Results 14,541-14,560 of 26,825 for speaker:John McGuinness

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 25: Environment, Community and Local Government
Chapter 5: Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Special Report No 84: Transhipment of Waste (25 Jun 2015)

John McGuinness: We are being sent around the houses on this and I am anxious to ensure that somebody comes back to us, either from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport or the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. A transcript of today's meeting will be forwarded to both Departments and I ask that someone decides who will be the lead problem solver.

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 25: Environment, Community and Local Government
Chapter 5: Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Special Report No 84: Transhipment of Waste (25 Jun 2015)

John McGuinness: I put a query to my own local authority recently regarding the employment of private contractors for the purpose of traffic management, that is, traffic wardens. I was told that the authority could not tell me about the procurement process and how much it cost because of commercial sensitivity. I find that strange because when we are at this committee, after the event, we can get the...

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 25: Environment, Community and Local Government
Chapter 5: Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Special Report No 84: Transhipment of Waste (25 Jun 2015)

John McGuinness: It relates to the procurement of traffic wardens in Kilkenny city and I want to find out how much it costs. It is a simple query-----

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 25: Environment, Community and Local Government
Chapter 5: Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Special Report No 84: Transhipment of Waste (25 Jun 2015)

John McGuinness: I should not have to raise it here but unfortunately that is the way business is being done locally now. Nobody wants to answer anyone and they feel they can get away with it, which is worse, because of the strange structure of local authorities now. I raised the issue of the Tipperary Hostel Project with the Department and I understand that the county council is now considering taking...

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 25: Environment, Community and Local Government
Chapter 5: Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Special Report No 84: Transhipment of Waste (25 Jun 2015)

John McGuinness: I presume after the council takes back the lease that it will give life to the project.

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 25: Environment, Community and Local Government
Chapter 5: Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Special Report No 84: Transhipment of Waste (25 Jun 2015)

John McGuinness: Deputy Perry raised the issue of costs to Sligo County Council. Kilkenny County Council incurred costs on the central axis scheme and the case went all the way to the High Court. Considerable investment in the site in Kilkenny has been promised by the National Treasury Management Agency. How stands the Department on these costs? Are they to be borne solely by the local authority? On...

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 25: Environment, Community and Local Government
Chapter 5: Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Special Report No 84: Transhipment of Waste (25 Jun 2015)

John McGuinness: On national funding for the brewery site-----

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 25: Environment, Community and Local Government
Chapter 5: Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Special Report No 84: Transhipment of Waste (25 Jun 2015)

John McGuinness: That body should be alerted to the fact that it is an historic site and that it, therefore, needs to know what is involved.

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 25: Environment, Community and Local Government
Chapter 5: Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Special Report No 84: Transhipment of Waste (25 Jun 2015)

John McGuinness: We should bring it to its attention.

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 25: Environment, Community and Local Government
Chapter 5: Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Special Report No 84: Transhipment of Waste (25 Jun 2015)

John McGuinness: I wish to raise two other items. Deputy Sean Fleming raised the issue of homelessness in the context of the work done in refurbishing houses. I am always taken aback by the number of local authority houses that continue to remain unoccupied. I know from my constituency which covers two counties, Carlow and Kilkenny, that there is an unacceptably high number of local authority houses that...

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 25: Environment, Community and Local Government
Chapter 5: Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Special Report No 84: Transhipment of Waste (25 Jun 2015)

John McGuinness: Therefore, the hold-up is not in the Department but elsewhere?

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 25: Environment, Community and Local Government
Chapter 5: Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Special Report No 84: Transhipment of Waste (25 Jun 2015)

John McGuinness: Can Mr. McCarthy give me any idea of what is happening in respect of houses that need to be refurbished?

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 25: Environment, Community and Local Government
Chapter 5: Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Special Report No 84: Transhipment of Waste (25 Jun 2015)

John McGuinness: It is fair to say there is funding available and that a concerted effort is being made to do the work?

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 25: Environment, Community and Local Government
Chapter 5: Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Special Report No 84: Transhipment of Waste (25 Jun 2015)

John McGuinness: Could the same effort be made in the provision of wetrooms and making houses accessible for people who are disabled or the elderly who have fallen ill? There is a list, but according to my information many local authorities do not have any money to proceed in 2015. They are dealing with applications made in 2014.

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 25: Environment, Community and Local Government
Chapter 5: Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Special Report No 84: Transhipment of Waste (25 Jun 2015)

John McGuinness: Is that funding matched by the local authorities?

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 25: Environment, Community and Local Government
Chapter 5: Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Special Report No 84: Transhipment of Waste (25 Jun 2015)

John McGuinness: A local authority may be at fault in not coming up with the 20%.

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 25: Environment, Community and Local Government
Chapter 5: Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Special Report No 84: Transhipment of Waste (25 Jun 2015)

John McGuinness: Will Mr. McCarthy provide a note on the Poolbeg project, rather than go into detail on it now?

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 25: Environment, Community and Local Government
Chapter 5: Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Special Report No 84: Transhipment of Waste (25 Jun 2015)

John McGuinness: I mentioned it in the context of people ending up in hotels when it would have been cheaper to maintain them in the accommodation in which they had been living, even at higher rent. People were not granted an increase in rent allowance or payments under other schemes to meet the rise in their rent.

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 25: Environment, Community and Local Government
Chapter 5: Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Special Report No 84: Transhipment of Waste (25 Jun 2015)

John McGuinness: Does the Deputy have further questions?

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 25: Environment, Community and Local Government
Chapter 5: Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Special Report No 84: Transhipment of Waste (25 Jun 2015)

John McGuinness: This has been a test case. In the past few weeks we broke at lunchtime and members had a second wind when we came back. As a result, we did not get out until 4 p.m. As such, I did not mention taking a break at 1 p.m. and we are finishing at 2.10 p.m. I thank everybody for their patience. Will we dispose of Vote 25, chapter 5 and special report No. 84? Agreed.