Results 1,741-1,760 of 5,933 for speaker:Paul McAuliffe

Message from Select Committee (16 Nov 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: The Select Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage has completed its consideration of the Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023 and has made amendments thereto.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: It was interesting listening to Deputy Quinlivan. From experience, I can say that a party can go from being very big to very small very quickly. During my time in local government, I spent a lot of time thinking about the issue of posters. Dublin City Council came around to the view that it had more powers to work on the issue than it realised. That was when it took the initiative to...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: I would not like them to be picking the locations of my posters, though.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: I also think 20% is a very high threshold. It does not apply in Dublin but if those numbers were applied there, for example, I cannot even imagine how you would spearhead a campaign. The turnout in local elections in some parts of Dublin might not break 40% and the Minister of State is talking about generating a figure half of that for a petition. It essentially puts a threshold that is...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: I compliment the Minister of State. It is not often that a Minister of State quotes the programme for Government back to me. Normally, we quote it to the Minister and ask for it to be implemented. He is right; I had not realised 20% is specifically stated in the programme for Government. The spirit of that particular clause was that if the local authority was acting as a barrier, there...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: I oppose the amendment to reduce the threshold, given that we had specific discussions on it. Another part of that discussion was the point that Deputy Quinlivan touched on. We do not have this process of impeachment in our Irish system so we can only look to where it exists, and the system in the United States is probably the most obvious example. There are consequences for councillors...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: My big fear is that, because of our multiparty system, a majority on the council might be made up of three or four parties. Some of those may be in government and some may not. It would be too easy to achieve 50% and that is why I would not propose it. It is still easy to achieve 33% and we could easily see tensions between coalition parties in governments playing out in a council, where...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: For Deputy McNamara's benefit, there was some discussion about this during pre-legislative scrutiny and, actually, our concern was about the title. We felt that maybe the term "deputy mayor" should have been applied and would be more easily understood. There was a very clear understanding during the discussion that, for the sake of the chamber and the members in the chamber, one would not...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (15 Nov 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: I have a concern about the amendment for two reasons. While I am a strong advocate for the living wage, there is an argument about why we are not suggesting other areas would not be included. Once we get into a legislative scenario where we are prescribing one form of ambassadorial role, we are then allowing the possibility that they would be precluded for other areas. I would query that....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Domestic Violence (9 Nov 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: I welcome the Minister being open to the issue. I dealt recently with case where a HAP tenant who had been a victim of domestic violence was losing her home and the local authority included them in the tenantin situ scheme. It was a bit convoluted getting there but she walked away from a property interest she had in a family home. Anybody else would ask why someone would walk away from a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Domestic Violence (9 Nov 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: Many years ago, when local authorities had a smaller number of approved housing bodies providing housing and they had more discretion to take it outside the scheme of lettings, those AHB developments were often used for these more sensitive cases where discretion could be applied, although we are in a changed landscape compared with where we were ten years ago, when local authorities had that...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Domestic Violence (9 Nov 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: 93. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if there are plans to allow domestic violence victims to transfer their housing applications to other counties without losing their time on the waiting list. [49071/23]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Domestic Violence (9 Nov 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: Will the Minister give consideration to those in a domestic abuse situation who often through a housing assistant payment, HAP, or other form of temporary housing find refuge away from the family home and were previously on a local authority waiting list in their area? Could they be allowed to transfer to a local authority waiting list in another area without losing the time they have built...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Schemes (9 Nov 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: I thank the Minister of State for outlining the circular issued to all local authorities. The Croí Cónaithe scheme has been invaluable. This has especially been the case in those areas where house prices are that bit lower than they might be elsewhere and additional works cannot be funded with borrowing because of the loan-to-value ratio and the cap the market places on homes in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Schemes (9 Nov 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: I thank the Minister of State. I especially welcome the update concerning Dublin City Council and the interaction in this regard. We have been speaking with the Minister for some time. Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan, who asked me to raise this parliamentary question on his behalf today, has also been working with Cork County Council, and perhaps the same interaction could be undertaken with...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Schemes (9 Nov 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: We will let them off with that.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Schemes (9 Nov 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: I see Sinn Féin councillors now-----

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Schemes (9 Nov 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: I see that Sinn Féin councillors are now offering the guarantee that the tenant in situscheme is working, but the party's frontbenchers do not accept that either.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Schemes (9 Nov 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: I ask the Minister and the Minister of State to do whatever they can to try to ensure this scheme is rolled out and that as much value as possible is derived for the money being put into it by the Minister, the Minister of State and the Government.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Schemes (9 Nov 2023)

Paul McAuliffe: Hear, hear.