Results 2,341-2,360 of 5,629 for speaker:Thomas Gould

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Jan 2023)

Thomas Gould: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Jan 2023)

Thomas Gould: I thank the Chair. I appreciate that. I thank the witnesses for joining us here and online. I will pose the same question to them as I have asked every local authority. When a person goes into recovery, is their time on the housing list suspended? I have asked other local authorities this question. If a person spends three, six or even 12 months trying to get on their recovery journey,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Jan 2023)

Thomas Gould: Great stuff. Unfortunately, I will have to agree with my colleague Senator Cummins, which does not happen too often,-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Jan 2023)

Thomas Gould: -----on the point he made about choice-based letting. We have seen the success of this system in Cork. I believe every local authority should be operating it because it gives choice back to the people when it comes to applying for homes available in local authority areas. Also then it would help local authorities to see where people are interested in living. That gives local authorities...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Jan 2023)

Thomas Gould: Does that include people who are on HAP and the RAS?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Jan 2023)

Thomas Gould: That is the total figure. I thank Mr. Brannigan.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Jan 2023)

Thomas Gould: In regard to voids, that is, council properties that are boarded up, what is the timescale for turning those around?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Jan 2023)

Thomas Gould: Depending on the age of the housing stock and how it was looked after when people were living in it, are there blockages? Are there things that the committee could bring forward or raise with the Department, which could help speed up the process? Are there issues with getting resources to turn these properties around, in particular those that would be more complicated or older?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Jan 2023)

Thomas Gould: Before Longford County Council responds, would the councils consider taking on additional staff to establish their own teams to tackle voids? I have spoken to other local authorities about having a designated team whose job would be to turn around voids. Waiting nine or 12 months to have a void made ready is a problem in the middle of a housing crisis when every day counts. I encourage...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Jan 2023)

Thomas Gould: I would say we do not get value for money because we have to calculate the loss of rental income that arises when a property is left idle for 69 weeks. That applies to every void, not just one property. That is a rolled loss. In addition, those vacant properties are magnets for antisocial behaviour and dumping and they bring down the environment of the whole estate. In regard to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Jan 2023)

Thomas Gould: I am disappointed with both responses. Given the amount collected from the levy, Mayo and Longford are not the only local authorities where that applies. I will be monitoring all the local authorities to see how many sites are on the derelict sites register and how much is collected from the levy. This is national legislation that was passed 32 years ago. In the middle of a housing crisis...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Jan 2023)

Thomas Gould: I thank Mr. Brannigan. Has Mayo County Council experienced much of an increase in homelessness? What are the figures and how challenging is it to find emergency accommodation for those people?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Jan 2023)

Thomas Gould: The Minister encouraged local authorities to buy HAP properties where a landlord sells a property with a tenant in place. How many of those has Mayo County Council bought or is it in the process of buying?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Jan 2023)

Thomas Gould: What about in Longford?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Jan 2023)

Thomas Gould: I thank the witnesses for their answers. If they have any issues with the CPO process or anything relating to housing, we are here to try to help and support local authorities put together plans that we can discuss with the Department and the Minister. Restoring vacant and derelict properties is the quickest way to get houses back onstream for families who desperately need them. If the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Jan 2023)

Thomas Gould: Homelessness in Longford has almost doubled in two years. In 2020, there were 78 homeless people and, in 2022, there were 151, which is a staggering increase. I will come to Mayo next but how much of a challenge is Longford County Council finding it to house homeless people and to find emergency accommodation for them?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Jan 2023)

Thomas Gould: How many properties were the subject of a compulsory purchase order last year and how many derelict sites do the witnesses expect to CPO this year?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Jan 2023)

Thomas Gould: What about in Mayo?

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Projects (19 Jan 2023)

Thomas Gould: 88. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his attention has been drawn to traffic concerns in Cork city due to a number of changes to road layout recently; and if he will engage with the local authorities to resolve these. [2356/23]

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rail Network (19 Jan 2023)

Thomas Gould: 92. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the status of the provision of refreshments on trains. [2357/23]