Results 9,101-9,120 of 9,814 for speaker:Steven Matthews

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (17 Dec 2020)

Steven Matthews: 111. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he is considering reopening the restart grants to new applications that would include businesses that may not have qualified under the previous criteria. [43718/20]

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Local Enterprise Offices (17 Dec 2020)

Steven Matthews: 182. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his plans regarding the introduction of sustainability indicators for enterprises in receipt of support from their local enterprise office given that this would highlight businesses that have made a conscious effort with regard to sustainability goals and this is not considered at present as part of a grant application. [43326/20]

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Recycling Data (15 Dec 2020)

Steven Matthews: 145. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if plastic processed through pyrolysis infrastructure will be considered as recycled plastic for the purposes of national statistics collection; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43136/20]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (15 Dec 2020)

Steven Matthews: 553. To ask the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a campaign led by nurses that seeks to have the annual retention fee paid to the NMBI waived for 2020 to reflect their service during the pandemic; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43224/20]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payment: Discussion (15 Dec 2020)

Steven Matthews: We are joined this morning by Marcella Stakem, research and policy officer with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, and John-Mark McCafferty, CEO of Threshold. We are also joined remotely by Ann-Marie O'Reilly, who is a policy officer with Threshold. The opening statement, briefing material and the joint report compiled by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and Threshold on the housing...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payment: Discussion (15 Dec 2020)

Steven Matthews: Thank you. Many of us have come quite recently from the local authority setting so we know at first hand the difficulties, worries and stress faced by people in trying to secure a tenancy, trying to find a property, encountering landlords who will not accept HAP and the difficulties that go with that. Sometimes a person can feel powerless in that situation and limited in what he or she can...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payment: Discussion (15 Dec 2020)

Steven Matthews: I am sorry to interrupt but we need to keep questions and answers to five minutes. There were many questions asked and they took up most of the five minutes. I expect similar questions will be answered as we proceed. I apologise but I must move on to Deputy Ó Broin. The first question has been answered.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payment: Discussion (15 Dec 2020)

Steven Matthews: Representatives from both organisations are in agreement that a full review is needed and that the capacity of the two organisations to carry it out is limited. What is the one aspect of HAP that the witnesses would like to see changed as a result of a review?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payment: Discussion (15 Dec 2020)

Steven Matthews: I would like to return to the issue of security of tenures, as raised by Senator Fitzpatrick, as well as the low uptake of rent supports and rent supplement and why the witnesses think that might be the case. Those supports are available for people who may be forgoing things such as food and other necessities. We need to make that known.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payment: Discussion (15 Dec 2020)

Steven Matthews: Go ahead, Senator.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payment: Discussion (15 Dec 2020)

Steven Matthews: The witness has one minute to answer that question if he wishes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payment: Discussion (15 Dec 2020)

Steven Matthews: The question should be put to the witnesses rather than to another member.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payment: Discussion (15 Dec 2020)

Steven Matthews: I wish to ask the witnesses about standards and inspections, which we touched on earlier. Where a new private property enters into the local authority under HAP, the local authority will inspect that property before taking it on, but for properties that have been in the system for quite some time, the inspection rate is probably not as rigorous. Is that why we see residents’...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payment: Discussion (15 Dec 2020)

Steven Matthews: Deputy O'Donoghue made some good points about urban regeneration and infrastructural supports to improve the housing supply. Deputy Ó Broin wants to come in with one or two questions. We must finish up shortly.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payment: Discussion (15 Dec 2020)

Steven Matthews: I thank Mr. McCafferty, Ms Stakem and Ms O'Reilly for their attendance this morning. It has been most helpful and informative for us and I have some takeaways from what they said. I note that Deputy Ó Broin has seconded Deputy Gould's proposal that while HAP is here for the medium term it needs a full review. Some partial work has been done on it, but there has not been the...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Post Office Network (9 Dec 2020)

Steven Matthews: 36. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his views on whether the existing post office network is viable; and his plans to increase State funding to the service or to engage with representatives from the sector to discuss their ongoing concerns. [42284/20]

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Covid-19 Pandemic (9 Dec 2020)

Steven Matthews: 181. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if she will report on the steps being taken to ensure family contact for prisoners continues during all levels of the Covid-19 plan. [42286/20]

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Human Rights (9 Dec 2020)

Steven Matthews: 182. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if her attention has been drawn to concerns recently reported by the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. [42287/20]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Consumer Complaints Process: ComReg (9 Dec 2020)

Steven Matthews: I will probably have a question for Mr. Godfrey as well. The Eircode postcodes are rolled out on a quarterly basis or they are supposed to be, I believe there is some delay with that. Eir suggested when I put the question to them, that a roll-out of Eircode postcodes on a monthly basis would assist them. Would it be the view of ComReg that increasing the frequency of rolling out Eircode...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Consumer Complaints Process: ComReg (9 Dec 2020)

Steven Matthews: Can ComReg make that recommendation to service providers that they should provide that?