Results 1,921-1,940 of 2,092 for speaker:Pat Casey

Written Answers — Department of Health: Ambulance Service Provision (28 Feb 2017)

Pat Casey: 647. To ask the Minister for Health the criteria used in making the decision to change the operating times of Arklow and Baltinglass ambulance stations in 2012; the methods of informing the public of such changes; when there will be a full restoration of a seven day a week service from the stations in Arklow and Baltinglass, County Wicklow; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10368/17]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (23 Feb 2017)

Pat Casey: 161. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of schools building projects (details supplied) based on time to proceed to construction, type of accommodation to be provided and the projected budget allocation, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9165/17]

Public Services and Procurement (Social Value) Bill 2017: Second Stage [Private Members] (21 Feb 2017)

Pat Casey: I welcome the Bill and commend my colleague, Deputy Frank O'Rourke, for his excellent work in bringing forward this important legislation. Changes in public procurement procedures, in particular, the inclusion of social clauses, do not immediately strike many people as vital, considering the chaotic times in which we are living, but a more careful analysis will show that the Bill is crucial...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Housing Rental Sector Strategy: Discussion (21 Feb 2017)

Pat Casey: I have some questions about the methodologies used. I would like to think that it was worth the fight to get rent pressure zones, RPZ, extended beyond the initial zones and into the neighbouring zones. That was a hard-fought fight and was well worth doing at the end of the day. Within that, and within my own constituency in Wicklow, we are seeing anomalies arising almost immediately with...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Housing Rental Sector Strategy: Discussion (21 Feb 2017)

Pat Casey: The other example is Blessington, on the far side of the hill. Its proximity to Dublin has put it in a massive rent pressure area but it does not qualify because it is part of the local area that extends for 60 km all the way down to Carnew and Tinahely, which is mostly rural. The case must be made as to whether this should be looked at on a town basis as opposed to a local area basis....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Housing Rental Sector Strategy: Discussion (21 Feb 2017)

Pat Casey: I will not go back into all of the details. I suppose I am getting a better understanding of how we could progress this in the future. On the anomalies I identified earlier, does the Department agree that these are plausible anomalies that could be addressed in the future? For example, Greystones has the highest rents in Wicklow but is not in a rental pressure zone because it did not tick...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Housing Rental Sector Strategy: Discussion (21 Feb 2017)

Pat Casey: On a point of clarity, it is a continuous review. Other areas could qualify in the future. Can an area fall out of it or is it the case that once it is in, it is in for the three years?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Housing Rental Sector Strategy: Discussion (21 Feb 2017)

Pat Casey: The opt-out is there

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Housing Rental Sector Strategy: Discussion (21 Feb 2017)

Pat Casey: I will wait.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Housing Rental Sector Strategy: Discussion (21 Feb 2017)

Pat Casey: I am more interested in the review process at this stage. Does it start in June or will the review be completed in June? I have been given information that rent pressure zones can be excluded even though they have been included initially. If that is the case within a year many of the initial rent pressure zones will not qualify on the basis of one of the criteria because they will have...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Housing Rental Sector Strategy: Discussion (21 Feb 2017)

Pat Casey: Those are different criteria.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Housing Rental Sector Strategy: Discussion (21 Feb 2017)

Pat Casey: We have moved on.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Housing Rental Sector Strategy: Discussion (21 Feb 2017)

Pat Casey: I do not have detailed information but I have had feedback that there are issues with certification in trying to convert vacant properties, especially over shops, in the context of access, particularly disability access. We all look at these buildings in towns in our constituencies and think they could become homes but there are blockages in the system preventing that from being achieved....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Housing Rental Sector Strategy: Discussion (21 Feb 2017)

Pat Casey: In respect of the certification process, I am trying to get a better handle on how this will be certified at the end of the day because I can probably see some weaknesses in the system. I do not believe in signed certification or the authorised certifier. I would prefer if it was an in-house function in the local authority and was done from the start. This is a highly complex situation in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Housing Rental Sector Strategy: Discussion (21 Feb 2017)

Pat Casey: On supply, there is information coming back that there is a blockage in trying to get apartments up and running in Dublin and on the impediments in that regard. Have we identified the reason for that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Housing Rental Sector Strategy: Discussion (21 Feb 2017)

Pat Casey: Are we finished completely now? I should mention the Tyrrelstown amendment before we depart the building. We all had concerns before Christmas about the argument over whether it would be 20, ten or five and back to ten again. Then we were informed that the Attorney General gave strong evidence that it should be ten. In light of the information the Minister has given us, we would say that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Water Supply Project for Eastern and Midlands Region: Irish Water (15 Feb 2017)

Pat Casey: I want to focus on the public consultation process. I will refer to the current Vartry project. It is to be hoped lessons have been learned from that project in regard to public consultation. In that case, we did not bring the public with us. The public were not informed of the project and the impact it would have on the Vartry River. The initial application did not contain an...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Water Supply Project for Eastern and Midlands Region: Irish Water (15 Feb 2017)

Pat Casey: I live beside the Vartry reservoir. This is the first time in its history it has not filled over the winter. We are now in mid-February and it is still almost empty. The impact of that will not be felt until later on this year; the springs around it are only filling up with the water that is there. There is no doubt there is a need for a new supply for Dublin. This is one of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services: Commission for Energy Regulation and Irish Water (14 Feb 2017)

Pat Casey: To further expand on the issue of the district metering, Mr. Grant said there are over 4,400 district meters in Ireland. Does that include additional metering that the local authorities put in over the years when leaks were identified in various areas or they are separate meters? The other question on the metering process and the leakage, am I correct to say that 70% are on the public side...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Court Accommodation Refurbishment (14 Feb 2017)

Pat Casey: 125. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if Wicklow town courthouse is one of the seven courthouse refurbishment works included under action No. 102 of the action plan for rural development over the next two years at a cost of €135 million; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7281/17]