Results 121-140 of 4,372 for in 'Dáil debates' speaker:Fergus O'Dowd

Eviction Ban: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (22 Mar 2023)

Fergus O'Dowd: Deputy Nash will have to do better than that.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Mar 2023)

Fergus O'Dowd: I would just make one correction. Nurses and doctors did turn up but not immediately. Most of them did not turn up when they were asked.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Mar 2023)

Fergus O'Dowd: I welcome the decision of the Government to have an inquiry into nursing homes during Covid but the reality is that when HIQA staff visited the Oaklands Nursing Home in County Kerry in November 2020, 27 of its 32 residents had Covid. The general manager and the person in charge were both absent and the person further identified to manage the centre in the event of the absence of those people...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Vacant Properties (9 Mar 2023)

Fergus O'Dowd: 91. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if there are any further plans to amend existing regulations exempting certain types of vacant commercial premises from planning permission in order to maximise the number of vacant units being brought back into use; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11866/23]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Vacant Properties (9 Mar 2023)

Fergus O'Dowd: One hundred years ago, many people lived above commercial premises in the centre of Drogheda. Today, very few people live there. What further and additional regulations can he amend- obviously, I exclude those relating to health and safety - in order to encourage more people to live in the centre of our towns and over commercial premises nationally.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Vacant Properties (9 Mar 2023)

Fergus O'Dowd: I congratulate the Minister of State on his recent appointment. I have not sat here in the Chamber with him for a number of years, and he and I both know how we feel and think about things. I recently met the owners of property in the centre of Drogheda. They are local people who own substantial levels of property. They were aware of the exemptions but they felt they did not have...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Vacant Properties (9 Mar 2023)

Fergus O'Dowd: These properties are vacant today. I hear what the Minister of State is saying but we need a driver. I am not condemning the current vacant homes officers, but most of them were doing other jobs previously. That is the reality. They were not doing anything in this area. I accept and acknowledge what the Minister of State said about housing, particularly in the context of his recent...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Vacant Properties (9 Mar 2023)

Fergus O'Dowd: Hear, hear.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (8 Mar 2023)

Fergus O'Dowd: I welcome the commitment the Taoiseach has reiterated this morning. The fact is that 24 residents died in St. Mary's community nursing unit in the first phase of the pandemic in 2020. A protected disclosure was made and was discussed by the HSE at a meeting held on 14 May 2020. The minutes of that meeting show that advice was given to take emails relating to that review and investigation...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (2 Mar 2023)

Fergus O'Dowd: There are 41 driver testing centres nationally. On Monday, there will only be 40 because the biggest town in Ireland, with a population approaching 50,000, will not have a test centre. This is despite the Road Safety Authority, RSA, having decided six or seven years ago to have a permanent centre in Drogheda. Residents in an estate in Drogheda are being blamed for the closure. That is not...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (2 Mar 2023)

Fergus O'Dowd: I thank the Tánaiste.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 Feb 2023)

Fergus O'Dowd: Drogheda is the largest town in Ireland and it has the longest waiting list in the country for driving tests. If you apply for a test today, it will be 27 November before you get an invitation to formally apply and 2024 before you sit your test. That compares badly with Dundalk, where the waiting time is three months, Navan, where the waiting time is two months, and Monaghan, where the...

Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use: Motion (21 Feb 2023)

Fergus O'Dowd: I welcome this timely and important debate. There is probably a consensus in the House as to the way forward but I will reflect, like my colleague, Deputy Fitzpatrick, on issues in my constituency. What brought not just Drogheda, where I live, to national attention and international notoriety was the context of the murder of Keane Mulready-Woods, who was a young person, a child, as a result...

Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use: Motion (21 Feb 2023)

Fergus O'Dowd: We need more time to go through how we solve the problem but I welcome the fact the citizens’ assembly has been set up.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Home Care Packages (16 Feb 2023)

Fergus O'Dowd: 90. To ask the Minister for Health to provide an update on the expected timelines on the establishment of a new statutory home support scheme; the way he intends to scope and plan for such a scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7520/23]

Ceisteanna - Questions: Home Care Packages (16 Feb 2023)

Fergus O'Dowd: Many more people are living longer in our society. The latest census indicated there are over 1 million people aged over 60 years in the State, of whom 150,000 are aged over 80 years. I am thankful that hundreds of people are reaching the celebration mark of 100 years of age every year. Older people want to age in place, not in nursing homes or institutions. Will the Minister give an...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Home Care Packages (16 Feb 2023)

Fergus O'Dowd: Absolutely.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Home Care Packages (16 Feb 2023)

Fergus O'Dowd: I thank the Minister of State for her reply. One of the biggest problems we have is getting people to work in the home care area. The Government is dealing with that in some respects. I welcome that over 1,000 visas are being issued to people to come to work in Ireland as healthcare assistants and healthcare workers. Would it not also make sense to look at the thousands of people who are...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Home Care Packages (16 Feb 2023)

Fergus O'Dowd: Hear, hear.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Home Care Packages (16 Feb 2023)

Fergus O'Dowd: The future for older people is ageing in place and ageing at home and I welcome the Minister of State's commitments in that regard. I will comment on the criticism by nursing homes of the regulator, HIQA, and the Department of Health. They claim there is over-regulation. I have examined the homes that have closed recently. Fire has been a big issue, in that fire hazards cannot be, and...