Results 7,581-7,600 of 11,114 for speaker:Damien English

Topical Issue Debate: Regional Development (6 Feb 2018)

Damien English: -----and I am sorry if I delayed the House earlier. I thank Deputy Durkan for again raising the matter of the stalled town centre development in Naas. I appreciate and understand his eagerness that it be brought to a satisfactory and speedy resolution. This is our third or fourth time discussing it here so I know it is an issue that is very close to the Deputy's heart and that he raises...

Topical Issue Debate: Regional Development (6 Feb 2018)

Damien English: I fully accept Deputy Durkan’s desire that this long-running matter, which is an unfortunate legacy of our recent economic recession and is impacting on the further development of Naas, be progressed and completed as soon as is practically possible in order that the expanding town of Naas can achieve its full potential. If we can help bring Naas back to its former glory through our...

Topical Issue Debate: Regional Development (6 Feb 2018)

Damien English: We will also try to make a case for him as well because this is something our Department, and the employment and development Departments, want to see addressed. It is an issue that the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, discussed with all the local authority managers and housing officers at the recent housing summit. We want to try to strengthen the powers of local authorities to deal with...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Fire Service (6 Feb 2018)

Damien English: 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 Service Act, 1981.  My Department supports the fire authorities through setting general policy, providing a central...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: NSAI Inspections (6 Feb 2018)

Damien English: The aim of the building regulations is to provide for the safety and welfare of people in and about buildings. The building regulations apply to the design and construction of a building or to an extension or material alteration of a building. The minimum performance requirements that a building must achieve are set out in the second schedule to the building regulations. These requirements...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Construction Costs (6 Feb 2018)

Damien English: Under the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, the Government is committed to a broad range of measures to tackle, among other things, some of the costs associated with the provision of housing. This includes undertaking a detailed analysis, in conjunction with the construction sector, to benchmark housing delivery input costs in Ireland, in order to facilitate an...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Foreshore Issues (6 Feb 2018)

Damien English: The piece of land referred to is State Owned Foreshore reclaimed without consent and occupied by the persons named for many years. My Department has been making every effort to ascertain when and by whom the area in question was reclaimed.  Correspondence dated 26 January 2018 was received from the legal advisor to the persons named, offering to purchase the area. However, no...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Fire Safety Regulations (7 Feb 2018)

Damien English: I propose to take Questions Nos. 302 and 303 together. In general, building defects are matters for resolution between the contracting parties involved: the homeowner, the builder, the developer and/or their respective insurers, structural guarantee or warranty scheme. It is important to note that while my Department has overall responsibility for establishing and maintaining an...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Issues (7 Feb 2018)

Damien English: The principal Planning and Development Regulations 2001 were amended in September 2011 by the Planning and Development (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2011 to provide that initial afforestation shall be exempted development. The justification for exempting this form of activity from the requirement to obtain planning permission is because such activity was subject to a separate statutory...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Second Stage (7 Feb 2018)

Damien English: The main background to this important Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016 is the Final Report of the Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments, otherwise known as the Mahon tribunal, which was published on 22 March 2012. The Bill is therefore primarily intended to give legislative effect to the planning-related recommendations of the tribunal report, providing...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Second Stage (7 Feb 2018)

Damien English: I thank the Senator for telling me.

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Second Stage (7 Feb 2018)

Damien English: I have worked on it since the start.

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Second Stage (7 Feb 2018)

Damien English: It was 1998.

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Second Stage (7 Feb 2018)

Damien English: In the few minutes left, I will try to deal with most of the issues raised. If not, we will deal with them next week through the amendments that I believe are coming in, according to Senator Boyhan. It is to be hoped we will. In respect of the fees, it is a point well raised that it is nearly 20 years since the fees were addressed. There are proposals being worked on in the Department at...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Second Stage (7 Feb 2018)

Damien English: Yes, I know. However, just to be clear, councillors come under pressure as well when people come to them to bring forward their individual concerns as opposed to the community concerns. We recognise that councillors need to represent the community and to try to keep those fees to a minimum. However, I ask Members to remember that councillors will come under pressure to make observations or...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Second Stage (7 Feb 2018)

Damien English: I have full confidence councillors can withstand that. However, it is something to bear in mind and it is something we are conscious of too. We have all been there. Most of us have been councillors at some stage. We know what comes to the desk as well. That is something we are looking at. On the timelines, there was a lot of merit in what Senator Lombard said in respect of the cycle of...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Second Stage (7 Feb 2018)

Damien English: The Minister, Deputy Murphy, who is bringing this plan through, is very clear on this. It is a plan for the country. We will make decisions that are right for the country, as Senator Humphreys has said as well. It will reflect the ambitions of each individual county but decisions have to be on behalf of the country and the regions. That is prioritising and that is what we will do. I know...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Second Stage (7 Feb 2018)

Damien English: Most of the issues were general. It is about giving confidence in the planning system. Senator Boyhan is absolutely right on that. The work we do in bringing forward a planning amendment like this, reflecting the Mahon tribunal's recommendations, is to give confidence in the system. It is to give people a guarantee they can trust the planning system. They have been let down by that...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Unfinished Housing Developments Data (8 Feb 2018)

Damien English: The information requested is available on my Department's website at the following link: . The above link indicates the names of the 22 unfinished estates in County Laois as well as the number of units that are "complete and vacant" and "near complete" in the context of the 2016 Unfinished Housing Developments Reports. Further information on the Summary Reports for 2016 on Unfinished Housing...

Order of Business (13 Feb 2018)

Damien English: There is a considerable amount of legislation but it will not be finished until after Easter. We have had discussion in the House. We went through the committee with the report. We had a debate in this Chamber in October on the draft report and the committee report. It was agreed to honour the spirit of the legislation, which we are still teasing through the House. It will be finished...