Results 3,921-3,940 of 5,208 for speaker:Victor Boyhan

Seanad: Mental Health Services: Motion (29 May 2019)

Victor Boyhan: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank him for coming. I know he has special responsibility for this. I wish to thank in particular my colleagues, Senators Mullen and Freeman, for drafting and working on this comprehensive motion. It is worthy of support and I was delighted to co-sign it. Three words that jumped off the page when I read the motion were: dignity, respect...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Act 2000 (Exempted Development) (No. 2) Regulations 2019: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (29 May 2019)

Victor Boyhan: I thank the Minister for attending and covering the issues in detail. The draft questions and answers document is excellent, which highlights the issue of communication. People have a great deal of information to take in and we will have to bear with them, as the Minister pointed out. It is an extensive question and answer section. The local authorities and the Department will need to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Act 2000 (Exempted Development) (No. 2) Regulations 2019: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (29 May 2019)

Victor Boyhan: What resources will be available for local authorities?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (29 May 2019)

Victor Boyhan: I thank the Minister, the Secretary General and his staff for this important and ongoing engagement, as it helps us in our work and in understanding what the Department is about. I will keep my questions brief and first address action 1.1 in Rebuilding Ireland, which deals with homelessness. It reads: "We will accelerate and expand the Rapid-Build Housing Programme to provide, in the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (29 May 2019)

Victor Boyhan: I asked the Minister about his commitment that the target of 25,000 new homes would be delivered on. How is he getting on with that commitment?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (29 May 2019)

Victor Boyhan: I will make three key points. Action No. 3.19 of Rebuilding Ireland relates to the publishing of the strategic development management plans prepared by each local authority for its housing land. The Minister might confirm whether all these plans have been completed, returned and published. There may be reasons they have not been. He may not have the information now. If he does not, not...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (29 May 2019)

Victor Boyhan: The strategic development management plans were to be prepared and submitted by each local authority and then published. We need to ascertain which of the 31 plans have been submitted and when those that have not been delivered will be submitted. I would like to see a list of the plans that have been received. Is it intended to publish this information?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (29 May 2019)

Victor Boyhan: That is not what the Minister said he envisaged.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (29 May 2019)

Victor Boyhan: I appreciate that. I ask the Minister to send the committee a memo or note on the matter.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (29 May 2019)

Victor Boyhan: I thank Deputy Boyd Barrett for raising the TC3 issue. Last night, I was informed by a number of Dún Laoghaire councillors that the chief executive had taken the decision to do a land swap. I do not want to get into too much detail and I am conscious of what I am saying, but will the Minister examine the record of this committee? I raised this matter a number of times. I have the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (29 May 2019)

Victor Boyhan: I appreciate that.

Seanad: Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) (Amendment) Bill 2018: Report and Final Stages (22 May 2019)

Victor Boyhan: Or we can finish at 6 p.m.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 May 2019)

Victor Boyhan: I will focus on one issue. I commend the Taoiseach and those involved with the national Famine commemoration in Sligo yesterday. It was a fitting and meaningful event. The Taoiseach stated, "The best way we can honour those who suffered and died during the Great Famine is by showing empathy with those who are suffering today." He said this in the context of the 1 million Irish people who...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 May 2019)

Victor Boyhan: The declaration of a national emergency in Ireland owing to climate change is welcome. We can declare all these emergencies but we have got to stay focused and on target. We are aware that we have a global problem and we need global solutions. I wish to allude to the meeting of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly that took place over the past three days. The Leas-Chathaoirleach was...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Authority Performance Indictor Report: National Oversight and Audit Commission (9 May 2019)

Victor Boyhan: I thank Mr. McCarthy and welcome him. I am supportive of NOAC and I am familiar with the overview of it but I am not sure if the public at large is familiar with it. There is a lot of work to be done there in how it promotes itself and how it sets the standards. NOAC clearly has a matrix of standards that it judges people from. On resources, does NOAC have the capacity and the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Authority Performance Indictor Report: National Oversight and Audit Commission (9 May 2019)

Victor Boyhan: I ask that they look at it again. That is an alarming situation with fire safety. We discussed issues with fire safety with various people here a few weeks ago and I will not repeat them. People raised serious concerns and allegations about one of the local authorities and it got media attention. We should look at it. There are more than 980 county councillors and they are a conduit to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government Audit Service: Discussion (9 May 2019)

Victor Boyhan: Can Deputy O'Dowd not wait for the next part?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government Audit Service: Discussion (9 May 2019)

Victor Boyhan: I thank Ms Larkin and Mr. Murphy for attending today. I am a great supporter of the Local Government Audit Service. It carries out an amazing function. During the engagement with Deputy O'Dowd, I heard mentioned that the Local Government Audit Service reviews the minutes of councils. This is the first I have heard of that and it is an important message to disseminate because councils will...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government Audit Service: Discussion (9 May 2019)

Victor Boyhan: -----and I am one of them. I looked at the report, which is excellent, and the combined report, which I downloaded from the website. Then, as auditors do, I looked at ten local authority reports at random. A few issues kept jumping out of the pages. Before I delve into those in more detail, I have a general comment that might be taken on board. The timelines for public engagement with...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government Audit Service: Discussion (9 May 2019)

Victor Boyhan: What Ms Larkin has said is very helpful. To wrap up, I would like to suggest three things that her agency might consider in its next audit. These are only suggestions, because I have no statutory function in all of this. The value and cost of pensions to local authorities is a ticking bomb.