Results 7,361-7,380 of 11,114 for speaker:Damien English

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Rural and Community Development: National Planning Framework: Discussion (13 Dec 2017)

Damien English: I thank the committee for its invitation. As Minister of State with responsibility for housing and planning, and on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, I am delighted to be here with Mr. Niall Cussen and Mr. Paul Hogan. I welcome this opportunity to listen to members and discuss the committee's views on the national planning framework, NPF. It is important that the committee has...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Rural and Community Development: National Planning Framework: Discussion (13 Dec 2017)

Damien English: I will touch on some of the issues. I will not be able to answer every question in detail because the idea is that I listen to members' contributions. There has been a lot of detail and the idea is we take it on board and try to reflect it in what we do in the weeks and months ahead in bringing this plan forward. I will address the issue raised by Deputy McLoughlin. We have agreed as a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Rural and Community Development: National Planning Framework: Discussion (13 Dec 2017)

Damien English: To be clear, we are not saying that Mayo will lose out. That is not what we are saying at all. We are talking about taking a regional approach first. In that context, there are regional spacial and economic strategies which will be used to decide where the growth centres are; they will be in Mayo, Sligo and other counties because each county has major growth centres and we specify that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Rural and Community Development: National Planning Framework: Discussion (13 Dec 2017)

Damien English: That is a reality; it reflects what is there. There are five cities that are already cities which have a major influence in the area. For example, Galway is a medtech centre in the context of Europe and is a major player in an international context. One cannot just forget about it, one has to plan to enhance its position and provide the infrastructure. There are traffic plans for Galway...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Rural and Community Development: National Planning Framework: Discussion (13 Dec 2017)

Damien English: I am conscious that the Deputy missed the beginning of the meeting but I said very clearly that this is not just about cities.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Rural and Community Development: National Planning Framework: Discussion (13 Dec 2017)

Damien English: The Deputy must not have read it because he is going on a rant that does not reflect what is in the plan. With respect-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Rural and Community Development: National Planning Framework: Discussion (13 Dec 2017)

Damien English: It is unfair of the Deputy to come in late and keeps throwing this-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Rural and Community Development: National Planning Framework: Discussion (13 Dec 2017)

Damien English: The Deputy can put on a showpiece but it will not help in the context of what we are trying to do.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Rural and Community Development: National Planning Framework: Discussion (13 Dec 2017)

Damien English: That is not our attitude at all but the Deputy is constantly misrepresenting what is in the plan.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Rural and Community Development: National Planning Framework: Discussion (13 Dec 2017)

Damien English: That is grand.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Rural and Community Development: National Planning Framework: Discussion (13 Dec 2017)

Damien English: The Deputy did so and I would have to compliment him on that. I was one of the Opposition spokespersons at the time and he was very good to me.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Rural and Community Development: National Planning Framework: Discussion (13 Dec 2017)

Damien English: I will respect the Deputy. I did not-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Rural and Community Development: National Planning Framework: Discussion (13 Dec 2017)

Damien English: I am sorry that I used the word "rant". The Deputy was not here for the start of the meeting when I made it very clear that the plan is very much focused on rural Ireland. We recognise-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Rural and Community Development: National Planning Framework: Discussion (13 Dec 2017)

Damien English: Sorry, Chairman-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Rural and Community Development: National Planning Framework: Discussion (13 Dec 2017)

Damien English: I cannot sit here and be told again and again that this is not for rural Ireland. I made it clear at the start of the meeting that this is why we are here to engage with the committee. We see this plan playing a major part in saving rural Ireland. As I stated earlier, the statistics indicate that over 50% of house building over the past number years was in rural areas. That is a fact. We...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Rural and Community Development: National Planning Framework: Discussion (13 Dec 2017)

Damien English: While I am unable to answer all the questions members asked, I will try to address their concerns. The idea is to listen to the various contributions and feed them into the overall plan. The reason I am attending today is that I understand concerns have arisen regarding the roll-out of the national planning framework. This is a 20 year plan which sets out a vision for the country. The...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Rural and Community Development: National Planning Framework: Discussion (13 Dec 2017)

Damien English: No, it is not a case of "maybe". It is clearly provided for in the planning framework. I ask the Deputy to deal with facts.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Rural and Community Development: National Planning Framework: Discussion (13 Dec 2017)

Damien English: We have made a commitment to strengthen the wording to allay concerns on this issue. I ask members not to misrepresent the contents of the plan. We are here to engage with the facts. Senator Hopkins referred to Ballinasloe and other towns. In my previous job in the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, as it was then known, we went to great lengths to engage with all the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Rural and Community Development: National Planning Framework: Discussion (13 Dec 2017)

Damien English: I will again try to respond to the points raised. As there is a lot of commonality in the issues raised, I will not go back over absolutely everything. The Chairman is absolutely right when he says we need to have regions that can compete with Dublin. That is what we are trying to do in striking a balance and enabling the regions to compete. That said, Dublin, Cork, Galway and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Rural and Community Development: National Planning Framework: Discussion (13 Dec 2017)

Damien English: Yes, in some case we do, rightly so. However, I cannot detail every project. The idea is that the plan will set out what we want to achieve in the regions and different areas and what we need to do to make it happen. One will then list the various projects. That is where the national investment plan comes in, as well as other strategies, including what the local authorities need to do to...