Results 41-60 of 138 for speaker:Aubrey McCarthy
- Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen: Engagement with the Office of the Ombudsman (24 Jun 2025)
Aubrey McCarthy: I thank Mr. Deering and Ms O'Donoghue for their presentation. From looking at the report, I presume there are many recurring sorts of complaints year on year. What happens when the Ombudsman makes recommendations to public bodies that they refuse to implement? Is there any follow-up in this regard?
- Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen: Engagement with the Office of the Ombudsman (24 Jun 2025)
Aubrey McCarthy: Has the overall responsiveness improved year on year?
- Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen: Engagement with the Office of the Ombudsman (24 Jun 2025)
Aubrey McCarthy: Mr. Deering mentioned the health and the disability area. The Office of the Ombudsman's report, entitled "Grounded: Unequal Access for People With Disabilities to Personal Transport Schemes", referred to 887 cases. Am I correct in saying that 20% of the complaints that come to the office are about health?
- Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen: Engagement with the Office of the Ombudsman (24 Jun 2025)
Aubrey McCarthy: Mr. Deering mentioned a report, entitled "Wasted Lives: Time for a Better Future for Younger People in Nursing Homes", and how the implementation of that has been very slow. How does the office engage with the HSE?
- Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen: Engagement with the Office of the Ombudsman (24 Jun 2025)
Aubrey McCarthy: I am involved in an approved housing body mainly dealing with the homeless cohort. What we find is that a large part of that cohort have disability needs. The local authorities are not giving priority to people with medical disabilities. The Ombudsman's report highlights this. Is that correct?
- Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen: Engagement with the Office of the Ombudsman (24 Jun 2025)
Aubrey McCarthy: Does the Ombudsman have authority over the regulated or unregulated mortgage providers in Ireland, such as Pepper Advantage Ireland?
- Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen: Engagement with the Office of the Ombudsman (24 Jun 2025)
Aubrey McCarthy: Ms O'Donoghue mentioned the discretionary housing assistance payment. How does that actually work? If a complaint comes to the Ombudsman about that, is that not the area of the local authority?
- Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen: Engagement with the Office of the Ombudsman (24 Jun 2025)
Aubrey McCarthy: How does the discretionary HAP work? There is a set amount.
- Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen: Engagement with the Office of the Ombudsman (24 Jun 2025)
Aubrey McCarthy: Are there many complaints about the HAP payments?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Key Challenges to Tackling Homelessness: Discussion (24 Jun 2025)
Aubrey McCarthy: I thank the witnesses for their presentations, and I have a question for each of them. The ombudsman mentioned that things started to change in 2016 when the focus became more on families and children. He said that legislation does not allow children's rights to be the focus on their own. He stressed in his report and statement that he will hold the State accountable to the Lisbon...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Key Challenges to Tackling Homelessness: Discussion (24 Jun 2025)
Aubrey McCarthy: Are any of those pillars prioritised?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Key Challenges to Tackling Homelessness: Discussion (24 Jun 2025)
Aubrey McCarthy: I absolutely agree. If the numbers are that small, they could be handled properly.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Key Challenges to Tackling Homelessness: Discussion (24 Jun 2025)
Aubrey McCarthy: The letter was 16 May.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Key Challenges to Tackling Homelessness: Discussion (24 Jun 2025)
Aubrey McCarthy: On that point, Safetynet Primary Care is an amazing, game-changing service.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Key Challenges to Tackling Homelessness: Discussion (24 Jun 2025)
Aubrey McCarthy: I noticed from the report that discharges from direct provision are having a huge impact on single adult homelessness cases. I think it accounts for 25%. How can the State ensure a smoother, more sustainable housing transition for people exiting direct provision?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Key Challenges to Tackling Homelessness: Discussion (24 Jun 2025)
Aubrey McCarthy: We are talking about a cost of billions for IPAS provision and homeless services at this stage. It has increased 337% since 2015. It is not sustainable. Obviously it is back down to supply. It seems we are good at continuing to house people on a temporary basis but we are not getting the permanent housing supply in place.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Key Challenges to Tackling Homelessness: Discussion (24 Jun 2025)
Aubrey McCarthy: Mr. Mulhern for the tough ones.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Key Challenges to Tackling Homelessness: Discussion (24 Jun 2025)
Aubrey McCarthy: Mr. Mulhern means as alternatives to emergency accommodation.
- Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (19 Jun 2025)
Aubrey McCarthy: I reiterate my support for my colleague Senator Crowe regarding cocaine addiction. It is something I know a lot about from my work with Tiglin. I raise another concern regarding addiction, namely, the shocking rise of youth gambling in Ireland. I was recently interviewed by RTÉ about a European report that revealed that more than 29% of young people in Ireland from the age of 15 to...