Results 9,681-9,700 of 14,981 for speaker:Eoin Ó Broin

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (25 May 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: I wish to speak on the rest of the amendments I have tabled in this group. It may be helpful for Deputy McAuliffe if we deal with the issues he raises at the relevant section of the Bill because many of us would like to contribute to that discussion. I wish to speak on amendments Nos. 41 and 213 now. One of the big concerns I have with the section of the Bill dealt with in amendment...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Housing Issues (20 May 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: 197. To ask the Minister for Finance the loans approved by HBFI for residential developments in the past 12 months; the number of units in each development in tabular form; the location of each development; the number of designated build-to-rent units included in the grant of planning permission in each development; if HBFI or officials in his Department were aware that the loan application...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Electoral Reform Bil 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (20 May 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: Absolutely. As per the letter of invitation to the party, it was the secretary general or a nominee and the party has chosen me as its nominee so I am quite happy to fulfill that role. My understanding is that there is nothing in Standing Orders that prohibits such a decision.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Electoral Reform Bil 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (20 May 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: I have no intention of asking myself questions. I will leave that to the other members. I am sure they have plenty of tricky questions for me. There is nothing in Standing Orders that prevents such a thing and in fact, this is not the first time it has happened. There have been periods before where members of committees have also been witnesses to committees so I do not think it is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Electoral Reform Bil 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (20 May 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: As members know, Sinn Féin strongly welcomes the introduction of the electoral reform Bill, particularly the proposition to establish an electoral reform commission. We are keen it has the maximum levels of powers, particularly adequate resourcing and funding. We also support the move towards a centralised register of electors and an updated and appropriate register given the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Electoral Reform Bil 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (20 May 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: I do not understand the question.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Electoral Reform Bil 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (20 May 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: I am a member of the party leadership and the party's national strategy group. I am very often a member of the party's national election directorate. I remind the Chairman that the invitation was to the secretary general or their nominee. It did not specify who that nominee should or could be. On that basis, the party chose me because it feels I am best placed to answer the potential...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Electoral Reform Bil 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (20 May 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: I am happy to answer all of the questions, but I may not get to do so in the one minute available to me. However, I am sure others will ask similar questions so I will answer them at some point. I want it to be clear that we do not take information from any source, be that a constituency case file or social media interactions, and cross-reference those with the electoral register. It is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Electoral Reform Bil 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (20 May 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: I am taking the first Sinn Féin slot.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Electoral Reform Bil 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (20 May 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: I am also a member of the committee. There is nothing in Standing Orders preventing me from asking questions.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Electoral Reform Bil 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (20 May 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: Let me be constructive then because what we do not want is an acrimonious committee. I do not accept the premise of the Chair's ruling, but if I was to use my time to continue answering the questions posed by Senator Fitzpatrick, would that be a fair compromise?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Electoral Reform Bil 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (20 May 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: Again, I do not want to be in any obstructive, but when the Chair ruled in previous committees that witnesses could not question witnesses those witnesses were not members of the committee. I have never come across a situation where a member of an Oireachtas committee has been denied the right to ask questions. I do not want a row, honestly, but, I regret, that is a significant decision by...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Electoral Reform Bil 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (20 May 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: I will make a final comment and then defer to my colleague, Deputy Gould. I request that at a later stage the committee would write to the Ceann Comhairle for an opinion on the matter. Again, I am not seeking to delay the process of the committee, but it is unheard of for a Chair to deny a member of a committee the right to participate as a member. I would like the Ceann Comhairle's ruling...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Electoral Reform Bil 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (20 May 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: I thank Deputy Higgins and I will do my very best to answer her questions factually. We do not scape any data from any source. We do what any other party does and at times cross-reference the electoral register from the marked register. That is an ordinary part of electoral canvassing and something parties have done for a long time.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Electoral Reform Bil 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (20 May 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: We would cross-reference the marked register in certain circumstances with the Abú system during and immediately after an election campaign.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Electoral Reform Bil 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (20 May 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: In certain circumstances, yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Electoral Reform Bil 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (20 May 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: No, and this is an important point, because, like all members of this committee, we take those data protection issues very seriously. For example, in my own constituency, the only people who will have access to Abú during and shortly after an election are the candidates and those people nominated by the candidates. They would be very few in number, such as a director of elections or a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Electoral Reform Bil 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (20 May 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: In what sense?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Electoral Reform Bil 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (20 May 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: No. For example, the data is presented in exactly the same way as the electoral register in the sense that it would be by street name, as the printed register is.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Electoral Reform Bil 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (20 May 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: I do not believe it would be. What I would say to Deputy Higgins, if this gives her any reassurance, is that we are engaging extensively with the Data Protection Commissioner. Any information she asks for, we provide so that she can make a determination as to our compliance.