Results 10,701-10,720 of 15,312 for speaker:Eoin Ó Broin

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Strategic Housing Developments: Discussion (10 Nov 2020)

Eoin Ó Broin: I will be brief. I am a strong advocate of compact growth and increased density. I have never objected to a residential housing development anywhere. I have made submissions to try to improve them, but I make a point of not objecting. I had much sympathy with comments Ms Kenny made in a personal capacity last year which got her into a lot of trouble. However, we must be honest with...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Water Environment (Abstractions) Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Nov 2020)

Eoin Ó Broin: I thank the witnesses for the presentation. I will address questions to the EPA and SWAN but if we do not get to the answers in this round, I might get them in a further round later. From our session with departmental officials last week, one of the key ideas we are trying to grasp is why the heads have settled on the 25 cu. m and 2,000 cu. m thresholds. My first question to the EPA is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Water Environment (Abstractions) Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Nov 2020)

Eoin Ó Broin: It was shared. If anyone could shed light on that technical issue-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Water Environment (Abstractions) Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Nov 2020)

Eoin Ó Broin: A lot of my earlier questions were answered in the subsequent round. I have two questions for SWAN and then I will follow up with the EPA on a few of them. The European Commission published an opinion of non-compliant with the water framework last week. Maybe somebody from SWAN can talk us through their view of what that means and its significance to the discussion we are having here....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Water Environment (Abstractions) Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Nov 2020)

Eoin Ó Broin: Can I ask the EPA to also come back on that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Water Environment (Abstractions) Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Nov 2020)

Eoin Ó Broin: On the requirement to advertise, is it the EPA's understanding that this will allow third parties to make submissions to the EPA, which it will then have to take into account in making its decision for existing abstractors?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Water Environment (Abstractions) Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Nov 2020)

Eoin Ó Broin: Does Dr. Cotter have any concern that the head does not make that explicit?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Water Environment (Abstractions) Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Nov 2020)

Eoin Ó Broin: No, that was my word, but I think it is a reasonable interpretation.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Water Environment (Abstractions) Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Nov 2020)

Eoin Ó Broin: On the question of resources not being an issue, on a number of occasions the EPA talked of the balance between that risk and the burden of administration and costs. If that burden of administration and costs was not what it currently is, would the EPA still be making the recommendations? When we ask the Department to tell us why it was going for 25 cu. m, 250 cu. m and 2,000 cu. m, in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Water Environment (Abstractions) Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Nov 2020)

Eoin Ó Broin: Should the Bill give the power to refuse licences for existing abstractors under certain circumstances? With respect to enforcement, have recommendations been made to the Department concerning what that regime should be? In terms of indefinite licences, is there any other EPA licence type that is indefinite? Given that Ms Gurrie said that the registration process is very simple, why would...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Water Environment (Abstractions) Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Nov 2020)

Eoin Ó Broin: Is there a provision in the Bill to refuse a licence for an existing abstractor, if there are grounds to do so?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Water Environment (Abstractions) Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Nov 2020)

Eoin Ó Broin: I apologise for cutting across Ms O'Connor. My question is, does the EPA think that there should be provisions in the Bill to provide for a refusal? I know what the heads say, but it seems odd that there is no provision. If the EPA's view is, having done an assessment, that there is a problem, surely it would like to have that power to be able to refuse, I presume in very limited circumstances.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Water Environment (Abstractions) Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Nov 2020)

Eoin Ó Broin: I just want to press this because it is important.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Water Environment (Abstractions) Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Nov 2020)

Eoin Ó Broin: I am not being adversarial, but there could be a situation where the EPA's environmental assessment finds that an abstraction should not continue but it will not be empowered to do that. It will only be able to apply conditions. Surely that seems an odd scenario.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Home Loan Scheme (4 Nov 2020)

Eoin Ó Broin: 58. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if there are circumstances in which persons that have lost their home due to Celtic tiger era mortgage distress and that have exited a personal insolvency agreement could apply and secure a Rebuilding Ireland home loan. [33987/20]

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Guardian's Payment (4 Nov 2020)

Eoin Ó Broin: 90. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the financial supports to grandparents that have direct responsibility for caring for their grandchildren as guardians. [33982/20]

Written Answers — Department of Health: National Carers' Strategy (4 Nov 2020)

Eoin Ó Broin: 123. To ask the Minister for Health the supports in place for grandparents of children with special needs in circumstances in which the grandparents are the primary guardian of the children. [33983/20]

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: One-Parent Family Payment (3 Nov 2020)

Eoin Ó Broin: This is an issue where, with a bit of common sense and goodwill, we can make a difference to people's lives. Someone like Kirsty today can legitimately claim jobseeker's allowance because she has no full-time employment. She is in receipt of jobseeker's allowance and the State pays that in recognition of the fact that she has no means. The foster care allowance is not a payment to provide...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: One-Parent Family Payment (3 Nov 2020)

Eoin Ó Broin: I look forward to the Minister being as positive in response to my query as she was to the previous one. I thank her for taking time out of a long and busy day to be here so late to deal with this issue. I will start by introducing her to a woman I know. Her name is Kirsty. She has been a foster parent for more than 13 years. She, and her then partner, started fostering, and they were...

Homeless Prevention Bill 2020: First Stage (3 Nov 2020)

Eoin Ó Broin: I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."