Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman and committee members for taking the time this evening to look into this very wide-ranging brief. First I will touch on a few items in my own area of responsibility. In respect of local government specifically, we are working on the process for a directly elected mayor for Limerick. Today the Cabinet approved the general scheme of a Bill to proceed towards this committee to make a determination in pre-legislative scrutiny. We are also looking at reform of councillors' pay, which is a key tenet of our work in improving the efficiency of our councils. We are also unlocking key reforms that for almost a generation have not been worked on. I refer specifically to maternity leave for councillors. We have established a working group with a number of female councillors from all parties and none to try to resolve this issue once and for all.

The Minister referred to the rates waiver and the details of it. I thank the local authorities for the huge work they have done, especially the community call and the great work done in protecting our older and most vulnerable citizens. Our local authorities provide some 600 services to our citizens. It is the closest arm of government to our citizens. It is very important to acknowledge this also in the context of our vaccination roll-out.

Turning to planning, we gave an eight-week exemption earlier last year when Covid-19 hit our shores for the first time. Since then we have done huge work. Our urban regeneration development funding has encompassed almost €1.3 billion to unlock the potential of our towns and cities. It will have huge scope in trying to attract investment to unlock areas to enable them to realise their potential. We are also working closely on the Town Centre First initiative, which the Chairman will be familiar with from the Scottish model. We aim to have proposals for this for Cabinet halfway through this year. I chair the advisory group that has numerous stakeholders from all aspects of our towns. The committee will be aware there are a significant amount of grants available in this area, but we want to structure it better. Obviously there is no single silver bullet to solve the situation but we believe we can come forward with firm proposals to try to resolve it and assist our towns.

On the national planning framework, we are working until the end of this year, when the review will commence. We must also work on the shared vision that is set out between the regional strategies and the local authorities. The Office of the Planning Regulator is now sinking its teeth into the many development plans that are going forward as we reach that point in the cycle.

I acknowledge the huge amount of work being done on Traveller accommodation. I have established a programme board on foot of the expert report, which contained 32 recommendations. The programme board has met for the first time. It is meeting again this week to prioritise its programme of work and to make recommendations to me on implementing each and every recommendation contained in the report. I am aware that the committee has had sight of this report.

This is a brief synopsis of the areas I am prioritising and working on at the moment