Results 11,821-11,840 of 32,978 for speaker:Catherine Connolly

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 10 - Funding and Oversight of Approved Housing Bodies
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government
2017 Financial Statements - Housing Agency (25 Oct 2018)

Catherine Connolly: Why has it taken so long for the sector to be regulated? From where has the impetus for regulation come? Has it come from the Comptroller and Auditor General's report?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 10 - Funding and Oversight of Approved Housing Bodies
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government
2017 Financial Statements - Housing Agency (25 Oct 2018)

Catherine Connolly: From the Department's analysis of the lack of-----

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 10 - Funding and Oversight of Approved Housing Bodies
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government
2017 Financial Statements - Housing Agency (25 Oct 2018)

Catherine Connolly: I have asked that. Why has it taken until now given that these bodies are major operators in social housing? Why has it taken so long to bring in legislation? Where does the fault or difficulty lie?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 10 - Funding and Oversight of Approved Housing Bodies
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government
2017 Financial Statements - Housing Agency (25 Oct 2018)

Catherine Connolly: I have to say-----

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 10 - Funding and Oversight of Approved Housing Bodies
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government
2017 Financial Statements - Housing Agency (25 Oct 2018)

Catherine Connolly: I find it unacceptable that this sector is unregulated. We have a report that sets out the Local Government Audit Service and the deficiencies found generally. It seem that the Department is being pushed into doing something. Mr. McCarthy has given me a different explanation and I hear that.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 10 - Funding and Oversight of Approved Housing Bodies
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government
2017 Financial Statements - Housing Agency (25 Oct 2018)

Catherine Connolly: I think I heard Mr. McCarthy say it will provide one third of social housing if it is not doing that-----

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 10 - Funding and Oversight of Approved Housing Bodies
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government
2017 Financial Statements - Housing Agency (25 Oct 2018)

Catherine Connolly: So it is unregulated. There is a serious report from the Comptroller and Auditor General in which he refers to where mortgages related to three schemes were not fully executed and recommended conducting a review and a reconciliation of all mortgages charged on approved housing bodies. He then goes on to point out that the Local Government Audit Service made a number of recommendations. I...

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 10 - Funding and Oversight of Approved Housing Bodies
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government
2017 Financial Statements - Housing Agency (25 Oct 2018)

Catherine Connolly: Serious issues have been identified here and Mr. McCarthy is telling me that the answer is that the Department will have a report at the end of the year or in January.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 10 - Funding and Oversight of Approved Housing Bodies
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government
2017 Financial Statements - Housing Agency (25 Oct 2018)

Catherine Connolly: This is in relation to the 12 bullet points identified by the audit service.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 10 - Funding and Oversight of Approved Housing Bodies
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government
2017 Financial Statements - Housing Agency (25 Oct 2018)

Catherine Connolly: The Department also indicated that a follow-up examination of the implementation of the recommendations would happen, with a final report due by the end of 2018 or in early 2019. Is that on target?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 10 - Funding and Oversight of Approved Housing Bodies
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government
2017 Financial Statements - Housing Agency (25 Oct 2018)

Catherine Connolly: Great.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 10 - Funding and Oversight of Approved Housing Bodies
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government
2017 Financial Statements - Housing Agency (25 Oct 2018)

Catherine Connolly: The bullet points also include recommendations that local authorities should carry out periodic inspections of funded properties and so on. They cannot even inspect the properties they give out under the housing assistance payment, HAP, scheme and the rental accommodation scheme. There is a minimal inspection rate, and now there is a recommendation - rightly so - to inspect these voluntary...

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 10 - Funding and Oversight of Approved Housing Bodies
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government
2017 Financial Statements - Housing Agency (25 Oct 2018)

Catherine Connolly: The Department has provided funding in relation to the very low inspection rate at the moment.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 10 - Funding and Oversight of Approved Housing Bodies
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government
2017 Financial Statements - Housing Agency (25 Oct 2018)

Catherine Connolly: It is very low.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 10 - Funding and Oversight of Approved Housing Bodies
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government
2017 Financial Statements - Housing Agency (25 Oct 2018)

Catherine Connolly: I have a specific question for Mr. McCarthy. My colleague, Deputy Catherine Murphy, asked it but was not answered. It refers to page 123, in paragraph No. 10.25. the Deputy asked about an annual management and maintenance fee. Mr. McCarthy went back to talk about the payments of the loans. This is, however, in addition to the loans. The local authority pays the approved housing body an...

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 10 - Funding and Oversight of Approved Housing Bodies
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government
2017 Financial Statements - Housing Agency (25 Oct 2018)

Catherine Connolly: No. Mr. McCarthy did not give any figure. He gave a figure for the loans.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 10 - Funding and Oversight of Approved Housing Bodies
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government
2017 Financial Statements - Housing Agency (25 Oct 2018)

Catherine Connolly: €5 million. What does management and maintenance mean?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 10 - Funding and Oversight of Approved Housing Bodies
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government
2017 Financial Statements - Housing Agency (25 Oct 2018)

Catherine Connolly: Is that paid over by the Department or by the local authority?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 10 - Funding and Oversight of Approved Housing Bodies
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government
2017 Financial Statements - Housing Agency (25 Oct 2018)

Catherine Connolly: Does every single approved housing body get that?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 10 - Funding and Oversight of Approved Housing Bodies
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government
2017 Financial Statements - Housing Agency (25 Oct 2018)

Catherine Connolly: My time is going to be limited and I want to come back to that before I finish. There are so many schemes here and the Comptroller and Auditor General refers to the complexity. Because of this complexity it leaves less oversight. This is of serious concern. Does the Department have data on how the total number of social houses and the nature of the tenures that are held by the voluntary...