Results 1,701-1,720 of 6,944 for speaker:Michael McNamara

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Policy (28 Sep 2022)

Michael McNamara: What about the derelict sites register? That was my question.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Policy (28 Sep 2022)

Michael McNamara: I know, but will that be used as an incentive to get more of these houses on the market?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Policy (28 Sep 2022)

Michael McNamara: I am trying to be constructive and positive. I welcome the scheme but there is a difference between vacant houses and derelict houses. The Government has introduced a vacant house scheme but there are a lot of derelict houses across the country. They do not accrue local property tax at the moment. Bringing in a vacant property tax is not going to be a stick to force those houses onto the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Policy (28 Sep 2022)

Michael McNamara: I have asked if that will be increased. Will the Government use that mechanism?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Policy (28 Sep 2022)

Michael McNamara: I welcome the steps the Minister has taken but I have a few follow-up questions. With regard to the top-up from €30,000 to €50,000 in the case of a derelict property, does the property have to be on the county's derelict sites register or can the council say that it missed it but accepts that it is derelict? That is the carrot side of things, which I greatly welcome, but will...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Provision (28 Sep 2022)

Michael McNamara: 4. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of homes that have been or that will be built in County Clare from 2020 to 2025 under the local authority affordable purchase scheme; if he will provide a breakdown for each of the four municipal districts Ennis, Killaloe, Shannon and west Clare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47617/22]

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Provision (28 Sep 2022)

Michael McNamara: Affordable housing schemes were introduced for the large and growing cohort of people who do not qualify for social housing but do not earn enough to buy a home or qualify for a mortgage. As I understand it, there are three different schemes. Two of them involve a loan that is essentially a top-up between the mortgage such people could raise on the open market and the price of a house....

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Provision (28 Sep 2022)

Michael McNamara: Two of those schemes involve purchasers going into the private market so they are involved in a bidding war. The local authority is only involved in building houses under one of those schemes. The Minister has confirmed that Clare has no plans at the moment to enter that scheme. That will come as a surprise to the many people in Clare who are struggling to get a home. Incomes vary...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Provision (28 Sep 2022)

Michael McNamara: Is the Minister saying that the local authority is building houses to sell to people under the affordable purchase scheme or is it not? That is a simple question. The local authority is either doing so or it is not.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Provision (28 Sep 2022)

Michael McNamara: Okay.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Provision (28 Sep 2022)

Michael McNamara: I am glad the Minister went to Mallow to see the houses that are going to be sold to people at an affordable rate. However, the people of Clare want houses and not ideas. The Minister told me initially that Clare does not qualify under the various criteria or that homes were deemed already to be affordable in comparison with other counties. It came as a surprise to me when I heard that...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Provision (28 Sep 2022)

Michael McNamara: That is not what I am talking about. I am asking specifically about the scheme in Clare.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: World Heritage Sites (28 Sep 2022)

Michael McNamara: 65. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the reason Inis Cealtra Holy Island and the Burren, respectively, were not included in the UNESCO tentative list when they were adjudged to fulfil the criteria for inclusion on the previous tentative list; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46814/22]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (28 Sep 2022)

Michael McNamara: 180. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will address a school transport matter in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47430/22]

National Surplus (Reserve Fund for Exceptional Contingencies) Act 2019: Motion (27 Sep 2022)

Michael McNamara: The Minister spoke earlier about the merits of not using one-off funding for day-to-day measures. I find it difficult to disagree with that. Once-off funding can be used for capital projects. There is a dire need for transport capital projects in particular. People look back at the Celtic tiger and say that at least we got roads out it. If this is a boom, what will we look back on and be...

Financial Resolution No. 3: Tobacco Products Tax (27 Sep 2022)

Michael McNamara: I have no doubt the Minister is correct when he talks about the ill effects of smoking and the necessity of reducing the number of people who smoke. However, at what point does increasing the tax become counterproductive due to the use of imported tobacco? The higher the tax, the more lucrative smuggling tobacco becomes and the more that money falls into the hands of criminal gangs rather...

Financial Resolutions 2022 - Financial Resolution No. 1: Mineral Oil Tax (27 Sep 2022)

Michael McNamara: I want to give the Minister time to respond. He has talked about Ireland's energy transformation. He and I are both admirers of the Shannon hydroelectric scheme and the bravery displayed by the new State at that time to meet Ireland's energy needs. We were completely reliant on imported energy at the time. We are not completely reliant on it now but we are almost completely reliant. The...

Financial Resolutions 2022 - Financial Resolution No. 1: Mineral Oil Tax (27 Sep 2022)

Michael McNamara: The Leas-Cheann Comhairle might be able to help me. Can I just speak to the financial resolutions or do I need to speak to Deputy Nash's amendment?