Results 1-20 of 385 for in 'Dáil debates' speaker:Joe Flaherty

Business Support Package: Statements (23 May 2024)

Joe Flaherty: If the Ceann Comhairle will indulge me, I welcome members of Drumlish Hill Club. It is a predominantly a female audience in the House. I think there are three men among 19.

Business Support Package: Statements (23 May 2024)

Joe Flaherty: I know we are talking about enterprise and retail but I want to get them out of Dublin as quickly as possible because they are spending too much money, so I want to get them back to Longford where it is to be hoped their money will be more productively spent. I think this is my first time to address the Minister in his new capacity. I commend him. I know he is a number of weeks into the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Business Supports (23 May 2024)

Joe Flaherty: 63. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of businesses in counties Longford, Westmeath, Laois and Offaly registered for the increased cost of business grant before 1 May 2024; how many more in each county have registered since the application process reopened recently; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23101/24]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Small and Medium Enterprises (21 May 2024)

Joe Flaherty: 67. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will report on the SME credit demand survey 2023, which he published in April; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22684/24]

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Guardians Ad Litem (16 May 2024)

Joe Flaherty: The response from the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, is somewhat alarming. His written response reads: The existing legislative provisions do not set out the criteria for appointing GALs or legal representation to a GAL. Tusla is obliged to pay GALs and their legal fees but have little oversight of how these roles are fulfilled. Currently all GALs operating in the courts are self-employed...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Guardians Ad Litem (16 May 2024)

Joe Flaherty: I thank the Minister of State for taking this matter. A well-intentioned local solicitor opted to raise concerns with me regarding the appointment or assignment of guardians ad litem. Guardians ad litem are typically, but not necessarily, legal people, such as barristers or solicitors, and are appointed by judges to represent the interests of children in care. Their key functions are to...

Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages (15 May 2024)

Joe Flaherty: I will not be supporting amendments No. 6 and 7 but they give me a segue to raise a concern I have. I hope the Minister will be able to allay it in his closing remarks. The Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill is hugely important. The Minister has championed it and I commend him on it. It will allow us to protect pensions and the health service in the...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Community Employment Schemes (9 May 2024)

Joe Flaherty: I thank the Minister of State. I welcome the official response but he really cut to the chase in his closing comments. I have no issue with the welfare partners portal. Indeed, community employment scheme supervisors recognise it as a top-class piece of kit. The reality, however, is that a serious situation is evolving. There is an eminently sensible situation to the problem, which is...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Community Employment Schemes (9 May 2024)

Joe Flaherty: I appreciate the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, standing in for the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, who is unavoidably absent this evening but I ask that the senior Minister would respond to me directly in the fullness of time on the important points I will raise. She, like the Minister of State, is passionate about rural Ireland and appreciates more than most the huge...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Middle East (9 May 2024)

Joe Flaherty: 58. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade for a report on his recent visit to Jordan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20766/24]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Middle East (9 May 2024)

Joe Flaherty: I commend the Tánaiste on his recent and very successful trips to both Egypt and Jordan. He has personally taken a firm lead in shining a global light on the continuing horrors in the Middle East. News reports this morning regarding a formal recognition by a number of EU states on 19 May of Palestine as a state are a direct result of the Tánaiste's cast-iron efforts in this...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Policy (11 Apr 2024)

Joe Flaherty: We need to focus minds and attention on the issue of one-off housing in rural Ireland. Before the lights go out on the current Government, I would like to see some commitment and clarity on our plans and proposals for one-off rural housing. Will the Minister make a statement on this?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Policy (11 Apr 2024)

Joe Flaherty: I welcome the update on the draft guidelines for rural one-off housing. The landscape has changed significantly for rural housing because we have had fundamental issues with regard to construction costs, material costs and the cost of building in rural Ireland. It might be much more prohibitive to build a house in rural Ireland, particularly a one-off house, than what is in the guidelines....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Policy (11 Apr 2024)

Joe Flaherty: I thank the Minister of State. I look forward to the new guidelines. I appreciate there is no ban or cap as such on building in rural Ireland but there is a complicity of issues. Notwithstanding planning regulations, the issue of the cost of building a house in rural Ireland is something we do need to look at and address. Croí Cónaithe exempts people from some of the challenges...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Reports (11 Apr 2024)

Joe Flaherty: To clarify for Deputy Ó Broin on Croí Cónaithe, if he is familiar with the workings of his scheme and how it assists in his constituency-----

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Reports (11 Apr 2024)

Joe Flaherty: -----the average time is 13 months for the scheme. It would be extraordinary to have any more than four grants issued at this stage because, as the Minister rightly pointed out, there are checks and balances.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Reports (11 Apr 2024)

Joe Flaherty: I know Deputy Ó Broin is a master of the U-turn and will be doing a U-turn on this scheme.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Vacant Properties (11 Apr 2024)

Joe Flaherty: It is very evident that Housing for All is not a one-trick pony; it is multidimensional and will result in the building of new houses. Through Croí Cónaithe and the repair-and-lease schemes, we will bring derelict properties back into stock. Could the Minister of State comment on the initiatives under way to bring vacant properties back into stock?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Vacant Properties (11 Apr 2024)

Joe Flaherty: I thank the Minister of State. If I am not mistaken, that was his first reply to a parliamentary question. I hope there will be some windfall for Longford as a result. I will send through the representations straight away afterwards. It goes without saying that Croí Cónaithe is one of the genuine successes of the programme for Government. We are seeing its benefits right...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Vacant Properties (11 Apr 2024)

Joe Flaherty: The figures for Longford are very impressive. We have had 124 applications under the Croí Cónaithe scheme. In addition to that scheme, I would like to see a greater emphasis on the repair-and-lease scheme in rural areas. There is still significant low-hanging fruit if we can revisit that scheme and tweak it, specifically for provincial towns. We are seeing some improvements in...