Results 301-320 of 855 for speaker:Albert Dolan

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Enterprise Support Services (19 Jun 2025)

Albert Dolan: The western regional enterprise plan must have significant consideration of AI and a dedication to it. Ireland has benefited massively in the past 30 to 40 years from having incredible educational opportunities, ultimately leading many people into high-paying, knowledge worker roles. The problem is that, with the speed at which AI is changing, it is a threat to many of the knowledge worker...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Enterprise Support Services (19 Jun 2025)

Albert Dolan: I appreciate the Minister of State's commitment to digitalisation, but I want to hammer the point home. An AI hub for the west is something we need in order to be as competitive as the rest of the country, and world, into the future. The final point I want to raise relates to agritech and the agrifood sector. There is a role to be played between agritourism, the food sector and what we...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Industrial Development (19 Jun 2025)

Albert Dolan: 8. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of jobs in Galway currently supported by Enterprise Ireland and by the IDA; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33001/25]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Industrial Development (19 Jun 2025)

Albert Dolan: In Galway, we have a fantastic economy that has grown over the past few years and has only gone from strength to strength. There is a significant amount of people employed across our IDA and Enterprise Ireland clients. I ask the Minister to provide details of the number of jobs in Galway in either IDA- or Enterprise Ireland-related companies.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Industrial Development (19 Jun 2025)

Albert Dolan: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. That tells the story. I was expecting to hear numbers like that. A 7% increase in Enterprise Ireland employment numbers across Galway in 2023 to 2024 alone is phenomenal growth and the type of growth we want to see, not just for Galway, but for all of the west. There are two important aspects I wish to highlight. The first is the planning...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Industrial Development (19 Jun 2025)

Albert Dolan: I appreciate the commitment by the Government to tackle the planning issues, but we did not have that problem in Athenry, fortunately. It was an eight-week planning process and permission was granted with the necessary conditions to ensure nobody was impacted negatively. It was a positive news story and something we as a Government should promote more to the wider world to show that...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Work Permits (19 Jun 2025)

Albert Dolan: This question is important in the context of our economy. Across our economy in health, ICT and engineering, there are skills shortages that need to be filled. Will the Minister of State provide an update on his plan to expand the list of occupations?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Work Permits (19 Jun 2025)

Albert Dolan: Are there plans to expand the lists? The programme for Government does not just mention visas; it also refers to merging the visa and employment permit systems into one user-friendly, single-application procedure supported by a new ICT system. I understand that a new permit system has been rolled out, and Deputy Mattie McGrath also raised this issue. Concerns have been raised with me by...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Work Permits (19 Jun 2025)

Albert Dolan: It is welcome to hear that a review will take place and that such reviews happen periodically. Is there a date for when submissions will open? Are they made on a rolling basis? If I go back to my constituents in Galway East and across the network, it would be great to be able to give people an update. I would appreciate an update on the permit system. As with any new system, there have...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (19 Jun 2025)

Albert Dolan: I acknowledge the correspondence from the Grangegorman representatives. I thank them for that. I raised the travel expenses a few weeks ago, and I appreciate their correspondence, which has clearly explained it all. That the Peter McVerry Trust thinks it does not have an obligation to come before us is wholly disheartening. In 2020, its total income was €56.45 million, of which...

Public Accounts Committee: 2023 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2023
Chapter 2 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Chapter 11 - Exceptional State Funding of the Peter McVerry Trust
Chapter 12 - Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund
Local Government Fund - Account 2023 (19 Jun 2025)

Albert Dolan: I thank everyone from the Department for housing and all the representatives for being with us here today. I have a few questions I will run through. I will appreciate their support in answering and getting through them quickly because the time goes quickly. First, and it is something that was raised earlier, Galway County Council is incredibly underfunded, similar to what Deputy Neville...

Public Accounts Committee: 2023 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2023
Chapter 2 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Chapter 11 - Exceptional State Funding of the Peter McVerry Trust
Chapter 12 - Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund
Local Government Fund - Account 2023 (19 Jun 2025)

Albert Dolan: I appreciate that. While I know there was an increase in baseline funding for local authorities across the board in recent years, which was welcomed, as the Secretary General might know, it just did not go the full distance. A lot of local authorities are carrying out workforce plans. I see this across other State agencies as well. Does he think the carrying out of workforce plans and...

Public Accounts Committee: 2023 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2023
Chapter 2 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Chapter 11 - Exceptional State Funding of the Peter McVerry Trust
Chapter 12 - Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund
Local Government Fund - Account 2023 (19 Jun 2025)

Albert Dolan: I appreciate that. The next thing I want to move on to is something I have been pursuing over the last few months across all Departments around public procurement. Essentially, I have been trying to establish whether every single Ministry can tell me right now how many contracts they have and are they on, under or over budget. Unfortunately, the Department of housing was not able to answer...

Public Accounts Committee: 2023 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2023
Chapter 2 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Chapter 11 - Exceptional State Funding of the Peter McVerry Trust
Chapter 12 - Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund
Local Government Fund - Account 2023 (19 Jun 2025)

Albert Dolan: No, and it is important for me to add context as well. The response did go on to tell me to contact the individual agencies under the aegis of the Department but, as Mr. Doyle can imagine, I might not have the resources in my office to do that whereas the Custom House might. However, I was able to get this information from other Departments. This can be done and it is probably a fruitful...

Public Accounts Committee: 2023 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2023
Chapter 2 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Chapter 11 - Exceptional State Funding of the Peter McVerry Trust
Chapter 12 - Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund
Local Government Fund - Account 2023 (19 Jun 2025)

Albert Dolan: Is it not tracked centrally?

Public Accounts Committee: 2023 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2023
Chapter 2 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Chapter 11 - Exceptional State Funding of the Peter McVerry Trust
Chapter 12 - Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund
Local Government Fund - Account 2023 (19 Jun 2025)

Albert Dolan: I thank Mr. Doyle. What is the average per unit cost of delivering social housing in 2023 compared to 2020 and what does Mr. Doyle feels are the primary cost drivers behind the increases? I understand there is obviously inflation in materials and labour, etc. but what is really driving this? Are regulations getting in the way of housing delivery?

Public Accounts Committee: 2023 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2023
Chapter 2 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Chapter 11 - Exceptional State Funding of the Peter McVerry Trust
Chapter 12 - Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund
Local Government Fund - Account 2023 (19 Jun 2025)

Albert Dolan: Okay, thanks. Does Mr. Benson have figures?

Public Accounts Committee: 2023 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2023
Chapter 2 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Chapter 11 - Exceptional State Funding of the Peter McVerry Trust
Chapter 12 - Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund
Local Government Fund - Account 2023 (19 Jun 2025)

Albert Dolan: Galway would be different from Dublin.

Public Accounts Committee: 2023 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2023
Chapter 2 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Chapter 11 - Exceptional State Funding of the Peter McVerry Trust
Chapter 12 - Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund
Local Government Fund - Account 2023 (19 Jun 2025)

Albert Dolan: Is there a particular appetite among AHBs to take apartments?

Public Accounts Committee: 2023 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2023
Chapter 2 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Chapter 11 - Exceptional State Funding of the Peter McVerry Trust
Chapter 12 - Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund
Local Government Fund - Account 2023 (19 Jun 2025)

Albert Dolan: Thank you. I have one last question on modular units. There is a huge opportunity for the country to deliver rapid-build modular units at scale. We have the companies, the capacity and the ability to build homes in factories and land them on-site with services on public land. Why did modular-unit costings jump from €200,000 to €442,000? The witnesses can correct me if my...