Boyd Barrett, Richard

Climate Change Negotiations

Asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government: his role in the recent climate change conference in Paris in France; his views on the comments by the Taoiseach at the conference that the European Commission's climate targets for 2020 for Ireland...

The Paris climate summit is attempting to prevent climate chaos as a result of global warming. Many people were very disappointed by the Taoiseach's comments to the effect that Ireland's emissions...

In the context of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill 2015, the Government adamantly resisted including binding targets because it knew that with its current strategy, it was not cap...

I have a number of simple proposals which would help us to resolve this problem and meet our 2020 targets. First, the Government should massively expand the afforestation programme to mitigate t...

Climate Change Negotiations (Continued)

We have achieved fewer than half the targets that were set years ago in respect of afforestation and the Government still has no real plans to increase activity in this area.

  S...

When one looks at the flooding engulfing huge parts of the country, one realises - given that this is happening so frequently - how serious this problem is and how much it is costing us. It is not...

Will the Minister of State respond on the issue of banning fracking? There should be absolutely no consideration of fracking and bringing up gas and oil for health and environmental reasons when...

Local Authority Housing Provision

Asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government: in the context of the current housing and homelessness emergency and in order to accelerate the delivery of permanent social housing, if he will consider the purchase of hundreds of permanent homes...

As we face into Christmas, the housing and homelessness crisis continues to spiral out of control. My question requests that the Minister of State consider three measures to deliver immediate and ...

The Government is paying €190,000 per unit for 500 modular houses, many of which will not be delivered until the end of next near. There are 739 houses listed for sale today on the Myhome.ie

Rather than allow the sale of that land, the Government should be putting that land and NAMA properties into the hands of the local authorities to assist them in housing provision.

To short-circuit the excess delays in the delivery of social housing, I propose that the Government provide housing in-house through the local authorities rather than outsource responsibility in ...

As we approach Christmas, 1,000 children are either living on our streets or in emergency accommodation. What is the priority? There are 739 apartments or houses available for sale in Dublin for ...

Rental Accommodation Scheme Eligibility

Asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government: to lift the restriction in the rental accommodation scheme which requires applicants to be in receipt of rent allowance to allow those in low-paid work to access the scheme, as the housing assistan...

We had news again today that rents continue to spiral out of control, which will result in more evictions and make it more difficult for people to secure private rented accommodation. My question ...

The Minister of State said he would do everything he could to prevent homelessness. I have cited a specific scenario, examples of which will increase as rents continue to spiral. I have encounter...

The scheme is not available in many areas.

I am not dismissing the HAP scheme. While I am not terribly happy with it, my point is that it is ridiculous to operate it in some local authorities and not in others. As a result of the failure ...

Funding is not the issue.

The Minister of State does not understand the question.

I will explain the matter to the Minister of State afterwards.

International Protection Bill 2015 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed) (Continued)

The Government should be utterly ashamed of itself for the Bill and for bringing it to the Dáil on international human rights day. The Labour Party should be especially ashamed of itself, as its m...

It is deeply ironic that a Bill such as this could be put forward when we have a disaster in Syria which has forced half the country's population to flee in desperate circumstances. They have be...

Mohamed Ali Sleyum was mentioned earlier. He is an example of what needed to be addressed in the Bill. He was a Tanzanian man who was deported from this country in April 2014, and within hours ...

It is shameful and it is a damning indictment that the Irish Refugee Council, Nasc, Doras Luimní, the Children's Rights Alliance and Anti-Deportation Ireland, and the list goes on, have either op...

All of the key issues of injustice in the scandal of direct provision that were identified by the Joint Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions, of which I am a member, and by working...

I underline the point that all this is made even more shameful when the Government is again complicit in creating the conditions which lead to desperate people fleeing their countries by facilita...

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2015: Second Stage (Continued)

We on this side of the House are too often obliged to voice our dissatisfaction with the guillotining of legislation and this Government's underhand parliamentary tactics in pushing through Bills i...

Of course, this fits into a pattern that is becoming increasingly apparent whereby this Government is seeking to exploit the housing crisis. There is no other way to describe it. It is doing so...

This is about facilitating that. In this Bill, the Government is dancing to the tune of the Construction Industry Federation. There is no doubt about it. It is exploiting the justified demand to...

Social and Affordable Housing Data

Asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government: further to Parliamentary Question Number 731 of 6 October 2015, the status of the 1,400 homes to be transferred from the National Asset Management Agency to local authorities; if the full 2,501 hom...

Tenant Purchase Scheme Administration

Asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government: his plans for replenishing actual housing stock, given the announcement of the new tenant purchase scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Social and Affordable Housing Provision

Asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government: considering the housing and homelessness crisis, if he will consider, as an alternative to temporary modular homes, purchasing an equivalent number of permanent homes, hundreds of which are current...

Rental Accommodation Scheme Expenditure

Asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government: further to Parliamentary Question No. 732 of 6 October 2015, if the information has been compiled and if the data represent value for money; and if he will make a statement on the matter.