Results 41-60 of 1,270 for in 'Dáil debates' speaker:Rose Conway-Walsh

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Ethics in Public Office (2 May 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Go raibh maith agat. This question was previously raised by Deputy Shortall. The Minister's Department completed a review of the ethics legislation and a report on this was submitted to the Government by his predecessor in the Department, the Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, in December 2022. The Government approved the publication of the review report and agreed to the preparation of a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Ethics in Public Office (2 May 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: As the Minister stated, the review makes some very important recommendations. There seemed to be an eagerness on the part of the Government to progress the proposed legislation at the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023, even when there were a number of scandals and resignations and these were reported in the media. Since then, though, it seems it has been quietly shelved. It should be...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Ethics in Public Office (2 May 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I hope this will allow SIPO to be more proactive in certain instances and enable it to act where it feels suspected breaches of the ethics framework have taken place. For instance, if it were felt that something had not been declared, then the agency would be able to investigate and sanction members if necessary. My colleague, Deputy Mairéad Farrell, brought forward legislation to...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (1 May 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I spoke to the Taoiseach last week about the defective concrete blocks situation and what needed to be done there. Today, I raise with him a similar issue. His Government promised to introduce a redress scheme for homeowners living with Celtic tiger-era building defects. Legislation was published last year and emergency funding was to be made available for fire safety works. I am making...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (1 May 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: 22. To ask the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on housing will meet next. [19529/24]

European Union Migration and Asylum Pact: Motion [Private Members] (1 May 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Sinn Féin believes that Ireland can better create a fair, efficient and enforced immigration system by exercising its rights to opt out of a majority of the EU pact's proposals. Sinn Féin opposed the migration and asylum pact for very good reasons. First, it undermines human rights. At the justice committee yesterday, several human rights organisations outlined a number of...

Petrol and Diesel Excise Rate Increases: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (30 Apr 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: As the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, knows, I come from a rural constituency in County Mayo. We do not have the transport options of those living in urban areas. How many times do we have to say that we are reliant on cars to get where we need to go? The nearest train station to me is an hour away. It is a six-hour round trip to University Hospital Galway, which many patients have...

Weather-Related Supports for Farmers: Statements (Resumed) (24 Apr 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I welcome this opportunity to discuss some of the issues impacting on farming. I thank the Minister for his statement. In particular, I welcome his remarks around the well-being of farmers. There is not much we can do about the weather in the short term, but there are many actions we can take to serve the financial stability and viability of farms and to alleviate the financial stress that...

Support for Carers: Motion [Private Members] (24 Apr 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I wish the Minister of State well in her new job. It is a really important role, particularly when it comes to carers. She knows that carers, and family carers in particular, comprise one of the most neglected groups of people in the State. They save us hundreds of millions of euro, and we pay lip service to their efforts. There are many things we can do. There is not a TD in this House...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme (23 Apr 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: 58. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the projected expenditure on capital projects for 2025 and 2026 in terms of GNI*; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17726/24]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme (23 Apr 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I thank the Minister for his reply to Question No. 57. I am very interested to see whether what he outlined can be done. We have to do everything we possibly can to increase the number of houses being built and to meet even the low targets that are already there. I raised the underspend on capital investments since 2021 up to this year. I will now focus on the projected underspend over...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme (23 Apr 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: That is concerning. It comes back to the levels of inflation we have seen. The Minister is saying the Government will continue its capital expenditure, but the answer indicates that will fall short of the level of ambition outlined in the national development plan in 2021. Even with the increase of €2.25 billion over three years that has finally been announced, the underspend will...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme (23 Apr 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: The concern I have, which I referred to, is that projects throughout the State are either being delayed or quietly shelved. Communities that have campaigned and waited for years are being left in the dark wondering why projects they thought were agreed and progressing are now not progressing. The only possible conclusion they can come to is that we have not accounted for inflation. People...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Flood Relief Schemes (23 Apr 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I wish the Minister of State well in his new job. I am really pleased to hear him talk about the Crossmolina flood relief scheme. He will know that the town of Crossmolina has been waiting for that for almost ten years now. Could he give me an update as to its exact status and when it is going to start?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Spending Code (23 Apr 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: 57. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when the infrastructure guidelines will lead to reform within individual Departments in the context of capital projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17727/24]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Spending Code (23 Apr 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: The infrastructure guidelines replace the public spending code. Changes to the public sector spending code were announced early last year. It took until the end of the year before the infrastructure guidelines were published. How long will it be before we see the reforms adopted by the Departments? Most importantly, how will the Minister's Department measure the effectiveness of this change?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Spending Code (23 Apr 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: On page 2 of those guidelines, it is stated that it is the responsibility of the Accounting Officer of a Department to ensure that the guidelines are adopted. As the Minister has said, we may not see the changes until next year. With regard to the procedure for delivering capital projects, what flexibilities do Departments have under the new infrastructure guidelines? For instance, can the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Spending Code (23 Apr 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Do local authorities have to continue to put forward business cases as to why they need to build, for example, social and affordable housing? The infrastructure guidelines state, "Where programmes of investment are composed of a high number of similar" schemes, as in the case of housing, a strategic assessment can be done all at once. Can local authorities such as Mayo County Council do a...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Private Partnerships (23 Apr 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: There is no transparency around these contracts, even long after the deals have been signed, so we have to ask where the oversight and accountability are. When the Minister had this portfolio in 2017, the IMF recommended Ireland reduce the sums Departments could spend on PPP contracts. Departments are not supposed to spend more than 10% of the capital budget, as the Minister knows, on...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Private Partnerships (23 Apr 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: 46. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the types of services that typically make up the costs, other than construction and financing, in public private partnership contracts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17725/24]