Results 141-160 of 2,274 for speaker:Richard O'Donoghue

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Business of Select Committee (24 Jun 2025)

Richard O'Donoghue: I ask all members to put their mobile phones on silent mode. Before we begin, I wish to explain to witnesses some limitations to parliamentary privilege and the practice of the House as regards reference you may make to other persons in your evidence. You are protected under absolute privilege in respect of the presentation you make to the committee. This means that you have an absolute...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Business of Select Committee (24 Jun 2025)

Richard O'Donoghue: On behalf of the committee, I am delighted to welcome you as Leas-Chathaoirleach. I wish you the very best of luck with it. It is a privilege to be either a Cathaoirleach or a Leas-Chathaoirleach of a committee. It is a responsibility that we have and I look forward to working with you.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Annual Progress Report 2025: Discussion (24 Jun 2025)

Richard O'Donoghue: Thank you, Minister. I now invite the Minister, Deputy Chambers, to make his opening statement.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Annual Progress Report 2025: Discussion (24 Jun 2025)

Richard O'Donoghue: In that context-----

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Annual Progress Report 2025: Discussion (24 Jun 2025)

Richard O'Donoghue: The oversight I am talking about is already in place. The local authorities were doing this in the first place. Engineering services in local authorities can oversee the developer-led projects within their own counties. I am talking about smaller developments where existing systems can be upgraded and then give them back to Uisce Éireann with the upgraded systems in place. We have to...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Annual Progress Report 2025: Discussion (24 Jun 2025)

Richard O'Donoghue: I thank the Minister.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Annual Progress Report 2025: Discussion (24 Jun 2025)

Richard O'Donoghue: I have let everyone overrun by a minute so far.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Annual Progress Report 2025: Discussion (24 Jun 2025)

Richard O'Donoghue: I have been flexible with the Deputy as well.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Annual Progress Report 2025: Discussion (24 Jun 2025)

Richard O'Donoghue: We will see in a couple of weeks' time.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Annual Progress Report 2025: Discussion (24 Jun 2025)

Richard O'Donoghue: This afternoon's engagement is to discuss the Annual Progress Report 2025. I welcome the Minister for Finance, Deputy Pascal Donohoe, and the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, Deputy Jack Chambers, and their officials. I thank them for being here today. The annual progress report was published on 6 May by the Department of...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Annual Progress Report 2025: Discussion (24 Jun 2025)

Richard O'Donoghue: I thank the Minister. I will now open up to Members to ask questions. I call Deputy Fleming.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Annual Progress Report 2025: Discussion (24 Jun 2025)

Richard O'Donoghue: I have some simple and practical suggestions to help with the delivery of infrastructure on budget and on time. In the case of the three projects in which Uisce Éireann has been involved in Limerick so far, it has not come in within budget or on time. Accountability is needed within that sector because we are not getting value for money. The Department of public expenditure could...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (19 Jun 2025)

Richard O'Donoghue: 134. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if consideration will be given to entitling persons on widows’ pension to claim illness benefit when off sick; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33211/25]

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (19 Jun 2025)

Richard O'Donoghue: 185. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if consideration will be given to entitling persons on a widow’s pension working in schools to be able to claim job seeker's benefit when not being paid when off; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33210/25]

Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Bill 2025: Second Stage (18 Jun 2025)

Richard O'Donoghue: For people who do not understand it, RPZs are rent pressure zones. Where do we go? How did we get here in the first place? We got here because of a lack of infrastructure. What have we done over the past six years? I have been asking our Government to look at development-led infrastructure but what we did was that we set up Irish Water. Irish Water was set up to collect money for...

Public Transport Experience: Motion [Private Members] (18 Jun 2025)

Richard O'Donoghue: In Limerick, Local Link is operating at capacity. To improve the system, people are looking for more services. Local Link would not be in our area were it not for private operators. We would not have it otherwise. I appreciate the investment the Department is putting into Local Link, but there is no joined up thinking. It is doing one route. It should be doing a figure 8 on all links...

Emergency Action on Housing and Homelessness: Motion [Private Members] (17 Jun 2025)

Richard O'Donoghue: We will be sharing time. We will each have three and a half minutes. There is a housing crisis. We need to deliver houses. I am offering my services to the Minister, as I have offered them to other Ministers, to help to deliver houses. I do so in light of the experience I have and the knowledge I have that Irish Water is not providing value for money. It will not deliver the...

Finance (Local Property Tax and Other Provisions) (Amendment) Bill 2025: Second Stage (17 Jun 2025)

Richard O'Donoghue: I am the chairperson of the Committee on Budgetary Oversight, and I am delighted to be Independent Ireland's first chairperson. An invitation to the Minister to attend our meeting next Tuesday was sent by the clerk to the committee. We had facilitated the Minister, in that he could not make it two weeks ago. We changed people around and other people appeared before us. However, we got a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (12 Jun 2025)

Richard O'Donoghue: 89. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her attention has been drawn to the recent publication of the new specification for the senior cycle engineering subject; and if she will commit to the introduction of a second additional assessment component (practical skills test) in senior-cycle engineering, given that 89% of engineering teachers are in favour of its introduction. [31421/25]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Staff (12 Jun 2025)

Richard O'Donoghue: 319. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will request her Ministerial colleagues to grant immediate pension parity to school secretaries and caretakers, as they are integral to the daily operations of schools and are paid by her Department. [31422/25]