Results 3,561-3,580 of 5,872 for speaker:Thomas Gould

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: National Oversight Audit Commission’s 2021 Annual Report: Discussion (17 May 2022)

Thomas Gould: I am looking for standards across all local authorities.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government Audit Service Report: Discussion (17 May 2022)

Thomas Gould: The work done by the LGAS is very important. Accountability in local authorities is very important. Depending on the local authority, it could be dealing with hundreds of millions of euro. I have a few questions arising from the report. One relates to a purchase of city trees by Cork City Council at a cost of €404,000 to improve the air quality in the city centre. No advice was...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government Audit Service Report: Discussion (17 May 2022)

Thomas Gould: I will just take the seven minutes in case Deputy Ó Broin comes in.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government Audit Service Report: Discussion (17 May 2022)

Thomas Gould: I was a councillor for 12 years. Should representatives of the Local Government Audit Service, LGAS, come in and sit down with the elected representatives to go through the reports for each local authority? Senator Boyhan made the point earlier about the time that passes before we get the report and the local authority audit committee gets a look at it and the time to go through it. There...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government Audit Service Report: Discussion (17 May 2022)

Thomas Gould: Local councillors then must feed back into their local authority's audit committee. There is no facility for them to engage with the LGAS if they feel something is of concern or if they have questions.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government Audit Service Report: Discussion (17 May 2022)

Thomas Gould: It is good to hear that route is available. I will move on to the derelict sites levy, which I raised earlier with representatives of the National Oversight and Audit Commission. The report outlines that derelict properties are subject to a levy at 7% of their market value. In 2019, that figure was 3%. In 2020, Cork City Council only collected €163,000 of the €3.2 million...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government Audit Service Report: Discussion (17 May 2022)

Thomas Gould: We are talking about oversight here. We are also talking about money that local authorities should be collecting. Of the derelict site levies that should have been collected, €12.5 million is outstanding. Are there sanctions available? Is there anything the LGAS can do to force local authorities to do what they should be doing? We know that 13 local authorities have not recorded...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government Audit Service Report: Discussion (17 May 2022)

Thomas Gould: The derelict sites levy came into being in 1990. It is 32 years old. Some local authorities have not added a single site to the derelict sites register. Is LGAS tracking local authorities that are putting in an attempt to address this? Local authorities and chief executives are refusing to do what they have been mandated to do and no one is able to bring them to account. This is a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government Audit Service Report: Discussion (17 May 2022)

Thomas Gould: Are the responses from the chief executives of the local authorities available to the public?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government Audit Service Report: Discussion (17 May 2022)

Thomas Gould: There is another issue in regard to housing maintenance. A number of issues arise in regard to Cork City Council's report highlighting serious issues with housing maintenance. Twelve recommendations were made but none was implemented, and there were no financial controls in place to identify the expenditure on each property. The council’s response was that national asset management...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government Audit Service Report: Discussion (17 May 2022)

Thomas Gould: What happens if they are not?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government Audit Service Report: Discussion (17 May 2022)

Thomas Gould: The LGAS would not map them every year.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government Audit Service Report: Discussion (17 May 2022)

Thomas Gould: In terms of the derelict sites levy, I take issue with something that is in the report. It is noted that few property owners pay their annual levy when billed, and the outstanding levies are not collected until the property is disposed of. As far as I know, it is not legally correct for levies to be imposed every year. I refer to derelict sites, not vacant sites. The reports says the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government Audit Service Report: Discussion (17 May 2022)

Thomas Gould: Gabhaim buíochas le Ms Larkin.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Schools Building Projects (12 May 2022)

Thomas Gould: 67. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide an update on the new school building for a school (details supplied). [23672/22]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Schools Building Projects (12 May 2022)

Thomas Gould: I seek an update on the new school building for Gaelscoil Pheig Sayers in Cork.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Schools Building Projects (12 May 2022)

Thomas Gould: I have been on the board of management of Gaelscoil Pheig Sayers for 11 years. Gaelscoil Pheig Sayers was originally founded in 1986 when a group of people who wanted to develop the Irish language on the northside of the city came together. For 36 years the school has had no permanent home. It has been brilliant to see how people have been encouraged to speak the language and the interest...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Schools Building Projects (12 May 2022)

Thomas Gould: This will be very welcome news for the almost 300 students, their parents and the staff. My youngest and eldest daughters went to the school. My eldest daughter is in sixth class and so she will not see the delivery of the new school. However, for the other children who are in Gaelscoil Pheig Sayers it will be wonderful to have a purpose-built modern school with special needs units. The...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (12 May 2022)

Thomas Gould: 18. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if the current pay scales in the Defence Forces are having an impact on the attractiveness for potential applicants. [23670/22]

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (12 May 2022)

Thomas Gould: 21. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if he will provide an update on the improvement of pay and conditions for the Defence Forces. [23669/22]