Results 13,701-13,720 of 27,055 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021 [Seanad]: Second Stage (25 Nov 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I will answer the Deputy on Committee Stage.

Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021 [Seanad]: Second Stage (25 Nov 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Deputy is going well; he should keep going.

Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021 [Seanad]: Second Stage (25 Nov 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: We will have a Committee Stage.

Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021 [Seanad]: Second Stage (25 Nov 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: That is why we have this Bill.

Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021 [Seanad]: Second Stage (25 Nov 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: It is not mandatory.

Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021 [Seanad]: Second Stage (25 Nov 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am pleased to have the opportunity to introduce the Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021 on Second Stage. I thank Members for facilitating the debate on this very important Bill. We just completed Report and Final Stages in the Seanad earlier this week. Over the course of its passage...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (25 Nov 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 231, 239, 240 and 243 together. The Mortgage to Rent (MTR) scheme introduced in 2012 is targeted at supporting households in mortgage arrears who have had their mortgage position deemed unsustainable by their lender under the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP); agree to the voluntary surrender of their home and are deemed eligible for social housing...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (25 Nov 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I refer to Parliamentary Question 356 of 2 November 2021. The position is unchanged. It is my intention to review the position in relation to the filling of the post of the chief executive of Galway County Council on a permanent basis before the end of the year.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Property Registration (25 Nov 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Although the Property Registration Authority (PRA) falls under the aegis of my Department, the PRA has its own Vote (Vote 23), of which its Chief Executive Officer is the Accounting Officer. In addition, the PRA operates under a delegated staffing sanction from my Department for filling posts up to the grade of Principal Officer. The staffing complement of the PRA as at 31 October 2021 was...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Schemes (25 Nov 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The 'Housing for All' plan sets out the Government’s commitment to increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 per year over the next decade, including an average of 10,000 new build social homes. While specific targets for the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) and the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) are not set under ‘Housing for All’, the Plan does...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Gorse Burning (25 Nov 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The provision of a fire service in its functional area, including the establishment and maintenance of a fire brigade, the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of fire station premises, is a statutory function of individual fire authorities under the Fire Services Act, 1981. My Department supports fire authorities through setting general policy, providing a central training...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (25 Nov 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 241 and 242 together. Long term leasing forms part of the overall social housing leasing delivery which also includes delivery streams such as Mortgage to Rent Scheme (MTR), the Repair and Leasing Scheme (RLS) and the Enhanced Leasing Scheme. A breakdown of total leasing delivery per annum for social housing by local authority location can be found on my...

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

Darragh O'Brien: I am not aware of any staff in my Department having been removed from their position, transferred to another role or having their employment terminated from 2011 to date due to breaches of Departmental standards or professional misconduct or incompetence. Personnel in my Department operate to the standards outlined in the Civil Service Code of Standards and Behaviour. Breaches, should...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (23 Nov 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I thank Senator Ruane. This is one that we discussed at length on Committee Stage. My position has not changed. It is considered that these amendments would be overly prescriptive. We are changing it now to improve it from 15% to 30% but the intent is to allow the discretion with the local authority. I do not have to advise Senators that we had an extensive debate on Committee Stage when...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (23 Nov 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: We do not want to be overly prescriptive with regard to what the planners do. We need to ensure when we are bringing back planning to local government that we allow them to operate and make the decisions. The amendment relates to the definitions section of the Bill. I do not believe inserting an obligation on planning authorities in the definitions section is appropriate and the amendment...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (23 Nov 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Again, this amendment has been re-tabled. In fairness, Senator Higgins outlined her position on this and I explained why I did not believe it would be appropriate. My primary concern regarding student complexes is that they should not be used as permanent residential accommodation or as a hotel or hostel. I issued this circular a number of weeks ago. They are dedicated student...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (23 Nov 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I thank Senator Ruane for these amendments. Again, we went through these in great detail on Committee Stage. I propose to address amendments Nos. 4 and 20 first. These are matters far more appropriate for building control and are dealt with in our building control and standards legislation rather than planning legislation. The area of the rights of persons with disabilities is one that we...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (23 Nov 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I thank the Senators for their contributions. We have discussed these amendments and they have a great deal of merit. The two amendments are similar. I said on Committee Stage that we would work together to see how we can move the situation forward. There is merit in such proposals although I did flag there may be issues around structure and wording.I note that the Senators have come back...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (23 Nov 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I thank the Senators. We accepted the previous amendment, but we cannot accept every amendment. I will give the reasons we cannot accept those under discussion. We have discussed this. Let me return to the original point. This is about restoring planning functions to local authorities, which is what the Government wants; however, it is also about restoring the primacy of the development...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (23 Nov 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I refer the Senators to section 34 of the principal Act which, as amended on Committee Stage, means that every councillor will know when every application is lodged under this process. It states: Where a planning authority receives an application for permission to which section 32A(1) applies it shall— (a) notify the elected members of the planning authority of the making of the...