Results 7,941-7,960 of 11,114 for speaker:Damien English

Residential Tenancies (Greater Security of Tenure and Rent Certainty) Bill 2018: Second Stage [Private Members] (30 May 2018)

Damien English: I did not interrupt Deputy Burton. I know they are but let us be clear. Some 8,000 plus voids were brought back into the system.

Residential Tenancies (Greater Security of Tenure and Rent Certainty) Bill 2018: Second Stage [Private Members] (30 May 2018)

Damien English: There is a different story there. I will come to that in a minute. I am happy to go there but there should be no voids. There is absolutely no reason for it.

Residential Tenancies (Greater Security of Tenure and Rent Certainty) Bill 2018: Second Stage [Private Members] (30 May 2018)

Damien English: I have no problem complimenting Deputy O'Sullivan on that. A total of €150 million has been spent. Voids are an essential part and must be brought back into use. The then Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, started it and we continued with it. Deputy Alan Kelly was in the Department as well. We always said there is no excuse for voids and they should not be there. Far too many...

Residential Tenancies (Greater Security of Tenure and Rent Certainty) Bill 2018: Second Stage [Private Members] (30 May 2018)

Damien English: The Deputy might pass on the message to him. He has managed again to be gone by the time I get up to speak. It is important to correct these points in relation to housing because a great deal of work has gone into trying to change the system. I compliment the local authorities involved. People often ask why we have to open developments of ten or 12 houses. It is for one reason only,...

Residential Tenancies (Greater Security of Tenure and Rent Certainty) Bill 2018: Second Stage [Private Members] (30 May 2018)

Damien English: That helps too. It is a great bonus if it works. The commitment is there and there is no ideological difference. The difficulty is about how quickly one can scale up. In fairness, Deputy Howlin was in Cabinet and understands about finance and the fact that the money was not there in the past to deal with this. If it had been there, I have no doubt that Deputy Howlin would have found the...

Residential Tenancies (Greater Security of Tenure and Rent Certainty) Bill 2018: Second Stage [Private Members] (30 May 2018)

Damien English: That is why the system is beginning to deliver. It has taken years to put the system together again but it is now beginning to deliver houses. Hopefully, we will get back to the scale we need. There is a commitment to get to 50,000 houses and then beyond that. The idea that it is part of Fine Gael’s ideology not to do social housing is not true. It is not fair to say that when the...

Residential Tenancies (Greater Security of Tenure and Rent Certainty) Bill 2018: Second Stage [Private Members] (30 May 2018)

Damien English: They are built to order.

Residential Tenancies (Greater Security of Tenure and Rent Certainty) Bill 2018: Second Stage [Private Members] (30 May 2018)

Damien English: They are not competing. I can bring the Deputy to the sites.

Residential Tenancies (Greater Security of Tenure and Rent Certainty) Bill 2018: Second Stage [Private Members] (30 May 2018)

Damien English: And I will bring the Minister of State to lots of sites where they were built to order.

Residential Tenancies (Greater Security of Tenure and Rent Certainty) Bill 2018: Second Stage [Private Members] (30 May 2018)

Damien English: I can bring the Deputy to lots of sites. I will bring him with me.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Building Regulations Compliance (30 May 2018)

Damien English: Under the Building Control Acts 1990 to 2014, primary responsibility for compliance of works with the requirements of the Building Regulations, including Part B (Fire Safety), rests with the owners, designers and builders of buildings. Enforcement of the Building Regulations is a matter for the 31 local building control authorities, who have extensive powers of inspection and enforcement...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Expert Panel on Concrete Blocks (12 Jun 2018)

Damien English: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1301 and 1319 together. The Expert Panel on concrete blocks was established by my Department in 2016, to investigate problems that have emerged in the concrete blockwork of certain dwellings in Counties Donegal and Mayo. The panel had the following terms of reference: (i) To identify, insofar as it is possible, the numbers of private dwellings which appear to...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Vacant Sites Data (12 Jun 2018)

Damien English: The Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015 introduced a new measure, the vacant site levy, which is aimed at incentivising the development of vacant, under-utilised sites in urban areas. Under the Act, planning authorities are required to establish a register of vacant sites in their areas, beginning on 1 January 2017. Planning authorities have issued notices to owners of vacant sites by 1...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Rental Accommodation Scheme (12 Jun 2018)

Damien English: I thank the Senator for raising this issue and acknowledge his concerns about the operation of the rental accommodation scheme. I should be able to bring some clarity to the matter, given that it is down to interpretation, and I welcome the opportunity to discuss it in the Seanad. This issue has crossed our desks recently via various people. RAS was first introduced in 2004 and has met the...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Rental Accommodation Scheme (12 Jun 2018)

Damien English: I thank Senator Davitt for raising this issue. It is important we bring clarity to the issue and I am happy to do that.

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Report Stage (12 Jun 2018)

Damien English: Amendment No. 1 is a simple technical amendment to incorporate a reference in the Long Title of the Bill to marine spatial planning, which is the subject also of amendments Nos. 55 to 65, inclusive. The amendment to the Long Title also incorporates a new reference to the Derelict Sites Act, which is also the subject of a subsequent Government amendment. Amendments Nos. 55 to 65, inclusive,...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Report Stage (12 Jun 2018)

Damien English: On several occasions in previous debates, I flagged that amendments would be introduced on Report Stage. I am conscious that the Bill has been going through both House for two years. The whole idea of having the two strategies aligned is because we are trying to bring in forward-thinking plans for the next 25 years. It is not the marine plan. It will allow for the legislation. We will...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Report Stage (12 Jun 2018)

Damien English: As regards the notice, people can debate that in terms of the processes of the Houses but the whole idea of putting it in here is to do exactly what Senator Grace O'Sullivan is after saying, namely, it gets the recognition of the importance that plan will have. It is putting into legislation the role of both of these Houses and the role Senators will have in that. That consultation has to...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Report Stage (12 Jun 2018)

Damien English: I can absolutely provide that assurance. That is exactly what it is and this legislation is copper-fastening that assurance. Apart from my word it is in legislation but that is exactly what we want to do and have as many people as we possibly can involved in this public consultation because there are not enough people taking an interest in it.

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Report Stage (12 Jun 2018)

Damien English: I am conscious that some Members might have missed the debate earlier. The idea behind the amendments is to recognise the importance of marine spatial planning and that we are putting together a national plan. I am conscious that the Senator might have missed the earlier discussion, but that is exactly what we are doing. We are putting in place a process such that in the coming two years...