Results 2,701-2,720 of 6,937 for speaker:Cian O'Callaghan

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (21 Nov 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: 289. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will provide details of the public sector benchmarking exercise used in the first bundle of the social housing public private partnerships; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50626/23]

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Legislative Reviews (21 Nov 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: 363. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide an update on the review of Part 4 of the Sexual Offences Act 2017; if a new lead researcher has been appointed; if she will provide a timeline for its completion; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50677/23]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consideration of the Citizens' Assembly Report on a Directly Elected Mayor of Dublin: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Nov 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: The witnesses both make very compelling cases. Would anyone else like to come in on that? I do not think any of us necessarily have the confidence that we are going to get a general scheme in the next few months, which would be delivered in time for June. Would a plebiscite in June be preferable or should we wait for a more detailed one a year later?

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: I move amendment No. 83: In page 60, to delete lines 32 to 34 and substitute the following: “(i) the majority of the elected council approves a proposal by resolution,”. I will speak about amendment No. 83, and then amendment No. 84. This amendment is about how to initiate a plebiscite on having a directly elected mayor. There a few different ways in the Bill that a...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: On amendment No. 84, I put forward detailed reasons as to why I proposed it. With respect, the Minister of State did not address those: he addressed the issues around the integrity of the electoral register, which I did not even go into. I was talking about the difficulties and practicalities of achieving 20% of the electorate signing up. That is an impossible threshold to meet. Will the...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: I have no intention of putting any of the amendments I have to a vote because I hope the Minister of State will take on board what I said and address the points.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: I apologise through the Chair. I was asking about amendment No. 84. I heard the Minister of State and Deputy McAuliffe on amendment No. 83. I am asking about amendment No. 84.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: I am happy not to press amendment No. 84 to a full vote on that basis. The point is well made by Deputy McAuliffe. With the best will in the world, a huge number of issues get attention during negotiations for a programme for Government. The 20% level would not have been under major scrutiny.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: The principle of a plebiscite is probably what received attention. If you do not delve into the detail of that, then 20% looks fine. It is just when you talk it through, which we have the time to do now, it becomes impossible. None of us want measures that are nice on paper but impossible to achieve so I ask the Minister of State to look at that in detail.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: I move amendment No. 84: In page 61, line 2, to delete “20 per cent” and substitute “10 per cent”.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: I move amendment No. 90: In page 65, line 20, to delete “two-thirds” and substitute “half”. These amendments are about the removal of the mayor from office. Given that there could be a situation where a mayor is elected by the general public and that may well not coincide with who has a majority on a council or anything like that, I can understand a rationale...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I accept the rationale in respect of amendment No. 90. As I said earlier, the balance in this is important. We do not want a situation, in an over-politicised sense, where a slim majority in a council could remove someone with a direct mandate from the people. That could happen in any sense. Looking at some other jurisdictions outside of...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: The process is a good one and is thought out. There are checks and balances to stop a group or majority of councillors in a council playing politics with this if they come from a different party from the mayor. My concern is a bad actor mayor and a cohort of councillors that reaches 26% could block any legitimate reasons for this process to be gone through. I will withdraw amendment No....

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: I move amendment No. 91: In page 67, line 1, to delete “three-quarters” and substitute “two-thirds”.

Imposing Sanctions on Israel: Motion [Private Members] (15 Nov 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: I strongly condemn the rise in anti-Semitism and Islamophobia around the world in the last weeks. The life of a child in Gaza has exactly the same value as the life of a child in Israel or Ireland. If a child loses their parents, that grief is the same whether that child is Irish, Palestinian or Israeli. It knows no borders and no boundaries. During the Nakba, or disaster, in 1948,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (15 Nov 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: 95. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the budget allocation for refurbishing social housing voids for each year since 2020, broken down by local authority, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50088/23]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services Staff (15 Nov 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: 146. To ask the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 1229 of 7 November 2023, if there is an estimated timeframe for when pay parity will be delivered for medical scientists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50129/23]

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Bodies (15 Nov 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: 158. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will provide the terms of reference for the high-level stakeholder group for dog control; the membership of this group; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50130/23]

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (15 Nov 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: I want to speak broadly in support of this amendment. This is a very important part of the Bill in which the powers are not sufficiently strong. I take on board the comments from Deputy McAuliffe but I do not read in this anything that would prevent further or additional powers. In many ways, if the Government is not going to support a proposer's amendment on the basis that the proposal is...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (15 Nov 2023)

Cian O'Callaghan: While in one sense, amendment No. 13 covers a relatively small issue, namely, the appointment of four staff members, it is also critical to the Bill. If the amendment is not agreed to, or if the Minister of State does not address it on Report Stage, we will pass a Bill that will explicitly make the mayor subordinate to the director general in the key function of assembling the staff that...