Results 541-560 of 2,064 for speaker:Pat Casey

Seanad: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (15 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: I served on a local authority for 12 years and I believe in local democracy. The Minister would not bring this legislation to the House if there was not good reason for it, and we must take that into account. There is nothing to prevent councillors providing and approving a housing scheme before the LDA even gets involved in it because the Minister has given members and administrations the...

Seanad: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (15 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: Hear hear.

Seanad: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (15 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: The local authority land in Wicklow has not been used for social housing at all.

Seanad: Finance (Covid-19 and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: The core elements of section 2 are the two key pillars that have sustained businesses and kept them going over the Covid-19 period. I refer to the employment wage subsidy scheme, EWSS, and its predecessor, the wage subsidy scheme; and to the Covid restrictions support scheme, CRSS.I have some reservations about the end date of the EWSS in the particular context of my industry, which is...

Seanad: Finance (Covid-19 and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive reply but the definition of a cliff edge is it is there one day and not there the next. That is exactly what he is describing on 31 December. The EWSS will come to an end. I will speak to this from a practical point of view. When Covid hit us, the wage subsidy scheme allowed us to keep core employees on board. We believed at that time...

Seanad: Finance (Covid-19 and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: Senator Kyne outlined most of what is involved. Regarding the 31 August 2022 date, the Covid crisis has been rolling and none of us knows where it will end. Every time it extends, the period of recovery for the industry also needs to be extended. The hospitality needs the 9% VAT rate for a two-year recovery period. Ending this on 31 August 2022 will give it only a year because we will not...

Seanad: Finance (Covid-19 and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: I refer to the period 1 and period 2 described in this section. Tax warehousing was critical where businesses could not access credit from their banking institutions and it was the only way they could get cash liquidity to pull them over. Can period 1, the restricted trading phase, be extended to when businesses are actually reopening? That is when they could do with a cash injection or...

Seanad: Finance (Covid-19 and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021: Second Stage (12 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: Little did we know in March 2020 that we would still be dealing with a pandemic in July 2021. It must be acknowledged that, without the support of the Government, most businesses would have collapsed. We must also acknowledge how the Government reacted when it came across things that were not working out or did not quite fit specific sectors. It rearranged supports to suit them. I would...

Seanad: Workplace Relations (Miscellaneous Provisions Bill) 2021: Second Stage (12 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: When is it proposed to take Committee Stage?

Seanad: Workplace Relations (Miscellaneous Provisions Bill) 2021: Second Stage (12 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: Is that agreed? Agreed.

Seanad: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (12 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: Senator Boyhan will remember the previous time the housing committee prepared a detailed report on the complexities of applying universal design across all housing. It would not be practical at the end of the day. We always felt there was an element when designing a complex of housing where a number of units would be designed with universal design in mind so they are protected for people...

Seanad: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (12 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: I am sure the Minister will agree that every opportunity should be availed of to provide 100% public housing on public land where it is needed and that he will support that. We should remember that, as drafted, the legislation provided for 30% and that, in fairness to the Minister, that was increased to 50%, while the Part V provision was increased by a further 10%, which brought it to 70%....

Seanad: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (12 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: I had the privilege to grow up surrounded by a national park. I grew up beside one of our greatest heritage sites. When I saw this amendment I was unsure whether I was reading it correctly. I cannot for a moment see the LDA approaching any of these lands in respect of development. However, I understand the concerns that the Senators have raised. We have county development plans under...

Seanad: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Second Stage (9 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: Before I begin to speak on the Land Development Agency, I want to say that I agree with Senator Mullen on the vacant site levy. At this stage, we all agree it is not fit for purpose. How it is applied in the various local authorities differs and there is no consistency. It does not do what it was intended to do. I welcome the opportunity to speak on Second Stage of the Bill and I welcome...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: General Scheme of the Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (7 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: I thank the Acting Chairman. I welcome the Minister. Having sat on the council and gone through a few budgetary processes, including the LPT, I have waited for this opportunity for a good few years. I welcome the address of the inequality I believe has existed in the LPT process, where more than 100,000 houses have not been liable to pay the LPT tax since 2013. Having gone through a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: General Scheme of the Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (7 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: I thank the Minister for his response.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Covid-19 Pandemic (6 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: I tabled this Commencement matter to bring a degree of proportionality and transparency to the debate on the true impact of the pandemic on the hospitality sector.I believe that information is sorely missing. I thank Senator Crowe for his intervention today. Every time, the industry's hopes are raised and then dashed. This has happened six times. The impact cuts deeper each time this...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Covid-19 Pandemic (6 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: I thank the Minister of State for her answer. All I am trying to do is get an open debate around the true impact of hospitality in respect of this virus. An example was given the other day of a pub in Waterford and how it caused 200 cases. That was an outdoor event. We need to bring some clarity to this. Our industry has behaved and responded in the best way it could, so we cannot...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Jun 2021)

Pat Casey: Regrettably, it is a bit like Groundhog Day, as the reopening of indoor dining on 5 July looks like another false dawn for the sector. I point out that indoor dining is already happening but it is happening exclusively for residents of hotels. I am one of the few privileged to be able to use that facility but even last night I was inside and there were people sitting outside. My locals...

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (Resumed) (25 Jun 2021)

Pat Casey: They could be in here and Senator Fitzpatrick is taking away from their time.