Results 2,841-2,860 of 5,872 for speaker:Thomas Gould

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: What about Meath County Council?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: The gross figure is 4,000.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: My next question is on dereliction and the derelict site levy. Kildare County Council levied €125,800 and collected just €3,300. There seems to be more than €313,000 outstanding on 23 sites, as per the register of 31 December 2021. I do not have any figures for Meath County Council, which did not make any returns. There were 13 sites for compulsory purchase. I would...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: Thank you. I am conscious of time. The first thing I look for every year is the derelict sites register and how much is collected by each local authority. That legislation was passed 32 years ago and it should be enforced. If it cannot be enforced by a local authority, then the Minister should be notified as to why not. I have legislation that I am hoping to bring in along those lines....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: Returning to a point made by Senator Cummins in relation to voids and the length of time they are vacant, it is good to hear that local authorities were in the 20s and that they are trying to get back there. We should have targets in this regard. Local authority properties should be vacant for only 20 weeks or 24 weeks. It should be a reasonable amount of time. Something I see in the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: On that point, I have seen in my own constituency some houses being left there for perhaps four or five years because it would take €50,000 to €70,000 to do them up. They may be very old units. The local authority, then, would leave those houses until last. Does this happen in County Kildare?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: In relation to getting the funding from the Department, should the local authorities have the ability to do the work and then claim the money back? We are looking at a length of time here of 48 weeks and 39 weeks. Is there a delay in the Department allocating the money to the witnesses' local authorities that slows them down or are they okay with the situation? I ask this question because...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: Is there a planned maintenance programme in County Kildare?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: This would include windows and doors, as well as energy efficiency.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: It is the same in County Meath.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: Returning to the subject of affordable housing, and I am sorry I missed earlier contributions because I was in the Chamber and in a meeting, what price are the two local authorities hoping to sell their two- and three-bedroom affordable units for?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: Are those the maximum levels?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: Has Mr. Lynch any idea of the prices of cost-rental units in Meath County Council?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: How much are those cost-rental units?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: I ask for a note on that. I would like to make a comparison across all the local authorities. How many people are added to the local authority housing lists each year?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: The reason I ask that is if local authorities expect 700 or 900 new applications to be added to the list each year, the targets they have been set mean that, in 2026, the housing crisis will be worse in both local authorities. Is that correct?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: I have an issue with the Government targets. I think they are too low. Every local authority official who appears before the committee states they are meeting the targets but the housing emergency is getting worse every day. How can they meet every target yet the housing crisis continues to get worse? The only explanation is that the targets are too low. If we are looking at the addition...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: That is a total of 5,000.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)

Thomas Gould: Okay.