Results 41-60 of 2,138 for speaker:Joe O'Brien

Select Committee on Social Protection: Charities (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (22 May 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I move amendment No. 24: In page 38, line 17, to delete “paragraph (c)” and substitute “paragraph (d)”.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Charities (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (22 May 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I move amendment No. 25: In page 38, line 18, to delete “(e)” and substitute “(f)”.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Charities (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (22 May 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I move amendment No. 26: In page 39, between lines 23 and 24, to insert the following: “Amendment of Schedule 1 to Principal Act 38. Schedule 1 to the Principal Act is amended— (a) by the insertion, in paragraph 2, of the following subparagraph after subparagraph (3): “(3A) Where the office of the chairperson is vacant, an interim chairperson may be appointed...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Charities (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (22 May 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I take the opportunity to record my thanks to the members of the committee, the Charities Regulator and, indeed, all the stakeholders who have engaged with me and my officials, and have made very valuable submissions and observations as part of this wider deliberative process. I look forward to Report Stage.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Charities (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (22 May 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I move amendment No. 13: In page 35, line 32, to delete “or charter”. Following the publication of the Bill, it was brought to my attention that the inclusion of organisations established by charter in the definition of "public bodies" was inadvertently capturing organisations that do not have the requisite financial oversight by the relevant Departments and the Office of...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: International Protection (21 May 2024)

Joe O'Brien: Notwithstanding the letter the Deputy has, unfortunately there have been other situations around the country where, because international protection applicants have been in IPAS accommodation and because the community have been supportive, the community has not been happy when we have had to move them.

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: International Protection (21 May 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I heard about the letter in question and I tracked it down today. I am glad it was the Deputy who read the piece into the record, rather than me. My analysis of that commitment was that it showed an incorrect understanding of the different between our mainstream housing supports and IPAS housing supports.

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: International Protection (21 May 2024)

Joe O'Brien: Nevertheless, that is my interpretation of what was written there. That is unfortunate. Notwithstanding that, I understand how the community feel about this. We will endeavour to talk to the resettlement team. There is potentially a role here as well for the new local authority integration teams. There is potentially a role for the programme I oversee, the social inclusion community...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: International Protection (21 May 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I thank the Deputy for this question. I acknowledge the efforts of the people of Borrisokane over the past four or five years in helping people feel at home. Ireland and many other European countries are experiencing a significant increase in people seeking international protection. The arrival numbers remain significantly elevated. In the first 20 weeks of 2024, nearly 8,000 people...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Middle East Issues (21 May 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I thank the Cathaoirleach and Senators Ruane and Black for their question. I welcome the opportunity to discuss this important topic with Members of the House today on behalf of the Minister for Transport. I tried to get myself up to speed on this issue before the Senators' question. I do not know all the ins and outs of the Act in question or what level of information the Senators have...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Middle East Issues (21 May 2024)

Joe O'Brien: Absolutely, I will follow up on it. My understanding through a conversation less than an hour ago is that no formal application has been received. I wish to take the opportunity as well to reaffirm the Government’s commitment to the International Criminal Court. I welcome the decision by the chief prosecutor to pursue arrest warrants. We also hold steadfast in our commitment to...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Waterways Issues (21 May 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I thank Senator O'Loughlin for raising matter and giving me the opportunity, on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, to update the House in relation to the Ballyteague blueway.Waterways Ireland is a North-South implementation body established under the British-Irish agreement of 10 April 1998. It is funded by the Department...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Waterways Issues (21 May 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I thank Senator O'Loughlin for her contribution. The Ballyteague blueway initiative is designed to promote well-being through opportunities for walking, cycling and enjoying the water on paddle boards and powered craft. That needs to be available and accessible to everyone. Apart from increasing people's well-being, a greater level of use of the waterway and its towpath by visitors to the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes (21 May 2024)

Joe O'Brien: Community Employment (CE) is an active labour market programme designed to provide eligible long-term unemployed people and other disadvantaged persons with an opportunity to engage in useful work within their communities on a temporary, fixed term basis. It supports projects that provide work experience for long term unemployed persons. CE is delivered through CE sponsor organisations...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Funding (16 May 2024)

Joe O'Brien: Last December, the Local Enhancement Programme (LEP) was launched, with capital funding of €6 million to assist community groups across the country. The LEP is targeted to the specific challenges facing local community groups and delivers immediate, tangible supports where they are needed most. The Programme also included a special ring-fenced fund of €1,000,000 to support...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Funding (14 May 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I would like to refer the Deputy to the reply to PQ 9425/24 of 28 February 2024.My Department launched an application window for funding additional staff posts for existing Community Services Programme (CSP) funded organisations on 29th September last.Pobal, who manage and administer the programme on behalf of my Department, received 137 applications from CSP supported organisations under...

Ceisteanna Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (9 May 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I will take that question. That should not be the case. We want to incentivise people to get onto CE schemes. We have lots of vacancies and we are particularly interested in those with disabilities because a high rate of people with disabilities are unemployed. We have taken measures under the CE schemes to try to encourage people on disability allowance to take up the scheme. I would be...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Programmes (9 May 2024)

Joe O'Brien: My Department's community services programme supports more than 430 community-based organisations to provide local services through a social enterprise model with an annual co-funding contribution towards each full-time equivalent position being supported and, where warranted, towards the cost of employing a manager. In March 2023, funding of €1 million was made available for a call...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Programmes (9 May 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I acknowledge the Deputy's ongoing advocacy for Muirhevnamore community centre. He raises it with me regularly. We supply funding for it to support a manager and three full-time equivalents, so that is an annual contribution of €114,000 supplied to Muirhevnamore community centre. I again summarise that, over the past four years, there has been a list of financial pressures on the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Programmes (9 May 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I acknowledge and take the opportunity to thank all of those involved in CSP organisations. The past couple of years have been particularly challenging, and they have all stepped up to the plate. If the Deputy sends me more detail on the Blackrock situation, we can look into it. I do not know if appeal options were exhausted. To outline what we have been doing in terms of boosting CSP...