Results 11,161-11,180 of 20,068 for speaker:Brian Stanley

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (17 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: There is about an extra 1,000 in the HAP scheme. What about the reply to the other question?

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (17 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: I thank Ms Stapleton. That is important in terms of quality but also to speed up the process.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (17 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: It is something we need to do. I will return to the supplements for a moment. The figure of 28% is on the basis of figures given. They are received, the Comptroller and Auditor General looks at them and you look at them. I understand that; that is what you are getting. However, I can tell you that people who are not paying top-ups are the exception, including for constituents who are...

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (17 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: I accept that.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (17 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: It is a huge shift in spending away from State or local authority housing assets. Somebody else has the asset, and that is the point.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (17 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: I have a question about the occupancy of emergency accommodation. There was an example in Holybrook Park, Clontarf, where Dublin City Council leased a house from private interests for emergency accommodation. My understanding is that the council was boxed into a situation. A person owned the property next door and a situation arose whereby the council was not going to get one without the...

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (17 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: Okay, you can refer back to me on that. Thank you.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (17 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: There is another point relating to private rented accommodation. It is costing €7,800 per unit. Then, as I mentioned, the tenant in most cases pays a differential rent and also pays the top-up. The real cost of the unit, therefore, is far in excess of €7,800. That is the cost to the State and I accept that is the accurate figure you are giving. However, that is the 2020...

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (17 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: The Deputy's time is up.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (17 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: I think the quarter 3 figures were approximately 3,600.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (17 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: Deputy Devlin will join us. He is on other parliamentary duty. Deputy James O'Connor is due to join us. I have some questions. I will revert to rent subsidies. Broadly speaking, one has RAS, HAP and capital leasing. I am going by the Department's Estimates for 2022 on page 9 of the briefing note. Some €293 million is budgeted for capital leasing under subhead A11.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (17 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: There is €12 million for repair and lease. The previous year, there was €123 million on rent supplements, not from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, but from the Department of Social Protection. I assume that will be approximately the same amount because many people in emergency situations, such as victims of domestic violence, are on rent supplement....

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (17 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: Does the Department expect to hit 5,000 new social housing-delivered builds, either by approved housing bodies or local authorities? Will it exceed 5,000?

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (17 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: We will come in at approximately half of the target envisaged. I note that in the lockdown this time last year social housing projects were continued. There is one very close to my area and I spoke to one of the officials about it during the break. That continued and did not stop during the lockdown. Okay, Covid had an effect, but it did not close down social housing construction. We...

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (17 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: I ask the officials to take that point on board. We will take a break for ten minutes and resume at 11.10 a.m.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (17 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: As Deputy James O'Connor has not yet joined the meeting, Deputy Imelda Munster is next.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (17 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: The Department might come back to the committee with a schedule to try to improve the inspection regime. The point raised by Deputy Sherlock is very important. The virtual inspections do not work and there have to be physical inspections. Many of the smaller local authorities do not have the personnel to do it. They might have one person who is shared with planning enforcement, and the...

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (17 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: I thank Mr. Doyle. The next speaker is Deputy McAuliffe.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (17 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: Apologies have been received from Deputy Carroll MacNeill. I welcome everyone to the meeting. While Covid-19 restrictions are receding and it is open to members and witnesses to attend meetings in person, I ask those doing so to continue to wear face coverings when not addressing the committee. Members of the committee attending remotely must continue to do so from within the precincts of...

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (17 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: I thank Mr. McCarthy. I welcome Mr. Doyle. As detailed in the letter of invitation, he has five minutes to deliver his opening statement. I will remind him after four minutes have passed.