Results 10,721-10,740 of 27,251 for speaker:Richard Boyd Barrett

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Affordable Housing: Discussion (18 Jun 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: What rents were defined as being affordable? Was affordable purchase included as one of the considerations?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Affordable Housing: Discussion (18 Jun 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: It was not considered, however, in some models.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Affordable Housing: Discussion (18 Jun 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I do not understand how this can be done without having clear definitions of what affordability is.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Affordable Housing: Discussion (18 Jun 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I know.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Affordable Housing: Discussion (18 Jun 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Affordable Housing: Discussion (18 Jun 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I have a brief supplementary. From the point of view of just doing this, whatever its political merits, would it not be easier and, as a result, probably quicker from a purely practical point of view, if one did not have to look at everything?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Affordable Housing: Discussion (18 Jun 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Generally, how much does the cost of finance vary and how much does it impact on the final rent in cost rental or, for that matter, the purchase price? What are the different sources of finance and what sort of variability is there in the cost at different times and overall in these projects? Elaborating on an earlier question, everything that the agency is doing seems to be based on...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Affordable Housing: Discussion (18 Jun 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Who would want that involvement?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Affordable Housing: Discussion (18 Jun 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: They come to the agency.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Affordable Housing: Discussion (18 Jun 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: The agency is not tied in directly to the implementation of the overall Rebuilding Ireland plan, but is brought in.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Negligence Claims (13 Jun 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: 133. To ask the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 852 of 8 May 2019, the steps a person can take to seek justice in the case of medical negligence dating back a number of years in which the symptoms of the person as a result became more apparent and worse years later, where the case is statute barred and the person cannot avail of justice from the State Claims Agency;...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Cost of Insurance Working Group: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (13 Jun 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: As long as we have been dealing with this issue, which has been for some time, I have let the Minister of State and the Government know that People Before Profit's view is that the only way fair insurance premiums will be achieved and the profiteering of the insurance industry stopped is to have a not-for-profit insurance company. The sooner we go down that road, the better. Then we will...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Cost of Insurance Working Group: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (13 Jun 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: The problem is, and the Minister of State did not really respond to this point, that there is nothing we can do apart from keeping the spotlight on them, to use the Minister of State's phrase. There is nothing we can do to compel them to give fair premiums and not to profiteer. There is nothing we can do to stop them just exiting the market whenever it suits them for whatever reasons they...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Cost of Insurance Working Group: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (13 Jun 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Is the Minister of State saying that if somebody cannot make a profit out of an important insurance sector, then that sector just will not have insurance coverage? That is the logic of what he is saying. Take taxi drivers as an example. Society and public transport need taxi drivers. However, problems with insurance coverage and premiums threaten the livelihoods of taxi drivers if they...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Cost of Insurance Working Group: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (13 Jun 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: It is bonkers for us to allow that to happen.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Cost of Insurance Working Group: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (13 Jun 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: We do fix the price for the taxi driver.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Cost of Insurance Working Group: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (13 Jun 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I agree with all of that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Cost of Insurance Working Group: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (13 Jun 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: We do not. However, there is a cross-party agreement on these issues. We needed to address them and they are being addressed now. I will give credit where credit is due. This is notwithstanding the fact that people have legitimate claims for serious injuries.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Cost of Insurance Working Group: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (13 Jun 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: That is fair enough. We should not debate matters we do not have to debate. Insurance fraud should be stamped out. Excessive awards should not happen. Cases being dragged on for ever and ever with extortionate legal costs should not happen. We need to streamline that in the interests of-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Cost of Insurance Working Group: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (13 Jun 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: -----society, business and people who have to take out insurance for one reason or another. My point is that there is no mechanism to prevent insurance companies taking advantage of the well-intentioned work of the committee and all parties or of the measures taken by the Minister of State. I put it to the Minister of State that is what they are doing. They are taking advantage of the...