Results 4,361-4,380 of 8,342 for speaker:Peter Burke

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Jun 2021)

Peter Burke: I will address amendments Nos. 32 to 34, inclusive, together, in the manner in which they have been grouped by the Bills Office. Amendments Nos. 32 and 34 are tabled jointly by a number of Senators while amendment No. 33 is a Government amendment. With regard to amendments Nos. 32 and 34, the proposed new section 11D(7) relates to the carrying out of a screening for appropriate assessment...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Jun 2021)

Peter Burke: Yes, all relevant plans are taken into consideration. Obviously, one cannot predict the future with regard to applications for infrastructure development or marine protection areas, but such applications have their own requirements for environmental studies, as appropriate. As I have said, due regard must also be had to other plans under this Bill.

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Jun 2021)

Peter Burke: Unfortunately, we oppose amendment No. 35, tabled jointly by Senators Warfield, Boylan, Gavan and Ó Donnghaile, and amendment No. 36, tabled by Senator Higgins. Amendment No. 35 appears to require that an existing development plan, as extended, should be subject to appropriate assessment. In preparing a development plan under the current provisions set out in the 2000 Act, the planning...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Jun 2021)

Peter Burke: The proposed new section 11D(9)(b), which amendment No. 38 seeks to delete and replace, provides for the decision by the planning authority to extend the duration of the existing development plan in connection with the need to take additional time to prepare a new development plan. If this provision were deleted, it would not be possible to extend the duration of the existing plan and...

Affordable Housing Bill 2021 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed) (24 Jun 2021)

Peter Burke: I thank all the Deputies for their contributions. I know the frustrations among many Deputies. As Deputy Pringle leaves, I note he mentioned Toronto as an example of somewhere we could take ideas from. Obviously, he has not researched the current state of play in Toronto and the housing crisis that is there. I point out also that there is absolutely no inbuilt snobbery whatsoever in the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Vacant Properties (24 Jun 2021)

Peter Burke: I thank Deputy Carroll MacNeill for her contribution. A vacant homes pilot project took place involving six local authority areas, with two visual inspections six months apart. In Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, 1,177 properties were inspected and 21 were deemed to be in long-term dereliction in that functional area following the second inspection. We need to review our plans on vacant...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Vacant Properties (24 Jun 2021)

Peter Burke: This is a very important issue, as the Deputies have just highlighted. In terms of towns first, towards the end of the year we will have firm Government proposals for unlocking some of those sites that are targeted in the national planning framework and bringing them back into use. We must also consider sites, houses and shops on main streets that can be converted through the various...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Vacant Properties (24 Jun 2021)

Peter Burke: I thank the Deputy for the question. I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 and 50 together. I have had no direct interaction with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council recently in respect of specific issues related to vacant housing. Officials of my Department are, however, in ongoing contact with local authorities on issues related to vacant housing, providing advice and guidance...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Local Authorities (24 Jun 2021)

Peter Burke: I acknowledge that Deputy Carey has consistently raised this issue over the past number of months. It is important and, like him, I can see vulnerable people coming into clinics who need support and assistance with social housing. The review is ongoing. The review will be done in the context of the Affordable Housing Bill and its impact. Current schemes include the direct build scheme,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Local Authorities (24 Jun 2021)

Peter Burke: I acknowledge what Deputy Carey said. He is right that a key to unlocking this issue is income disregards. He pointed out the case of a family that he has been dealing with. Local authorities have discretion regarding payments that are one-off or temporary in nature and can disregard them. There is potentially more space for such discretion because vulnerable people in receipt of income...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Schemes (24 Jun 2021)

Peter Burke: We should go by facts in this House.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Schemes (24 Jun 2021)

Peter Burke: Will the Deputy will let me finish? I did not interrupt him. I would appreciate it if he could give me a bit of time. In the first instance, there has been an increase of 300% in housing supply since 2012. The Government has also delivered 34,000 new social homes, homes that are right for our citizens, since 2016. That represents a 300% increase in supply. While I accept that there are...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Local Authorities (24 Jun 2021)

Peter Burke: I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 and 20 together. Applications for social housing support are assessed by the relevant local authority, in accordance with the eligibility and need criteria set down in section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the associated Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011, as amended. The 2011 regulations prescribe maximum net income...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Schemes (24 Jun 2021)

Peter Burke: The rental accommodation scheme has been an important contributor to social housing supply since its introduction on a pilot basis in 2005. Expenditure under the scheme covers recoupment made to local authorities for contracted rents due to private landlords and approved housing bodies, administration costs and a damages contingency fund for newly acquired accommodation. Exchequer...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Schemes (24 Jun 2021)

Peter Burke: The Deputy will be aware that the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, has been keen to redress the imbalance in terms of direct build in our housing. That can be seen on the ground in Tipperary. There has been a 32% reduction in the housing list in the county in recent years. A total of 526 new homes have been built since 2016, including 274 social, 14 under the Part V process and 238 which have...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Alcohol Sales (24 Jun 2021)

Peter Burke: Local Authorities, under Section 254 of the Planning and Development Act, can licence street furniture outside a hotel, restaurant, public house or other establishment where food is sold for consumption on the premises. The annual fee is typically set at €125 but, to support the outdoors focus of Summer 2021, I recently set the 2021 licence fee at zero. Local Authorities can also,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Bodies (24 Jun 2021)

Peter Burke: The Land Development Agency (LDA) was established on an interim basis in September 2018, by way of an Establishment Order made under the Local Government Services (Corporate Bodies) Act 1971, pending the enactment of primary legislation when it will be established as a commercial State agency.  In accordance with the Programme for Government, legislation to establish the LDA on a...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (24 Jun 2021)

Peter Burke: The National Housing Strategy for People with a Disability (NHSPWD) 2016-2021, which is a  joint publication by the Department of Housing and the Department of Health, sets out the Government’s broad framework for the delivery of housing for people with disabilities.  The Strategy was developed as part of a coherent framework of housing and care for people with disabilities,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (24 Jun 2021)

Peter Burke: My Department is currently undertaking a focused review of the 2006 Wind Energy Development Guidelines in line with the “preferred draft approach” which was announced in June 2017 by the then Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, in conjunction with the then Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment. The review is addressing a number of key...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (24 Jun 2021)

Peter Burke: The funding system for local authorities is complex, with authorities deriving their income from a variety of sources including commercial rates, charges for goods and services and funding from Central Government. Local authorities vary significantly from one another in terms of size, population, population distribution, public service demands, infrastructure and other income sources, all...