Results 11,101-11,120 of 14,981 for speaker:Eoin Ó Broin

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: I am happy to withdraw the amendment on that basis.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: I move amendment No. 10: In page 16, to delete lines 31 to 34. I have a strong view on this amendment and I am going to press it. The lines in the section that I am seeking to remove prohibit the CEO from expressing an opinion on the merits of Government policy, Ministers and the objectives of such policy. They are too restrictive. If we appoint experts and knowledgeable and...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: Sure, but this is meant to be an independent regulator. While I accept what the Minister is saying about the separation of functions of the Accounting Officer and broader issues of policy and legislation, the two are inextricably linked. Therefore, as Accounting Officer, there may well be situations where issues will arise relevant to legislation or policy. I would not like to constrain an...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: I move amendment No. 11: In page 20, between lines 18 and 19, to insert the following: “(c) following consultation with the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government.”. The amendments speak for themselves. I would like to give the committee a formal role at a consultative level in considering key issues such as the development of the strategy...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: It is precisely because I want it to be a statutory requirement that I have tabled it. It would only undermine the independence of the regulator if we were to be given a formal function in deciding on issues or had the ability to have a veto. This is simply about allowing the committee to be a formal structure or statutory part of the consultation process. The strategy statement referred...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: The Minister can correct me if I am wrong, but I assume the regulator will draft the strategy statement and submit it to the Minister for approval. Once approved, it will be published. That is the point at which we will get to discuss it. What I am saying is the regulator should discuss it with us prior to its submission to the Minister in order that our views could be taken on board.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: There will be nothing to stop us from inviting the regulator, but there will be no statutory obligation on it to take up the invitation, which is the issue. I will not labour the point.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: I move amendment No. 12: In page 21, between lines 28 and 29, to insert the following: “(2) The Regulator shall present the annual report to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government within a month of submitting the report to the Minister.”.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: I am happy to withdraw the amendment on that basis.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: I concur.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: The door is locked.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: Do not believe him.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: I agree. I am happy to withdraw the amendment on that basis, but I ask the Minister to let us know prior to the deadline for submitting amendments on Report Stage if he will be tabling an amendment. We could then decide whether we should resubmit the amendment on Report Stage. I am happy to withdraw it on the basis of what the Minister has said.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: I move amendment No. 17: In page 34, to delete line 3. We have had two relatively detailed discussions with Mr. Paul Lemass and his team on this. I am still not convinced that issues of tenancy management by AHBs, nominations to dwellings of tenants and allocations of dwellings to tenants are the function of the regulator. I am still convinced that these are matters of policy in the...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: As I indicated to Mr. Lemass and his team, I am open to supporting the inclusion of these things but the case has not been made strongly enough to me yet. In his response, the Minister talked about voids being brought back into use. The issue is that these two subsections are not about property management but about tenant management. If the Minister can give me a clear explanation of what...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: I do not wish to prolong the discussion but I have reviewed the Housing Agency note. Part of my concern is that the performance standards were devised and published by the non-statutory regulator, as it currently exists. There is talk about the standards and about the local authorities being involved, and there is an overlap with the National Oversight and Audit Commission, NOAC. If we...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: Who will set those standards?

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: I am a little more convinced than I was after the previous meeting and, therefore, I am happy to withdraw the amendment, although I may return to it later.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: I move amendment No. 18: In page 34, to delete lines 35 and 36. I will withdraw the amendment on the same basis that I withdrew amendment No. 17.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2019)

Eoin Ó Broin: In some senses, this amendment requires the report to do what the NOAC report does with respect to local authority housing, which is to document the additions to the stock annually. If it is good enough for NOAC and the local authorities, I do not see why it should not be in this Bill.