Results 121-140 of 3,349 for speaker:Michael Collins

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2016)

Michael Collins: I would like to say a few words as well. I am on the board of management of a rural school so I know at first hand the issues that have put us under serious pressure over the past few years. A few other schools on the rural peninsula where I live are under severe pressure. The problem is numbers. I thank each of the witnesses for their presence, their presentations and the work they have...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2016)

Michael Collins: Will Ms Leydon comment on that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2016)

Michael Collins: Does Ms Lynch wish to comment?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2016)

Michael Collins: Finally, I invite Mr. Christie to respond.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2016)

Michael Collins: Mr. Byrne should be brief.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2016)

Michael Collins: I thank Mr. Byrne for being so brief. That concludes our consideration of this topic and I thank the witnesses for assisting us today. They are now excused. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Flood Prevention Measures: Motion [Private Members] (13 Dec 2016)

Michael Collins: I start by commending Fianna Fáil on bringing this Private Members' motion forward. I have seen first hand time time and again the trauma caused to businesses and families by flooding. In 2015, there were unprecedented amounts of flooding, with more than 30 towns and villages experiencing major flooding. More than 540 homes and more than 600 businesses around the country were flooded....

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Pay (13 Dec 2016)

Michael Collins: 367. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans with regard to the unwinding of FEMPI; and if he will provide a timeframe by which this legislation will no longer be in existence. [39396/16]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Ferry Services to Inis Mór: Discussion (14 Dec 2016)

Michael Collins: I welcome the witnesses and thank them for their presentations. As there are eight inhabited islands in my constituency of Cork South-West, I have a fair idea of the struggle faced by islanders. Nothing has surprised me as I have been listening to the witnesses speaking about the current situation, which Deputy Ó Cuív has been raising in the Dáil on behalf of the people of...

Leaders' Questions (15 Dec 2016)

Michael Collins: As the Tánaiste is aware, a large number of older people in hospital are well enough to be at home, provided they have adequate support, but they cannot be discharged as there are no options of care available to them. Since 2008, home help hours have been cut by 1.6 million hours. During that time there has been an increase of 160,000 in the number of people over the age of 65....

Leaders' Questions (15 Dec 2016)

Michael Collins: I thank the Tánaiste for her reply. While I welcome the money that was allocated in June of this year, the need for funding is urgent. The most frequent inquiries I receive in my office, and I presume the same is the case for every other Deputy, relate to home help hours and home care packages. It has been Government policy since 1960 to support older people to stay at home for as...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Community Development: Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (15 Dec 2016)

Michael Collins: Whatever.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Community Development: Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (15 Dec 2016)

Michael Collins: I listened to some of the questions. "Absolutely bonkers" is the correct terminology.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Community Development: Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (15 Dec 2016)

Michael Collins: It is very true. I can state that categorically on behalf of the people of west Cork in my constituency. We in west Cork have been long suffering, and I made the Minister aware of this in recent weeks. I have a number of questions to which I would like answers. The more I hear from other Deputies on the committee, and the more that Leader companies have attended joint committee meetings...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Community Development: Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (15 Dec 2016)

Michael Collins: As I have said to the Minister, the EU Commission has confirmed that it will investigate a second complaint from the West Cork Development Partnership about irregularities in the LAG selection. We are not treating the matter lightly and we need more clear answers as to what happened. I again ask the Minister, as I asked her at the outset, if she will set up an independent investigation into...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Community Development: Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (15 Dec 2016)

Michael Collins: I will continue to call for an independent investigation into what happened in west Cork. I will not be happy until I get it. I want to deliver to west Cork the reason that the West Cork Development Partnership was taken off the pitch. No official, or the Minister, has yet explained that properly to me. There is something wrong and we need to get to the bottom of it. I am not happy about...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Community Development: Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (15 Dec 2016)

Michael Collins: With respect to the Chairman, I have been looking for these answers for months.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Community Development: Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (15 Dec 2016)

Michael Collins: I put west Cork first but west Cork has not been put first in this case and we need answers.

Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Bill 2016 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (16 Dec 2016)

Michael Collins: I appreciate the accommodation and I will keep it to two minutes, strictly. In the past week in reply to Leaders' Questions, our Taoiseach was honest when he said this problem had been around for a very long time. If that is so, why has the crisis got worse and why have some landlords been left to go out of control? I emphasise that it is some landlords. In some cases, they have terrified...

Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Bill 2016 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (16 Dec 2016)

Michael Collins: I assure the Minister that he will receive a very clear answer because I have done it. I have rung each and every auctioneer in west Cork and I know the answer I am getting on the ground. I can only declare the facts I am getting. A 4% cap is way too high for many. It could mean an increase of €400 for struggling tenants. The legislation is rushed and should be withdrawn. We...