Results 19,321-19,340 of 32,978 for speaker:Catherine Connolly

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (21 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: The plan is necessary for the physical maintenance of the housing and the money needed for that is the sinking fund.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (21 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: The role of the approved housing bodies interim regulatory authority is to monitor that and ensure there are sufficient moneys in the sinking fund. Where does that monitoring stand?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (21 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: Will Ms Lyons spell out the practicalities? I am sure it is improving because that is why she is there. She comes across as very competent and professional. Where did the approved housing bodies interim regulatory authority start? What did it find out? Where are the sinking funds at now and what is required?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (21 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: Of some sort.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (21 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: There were 40% of organisations reporting sinking funds in place to begin with. This means that 60% had no such funds.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (21 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: I have another question for the approved housing bodies interim regulatory committee. Regarding the 60% of organisations with no sinking funds in place, where do matters in that regard stand? When was it found out that the number in compliance was 40%? What is the approved housing bodies interim regulatory authority's target?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (21 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: We have 94% with a sinking fund in tier 3. Is it an adequate sinking fund? Are there any issues there?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (21 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: That is good and that is in tier 3 where 94% of the organisations have a sinking fund in place. Will there be follow up with the 6% of organisations that do have a sinking fund in place?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (21 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: In tier 2, 73% of organisations have a sinking fund. Where are we at with the adequacy of those sinking funds and the follow up?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (21 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: Only 64% have done the survey.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (21 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: When will that be in place? Does Dr. Rhodes wants to come in?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (21 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: I understand that.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (21 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: They are interrelated.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (21 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: Regarding the 64% of organisations that have done the stock survey, is there a target for the remainder When will it be done?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (21 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: I am extremely critical of local authorities. I am concerned with holding them to account and all of the public service. This is a body that went unregulated. Charity is good and I know the work on the ground. The philosophy is good. The work of the Comptroller and Auditor General and his staff, however, in identifying that this was an unregulated area means we now have the approved...

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (21 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: Since 2017, which meant there was a huge gap. There was no regulation either. The regulation in place now is voluntary, and even within that code only a certain number of organisations are doing what is necessary. Human rights did not come into it. At least local authority tenants had the benefit of housing as a right until fairly lately. That did not apply in this case. The AHBs were...

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (21 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: The Chair is being very generous. The turnover rate for houses going back into stock is about six to eight weeks.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (21 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: What is the maximum time a house would remain empty?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (21 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: My final question was on the turnover of houses and I had asked it before there was an interruption. What is the maximum time a property is empty?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (21 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: I congratulate the AHBs on that. They might talk to the local authorities about their methods. We have 60 to 80 such houses empty in Galway and we have lost the information as to when they became empty. As the crisis worsened, we lost the date on which they became empty. Some of those houses, however, have been empty for two years and some for five or six. Well done on the turnover time.