Results 14,281-14,300 of 15,379 for speaker:Eoin Ó Broin

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Review of Building Regulations, Building Controls and Consumer Protection: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Apr 2017)

Eoin Ó Broin: I will not stand over the figures as they are not mine, However, the claim made by Ronan Lyons relates specifically to the BCAR requirements. In his article on the issue he outlined the specific BCAR elements and then listed other costs.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Review of Building Regulations, Building Controls and Consumer Protection: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Apr 2017)

Eoin Ó Broin: I asked a question on the Dutch system where local authorities self-certify.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Review of Building Regulations, Building Controls and Consumer Protection: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Apr 2017)

Eoin Ó Broin: Perhaps Ms Neary will make some general observations on the Dutch system, rather than giving a damning indictment of it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Review of Building Regulations, Building Controls and Consumer Protection: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Apr 2017)

Eoin Ó Broin: Who acts as watchdog for the certification of social houses? There is no such watchdog.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Review of Building Regulations, Building Controls and Consumer Protection: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Apr 2017)

Eoin Ó Broin: I am not questioning that. As a former member of a local authority, I can stand over the quality and integrity of local authority staff. However, we must be mindful that there are clear examples in recent history of local authorities demonstrably failing to provide the standard of accommodation required under the building control regulations in place at the time. There is one clearly...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Review of Building Regulations, Building Controls and Consumer Protection: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Apr 2017)

Eoin Ó Broin: It would be great if the witness could share those three bits of information.

Report of the Joint Committee on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services: Motion (12 Apr 2017)

Eoin Ó Broin: Just to be clear, Deputy Joan Collins is not misleading the Dáil. The senior counsel said at the committee that he had received correspondence from Fine Gael.

Report of the Joint Committee on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services: Motion (12 Apr 2017)

Eoin Ó Broin: That is not what he said.

Report of the Joint Committee on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services: Motion (12 Apr 2017)

Eoin Ó Broin: Three years ago the Right2Water movement hit the streets. It was a mass movement of communities, trade unions and political parties. It was a reaction to the austerity assault of Fine Gael and the Labour Party. It was about much more than water, but at its heart it was always about water. Just like housing and health, decades of under-investment left people with a crumbling public...

Report of the Joint Committee on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services: Motion (12 Apr 2017)

Eoin Ó Broin: The subtext of the letter which was clearly a threat to his colleagues in Fianna Fáil was that he must get his way at the committee or he would force a general election. He said: "Give me my meters and give me my excess charge or we will go to the polls." What happened then was that, as he has just done here, Deputy Barry Cowen huffed and puffed and threatened to block the Minister's...

Report of the Joint Committee on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services: Motion (12 Apr 2017)

Eoin Ó Broin: It is interesting to note the wide divergence between the Minister and Deputy Barry Cowen on that particular point. It will be an interesting battle when we come to the legislation to see how those two are going to square that circle. I must say that this week I almost felt sorry for Deputy Barry Cowen. It must be hard when one's party, fearing a general election, throws one to the wolves....

Report of the Joint Committee on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services: Motion (12 Apr 2017)

Eoin Ó Broin: In fact, they almost sound like the Minister, Deputy Simon Coveney, on this issue. The decisions, however, on charges and meters have nothing to do with EU law. The Oireachtas Committee on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services received nine separate pieces of legal opinion from six different legal sources, each of which gave conflicting legal advice. One senior counsel on mature...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (12 Apr 2017)

Eoin Ó Broin: I will make a general opening comment that has nothing to do with what the Minister just outlined. I am very disappointed by the turnout today, and that is obviously no criticism of the members who have turned up. This committee has a consistent problem of very low attendances, which reflects very poorly on the very serious issues with which we are dealing, and today is a matter in point....

Select Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (12 Apr 2017)

Eoin Ó Broin: I accept all that, but this is not a one-off. We repeatedly have very small attendances at committee sessions dealing with very important issues and events. We all have other commitments. I spent ten hours in the water committee meeting yesterday and seven hours the week before and was still able to attend to my housing committee commitments. I think anyone from the public looking in on...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (12 Apr 2017)

Eoin Ó Broin: I move amendment No. 6:In page 7, line 34, after “assess” to insert “and make legally binding determinations on”.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (12 Apr 2017)

Eoin Ó Broin: I acknowledge the Minister's openness to considering changes. As I stated on Second Stage, we support the establishment of the planning regulator. It is a very important addition to our planning architecture and was strongly recommended by the tribunal. However, it is really important that we have a body that is not just consultative and that does not just evaluate and assess while the...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (12 Apr 2017)

Eoin Ó Broin: I thank the Minister for the detailed responses. Every time we go through legislation or policy, we start the conversation with the Minister telling us that he will be open to persuasion and end the process with broadly the same legislation or policy with which we started.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (12 Apr 2017)

Eoin Ó Broin: On the substantive issues, it could be a reflection on our inability to persuade the Minister or of the fact that he is not as open to persuasion as he says and that he has his mind broadly made up at the start. Let me try to persuade him a little in response to his comments. I absolutely accept that the buck stops with the Minister for legislation and policy on planning matters. No one...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (12 Apr 2017)

Eoin Ó Broin: I will not name anybody or any local authority. The Chairman should not worry. I am just making the point that being in the public eye does not necessarily produce good quality outcomes in terms of planning decisions. The Central Bank is a good example of a regulator that is publicly known and the interventions of which lead to good public debate, but we should also look at the...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (12 Apr 2017)

Eoin Ó Broin: I fully support the amendments and I can second them if that is required.