Results 1-20 of 282 for speaker:Charles Ward

Fisheries: Statements (22 Oct 2025)

Charles Ward: It is hard not to feel completely hopeless about the fishing industry at the moment. What was once a prosperous industry is now facing complete collapse. It is utter devastation, as the Minister of State is well aware. The numbers have been outlined multiple times already, but it is important they are repeated until we get to grips with what we are facing and its potential impact. The...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Staff (22 Oct 2025)

Charles Ward: 178. To ask the Minister for Health if she will sanction the appointment of a WTE consultant paediatric endocrinologist into Letterkenny University Hospital (LUH) which has been listed by Government and HSE guidelines as a critical resource needed since 2015, and has been included in LUH estimates for 2025, (but still not sanctioned), to fully support children with type 1 diabetes and their...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Oct 2025)

Charles Ward: When the original defective concrete blocks, DCB, scheme was in operation, apartments in multi-unit developments were eligible. Then, in 2022, eligibility was narrowed to dwelling houses, single ownerships excluding buildings with shared structural or common elements, apartments, duplexes and multi-unit blocks. These dwellings contain the same defective materials as a detached or...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Fisheries and Maritime Affairs: Capital and Infrastructure Issues: Discussion (21 Oct 2025)

Charles Ward: My second question is for the RNLI. As an Arranmore man, I know all too well what issues we have. We have a pier in Arranmore that is out of date and the RNLI is forced to use that facility. In the summertime, we are left with severe challenges. We have a ferry pier that comes in and lands, boats come off and cars disperse all over the place. Emergencies happen throughout the summer in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Fisheries and Maritime Affairs: Capital and Infrastructure Issues: Discussion (21 Oct 2025)

Charles Ward: Could the RNLI engage in some form of media campaign to educate people? What I saw on the day in question was that everybody who came wanted to be near a beach, so they basically parked their cars and went off. What happened then was there was an incident, pagers went off and an appeal had to be made to get people to go to the piers. This happens all the time. A situation will arise where...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Fisheries and Maritime Affairs: Capital and Infrastructure Issues: Discussion (21 Oct 2025)

Charles Ward: Will the Irish Islands Marine Resource Organisation outline for the committee what island fishers currently have to do in the absence of processing facilities or equipment for landing or handling on the islands? Where do they go when they land their catches?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Fisheries and Maritime Affairs: Capital and Infrastructure Issues: Discussion (21 Oct 2025)

Charles Ward: I will start by repeating what I said at a previous meeting. No amount of harbour development will matter if fishers are forced to quit the industry because of the forthcoming cuts. That is vital, and I wanted to get that statement out there. Do the witnesses acknowledge that local authorities are struggling to maintain piers and harbours, with many not even aware that the Department has a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Fisheries and Maritime Affairs: Capital and Infrastructure Issues: Discussion (21 Oct 2025)

Charles Ward: I ask departmental officials to outline the infrastructure projects it plans to fund in Killybegs that will support the fishing industry, as well as those not related to fishing given that the industry is currently in decline.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Fisheries and Maritime Affairs: Capital and Infrastructure Issues: Discussion (21 Oct 2025)

Charles Ward: That is good. I would like to ask the CCMA whether it is true that funding which could have been allocated to infrastructural investment was not fully drawn down in the past.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Fisheries and Maritime Affairs: Capital and Infrastructure Issues: Discussion (21 Oct 2025)

Charles Ward: That is okay.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Fisheries and Maritime Affairs: Capital and Infrastructure Issues: Discussion (21 Oct 2025)

Charles Ward: I apologise for being late. I thank the witnesses for being here. I fully support the points made by the National Inshore Fishermens Association. No amount of harbour development will matter if all our fishers are forced to quit the industry due to what is coming. It is important to keep in mind during the course of these meetings that infrastructure is completely useless unless there is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (21 Oct 2025)

Charles Ward: 387. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the current status of the emergency funding application submitted by a school (details supplied), regarding structural issues arising from defective concrete; if her Department has completed or commenced an assessment of the extent of the defects; the interim measures being put in place to ensure the safety of pupils and staff; and if she will...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (21 Oct 2025)

Charles Ward: 491. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will ensure that his relevant Department officials participate in the Multi- Stakeholder Working Group including representative groups (details supplied) established to address the range of problems affecting victims of the defective concrete block crisis, given the need to restore a normal and functioning housing...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Traveller Accommodation (21 Oct 2025)

Charles Ward: 492. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the amount of funding for Traveller accommodation applied for by each housing authority per year from 2024 to date in 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57232/25]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Budget 2026 (21 Oct 2025)

Charles Ward: 801. To ask the Minister for Health if funding has been allocated in Budget 2026 or through the HSE Capital Plan for the Radharc na Sléibhte supervised residential unit (SRU) in Carndonagh, County Donegal; the status of the capital funding application previously referenced by the HSE to transition the facility into a recovery-focused crisis and step-down unit; if any portion of the...

Committee on Children and Equality: Child Poverty and Deprivation: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Oct 2025)

Charles Ward: I am coming at this from a different angle. Reading this report, I find it disgraceful that housing is causing child poverty. The north west has the lowest disposable income. In respect of the defective concrete blocks crisis, Inishowen is the most affected area and has the lowest disposable income so it has been hit with a double whammy. We have done a survey of children who are affected...

Committee on Children and Equality: Child Poverty and Deprivation: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Oct 2025)

Charles Ward: My next question is for the Department of Children, Disability and Equality. The Department considered monitoring levels of deprivation among children affected by the defective concrete blocks crisis. I have seen at first hand the negative impact of this crisis on children. It is essential that the impact on children is monitored so that we can see what is coming down the line. The survey...

Committee on Children and Equality: Child Poverty and Deprivation: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Oct 2025)

Charles Ward: This is part of it. I can rephrase that. Is the Department engaging with families affected by defective concrete blocks who are suffering child poverty?

Committee on Children and Equality: Child Poverty and Deprivation: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Oct 2025)

Charles Ward: I can tell Mr. McCarthy that those on the ground in Donegal do not. We have social housing, there are families living in shocking conditions and there are no supports on the ground for them to do with child poverty. I am highlighting it because this is coming down the line. We are trying to highlight this now because we want it to be addressed. We have 6,000 children minimum who are living...

Reform of the Defective Concrete Redress Scheme: Motion [Private Members] (15 Oct 2025)

Charles Ward: I wish to address the remarks of the Minister of State, Deputy McConalogue, about how he has got this "to where it is today". I will clarify where it is today. We have a scheme right now that has 74 houses that are completed. Another 70 have received outer-leaf remediation work only and still retain the blockwork. This amounts to approximately 140 houses, half of which will have to be...