Results 3,261-3,280 of 16,212 for speaker:Peadar Tóibín

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Schemes (28 Mar 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: There was a real cut in social welfare rates last year, if we take inflation into account.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Schemes (28 Mar 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: Less than the rate of inflation.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Programmes (28 Mar 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: 94. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection what measures her Department is putting in place to help those affected by the ending of the eviction ban. [15132/23]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Programmes (28 Mar 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: In three days' time, there is about to be an avalanche of people who will be evicted in this State. In my county, there are 127 eviction notices and 31 properties for rent. There are zero emergency accommodation beds available through the local authority. Many people are lying in their beds in fear of what is about to happen to them. What mitigation policies has the Minister put in place...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Schemes (28 Mar 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: 90. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of individuals who availed of the winter fuel allowance payment in each of the past five years and to date in 2023. [15130/23]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Schemes (28 Mar 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: Irish energy poverty has reached record levels. Nearly one in three households is currently in fuel poverty. That is double what the figure was when the current Government was formed in 2020. It is a startling fact. Per capita, Ireland is now also considered one of the wealthiest countries in Europe, more affluent than every other country except Luxembourg. Does the Minister see anything...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Schemes (28 Mar 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: The Minister has provided startling information. At one level we have a big increase in population and a doubling of the number of families living in fuel poverty, yet the Government's response in real figures is such that in 2018 there were 380,000 households in receipt of fuel allowance and in 2022 the figure was 393,000. That is incredible. The number of people in receipt of fuel...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Schemes (28 Mar 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: I am startled at these figures. The Minister mentioned fluctuating numbers of people receiving fuel allowance. The price of fuel is fluctuating upwards only. There has been a massive expansion in the number of people in fuel poverty yet we have rigid figures for the number of people in receipt of fuel allowance. The Minister talks about expansion of the means test. That is because there...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Offices (28 Mar 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: 80. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will reopen a full-time social protection office in Castlepollard, County Meath. [15407/23]

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Offices (28 Mar 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: Castlepollard is a vibrant, strong rural town. It has a hinterland that stretches for miles. Like many other rural towns, it has been devastated in recent years by the closure of a number of key businesses and services within that town. It lost banks, it has lost shops, etc. The latest blow to Castlepollard has been the closure by Fine Gael of the full-time social welfare office in the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Offices (28 Mar 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: The Minister is saying on one level that she did not close it and on another level that it is only operational two days a week because there is not enough business to go through it.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Offices (28 Mar 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: The Minister is responsible for the delivery of that service in towns such as Castlepollard. The Minister goes on to say people can travel down the road to Mullingar. The Minister may not be aware that in many regional rural towns there are difficulties with public transport. There are definitely difficulties with private transport currently for many people on lower incomes given the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Offices (28 Mar 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: The Minister should not mention post offices because her party has closed hundreds of them over the past number of years.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Offices (28 Mar 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: In fairness, the Government's approach to rural Ireland is not about keeping key services functioning in those towns so that people will come into them and then spend and shop elsewhere, but is, as I stated previously, like a landlord of old, to throw money up in the air and let the peasants tip around the ground and see can they pick up those pennies. That is a culture of dependency. What...

Residential Tenancies (Deferment of Termination Dates of Certain Tenancies) Bill 2023: Second Stage [Private Members] (28 Mar 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: Last week, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party voted against a humane and common sense Aontú amendment, which sought protection for cohorts of vulnerable people in the context of eviction. The parties voted against a tenant or a member of his or her family who has a disability being protected from eviction. The parties voted against a tenant or a member of his or her family...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Official Travel (28 Mar 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: 108. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will report on her recent visit to London. [15131/23]

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Public Procurement Contracts (28 Mar 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: 158. To ask the Taoiseach if he will provide details of all procurement competitions, if any, in which companies (details supplied) won contracts from his Department since 2016. [14732/23]

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Official Travel (28 Mar 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: 159. To ask the Taoiseach the total costs of accommodation and travel expenses associated with his recent foreign trip, or foreign trips by Ministers for State at his Department, for St Patrick’s Day; and if a breakdown can be provided on travel costs, accommodation costs, country/state visited, number of departmental staff accompanying him, and the duration of the trip, in tabular...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Public Procurement Contracts (28 Mar 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: 161. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will provide details of all procurement competitions, if any, in which companies (details supplied) won contracts from his Department since 2016. [14721/23]

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Official Travel (28 Mar 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: 162. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the total costs of accommodation and travel expenses, associated with his recent foreign trip, or foreign trips by Ministers for State at his Department, for St Patrick’s Day; and if a breakdown can be provided on travel costs, accommodation costs, country/state visited, number of departmental staff accompanying him, and the...