Results 3,481-3,500 of 4,726 for speaker:Malcolm Noonan

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Special Educational Needs (30 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: If I could just finish quoting from the passage, it states: This will include additional learning needs (e.g. autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia) ... [...] [In addition, and in accordance with the stated standards] During every module of school placement and as appropriate to the student teacher’s stage of development, the student teacher shall, through the use of their Taisce:...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Special Educational Needs (30 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: We will take on board the points the Senator made, although there is a strong approach on the part of the Department.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Housing Provision (30 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: I followed quite a bit of that session yesterday at the joint committee. It was really interesting, including Senator Boyhan's contribution. As he stated, there is something very strategic and big happening right across the housing sphere and we see that with the increase in the number of commencements. In my own county, the social housing provision is up by more than 60%, which will...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Housing Provision (30 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: Ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh na páistí, na daltaí anseo, go dtí an Seanad. They are very welcome to the Seanad. I fully agree with Senator Boyhan. I appreciate the comments he makes about the LDA and the general thrust of Government policy on the critical importance of the delivery of housing through Housing for All.Senator Boyhan mentioned a number of other...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Grant Payments (29 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: I will give a general outline and then I will come back to the Senator's specific points. Our Department provides funding to local authorities under the suite of housing adaptation grants for older people and people with a disability, to assist people in private houses to make their accommodation more suitable for their needs, which also facilitates early return from hospital stays. Our...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Grant Payments (29 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: I agree with the Senator in the sense that we have seen year-on-year, as I know from my own county and my own constituency, that the grants are oversubscribed. This is, in itself, a testament to the success of the grant scheme. There is significant uptake. There is always a waiting list. However, we have to give consideration to the rising building costs. They are unfortunately affecting...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Energy Prices (29 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: I thank the Senator for raising this issue. I am taking the question on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Humphreys. The Government is committed to protecting vulnerable households from the impact of energy costs through a combination of financial supports, energy efficiency awareness initiatives and investment in programmes to improve the energy efficiency of housing stock. Much of the...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Energy Prices (29 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: On the phasing out of fossil fuels, that is something that all parties in this House and across the Oireachtas have signed up to and it is critically important that we continue that trajectory. That said, there is no doubt that the transition needs to be managed and that is something of which the Government is cognisant. We are mindful of the fact that we need to support families through...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: International Agreements (29 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: My Department is currently working with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on the ratification process for the Nagoya Protocol. I intend for the process to be finalised in advance of the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, which will take place in China later this year.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Schemes (29 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: The Moore Street Advisory Group (MSAG) presented its final report in May of 2021 to Minister O’Brien and myself. In this report, the MSAG recommended that an adequate and appropriately structured compensation package should be put in place for the traders as soon as possible, in the context of forthcoming disturbance due to development works. It also recommended that the process...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Wildlife Regulations (29 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: The current Wild Bird Declarations (General & Air Safety) that were signed in April 2021, allowing for the control of certain wild bird species, are due to expire on 30 April 2022. A decision on new Declarations covering the period 1 May 2022 to 30 April 2023 will be made prior to the expiry of the current Declarations. My Department recently held a public consultation to inform this...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Surveys (29 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: My Department does not have an overarching responsibility for the coordination of hedgerow surveys and does not collect data from local authorities in relation to surveys carried out by them from their own resources. The Local Authority Biodiversity Action Fund (LBAF) is a stream of grants to assist local authorities with biodiversity projects in their areas that support the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Wildlife Protection (24 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: I intend to make Regulations under Section 23 of the Wildlife Act 1976 to protect the basking shark. As the basking shark is a species of fish, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine must also sign the Regulations. I have consulted with Minister McConalogue, who supports the proposal. My Department is in the process of drafting the Regulations, which should be finalised by the end...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Legislative Programme (24 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: The major elements of our wildlife laws are contained in the Wildlife Act 1976 and the Birds and Habitats Regulations. My officials are embarking on a project to review both of these with a view to proposing changes to clarify and strengthen them. This legislative review project is currently in the planning and design phase.

Regulation of Providers of Building Works Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (23 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: Section 44 outlines the grounds for complaint under the Act regarding a registered member to the registration body. We must oppose amendments Nos. 30 and 31 to section 44, which seek to provide that failure to comply with building regulations and planning permission would be grounds for complaint. They are outside the scope of the Bill. This register is a register of competence of...

Regulation of Providers of Building Works Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (23 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: Again, I reiterate that these amendments are outside the scope of the Bill. When the Bill comes before the Seanad, there will be further discussion on this matter. The Building Control Act and the Planning and Development Act provide the mechanisms around compliance in relation to planning permission and building regulations. I make those particular points, but there will also be further...

Regulation of Providers of Building Works Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (23 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: We will be opposing this amendment. The amendment seeks to require an applicant for registration to provide evidence that he or she is eligible for latent defects insurance. Latent defects insurance is taken out on a project-by-project basis and is it is not practical that the registration should be conditioned on the possession of or eligibility for such insurance. While a builder of...

Regulation of Providers of Building Works Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (23 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: I will specifically refer to these amendments, which I will oppose. On Committee Stage, the Minister of State, Deputy Burke, indicated that he would bring forward amendments to the Seanad to provide that the chair and certain other members of the board would be recruited through the Public Appointments Service, and that the following would also nominate members: the Irish Congress of Trade...

Regulation of Providers of Building Works Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (23 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: To come back to the points raised by the Deputies Nash and O'Callaghan, again, it is intended that the Department of Housing. Local Government and Heritage nominee may be on the political control side of things. Similarly with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, there would be a consumer representative. I give the commitment that when the Bill is before the Seanad we will...

Regulation of Providers of Building Works Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (23 Mar 2022)

Malcolm Noonan: As I have said, we will give consideration to review it at that stage.