Results 61-80 of 33,141 for speaker:Catherine Connolly

Public Accounts Committee: 2023 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2023
Chapter 2 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Chapter 11 - Exceptional State Funding of the Peter McVerry Trust
Chapter 12 - Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund
Local Government Fund - Account 2023 (19 Jun 2025)

Catherine Connolly: Aware that we are utterly failing. Does the Secretary General accept the view of the new chairman who has told us that we are going absolutely in the wrong direction to achieve our targets, and there has been utter failure in the Galway task force that has existed since 2019? Is the Secretary General fully aware of that?

Public Accounts Committee: 2023 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2023
Chapter 2 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Chapter 11 - Exceptional State Funding of the Peter McVerry Trust
Chapter 12 - Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund
Local Government Fund - Account 2023 (19 Jun 2025)

Catherine Connolly: The task force was set up in 2019. By December 16, they are finally asking the question what are the obstacles. One of the major obstacles is infrastructure. Only one. Policies is also an obstacle. It took them five years under the remit of two different chairs to set up and ask what were the obstacles. The Department has a seat on the task force. I follow that closely and the figures...

Public Accounts Committee: 2023 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2023
Chapter 2 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Chapter 11 - Exceptional State Funding of the Peter McVerry Trust
Chapter 12 - Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund
Local Government Fund - Account 2023 (19 Jun 2025)

Catherine Connolly: Picking up on that point, I am a proud Galwegian and Galway is a disaster with regard to empty properties owned by the local authority. I spent 17 years as a local councillor and I followed this up. In my area alone there are two houses that have been vacant for longer than five years. I can think of an estate that has been empty for 15 years and I can see absolutely no reason for it. I...

Public Accounts Committee: 2023 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2023
Chapter 2 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Chapter 11 - Exceptional State Funding of the Peter McVerry Trust
Chapter 12 - Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund
Local Government Fund - Account 2023 (19 Jun 2025)

Catherine Connolly: I appreciate that. I was going to come back to that. I appreciate efforts are being made but the crisis was created by not building social housing back in 2009. I do not know where the mechanism was for the Department or the local authorities to come back and say not to do that as it would be an absolute disaster. Not alone did we stop building housing, the idiotic HAP scheme was brought...

Public Accounts Committee: 2023 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2023
Chapter 2 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Chapter 11 - Exceptional State Funding of the Peter McVerry Trust
Chapter 12 - Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund
Local Government Fund - Account 2023 (19 Jun 2025)

Catherine Connolly: To have an effective planning system, we need to have people in place, is that right?

Public Accounts Committee: 2023 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2023
Chapter 2 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Chapter 11 - Exceptional State Funding of the Peter McVerry Trust
Chapter 12 - Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund
Local Government Fund - Account 2023 (19 Jun 2025)

Catherine Connolly: We need to deal with planning applications as they come in. I heard Mr. Sean O'Driscoll, a member of the infrastructure task force, speaking on many issues, one of which was objectors. In my experience, objectors have not caused the planning problems. The planning problems have been caused by lack of resourcing and failure to resource local authorities and An Bord Pleanála, not to...

Public Accounts Committee: 2023 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2023
Chapter 2 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Chapter 11 - Exceptional State Funding of the Peter McVerry Trust
Chapter 12 - Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund
Local Government Fund - Account 2023 (19 Jun 2025)

Catherine Connolly: I understand, honestly, but the Cathaoirleach will stop me in a minute. There is a level of vacancies. Will Mr. Hogan help me with what the target is and what year it is to be achieved by?

Public Accounts Committee: 2023 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2023
Chapter 2 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Chapter 11 - Exceptional State Funding of the Peter McVerry Trust
Chapter 12 - Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund
Local Government Fund - Account 2023 (19 Jun 2025)

Catherine Connolly: What is the target and by what year?

Public Accounts Committee: 2023 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2023
Chapter 2 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Chapter 11 - Exceptional State Funding of the Peter McVerry Trust
Chapter 12 - Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund
Local Government Fund - Account 2023 (19 Jun 2025)

Catherine Connolly: When the planning Bill was going through the Dáil, the figures of 500 and 600 vacancies were used repeatedly by different groups who were making submissions.

Public Accounts Committee: 2023 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2023
Chapter 2 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Chapter 11 - Exceptional State Funding of the Peter McVerry Trust
Chapter 12 - Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund
Local Government Fund - Account 2023 (19 Jun 2025)

Catherine Connolly: I understand. There is an absence of people for an effective planning system and local authority but there is a plan in place to sort that out.

Public Accounts Committee: 2023 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2023
Chapter 2 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Chapter 11 - Exceptional State Funding of the Peter McVerry Trust
Chapter 12 - Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund
Local Government Fund - Account 2023 (19 Jun 2025)

Catherine Connolly: Okay. My next question is in relation to inspections.

Public Accounts Committee: 2023 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2023
Chapter 2 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Chapter 11 - Exceptional State Funding of the Peter McVerry Trust
Chapter 12 - Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund
Local Government Fund - Account 2023 (19 Jun 2025)

Catherine Connolly: I will. Inspections are very low. The take-up of disability grants is very low. There is underspending in lots of programmes while there is an absolute housing crisis. There is not much one can do in a few minutes but it is a disaster.

Public Accounts Committee: 2023 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2023
Chapter 2 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Chapter 11 - Exceptional State Funding of the Peter McVerry Trust
Chapter 12 - Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund
Local Government Fund - Account 2023 (19 Jun 2025)

Catherine Connolly: I am looking at pages 44 and 45. There is an underspend on inspections due to a lack of staff. I am looking at the Department's accounts.

Public Accounts Committee: 2023 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2023
Chapter 2 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Chapter 11 - Exceptional State Funding of the Peter McVerry Trust
Chapter 12 - Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund
Local Government Fund - Account 2023 (19 Jun 2025)

Catherine Connolly: Can I stick with what is before me? I see an underspend on the most basic thing we have, the inspections system. On pages 44 and 45, it tells me-----

Public Accounts Committee: 2023 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2023
Chapter 2 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Chapter 11 - Exceptional State Funding of the Peter McVerry Trust
Chapter 12 - Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund
Local Government Fund - Account 2023 (19 Jun 2025)

Catherine Connolly: I know. Maybe we will reflect on how we do this.

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Human Rights (19 Jun 2025)

Catherine Connolly: 22. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment further to Parliamentary Question Nos. 28 of 1 May 2025, and 6 of 20 February 2025, if the action plan on business and human rights has now been published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32968/25]

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Trade Relations (19 Jun 2025)

Catherine Connolly: 43. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the analysis undertaken of the activities of a company (details supplied), which company continues to generate profit from tourism to illegal settlements, deemed illegal under international law; if he is concerned that despite the ruling by the International Court of Justice in July 2024 that Israel's occupation of Palestinian...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Trade Data (19 Jun 2025)

Catherine Connolly: 45. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number and value of dual-use export licence applications, in respect of end-users in Israel, approved by his Department by quarter in 2022, 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025, in tabular form; the number refused in each year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32970/25]

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Trade Relations (19 Jun 2025)

Catherine Connolly: 62. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment further to Parliamentary Question No. 16 of 20 February 2025, to detail the way in which, as outlined in the reply, officials carry out an assessment which includes a series of checks to ensure, as far as possible, that the item to be exported will be used by the stated end-user for the stated end-use and will not be used for...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Enterprise Policy (19 Jun 2025)

Catherine Connolly: 68. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the timeline for the publication of 'Enterprise 2035'; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32969/25]