Results 7,321-7,340 of 11,246 for speaker:Colm Burke

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (Resumed)
Chapter 11 - Social Housing
Chapter 12 - Land Aggregation Scheme.
Chapter 13 - Pyrite Remediation Scheme. (26 Nov 2020)

Colm Burke: Even close to Cork city, which is a fairly big urban area, we were not paying €1 million an acre. I am not taking from Sligo but it seems a phenomenal amount of money.

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (Resumed)
Chapter 11 - Social Housing
Chapter 12 - Land Aggregation Scheme.
Chapter 13 - Pyrite Remediation Scheme. (26 Nov 2020)

Colm Burke: The sum of €1 million an acre was a lot of money at that time. That kind of money was not being paid for land in bigger urban centres like Limerick, Cork and Galway.

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (Resumed)
Chapter 11 - Social Housing
Chapter 12 - Land Aggregation Scheme.
Chapter 13 - Pyrite Remediation Scheme. (26 Nov 2020)

Colm Burke: Regarding that, I will go back to what my colleague referred to earlier, that is, the timeframe involved. In particular over the past four years major efforts have been made to build more local authority houses. The timeframe from when the local authority decides to build to getting the building completed is running now at nearly four years. Can we do something to try to change the process...

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (Resumed)
Chapter 11 - Social Housing
Chapter 12 - Land Aggregation Scheme.
Chapter 13 - Pyrite Remediation Scheme. (26 Nov 2020)

Colm Burke: Where does an estimate of the cost of building come in? When the tenders come in there is quite a big variation. There is a reluctance by the Department to respond in a timely manner. I have come across that on a number of occasions where there is an estimate of what the cost will be and then when the tender comes in it is way above the estimated cost. It appears that there is quite a...

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (Resumed)
Chapter 11 - Social Housing
Chapter 12 - Land Aggregation Scheme.
Chapter 13 - Pyrite Remediation Scheme. (26 Nov 2020)

Colm Burke: I thank Ms Neary. I wish to go back to the sites which have now gone down in value. One of the sites in my area, in Dripsey, which is 1.5 acres, is now valued at €47,500. I know the area and I think that is an under-valuation. What has been done with local authorities to try to get these sites moving again?

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (Resumed)
Chapter 11 - Social Housing
Chapter 12 - Land Aggregation Scheme.
Chapter 13 - Pyrite Remediation Scheme. (26 Nov 2020)

Colm Burke: That is grand.

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (Resumed)
Chapter 11 - Social Housing
Chapter 12 - Land Aggregation Scheme.
Chapter 13 - Pyrite Remediation Scheme. (26 Nov 2020)

Colm Burke: What has been done by the local authorities with the lands, for which we now have a very low valuation, that were bought originally for housing? I know the area very well. The site to which I referred in Dripsey, which now only has a valuation of €47,500, is suitable for development. Why are these areas not being prioritised, as regards getting local authorities to work with the...

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (Resumed)
Chapter 11 - Social Housing
Chapter 12 - Land Aggregation Scheme.
Chapter 13 - Pyrite Remediation Scheme. (26 Nov 2020)

Colm Burke: Could I ask one question?

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (Resumed)
Chapter 11 - Social Housing
Chapter 12 - Land Aggregation Scheme.
Chapter 13 - Pyrite Remediation Scheme. (26 Nov 2020)

Colm Burke: Is the delay in getting sites developed due to a lack of services from Irish Water on some of these sites?

Covid-19: Statements (24 Nov 2020)

Colm Burke: We are now in the final week of level-5 restrictions. The figures indicate these restrictions have significantly suppressed the spread of the virus. It has not been suppressed as much as we would have liked but the trajectory of the spread is downward. The hospital and wider healthcare systems have responded effectively to the autumn surge of cases. The various health agencies and...

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 9 – Office of the Revenue Commissioners
Central Fund Related Accounts - Revenue Account 2019 (19 Nov 2020)

Colm Burke: I thank our guests for their presentation. I wish to raise the delays arising from Covid-19 in dealing with certain issues. A number of people have contacted me about family members who have loans under the fair deal scheme. As our guests will be aware, the moneys must be paid back and that is done through Revenue. The problem now is that because of Covid, there is a delay in taking out...

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 9 – Office of the Revenue Commissioners
Central Fund Related Accounts - Revenue Account 2019 (19 Nov 2020)

Colm Burke: To go back to the VRT issue at the two centres in Cork, there does not seem to be a problem in other areas. I understand that it takes less time to get VRT approval in Tralee, Waterford and Galway. Can the problem in Cork be dealt with?

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 9 – Office of the Revenue Commissioners
Central Fund Related Accounts - Revenue Account 2019 (19 Nov 2020)

Colm Burke: Yes.

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 9 – Office of the Revenue Commissioners
Central Fund Related Accounts - Revenue Account 2019 (19 Nov 2020)

Colm Burke: I am aware of that.

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 9 – Office of the Revenue Commissioners
Central Fund Related Accounts - Revenue Account 2019 (19 Nov 2020)

Colm Burke: I would appreciate that.

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 9 – Office of the Revenue Commissioners
Central Fund Related Accounts - Revenue Account 2019 (19 Nov 2020)

Colm Burke: I accept that.

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 9 – Office of the Revenue Commissioners
Central Fund Related Accounts - Revenue Account 2019 (19 Nov 2020)

Colm Burke: I appreciate that.

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 9 – Office of the Revenue Commissioners
Central Fund Related Accounts - Revenue Account 2019 (19 Nov 2020)

Colm Burke: I will raise another issue related to home care. I think Mr. Cody will accept, as I think everyone does, that in the case of a lot of home care, people cannot get it without having to pay cash. That is recognised. In fairness to those who are providing the home care-----

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 9 – Office of the Revenue Commissioners
Central Fund Related Accounts - Revenue Account 2019 (19 Nov 2020)

Colm Burke: Maybe Mr. Cody might be, but that is the reality. Let us not ignore the fact. We have 720,000 people over 65 years of age. By 2030, there will be 1 million. There will be a significant increase, therefore, in the demand for home care. With regard to the meat industry, we allowed people to come in from abroad. If an employer wants to bring someone in from abroad to work, it must guarantee...

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 9 – Office of the Revenue Commissioners
Central Fund Related Accounts - Revenue Account 2019 (19 Nov 2020)

Colm Burke: But it has a role in deciding what is taken into account as regards payment.