Results 521-540 of 5,605 for speaker:Thomas Gould

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: General Practitioner Services (2 Jul 2024)

Thomas Gould: The responses I have received are not true.

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: General Practitioner Services (2 Jul 2024)

Thomas Gould: I have the figures in my hand.

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: General Practitioner Services (2 Jul 2024)

Thomas Gould: In the first five months of this year, there was an 87% drop in the number of patients seen in SouthDoc in Blackpool compared with 2019, representing almost 9,000 fewer patients seen in the first six of months of the year. My constituents who use the SouthDoc out-of-hours facility have told me that people are being sent to the Kinsale Road, Youghal or Midleton, but SouthDoc in Blackpool is...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: General Practitioner Services (2 Jul 2024)

Thomas Gould: I said the Minister got the information from the HSE and SouthDoc. What the Minister said was a lie. The Minister might have believed it to be true, but the information he had was incorrect. I want the Dáil record corrected because I am right and the Minister is wrong. He got information from SouthDoc in Blackpool that is a lie. May I say-----

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (2 Jul 2024)

Thomas Gould: I have listened to the Tánaiste's comments about questions and I understand the point he is making that he is limited in what he can say because some of these cases are in front of the courts and others are probably being looked at by senior people in the Defence Forces. I understand he is in a particular situation in that regard. I also listened to his comments about trying to change...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (2 Jul 2024)

Thomas Gould: 65. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if he has been made aware of any serving Defence Force members with convictions for sexual, gender or domestic-based violence. [28189/24]

Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Bill 2024: Second Stage [Private Members] (2 Jul 2024)

Thomas Gould: We had the RTB before the housing committee today and it was a really informative meeting. There is no doubt there are changes that need to be made to improve services provided by the RTB. However, the current system for students living in digs does not even allow them to bring a case to the RTB. This Bill would allow both homeowners and tenants to access the RTB and it is a vital...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies Board: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Thomas Gould: I thank the witnesses for being here. I apologise that I have been in other meetings. Is there a need for increased visibility of the RTB dispute timelines? There have been reports that some disputed cases, including those involving serious antisocial behaviour, have taken more than six or 12 months for a determination order to be given. What does the RTB hope to do to address this timeline?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies Board: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Thomas Gould: In Cork, 544 notices of termination were received by the RTB in the first quarter of this year alone. In 2023, some 2,180 eviction notices were served in Cork. Were all of them valid notices to quit and if not, how many were valid? If they were all valid, what was the total number that came in? Is there a mechanism for the RTB to notify Cork City Council about these notifications and if...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies Board: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Thomas Gould: That is not a problem.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies Board: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Thomas Gould: I will ask another question, to give Ms Loughlin a chance to look into that one. I believe the local authorities should come under the remit of the RTB. Housing maintenance is a particularly problematic issue in most local authorities I talk to Sinn Féin TDs and councillors about. The council is a landlord and should be accountable to its tenants. It cannot happen overnight, but...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies Board: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Thomas Gould: I respect that. The RTB is doing the work under the remit it has been given. Not only in Cork, but nationally, some of the housing local authorities have is an absolute disgrace. Where can tenants of local authority houses who live in shocking conditions go? Where do they have the right to go if the local authority landlord is leaving them in these conditions? We are now saying that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies Board: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Thomas Gould: To go back to the two figures we heard at the start, there were 4,810-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies Board: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Thomas Gould: -----notices to quit received-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies Board: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Thomas Gould: Is that for Cork city and county?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies Board: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Thomas Gould: That is fine. In the previous year, the figure was 4,005.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies Board: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Thomas Gould: That is roughly a 20% increase, if I do the maths off the top of my head. Is that right? We have seen a 20% increase in notices to quit in the first quarter of 2024 relative to the same quarter in 2023. Is that fair to say?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Residential Tenancies Board: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Thomas Gould: The RTB said earlier that in 2023 there were 109 formal investigations, with 67 found to be in breach of the regulations. Obviously, that is quite a small number. How many were reported breaches and how many were investigations that the RTB decided to undertake itself? Has the board set a much higher target for 2024? Obviously the board cannot do it all in one year but has the RTB a...