Results 661-680 of 1,995 for speaker:Joe Flaherty

Children's Health Ireland - Patient safety concerns and reviews in paediatric orthopaedic surgical services: Statements, Questions and Answers (26 Sep 2023)

Joe Flaherty: I welcome the Minister's comprehensive statement on patient safety concerns and the review of paediatric orthopaedic surgery services. All too often, elected representatives are the final line of hope for parents and families who are anxiously trying to get surgery for their children. Unfortunately, recent events have greatly undermined belief in the service and, for parents and families,...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (26 Sep 2023)

Joe Flaherty: 500. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth for an update on the request from a person (details supplied) to have their two children included in the ECCE scheme this year. [41603/23]

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (21 Sep 2023)

Joe Flaherty: 182. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if the housing adaptation grant for older people can be used to rehabilitate a sewage system in a single house as there is no other option to remedy the issue. [40793/23]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Proposed Changes to River Shannon, Grand and Royal Canals and River Barrow Navigation By-laws: Discussion (21 Sep 2023)

Joe Flaherty: I am conscious we have a short timeframe for a very important issue. I propose, therefore, that we take the opening statements as read, which will give us more time to ask questions.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Proposed Changes to River Shannon, Grand and Royal Canals and River Barrow Navigation By-laws: Discussion (21 Sep 2023)

Joe Flaherty: I will try to keep my questions short. The proposed by-laws have engendered an awful lot of confusion given that the consultation for by-laws for the canals are run in tandem with the consultation for by-laws for the River Shannon, but there is an intrinsic difference. Waterways Ireland owns the canals but does not own the River Shannon. There is some suspicion that running the two...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Proposed Changes to River Shannon, Grand and Royal Canals and River Barrow Navigation By-laws: Discussion (21 Sep 2023)

Joe Flaherty: Why were the two run together? Was it deliberate to create confusion?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Proposed Changes to River Shannon, Grand and Royal Canals and River Barrow Navigation By-laws: Discussion (21 Sep 2023)

Joe Flaherty: I accept Mr. Rowe's bona fides in that regard. Having said that, there is a concern, which has been articulated to us, that there was a lack of consultation with key stakeholders before the consultation was initiated, such as local chambers and commercial boat owners. Many of these people were unaware of this consultation. Local search and rescue clubs play a huge role in our community but...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Proposed Changes to River Shannon, Grand and Royal Canals and River Barrow Navigation By-laws: Discussion (21 Sep 2023)

Joe Flaherty: Much of that is in your opening statement. I am from Longford and live on the banks of the River Shannon. There is a concern locally that this is a land grab. Waterways Ireland owns the canals but it does not own the River Shannon. I refer to the KPMG report which set out that efforts should be made to monetise the River Shannon. There is a concern that is what is the intended...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Proposed Changes to River Shannon, Grand and Royal Canals and River Barrow Navigation By-laws: Discussion (21 Sep 2023)

Joe Flaherty: I know. I am conscious of time. That is all in the opening statement. I thank Mr. Rowe. A representative of the Shannon Lakes and Rivers Group, Mr. Liam Finnegan, is present as part of the Irish Residential Boat Owners Association. I heard a radio interview he gave today. He is vocal about this and feels there has been a lack of consultation with relevant parties.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Proposed Changes to River Shannon, Grand and Royal Canals and River Barrow Navigation By-laws: Discussion (21 Sep 2023)

Joe Flaherty: I have two key questions. Waterways Ireland would say that it has to implement blanket charges. It references a model from the UK. Has Mr. Finnegan any experience of that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Proposed Changes to River Shannon, Grand and Royal Canals and River Barrow Navigation By-laws: Discussion (21 Sep 2023)

Joe Flaherty: Before we finish up, I thank everyone for coming in. Obviously they have to go back and deliberate. However, if they could make contact with the committee and advise how long they are giving for the extension to the consultation period, that would be very good. We will discuss this in our meeting next week. I was going to recommend at that meeting that we ask the Minister to pause the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Cost Rental Tenant In Situ Scheme: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (21 Sep 2023)

Joe Flaherty: I will be brief. I commend the Minister, the Department and the local authorities throughout the country. When the winter eviction ban ended, we were given a Doomsday scenario that families would be out on the street, and yet the Minister reacted, his staff reacted and local authorities reacted. We see the figures here today. It is great to hear all sides of the House acknowledge the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Cost Rental Tenant In Situ Scheme: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (21 Sep 2023)

Joe Flaherty: If you go to a housing agency and it is provided through a housing agency, you will not be able to.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Cost Rental Tenant In Situ Scheme: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (21 Sep 2023)

Joe Flaherty: I thank the Minister.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges facing the Horse Sport Industry: Discussion (20 Sep 2023)

Joe Flaherty: I thank the Chair for allowing me to speak now. I also thank all of the speakers for attending. It is great to see such a cross-section from the sector. We are gathered here at what is very much a purple patch for the industry. We have had one of the best summers with regard to sport horse performance. We have had several successes and I know the young Irish junior riders and Irish pony...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges facing the Horse Sport Industry: Discussion (20 Sep 2023)

Joe Flaherty: I am conscious of my speaking time and we have many other speakers who wish to contribute to the discussion. If we look at how Showjumping Ireland’s board was constituted historically, what the organisation might have called the four expert witnesses would have been drawn from the high-performance, breeding and production, equestrian sport and recreation, and coaching and education...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges facing the Horse Sport Industry: Discussion (20 Sep 2023)

Joe Flaherty: Looking at this from the outside, you would have said that would have brought the best of the industry and of those sectors to board level.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges facing the Horse Sport Industry: Discussion (20 Sep 2023)

Joe Flaherty: So, in its wisdom or folly, Horse Sport Ireland decided it would freeze those committees. Is that correct?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges facing the Horse Sport Industry: Discussion (20 Sep 2023)

Joe Flaherty: It would then decide it would get more diverse sport. Would it not be fair to say the risk of a more diverse sport is that you are going to throw out the baby with the bathwater and the expertise on which this was based, which was the bedrock of those four committees and of horse sport policy and direction for the past 30 years is going to be abandoned? Would it be fair to say that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges facing the Horse Sport Industry: Discussion (20 Sep 2023)

Joe Flaherty: If we were to try to crystallise some of Mr. Corrigan’s group's asks from today, the first thing it would ask is that this process of appointed directors be paused.