Results 3,661-3,680 of 7,404 for speaker:Mick Wallace

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Master of the High Court (10 May 2016)

Mick Wallace: I ask Mr. Honohan respond to my last question on the Commercial Court. Many people who have gone through the process do not feel that they have been treated fairly. Does Mr. Honohan think the Commercial Court has acted independently at all times in making its decisions?

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Professor P. J. Drudy, Trinity College Dublin (10 May 2016)

Mick Wallace: I thank Professor Drudy for his contribution. He is a breath of fresh air. He should be made housing Minister. It would be interesting to see how that would work. We are all in agreement that the manner in which we supply housing is dysfunctional and has failed. There are a few huge elephants in the room, one of which is land-banking and which successive Governments have refused to tax....

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Professor P. J. Drudy, Trinity College Dublin (10 May 2016)

Mick Wallace: Professor Drudy has been invited.

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Finance (5 May 2016)

Mick Wallace: Most people would agree that all is not well in how we go about supplying housing in Ireland. It did not start with the current Government because it has been like this for a long time. I am very much aware that much of this does not actually come under the remit of the current Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan. I do not know whether there is any merit in having a separate...

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Finance (5 May 2016)

Mick Wallace: The Minister was talking about void houses. Again, that is very much a matter for the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. The Minister said it takes the private sector four to six weeks to turn around a void house, which is correct, and that the local authorities take two years to do it. I accept that the Minister has responsibility for finance and not local...

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Finance (5 May 2016)

Mick Wallace: The Minister can tell us about how wonderfully the economy has grown, but during the election campaign I knocked on 20,000 doors in Wexford and saw a level of deprivation that I never thought I would see in my lifetime. Sadly, the figures mentioned for the economy do not necessarily translate into a decent standard of living for many. The fiscal rules to which the Minister has referred can...

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (5 May 2016)

Mick Wallace: I will be brief. Mr. Brett spoke about the level of engagement by the banks with people. I am sure that like me other Deputies have been hearing from people from every county in Ireland that the banks are very difficult to work it and that they are inflexible and lacking in understanding and compassion. That the Irish banks would be ten thousand leagues under the sea but for the fact the...

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (5 May 2016)

Mick Wallace: On that issue, has the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland had discussions with representatives of the State on working with it to secure some form of guarantee that would allow banks to provide loans to builders who are prepared to build houses on sites to which they have access? Has there been engagement with the State on this issue?

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (5 May 2016)

Mick Wallace: It should be pointed out that not only did the builders become developers and, for want of a better word, "fuck up", so did the banks. The banks have been forgiven and allowed to move on.

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Irish League of Credit Unions (5 May 2016)

Mick Wallace: On the issue of PPPs, the credit union interest rate of 3.5% would be attractive by comparison with 15%, which is often the rate of the PPPs. This morning, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, stated that we cannot have credit unions engaging in risky lending. Whether he believes that the banks can and does not like the credit unions doing it, I wonder what the ILCU think of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Qualifications (5 May 2016)

Mick Wallace: 102. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason for the planned phasing out of regulation 3, which gives full recognition to Montessori teachers trained by the Association Montessori Internationale, by the St. Nicholas Montessori Society of Ireland and those trained outside the Republic of Ireland, to teach in special schools, special classes, and resource classes; if she has...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Home Repossession Rate (4 May 2016)

Mick Wallace: 105. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of vacant family homes which were repossessed in each of the years 2008 to 2016 to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8943/16]

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Home Repossession Rate (4 May 2016)

Mick Wallace: 106. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of non-vacant family homes which were repossessed following evictions in each of the years 2008 to 2016 to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8944/16]

EU Migration and Refugee Crisis: Statements (28 Apr 2016)

Mick Wallace: I had planned on saying something other than what I am about to say because I find it difficult not to run across the Chamber. It was upsetting listening to the Minister. He said that we needed to prevent conflicts from starting. How in God's name can he say that? He is allowing Shannon to be used as a US military airbase. We are giving permits for munitions and armed troops to pass...

EU Migration and Refugee Crisis: Statements (28 Apr 2016)

Mick Wallace: No, he can talk away. He obviously does not listen even when he is looking at me.

EU Migration and Refugee Crisis: Statements (28 Apr 2016)

Mick Wallace: As the Minister knows, we were in Calais and Dunkirk two weeks ago.

EU Migration and Refugee Crisis: Statements (28 Apr 2016)

Mick Wallace: The smugglers there are the only people who are doing well. And they are doing really well. They are making more money now than they were six months ago because it has become more difficult to get in. Most people will get into Britain anyway. They just have to pay. Families are paying £20,000 to get to Britain from Dunkirk and Calais. As to where in God's name they are getting the...

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (28 Apr 2016)

Mick Wallace: I have a number of questions for the Minister relating to his contribution as well as an overall comment. I am not convinced that there is an acceptance of how bad things are. The way we have been dealing with this issue in recent years will not fix the problem. We are not making progress. People do not like to hear the word mentioned in this House, but there has been a neoliberal...

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (28 Apr 2016)

Mick Wallace: What is the figure in Wexford?

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (28 Apr 2016)

Mick Wallace: Okay. The Minister mentioned the site levy of 7% and said he would like to introduce it in 2017. I am glad to hear that. Does the Minister agree that the vacant site levy introduced before Christmas is a joke? The yield from it is so little it will not speed up the development of sites. Is the Minister going to tell me otherwise? If an individual has borrowed the money to land bank, the...