Results 3,701-3,720 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald
- Questions on Proposed Legislation (15 Dec 2016)
Frances Fitzgerald: I reassure the Deputy there is an investment programme of refurbishment of Garda stations. I met recently with the Office of Public Works to ensure that programme is accelerated. I will communicate with the Deputy directly on Clonmel Garda station.
- Questions on Proposed Legislation (15 Dec 2016)
Frances Fitzgerald: I will ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to communicate with the Deputies directly on any action he is intending to take. I am sure he is well aware of this issue.
- Questions on Proposed Legislation (15 Dec 2016)
Frances Fitzgerald: There will be no difficulty with Santa Claus's permit for travel this Christmas. No objections have been put in by anybody.
- Questions on Proposed Legislation (15 Dec 2016)
Frances Fitzgerald: That Bill is going to Cabinet on Tuesday and will be published shortly afterwards.
- Questions on Proposed Legislation (15 Dec 2016)
Frances Fitzgerald: The Bail Bill was published on 8 December. It is up to the Business Committee to decide when it can come through the House. I am sure it will be a priority.
- Leaders' Questions (15 Dec 2016)
Frances Fitzgerald: I agree with the Deputy about the importance of home care packages. Home care services are critical to support older people to stay in their homes and communities and maintain their independence. The Government has increased investment in this very important service. The suggestion that there has been a cut in home help hours, and some people have suggested that, or home care packages is...
- Leaders' Questions (15 Dec 2016)
Frances Fitzgerald: The Deputy might forward us the details of that individual case. I will cite one example of where there are improvements. As of yesterday, nobody in Cork hospital or Kerry hospital due for discharge was delayed because of a lack of home care funding. That is a fact.
- Leaders' Questions (15 Dec 2016)
Frances Fitzgerald: Those are two hospitals where there were no delayed discharges. As a result of the increased investment, extra home care packages are available to Cork University Hospital and other hospitals. In a situation where demand continues to grow, challenges remain in managing home care budgets. Of that there is no question. The additional money that has been invested gives greater flexibility to...
- Questions on Proposed Legislation (15 Dec 2016)
Frances Fitzgerald: I understand the Government Whip will make the order later.
- Questions on Proposed Legislation (15 Dec 2016)
Frances Fitzgerald: The Whip will outline the details of the arrangements for later today and tomorrow shortly.
- Questions on Proposed Legislation (15 Dec 2016)
Frances Fitzgerald: Thank you.
- Leaders' Questions (15 Dec 2016)
Frances Fitzgerald: I repeat that our primary goal is to protect tenants and ensure there is supply in the rental market. The Deputy appears to want the Government to run the private rental market entirely. He should acknowledge that this is a dramatic intervention. It has never been done previously. The goal is to protect tenants. There has never been this type of intervention to provide certainty for the...
- Leaders' Questions (15 Dec 2016)
Frances Fitzgerald: The Deputy's solution would create further problems for the very tenants of whom he speaks. The supply would dry up if we followed the suggestions he is putting forward. They simply will not work. He presents them as if they are some type of magical solution, but they are not.
- Leaders' Questions (15 Dec 2016)
Frances Fitzgerald: They will drive people out of the market. The very people who seek rented accommodation will not be able to get it-----
- Leaders' Questions (15 Dec 2016)
Frances Fitzgerald: -----because supply will be a huge problem. We are taking a targeted and careful initiative. The goal is to ensure there will be a stable investment environment to protect the existing stock. We must protect the existing stock of rental accommodation. There is no point taking actions that will not protect that existing stock because if it is not protected people will have to leave that...
- Leaders' Questions (15 Dec 2016)
Frances Fitzgerald: The only interest that the Minister and the Government have in respect of this issue is to ensure that we provide a stable and balanced rental market. We want to do that so that we can look after tenants so that they have certainty and to ensure that there is supply. That is what is needed. Stereotyping the response the Government is making to this issue does not get us anywhere. We all...
- Leaders' Questions (15 Dec 2016)
Frances Fitzgerald: If Deputy McDonald had read the strategy, she would know that the issue in question is dealt with in the context of areas that will be covered by the rent predictability measure.
- Leaders' Questions (15 Dec 2016)
Frances Fitzgerald: There is a clear pathway laid out has to how that will be dealt with. The Minister has said that the Housing Agency, having discussed matters with a local authority, will suggest an area for consideration and then the Residential Tenancies Board, which has all the data on rents, will assess whether the criteria apply to the area.
- Leaders' Questions (15 Dec 2016)
Frances Fitzgerald: That will be done in a speedy and effective way early. In the new year, they will get on with doing that work.
- Leaders' Questions (15 Dec 2016)
Frances Fitzgerald: Far from the description Deputy McDonald has given in respect of the strategy, as I have already said, it is detailed in terms of the security that will be brought and given to both tenants and landlords. It looks at the supply issues and deals with them because we have to increase the supply. It also deals with standards, which the Deputy has not mentioned, and ensuring that these and the...