Results 16,661-16,680 of 74,100 for speaker:Bernard Durkan

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Home Loan Scheme (11 Dec 2019)

Bernard Durkan: 320. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his plans to adjust income limits for applicants for Rebuilding Ireland home loans in order to aggressively deal with the housing shortage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52160/19]

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Home Loan Scheme (11 Dec 2019)

Bernard Durkan: 321. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his plans to increase dramatically the number and availability of Rebuilding Ireland home loans; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52161/19]

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Eligibility (11 Dec 2019)

Bernard Durkan: 322. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of families likely to qualify for local authority houses in 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52162/19]

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (11 Dec 2019)

Bernard Durkan: 323. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the action he will take in terms of reform to address the issue of families having to spend more than half the family income to meet rent payments; if provision will be made by which families can compete with investors in the market place to provide themselves with a home; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52163/19]

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Provision (11 Dec 2019)

Bernard Durkan: 324. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the amount of local authority-owned potential building lands available for local authority affordable housing in the greater Dublin area, with particular reference to those counties adjacent to Dublin; if particular reasons have emerged that may inhibit progress of a major house building campaign to meet the demands of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Meeting on Health Issues (11 Dec 2019)

Bernard Durkan: I wish to make a few comments. First, we must acknowledge the success of using the National Treatment Purchase Fund to cut waiting lists for various procedures, as there has been a considerable drop in the number of people on them. For example, in the case of inpatient or day case procedures the number fell by 20,000 up to November 2019. That is a major achievement. There are still two...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Meeting on Health Issues (11 Dec 2019)

Bernard Durkan: Of course, I do. I will be glad to get those answers for a start.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Meeting on Health Issues (11 Dec 2019)

Bernard Durkan: The Chairman will be glad to know I am about to conclude. I do not intend to go on for as long as everybody tends to go on, but I will go on a little while-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Meeting on Health Issues (11 Dec 2019)

Bernard Durkan: -----in order to represent my constituents at least as well as other people tend to do. I do not believe that all the people with severe child mental health issues come to me. I have four on my list and I am dealing with them daily. I am not dealing with them very satisfactorily because they are frustrated. In the past couple of weeks one of the four got on to a programme which was...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Meeting on Health Issues (11 Dec 2019)

Bernard Durkan: I am nearly finished; my last question is coming up. I insist on having parity will all my peers, which can be difficult from time to time. The Chairman might not remember I was a member of the first ministerial drugs task force a long time ago. We seem to have drifted away from the original purpose of the exercise. At that time methadone was a means to an end. Now it seems to be an...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Meeting on Health Issues (11 Dec 2019)

Bernard Durkan: I will come back in again shortly.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Meeting on Health Issues (11 Dec 2019)

Bernard Durkan: I could not agree more.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Meeting on Health Issues (11 Dec 2019)

Bernard Durkan: I do not agree entirely, but I will come back in again later.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Meeting on Health Issues (11 Dec 2019)

Bernard Durkan: I will take written replies to my questions. I raised the question of drugs treatment. I am not satisfied. There is a greater emphasis now on acceptance and that it is inevitable that people are addicts and that nothing can be done about it. That is a mistake. I ask questions on the number of drug treatment programmes that are offered to addicts or users of drugs and the results among...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Meeting on Health Issues (11 Dec 2019)

Bernard Durkan: That is fine.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Meeting on Health Issues (11 Dec 2019)

Bernard Durkan: Yes, as long as the emphasis is on what I have been suggesting.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Meeting on Health Issues (11 Dec 2019)

Bernard Durkan: What about maternity cover for speech and language therapists? The lack of such cover is leaving a very sizeable gap, especially for children who have difficulty communicating or who cannot communicate at all. There is a serious flaw in the system which must be addressed immediately.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Meeting on Health Issues (11 Dec 2019)

Bernard Durkan: Given what I said earlier, it is necessary to evaluate the situation again to see what can be done. What would it cost to provide cover in order to address the issue? It is not impossible and does not require rocket science. It can be done and it could have a significant impact on the quality of treatment for children and on their families' quality of life.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Meeting on Health Issues (11 Dec 2019)

Bernard Durkan: I asked a question earlier and did not get an answer. I asked about troubleshooting when there is obvious overcrowding at accident and emergency departments. Overcrowding is reported to a central location and it should be possible to identify precisely the cause of same. It is no good just saying that it is a sign of the times. If it is a sign of the times and we are not able to meet the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Meeting on Health Issues (11 Dec 2019)

Bernard Durkan: What do they do in terms of dealing with the problem?