Results 281-300 of 1,019,760 for in 'Dáil debates' OR (speaker:Tom Kitt OR speaker:Mary Lou McDonald) in 'Committee meetings'

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Flood Relief Schemes (23 Apr 2024)

Kieran O'Donnell: The Deputy will appreciate I have just come into my brief, but I have made myself familiar with the scheme. As she will know from my previous role, I am all about process. To give an update, the revised scope has been reviewed by the Coirib go Cósta steering group members and agreement has been reached on the revised scope, subject to agreement on a fee proposal with the consultants....

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Flood Relief Schemes (23 Apr 2024)

Catherine Connolly: The process started in 2012, and when I left the council in 2016, it was finishing the process of identifying the flood risks. We are now in 2024 and all the stages have gone by the board. Instead of construction starting in 2026, a planning application is now going to be submitted in 2027. I do not think the Minister of State could be happy with that, given Galway city is flooded...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Flood Relief Schemes (23 Apr 2024)

Kieran O'Donnell: My role as Minister of State is to progress the scheme as I have taken it over. In terms of process, the revised scope to deal with the 940 properties is being reviewed by the steering group and agreement has been reached. It is now agreeing the fee proposal with the consultants, Arup, and once that has been agreed, the steering group will publish the updated project programme on the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions (23 Apr 2024)

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Development Plan (23 Apr 2024)

National Development Plan

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Development Plan (23 Apr 2024)

Richard Boyd Barrett: 49. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform whether the Government has adequately considered the growing problem of labour and skills shortages in multiple sectors of the society and economy, including construction, healthcare, education, childcare and more, in the context of the National Development Plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17862/24]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Development Plan (23 Apr 2024)

Richard Boyd Barrett: 54. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he is aware of the issues raised by the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, in respect of the national development plan (details supplied), particularly in terms of capacity and resource constraints to deliver public housing, elder-care facilities and childcare and increase the number of hospital beds; his plans to address...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Development Plan (23 Apr 2024)

Richard Boyd Barrett: These questions follow on from our earlier discussion and relate to what the Government is doing to build up our labour and skills capacity to deliver housing, in particular, but also some of the other key infrastructure we need. My point, given the Minister said he did not understand it, is not that everything the private sector does is wrong but that it simply does not have the capacity...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Development Plan (23 Apr 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: The publication by the Government tomorrow morning of the latest update on the delivery of the housing action plan will show the progress we are making in the delivery of our housing targets. The Deputy only has to look at the figures for the first quarter of this year - the number of commencements and the number of homes currently being built - to see that we will do more than deliver on...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Development Plan (23 Apr 2024)

Richard Boyd Barrett: It is still not enough. We have record numbers in homelessness, huge numbers on housing lists and a particular failure to deliver social and affordable housing. Even properties that are built are too expensive. They are completely out of the reach of the vast majority of people. It is clearly not enough. The Minister raised the issue of capacity. The NDP says that the Government will...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Development Plan (23 Apr 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I do not understand the Deputy's argument. It does not make any sense to me. If the Deputy is acknowledging on one hand that the capacity is not there, how is creating a State entity overnight immediately going to create that capacity? I do not see how that can be done.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Development Plan (23 Apr 2024)

Richard Boyd Barrett: It is a matter of recruiting and training.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Development Plan (23 Apr 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy is acknowledging that the capacity was not there for some time because our construction sector needed to grow. Regardless of whether the State or a private sector developer was trying to employ them, the reality is that we were constrained because we did not have enough people available within our country to build the homes we need. That is improving. We are beginning to see...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Private Partnerships (23 Apr 2024)

Public Private Partnerships

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Private Partnerships (23 Apr 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: 46. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the types of services that typically make up the costs, other than construction and financing, in public private partnership contracts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17725/24]

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Private Partnerships (23 Apr 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Under this Government we have seen the expanded use of controversial public private partnership, PPP, contracts in housing, in health, education and other areas. I have previously raised my concern about value for money on these contracts. Today I will focus on the privatisation of services that comes with such contracts. Will the Minister outline the typical services that are privatised...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Private Partnerships (23 Apr 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: My Department's primary role in regard to PPP contracts is to facilitate the PPP process centrally by developing the general policy framework, including where necessary the legal framework and the capital investment policy framework, within which PPPs operate and by providing central guidance to Departments and other State authorities in that context. PPPs are partnerships between the public...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Private Partnerships (23 Apr 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I thank the Minister. I know what PPPs are. The average PPP contract is procured by the National Development Finance Agency. One third of the cost of the contract is to pay for services that would normally be delivered by the public sector. That could be cleaners in schools, security in technological universities or maintenance of public housing that should be managed by the local...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Private Partnerships (23 Apr 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: The concept of privatisation implies that there is a public service being delivered in the first place that is then discharged out to the private sector. As the Deputy already knows, the reason I separated the different PPPs is that we tend to have the public service being delivered for a project that has been built by the private sector. A wastewater treatment plant is a good example. By...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Development Plan (23 Apr 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: The NDP set the target of expenditure as a share of GNI to properly account for inflation, especially when we are talking about a multiannual plan and indeed a multi-billion euro plan like the NDP. Since 2021 we have seen the high levels of inflation, particularly in construction, yet the funding was never adjusted to account for it. Budget after budget, the Government has acted like...