Cabinet to be updated on plans to bring RTÉ under closer scrutiny
The Cabinet will be updated on Tuesday regarding plans to bring
RTÉ
under closer scrutiny as the Government prepares to shut down alternative
Sinn Féin
legislation on the matter.
Minister for Media Patrick O'Donovan
is expected to tell Cabinet colleagues that his plan goes further than the Sinn Féin alternative, which has been initiated as a
Private Members' Bill
by its media spokesman,
Aengus Ó Snodaigh
.
The Sinn Féin Bill would assign the Comptroller & Auditor General (C&AG) as auditor of RTÉ and is due for second stage debate later this week.
Mr O'Donovan says the C&AG will also be installed as auditor of RTÉ by the Government Bill and that the policy objective contained in the Sinn Féin proposal is already being addressed through draft laws produced by his department and which have been sent for pre-legislative scrutiny.
READ MORE
The Limerick county TD claims there are two substantive differences, arguing that the Sinn Féin Bill doesn't provide for the director general of RTÉ to be accountable to the Public Accounts Committee when it comes to the broadcaster's financial statements or value-for-money matters.
It also doesn't allow the RTÉ board the discretion to appoint a regulated private sector auditor in addition to the C&AG, Mr O'Donovan says.
Elsewhere, Minister for Education Helen McEntee will tell Cabinet that she plans to publish a new Deis plan later this year, addressing educational disadvantage across schools. She will update Ministers on the Deis-plus plan, which will target schools with the highest level of educational disadvantage, with plans to establish a new advisory group populated by representatives who work with children from areas of high intergenerational disadvantage.
'The people who voted no are expected to go under a rock and disappear' – Ronán Mullen on losing the marriage referendum
Listen |
35:17
Minister for Further and Higher Education James Lawless will update colleagues on progress with Path (Programme for Access to Higher Education) schemes aimed at widening access to third-level education.
There are 173 students with intellectual disabilities enrolled in 11 universities and other higher education institutions.
There are also now almost 15 per cent of new entrants to third level who have a disability and are being supported through a national access plan, new figures show.
Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke will update Cabinet on the establishment of a small business unit within his department. The intention is that the unit safeguard the needs and issues of small business across Government with an emphasis placed on them in the department.
Mr Burke had asked officials to prioritise the work of setting up the unit early in the lifetime of the new Government and it has now been established. It will focus initially on the Coalition's new 'SME test', designed to check the impact of legislation and regulation on smaller firms, the work of the National Enterprise Hub and Local Enterprise Offices, and wider work on simplification and burden reduction.
Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary is to update Cabinet on recruitment for the 'My Future Fund' organisation, which will manage the auto-enrolment scheme due to go live next year. The recruitment of a board, chief executive and accountant for the body is under way, with the head of the organisation expected to earn in the region of €214,000 annually.
He will also bring an update on the procurement competition to source investment management providers for the scheme.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Sweeping RPZ changes could be a 'timebomb' with tens of thousands of tenants facing eviction
The Government has been warned that sweeping changes to the rent pressure zone (RPZ) system could create a 'timebomb' with tens of thousands facing evictions unless specific protections are put in place. Housing minister James Browne will bring his proposals for an overhaul of the RPZ system to a meeting of coalition leaders on Monday night and a memo to Cabinet on Tuesday. The moves are part of an overall plan to attract international investment and kickstart the building of apartments, as well as overhaul the RPZ system, which was introduced in 2016 and sharply criticised by last year's report by the Housing Commission. The proposals include: The 2% cap in RPZs will remain in place for existing tenancies but new tenancies will be more closely linked to the base rate of inflation; Landlords will be able to change or reset rents between tenancies, a change from the current system which designates whether or not a home is in a rent pressure zone. It is understood that Mr Browne also wants improved rental protections to prevent the likelihood of a landlord seeking to move people on or evict tenants. In an unexpected move, the minister will also seek to legislate for minimum six-year terms for some renters. The landlord would be allowed reset the rent every six years to the current market rate. It is also understood that there will be a tightening of the rules regarding ending tenancies to make way for a landlord's family member. 