Results 1,181-1,200 of 6,937 for speaker:Cian O'Callaghan

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: If even; so it might have been used once. If this has almost never been used and might have been used once - I am not aware of that occasion when it was used - that is not striking a careful balance. It is quite extraordinary. These are circumstances where someone has carried out substantial unauthorised development, has been convicted of an offence under planning law or is not in...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: I wish to raise a short point that is not directly related to this. The Minister of State’s predecessor, Deputy O’Donnell, gave a commitment to us during Committee Stage that the terms of reference of the ESRI study would be shared with this committee. He gave that commitment twice but it has not been shared with the committee yet. I ask the Minister of State to please follow...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: It is on the housing needs assessment. It is just that we were given that commitment twice, so if the Minister of State can follow up on that, it would be appreciated.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: Not on a small point.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: It is my amendment. I do not see why other Deputies would come in at length on my amendment and I would have to be confined to a small point.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: Perfect, thank you. I will be concise. People in communities where this is an issue, far from judge, jury and executioner being applied, would love to see even just one of those when it comes to these issues. My amendment does not seek to ensure that the planning authority or commission would be judge, jury and execution because I specifically leave in section 160(6), which is the...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: On that, in my experience, I have seen a number of developers operating that way, whereby at any one time they have between 40 and 50 different companies on the go and they use a different one for each planning application, which means accountability is a real issue if something goes wrong. I would be very interested to hear the answer to that question. I have one short question on this...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: Could we get a short note on this section of the Bill and whether it has been used? It is important to know whether the provision has ever been used in terms of understanding this legislation.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: I thank the Minister of State.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: No, I do not have a question on section 163.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: A key provision of this section is that there will be a phasing plan for developments consisting of ten housing units or more. Will the Minister of State give some indication of what a phasing plan for a relatively small development of, say, 15 or 20 houses might look like?

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: Will I clarify the question?

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: Sorry, I should clarify the question a bit. If there are 400 apartments built over five blocks, it is quite clear what the phasing plan might be. It might be that block 1 is in phase 1 or it might be in phase 2 and some parkland and open space in phase 1. Phase 2 could be blocks 3 and 4 and some more amenities. Block 5 might be the next phase and so on. It is clear what a phasing plan...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: The schedule of works for scheme housing, even if it is only ten or 15 houses, is important in terms of when public areas, roads, footpaths, open spaces and so on will be completed. The scheduling of works is an important component that comes out from the phasing plan. I thank the Minister of State for that answer. Second, does section 165 allow a planning authority to insist on the...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: I would like to further explain my question. What can happen with phasing in larger schemes - unfortunately we have all seen examples of this - is that phase one could involve 200 apartments, phase two could involve another 200 apartments and phase three could include another 100 apartments as well as a community facility that is promised to serve the entire development and some open space...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: Sorry, where is that?

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: It is not specific to phasing plans but it applies to phasing plans, so that is where they could do this or how they could do it.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: I thank the Minister of State for that reply, which is helpful. Would it not be better to make this a bit more explicit in the phasing plan section in order that it is clear that the planning authority or commission can reorder the phasing if that is desirable? A key weakness of phasing currently is that we get all of the really good community stuff in the last phase, but sometimes that is...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: Yes, but it is really about the fact that the phasing plan comes entirely from the applicant. I totally understand that a draft phasing plan would come from the applicant but my concern is about explicitly giving the planning authority or commission the ability to intervene and put a better order on the phasing. This is a really useful mechanism. I have given an example already, although...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: That is on the conditions that may be attached to planning permission. Can the sequencing of works tie in with phasing?