Tusla says it's an offence to run an unregistered children’s home, but it places children in them anyways
So how does it square the circle?
As the government courts more international money for Ireland’s rental sector, tenants say they want more transparency around who they are renting from.
“There is just so much confusion,” says Sarah Lawless, who has been on the housing list for 20 years. “The whole system doesn’t make sense.”
“It defeats the whole purpose of declaring large donors … so that it’s public and people can see who’s donating for whom and what influence is happening, if any.”
The records should show why Dublin Fire Brigade issued enforcement proceedings against privately operated homeless hostels in the city.
Questions remain as to when journalists will once again have access to Dublin City Council meetings, some of which have been held in private during Covid-19.
Councillors will continue with the business they usually conduct in their committee meetings, but they’ll do it over email – rather then at public meetings.
Developers have to put up information websites so the public can learn about what’s planned. But some have code meant to keep them from showing up on search.
Councillors in the northern neighbourhoods in the city met earlier this week to talk about area issues, including whether planning rules should be relaxed to allow for more login cabins in gardens.
There’s an inflexibility to rezoning industrial land, wrote a Department of Housing official in an email in February. “Its been represented to me quite a few times.”
PPNs were set up across the country in 2014, as a way of getting more people involved in local government. Councillors and those involved in Dublin’s PPN say it’s still finding its way.
“If the government itself ignores the law when it’s inconvenient, can the rest of us do that too?” writes Sam Tranum.
For decades, councillors have used a special rule to get information from officials in secret. Now, though, some want to change that.