'Incentive to evict and reset rents' Sinn Féin housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin said the plans would create a four-tier rental system and were 'utter madness'. He said if there are no specific protections for those who are in Part IV tenancies since before 2022, there will be a 'timebomb' of potential evictions because those tenancies do not fall under reforms to the law which preclude no-fault evictions. This would mean 'tens of thousands' of landlords would have an incentive to end tenancies, according to Mr Ó Broin. If those Part IV tenancies come to an end, then there is a huge incentive for landlords — not all landlords, but there are thousands of leases here — to legally evict tenants and reset to market rents. A Part 4 tenancy refers to a period of security of tenure for tenants under the Residential Tenancies Act 2004. It essentially means that after a tenant has resided in a property for six months and hasn't received a valid notice of termination, they have the right to stay in the dwelling for a specified period, typically six years, unless a valid reason for termination exists. While Mr Browne's proposals on security of tenure will require legislation, it is unclear if this could be retroactive to take in existing pre-2022 tenancies. RPZ system 'helped to moderate rent increases' While the latest proposals are seen as a key measure to get apartment building and finance moving through certainty in the market, particularly in Dublin, John Mark McCafferty of housing charity Threshold said that, without the 2% cap, some renters could be pushed into homelessness. 'Despite its flaws, the RPZs, as they're currently constituted, helped to moderate rent increases and without it, tenants would likely face substantial rent increases in certain scenarios that may or may not be planned by government,' he told RTÉ radio. Mr McCafferty added: If there is a real dilution of those rental protections, that would push more renters into financial distress and, arguably, homelessness. Social Democrats housing spokesperson Rory Hearne said the move to lift caps was ''a cruel decision by a government captured by vulture fund landlords'. Mr Browne and the Government are under pressure to address the housing crisis in the short term, following a number of issues in the first half of the year. On top of the botched appointment of a housing tsar, recent analysis shows that active housing commencements, dropped to a four-year low of 3,126 in the first quarter of this year. And the Central Bank recently told an Oireachtas committee that completions will hit around 35,000 this year, far below what is needed. Read More Controls on rent increases for new build homes to be relaxed under new proposals
RTÉ News
3 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Government to further discuss proposals to reform rent caps
Further discussions are expected to take place tonight among Government party leaders and the ministers for Housing, Finance and Public Expenditure ahead of an expected Cabinet decision tomorrow on Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs). Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the proposals are well balanced and they would give greater protections to renters and provide certainty for investors. However, this is a contentious political decision. Already, the Government has been accused of throwing renters to the vulture funds, but it remains resolute that it will take action. Under the plans, which will be pored over again, rents in newly built properties will no longer be capped at 2% annually but will instead be tied to the rate of inflation. The proposal, which Minister for Housing James Browne will bring to Cabinet, will likely state that there will be no changes for existing renters if they stay in their current tenancy. However, if they move a landlord can reset the rent for the new tenant at the market rate. There will also be protections for new renters which will provide security of tenure for at least six years.
Irish Examiner
3 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Irish households' €160bn in savings could be unlocked to fund new homes
The Government should establish a State-backed housing investment vehicle to allow households to invest their savings in housing development, the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland has said. The society said such an initiative, similar to schemes operating in countries such as France, would enable the Government to put long-term multi-annual housing plans in place while also facilitating investment in much-needed infrastructural projects. 'Irish households' bank deposits amount to nearly €160bn, mostly in low-interest current accounts,' said the society's new president, Gerard O'Toole. 'At the same time, access to finance remains a major barrier, especially for small and medium-sized developers.' Mr O'Toole pointed out that the State is by far the largest investor in Ireland's housing delivery — it allocated over €5bn to housing in 2024. However, he said that this level of public investment is not sustainable in the long term and the State needs to explore alternative and diversified funding streams. 'A savings fund of this nature would underpin long-term planning by providing the multi-annual funding commitments housing projects require,' he said. 'It could also support longer-term budgets for several state housing schemes, including help-to-buy and vacant property grants, which are often subject to annual funding reviews and decisions.' The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) also said the new Housing Activation Office needs to commence its work urgently on clearing the many blockages which are impeding the delivery of new housing. 'The SCSI is calling for reform of the utility connection processes and earlier engagement by Uisce Éireann and the ESB with home builders to reduce delays and prioritise essential connections for housing ready for occupation,' Mr O'Toole said. 'That is why we believe the terms of reference for the Housing Activation Office must facilitate greater collaboration and transparency. Regular and effective engagement with key industry stakeholders will be key to the success of this office.'
