Results 2,121-2,140 of 11,114 for speaker:Damien English

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Report of the Expert Group on Traveller Accommodation: Discussion (5 Dec 2019)

Damien English: I thank the Senator for her full support. We intend that there will be huge improvement. At this stage we have plenty of reports, research and evidence. All we must do is finish the report and implement it, which is what we will do. I am quite confident with the support of all of the parties that we will see change. Moneys should not be left unspent when there is a serious need in every...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Report of the Expert Group on Traveller Accommodation: Discussion (5 Dec 2019)

Damien English: Carlow spent a lot more. There is a system where we allocate what is not spent.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Report of the Expert Group on Traveller Accommodation: Discussion (5 Dec 2019)

Damien English: I do not have the figures for other years.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Report of the Expert Group on Traveller Accommodation: Discussion (5 Dec 2019)

Damien English: I have the figures for this year.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Report of the Expert Group on Traveller Accommodation: Discussion (5 Dec 2019)

Damien English: It is a positive. There is a mechanism to do that. Again, with the changes that have been made, that should not be an issue. We should be able to look for extra money at the end of the year.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Report of the Expert Group on Traveller Accommodation: Discussion (5 Dec 2019)

Damien English: We should not be trying to find places to put the money but look for extra places to do it. The money is not ring-fenced for the following year. Sometimes approval for a project could carry on over a couple of years. If we have committed to funding a project in Carlow then if it does not happen this year it will happen the following year. The commitment would remain but the money would be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Report of the Expert Group on Traveller Accommodation: Discussion (5 Dec 2019)

Damien English: In addition, large families need specific houses. We are doing that to spend the money. It is not an ideal solution because the money is meant to be for Traveller-specific accommodation. If the housing is appropriate and suits the needs of someone from a Traveller family on the list then we have asked local authorities to do that and for the moneys to be ring-fenced, and reported as that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Report of the Expert Group on Traveller Accommodation: Discussion (5 Dec 2019)

Damien English: We will strengthen that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Report of the Expert Group on Traveller Accommodation: Discussion (5 Dec 2019)

Damien English: There is a director of housing and a team and it is his or her job to appoint somebody. I understand that there are a few places to go such as the place finder service, the housing assistance payment unit, and all of the positions that we fund. Over the past couple of years, an extra 800 staff has been allocated to local authorities to deal with housing. Certainly, we will talk to the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Report of the Expert Group on Traveller Accommodation: Discussion (5 Dec 2019)

Damien English: Clearly, we must strengthen the relationship that exist in many areas. There is a myriad of reasons for that but I will not go into the history of it all. We must move things on and fix any problems.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Report of the Expert Group on Traveller Accommodation: Discussion (5 Dec 2019)

Damien English: To be clear, there is somebody in place and I will find out who that person is. It is not an issue of resources to have someone to answer a phone and make a decision. There are plenty of people in the local authorities who are paid to do this job. Naturally, we want to beef up the teams but an extra 800 staff have been allocated. If local authorities make a case to us for extra staff we...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Report of the Expert Group on Traveller Accommodation: Discussion (5 Dec 2019)

Damien English: That is what the Senator has said and I am saying that there should be somebody available. A shortage of staff should not be an issue.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Report of the Expert Group on Traveller Accommodation: Discussion (5 Dec 2019)

Damien English: It is up to the local authorities to make those decisions themselves. I am not going to spoon-feed everybody and tell them what they have to do.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Report of the Expert Group on Traveller Accommodation: Discussion (5 Dec 2019)

Damien English: We need to make sure that they know they have responsibilities, that there have to be actions and that they have to implement programmes and spending. As for who does it or what way it is done locally, it is not our job to dictate to local authorities. The local authorities will ask us for staff for certain teams, allocations and so on, and they need to manage that process. Through this,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Report of the Expert Group on Traveller Accommodation: Discussion (5 Dec 2019)

Damien English: If it helps the Senator, we are putting somebody in charge at our end who will implement it and stick with it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Report of the Expert Group on Traveller Accommodation: Discussion (5 Dec 2019)

Damien English: It is a local authority decision. I cannot tell them how to allocate their staff. That is not something we are able to do.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Report of the Expert Group on Traveller Accommodation: Discussion (5 Dec 2019)

Damien English: That is what we are trying to do. It is about how we can incentivise good behaviour. On those conversations, that is what we are trying to tease out and the Deputy has just put it clearly as to why I am saying to him that it is not completed yet. He understands that it will take a little bit more time. Those conversations will involve our own planning team and the regulator but also we...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Report of the Expert Group on Traveller Accommodation: Discussion (5 Dec 2019)

Damien English: In fairness, the target set under the Rebuilding Ireland was a combination of looking at people's waiting lists, looking at their own plans and pipeline projects and then agreeing targets that we felt were appropriate to the list of needs as well. It was not just about taking someone's aim and using it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Report of the Expert Group on Traveller Accommodation: Discussion (5 Dec 2019)

Damien English: It is a fine suggestion. That is the approach we take with setting the housing targets under Rebuilding Ireland.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Report of the Expert Group on Traveller Accommodation: Discussion (5 Dec 2019)

Damien English: The difficulty is that people like Deputy Ó Broin judge them on quarter 2 rather than quarter 4. I am only slagging the Deputy.