Results 2,401-2,420 of 4,672 for speaker:Dessie Ellis

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Dessie Ellis: Amendment No. 52 is included in this group. Deputy Cowen has tabled an amendment regarding people on RAS.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Dessie Ellis: I will discuss it then.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Dessie Ellis: I have always been opposed to the idea of a mandatory deduction of rent at source to deal with arrears. However, if it was a very serious case where an eviction was taking place and appropriate warnings and arbitration had been provided for and exhausted, taking a percentage from a social welfare payment would be an option. It should be a last resort given that people are struggling and...

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Dessie Ellis: I wish to clarify one point. I assume that people in receipt of the HAP are on the housing list. We have encountered problems where people lost their homes and ended up in receipt of rent supplement but were not included in the housing list. Is it intended to rectify this? There is a similar problem where people have become homeless and ended up sleeping rough. However, they have not...

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Dessie Ellis: I sought clarity on persons who were homeless but not on a homeless priority list. This has been a huge problem. The people concerned move from place to place but are not considered for inclusion in the homeless priority list. Perhaps the Minister of State has not encountered this issue, but it is happening in Dublin.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Dessie Ellis: It does not. They are in no man's land. The issue must be addressed.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Dessie Ellis: It is not happening. It is clear that Dublin City Council operates a system that does not include them.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Dessie Ellis: I understand that.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Dessie Ellis: I have a problem with the mandatory reduction of rent at source to deal with arrears. That should not be imposed on people. It could be considered where there was prolonged non-payment of rent, appropriate warnings given and arbitration methods exhausted but I have always been opposed to going after people's social welfare payments or through their pay packets, so to speak, which seems to...

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Dessie Ellis: I wish to clarify how the portion of the rent that is paid by the tenant to the local authority under the HAP scheme is determined. Is it done in exactly the same way the local authorities deal with income in allocating a council house?

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Dessie Ellis: I must come back to section 37(2)(a), which provides that a household shall source the dwelling in respect of which it seeks housing assistance. This is a major problem for families unless there is some help from the public authorities, which the Minister of State says must work within existing resources. The reality is that we have had homeless people lugging children around trying to find...

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Dessie Ellis: I agree in general with local authorities taking over the responsibility for rent supplement in the form of the HAP. However, once again we are moving to a system where the tenant or person receiving the assistance must source the accommodation and the local authority will have no role in sourcing places. Will Minister of State clarify this? It seems to me that this is no different from...

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Dessie Ellis: I support amendment No. 22. The housing assistance payment is not a form of social housing and does not sufficiently address the housing need. It is a subsidisation of the private market. In terms of the rental accommodation scheme, RAS, and all the issues that arise in terms of trying to get that, we have seen that even though they are advertised constantly on the website people do not...

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Dessie Ellis: I know the PRTB will have a role in respect of this matter but will the Office of the Ombudsman also have a role?

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Dessie Ellis: There is no section relating to the matter.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Dessie Ellis: I am concerned about considering the income rather than the tenancy when estimating what discount will be given. It was always the tenancy that was considered, and it was then up to the individuals to get the money, be it through the banks or the local authority. If we are to base it on income, what about a situation such as occurred in the past where family members have been able to help...

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Dessie Ellis: The tenant should be covered by the PRTB and there should be some type of division in the Ombudsman's office to deal with disputes and grievances. Will the PRTB have a role here?

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Dessie Ellis: The tenant purchase scheme now going out of date was certainly an attractive one. I am unsure of the intention. The Minister of State could put in place a scheme similar to the one in place and renew it on that basis. Under that scheme, if a person was a tenant for ten years, he or she received extra discounts, etc. I am somewhat concerned that the scheme will not be as attractive, as...

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Dessie Ellis: The Minister of State mentioned the 2009 Act and described what is allowed. There is too much flexibility. Deputy Catherine Murphy has been saying that this should be ring-fenced. The amendment gives a considerable amount of scope for where the money should go. It should be narrowed down, even if this involves changing the Act so that the money is ring-fenced. There is too much scope for...

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Dessie Ellis: We have all come across cases of anti-social behaviour involving minors. Going down the road of excluding them is not possible because they are below age. There is merit in what Deputy Catherine Murphy has said about her amendment. She suggested that a multi-agency approach could be utilised. I think it would be worthwhile to look at the amendment.