are acutely aware of the need of the State to support people with a disability who wish to engage in employment. 1 o’clock That will be a central pillar of the new national disability strategy. I am aware that the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, has carried...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy. I do not agree with his initial contention. The Government has prioritised the reform of the planning process through the new planning Bill, which I hope will be a planning Act in the coming weeks. It will address many of the overlapping complexities that exist in our planning law. To be very frank with the Deputy, I am not familiar with the specific case he has...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy for highlighting this important issue and drawing attention to the very real implications of the pressure placed by some of the funds on households, where bills often mount and where there is a genuine sense of struggle. The point the Deputy made on what the funds are and are not licensed to do is important. I am happy to feed that back to the line Minister responsible...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy. We had a useful discussion on the wider roads budget with Deputy Healy-Rae earlier. My understanding of what Deputy O'Connor is referring to is that it relates to the issue of TII dealing with its own budget. It has been given a budget and that has not been cut. TII has the same budget it had at the start of the year and it has to make decisions on supporting some of...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: -----some of the money that was unspent has gone back to support the smaller road programmes. Ultimately, TII has a budget that it has to manage, like all the rest of us across government.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy. I am aware of the changes that have taken place on the northern line and their impacts on commuters. My understanding is that these are on foot of a change that we all want to see as positive, that being to ensure an hourly Enterprise service between Belfast and Dublin. That is something we all agree on, but a measure like that should not be taken at the expense of...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Deputy made the political point that this has been happening for 27 years. This Government has been here for four years so I do not think he can say it is a legacy of this Government.