Results 1,681-1,700 of 1,995 for speaker:Joe Flaherty

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (20 Mar 2024)

Joe Flaherty: I thank Dr. Byrne. The Farming for Water EIP has been established by two Departments. Will Mr. Towey clarify who owns this? Is it going to be a situation where it falls between two stools? Who is in the driving seat for this EIP?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (20 Mar 2024)

Joe Flaherty: The witnesses are not to take this as personal criticism, but I worry that we would go to the effort of doing the research to identify 700,000 ha and then hand over the ownership and not do anything with it other than give it to the co-operatives and expect that something is going to happen. It is alarming for that body of work, which was obviously a significant expense. As a Government, we...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Mar 2024)

Joe Flaherty: I will first hear what the Minister of State has to say in order that we might speed up the process.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Mar 2024)

Joe Flaherty: I am happy with that. I will not pursue the matter.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Employment (Restriction of Certain Mandatory Retirement Ages) Bill 2024: Discussion (10 Apr 2024)

Joe Flaherty: On the regulatory impact, particularly on social welfare, the best way to frame this is to give an example. I have a couple and the husband has battled with his mental health all his life. He has turned 66 years of age. His wife and partner is a younger woman and still has four years in employment to go and wants to continue in employment. Because he will not have any contributions and is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Employment (Restriction of Certain Mandatory Retirement Ages) Bill 2024: Discussion (10 Apr 2024)

Joe Flaherty: I would agree with that because there is a cohort of people who are probably earning marginally too much and it is then a deterrent. That lady will have to stop work in order for her husband to get the non-contributory pension. On the one hand we are trying to encourage people to continue working on, if that is what they want to do, and yet, at the same time, we are militating against...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Employment (Restriction of Certain Mandatory Retirement Ages) Bill 2024: Discussion (10 Apr 2024)

Joe Flaherty: I thank the Cathaoirleach very much and I thank the contributors.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Provision (11 Apr 2024)

Joe Flaherty: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, and wish him well in his role. I acknowledge the courtesy, time and effort given to us by the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, while he was in the role. Deputy Dillon has big shoes to fill. Is the Minister confident that all the key housing indicators are continuing on a positive trajectory? Will he refer specifically to the continuing...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Provision (11 Apr 2024)

Joe Flaherty: It is evident that Housing for All is working. I acknowledge the work of the Minister, Ministers of State and officials in the Department, as well as the hard-working teams in local authorities right across the country. It would be remiss of me not to mention the team in County Longford. In the first six months of this year, the council will successfully tenant 82 new properties and, in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Provision (11 Apr 2024)

Joe Flaherty: It is a truly extraordinary achievement, considering where we have come from, that we are on the cusp of breaching delivery of 34,000 houses this year. If we were to believe some in the Opposition, there is no building going on anywhere in the country. Yet, driving into Dublin, one sees cranes everywhere. In every provincial town in Ireland, there is large-scale house-building under way. ...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Vacant Properties (11 Apr 2024)

Joe Flaherty: It is very evident that Housing for All is not a one-trick pony; it is multidimensional and will result in the building of new houses. Through Croí Cónaithe and the repair-and-lease schemes, we will bring derelict properties back into stock. Could the Minister of State comment on the initiatives under way to bring vacant properties back into stock?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Vacant Properties (11 Apr 2024)

Joe Flaherty: I thank the Minister of State. If I am not mistaken, that was his first reply to a parliamentary question. I hope there will be some windfall for Longford as a result. I will send through the representations straight away afterwards. It goes without saying that Croí Cónaithe is one of the genuine successes of the programme for Government. We are seeing its benefits right...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Vacant Properties (11 Apr 2024)

Joe Flaherty: The figures for Longford are very impressive. We have had 124 applications under the Croí Cónaithe scheme. In addition to that scheme, I would like to see a greater emphasis on the repair-and-lease scheme in rural areas. There is still significant low-hanging fruit if we can revisit that scheme and tweak it, specifically for provincial towns. We are seeing some improvements in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Reports (11 Apr 2024)

Joe Flaherty: To clarify for Deputy Ó Broin on Croí Cónaithe, if he is familiar with the workings of his scheme and how it assists in his constituency-----

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Reports (11 Apr 2024)

Joe Flaherty: -----the average time is 13 months for the scheme. It would be extraordinary to have any more than four grants issued at this stage because, as the Minister rightly pointed out, there are checks and balances.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Reports (11 Apr 2024)

Joe Flaherty: I know Deputy Ó Broin is a master of the U-turn and will be doing a U-turn on this scheme.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Policy (11 Apr 2024)

Joe Flaherty: We need to focus minds and attention on the issue of one-off housing in rural Ireland. Before the lights go out on the current Government, I would like to see some commitment and clarity on our plans and proposals for one-off rural housing. Will the Minister make a statement on this?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Policy (11 Apr 2024)

Joe Flaherty: I welcome the update on the draft guidelines for rural one-off housing. The landscape has changed significantly for rural housing because we have had fundamental issues with regard to construction costs, material costs and the cost of building in rural Ireland. It might be much more prohibitive to build a house in rural Ireland, particularly a one-off house, than what is in the guidelines....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Policy (11 Apr 2024)

Joe Flaherty: I thank the Minister of State. I look forward to the new guidelines. I appreciate there is no ban or cap as such on building in rural Ireland but there is a complicity of issues. Notwithstanding planning regulations, the issue of the cost of building a house in rural Ireland is something we do need to look at and address. Croí Cónaithe exempts people from some of the challenges...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Data (9 Apr 2024)

Joe Flaherty: 502. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of Church of Ireland patronage national schools, by county. [14725/24]