Results 5,061-5,080 of 5,087 for speaker:Kathleen Funchion

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers (3 May 2016)

Kathleen Funchion: Right. We have one.

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers (3 May 2016)

Kathleen Funchion: That is fine, I will get it. I agree with many of those points. I mentioned earlier that we have a great deal of vacant properties, particularly in rural areas, which we should be looking at. Not only is it good for an area to have these places regenerated and people living in them - it breathes a bit of life back into an area - but it can also provide some short-term solutions, because...

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers (3 May 2016)

Kathleen Funchion: Yes. I would be interested in the views of the witnesses. I do not think schemes like the HAP and the RAS are long-term solutions but we need to look at them in the short term.

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers (3 May 2016)

Kathleen Funchion: Is there not a responsibility on auctioneers? Maybe some are doing this - some of them are great - but in my experience, some are not. I suggest that auctioneers explain the schemes to landlords and go through the details of HAP scheme and RAS with them. I found that many auctioneers did not know what RAS was. What is Mr. O'Flaherty's option on that? Does he think that in general,...

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers (3 May 2016)

Kathleen Funchion: Yes.

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers (3 May 2016)

Kathleen Funchion: Yes.

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

Kathleen Funchion: As a country that has such a long history of emigration, our response to the refugee crisis - I use that term for want of better words, as I am not am a fan of it - has been nothing short of disgraceful. For generations, Irish people have moved abroad to live and work. I am sure that nearly every Deputy in this House has an experience to relate of emigration through family or friends. My...

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

Kathleen Funchion: I thank the Minister for coming in. I am going to have to leave shortly to speak so I apologise in advance for that. I have some brief questions because many of the points have been made and there is no point repeating them. My first question relates to the targets for year 1 of the strategy. Is it possible to get a county-by-county breakdown? I appreciate the Minister might not have...

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

Kathleen Funchion: I understand that but-----

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Housing Agency (28 Apr 2016)

Kathleen Funchion: I thank the Housing Agency for its presentation. Its document is very good and very concise. I have a few questions on the mortgage-to-rent scheme, which I raised on Tuesday. From a lot of my dealings with people trying to qualify for the scheme, I am aware that there are huge difficulties around red tape, paperwork and people being told that their houses are too big. It could be a couple...

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Housing Agency (28 Apr 2016)

Kathleen Funchion: Are the agency's ideas on how to improve it contained in this document?

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Housing Agency (28 Apr 2016)

Kathleen Funchion: That would be great.

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Irish Council for Social Housing (28 Apr 2016)

Kathleen Funchion: I want to ask about the co-operation between the local authorities and the voluntary housing sector. I know that the voluntary housing sector gets its list from the housing list but if someone needs a transfer, on overcrowding or medical grounds, there is no inter-transferability, for want of a better word. I do not know whether that is a national issue or whether each local authority...

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Irish Council for Social Housing (28 Apr 2016)

Kathleen Funchion: Can I clarify that it is not policy not to transfer between local authority and AHB because that has been my experience? It does happen.

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Irish Council for Social Housing (28 Apr 2016)

Kathleen Funchion: That is a good idea.

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Interim Report of Committee (26 Apr 2016)

Kathleen Funchion: We need to make sure that we are looking at homelessness from a regional point of view. A number of people have said it is not just a Dublin issue but the homeless situation is very different for someone in a rural area. A lot of people cannot even consider accessing emergency accommodation because it is 15 to 20 minutes away from where their kids are going to school. While I know we...

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Interim Report of Committee (26 Apr 2016)

Kathleen Funchion: We should invite agencies and individuals to come before the committee. I agree with Deputy Coppinger that we may need to have a second session.

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Interim Report of Committee (26 Apr 2016)

Kathleen Funchion: It is important that people would have the choice to do that. Many people would welcome the opportunity to come before this committee. Erica Fleming was in here a few weeks ago and met a number of TDs. It would be up to the people concerned whether they want to come in. There are many people who would want to come in, and we should not rule that out.

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Interim Report of Committee (26 Apr 2016)

Kathleen Funchion: There are many groups that provide support for people in mortgage distress, for example, with regard to free legal aid, but sometimes the wait is very long. One group, the Hub, is very active in the south-east as well as in other areas. I believe we should consider inviting its representatives because they support people who cannot afford the cost of legal fees. It would be a good group to...

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: County and City Management Association (26 Apr 2016)

Kathleen Funchion: I thank the witnesses for their attendance. At the outset, I must disagree completely with the statement that some people are content to stay on the list and to be in receipt of rent supplement. I represent a constituency that is both rural and urban in nature, comprising the two counties of Carlow and Kilkenny. In the seven years during which I have been a councillor, I have never met a...