Results 21,381-21,400 of 26,350 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Remedial measures will be in the enforcement notice.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: On foot of this discussion, I need to get absolute clarity on that piece. The enforcement notice is very clear. That is the legal enforcement that is being taken about what works need to be done to restore or remediate a site. That is covered and we have dealt with that. Regarding how that interacts with section 130(8), which relates to the direction by the commission to take remedial...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: We will look at it. I do not believe there will be a conflict by the time we will have gone through it. Section 131(3) states: Where the Commission decides under section 121 to refuse to grant retrospective consent (other than on the basis that retrospective consent is not required) the development concerned shall, notwithstanding any other provision in this Act, be deemed to be...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Then the person falls into section 320 and one is going back further than seven years. That provision is very strong and clear that one can go past the seven years, particularly for those two activities: quarrying and-----

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Remediation is included in the enforcement notice under section 317(2)(d).

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: On this point, from us going through this I am sure that it will not be the case that this would be an exception. We will go back and look at this piece and will come forward with an explanatory note on this.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: For absolute clarity, one can go past the seven years and that is very important for those two particular measures and it is very important that that is set down in primary legislation. This is a very serious issue, unquestionably. All of us are aware of cases, particularly on illegal quarrying and peat extraction. I am more than content that within the Bill, as is presented, that it would...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Section 131(3) requires one there on the time limit for enforcement notices.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Is that under section 320? We have just said that where under section 320, one can take an enforcement action post the seven years for these two activities and it is very clear on that.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: What we all want is here, and if there is a clarity required, I will get a clarification on this. We will then come back and if we need to strengthen or change subsection (8) we will do that. I think that reading them in isolation can give a different view of it. The enforcement notice is key in this. The time periods on these two activities go past the statute bar and the seven years, as...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Absolutely, and if needs be, we will come back to it.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The discussion has been useful in moving that through.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: To go through this, Deputy Ó Snodaigh's comments at the end helped me to answer the question I wanted to put even when Deputy Boyd Barrett was here. The completion is within the planning permission period. You have to build and operate within a planning permission period. If you start building and you have a five-year permission, the permission is for five years. It is not that you...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: For developments under ten units, it is not envisaged that there would be a phasing approach-----

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: -----for developments of that size. We dealt with that yesterday.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: If I understand the Deputy, the default position would be set to three years for all permissions, under her amendment.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Someone who goes back for an extension would not be restricted, but instead of five years it would be three years. The point is that would shorten that timeframe and the timeframe for permission for any application that goes to a local authority. That could involve a large commercial facility or a large housing development, or whatever the case may be. The Deputy's amendment sets the...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Someone going back in for more time would not be restricted but I take it, if that person went back to request another period, the Deputy would probably want that to be three years.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I have already made the points on why I cannot accept that and why I do not think it is a good idea.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Totally. I completely and utterly agree with the Deputy. That is why it has been one of our focuses. We will not have a political discussion here but we could talk about all our various plans for housing and what we are doing. Unquestionably, vacancy is an area we are very focused on. It is something we want to see continued progress on, but that is for another discussion. I have...