Results 10,141-10,160 of 16,611 for speaker:Peadar Tóibín

Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (22 Jun 2017)

Peadar Tóibín: What about the customs union?

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Scoileanna Gaeltachta (22 Jun 2017)

Peadar Tóibín: 78. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills cé mhéad scoil atá i dteideal a bheith aitheanta mar Scoil Ghaeltachta; agus cé mhéad scoil a chuir iarratas isteach ar an scéim aitheantais mar Scoil Ghaeltachta. [29307/17]

Topical Issue Debate: Rent Controls (21 Jun 2017)

Peadar Tóibín: It is shocking to me to learn that the towns we have just discussed meet the criteria with regard to spiralling rent. The Minister of State says they do not meet the full criteria, however, because the rent in question is not already an outlier, as in being too high. In other words, the Government's mechanism is to wait until rent gets too high and then slow down the increase to 4%. It...

Topical Issue Debate: Rent Controls (21 Jun 2017)

Peadar Tóibín: This Government is a very competitive one. There are many competing crises under the Government's remit at present but, unfortunately, one crisis is the clear winner - the housing crisis. This is a humanitarian crisis that has been building for many years and it still worsens today. I attend Trim district courthouse regularly. It is chock-a-block with families in mortgage distress...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Business of Joint Committee (21 Jun 2017)

Peadar Tóibín: Senator Rose Conway-Walsh who is substituting for Senator Fintan Warfield has asked if she can speak first as she has an item of legislation with which she has to deal in the Seanad at 3 p.m. Is that agreed?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Business of Joint Committee (21 Jun 2017)

Peadar Tóibín: Members are normally allocated ten minutes. The Senator can spend five minutes asking her questions and allow our guest five minutes in which to reply or she can ask short questions and move back and forth for ten minutes, whichever suits her.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Business of Joint Committee (21 Jun 2017)

Peadar Tóibín: I ask members to, please, turn off their mobile phones as they interfere with the sound system and, therefore, the broadcasting of the meeting. Apologies have been received form Deputy Michael Collins who is trying to make it to the meeting. I hope we will see him shortly. Apologies have also been received from Deputy Martin Heydon and Senator Fintan Warfield.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Jun 2017)

Peadar Tóibín: We will now resume consideration of the topic of work of the Western Development Commission within the context of the committee's current project on what it takes to sustain a viable rural community with Mr. Paddy McGuinness, former chairperson of the Western Development Commission. Cuirim fáilte roimh Mr. McGuinness. Táimid ag tnúth lena fhianaise. By virtue of section...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Jun 2017)

Peadar Tóibín: No. Mr. McGuinness may continue.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Jun 2017)

Peadar Tóibín: Tá sé sin an-simúil ar fad. We agreed at the start of the meeting that we would give an opportunity to Senator Rose Conway-Walsh to start the questions, because she has to attend the Seanad to deal with legislation shortly.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Jun 2017)

Peadar Tóibín: Would Mr. McGuinness like to answer now?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Jun 2017)

Peadar Tóibín: Yes, back and forth.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Jun 2017)

Peadar Tóibín: There is a new Department being created dealing with rural development and it will have its own secretariat and Secretary General. It will be completely separate from the Department dealing with arts, heritage and the Gaeltacht. We do not know what the name of the Department will be.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Jun 2017)

Peadar Tóibín: It may be but there has been no decision on whether the Gaeltacht will feature as a separate name. All of this must be fleshed out and we must wait for the Government to come back with its picture.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Jun 2017)

Peadar Tóibín: I will ask a few questions but I concur with Senator O'Donnell both on the points she made and how she made them. Mr. McGuinness is a brave man who has made a stand of conviction, which is not regularly visible in this country, unfortunately, and in these spaces. When the witness was here representing the Western Development Commission with some of the staff, I was so impressed with the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Jun 2017)

Peadar Tóibín: I do not wish to be political and the witness states he does not wish to make this overly political either. A Minister of State asked if a turf war was being sought when Mr. McGuinness simply sought to identify what exactly would constitute an enhanced role. It seems we cannot necessarily ask the Civil Service to reform itself, but elected representatives have the responsibility to reform...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Jun 2017)

Peadar Tóibín: Okay. With regard to the Departments, would it be a good idea to have a recruitment policy that would bring in far more people from outside the Civil Service on a regular basis? This could lead to a churn of people developing in the system and those coming from outside who may have different types of experience, perspectives and approaches.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Jun 2017)

Peadar Tóibín: The Western Development Commission stated before that it wanted to have a presence in Brussels so as to be able to draw down European funds or be involved with the development of funding or development programmes. That also seems to have been prevented.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Jun 2017)

Peadar Tóibín: It is a farce if funds that are identified to help materially individuals struggling with regard to income, job prospects and enterprise development have a bureaucratic line drawn around them to prevent them being spent. It is shocking. People outside the political world ask me and, I am sure, other elected representatives every day how the State can be so impractical in its delivery of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Jun 2017)

Peadar Tóibín: Ba mhaith liom freisin míle buíochas a ghabháil le Mr. McGuinness. Beidh an t-eolas go léir curtha isteach inár gcuid tuairisc. We really want to thank him sincerely for coming in and for taking the stand he has taken and highlighting and putting a red line under this matter. It is our job, and the job of the political parties represented on the committee, to make...