Results 8,081-8,100 of 11,114 for speaker:Damien English

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: From the Seanad (5 Jul 2018)

Damien English: I would be very happy to discuss it with the Deputy and go through all of that. With regard to one-off housing, this legislation probably came a little late for the planning framework development for Project Ireland 2040. We tried to honour the spirit of the law. We discussed it in this House and at committees, including the Joint Committee on Rural and Community Development and the Joint...

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: From the Seanad (5 Jul 2018)

Damien English: These amendments address section 31AA and section 31AC of the Bill and will provide that the staff will be civil servants in the Civil Service of the State. Having examined the matter further since the Bill was initiated, it is clear that there are likely savings to be made through the use of shared services for areas such as payroll, human resources and IT, which can be accessed if the...

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: From the Seanad (5 Jul 2018)

Damien English: This group will amend sections 10, 12, 13, 20, 38 and 31 of the principal Act, as well as amending sections 31AL, 31AM, 31AN, 31AP and 31AR in the Bill. These amendments are proposed to strengthen the provisions in the principal Act relating to the adoption and derogation of statutory plans, that is, local authority development plans and local area plans, as well as regional, spatial and...

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: From the Seanad (5 Jul 2018)

Damien English: I am happy to sit down with Deputy Collins. We pass each other in the corridor every day of the week. I cannot meet the group. I offered to do so previously-----

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: From the Seanad (5 Jul 2018)

Damien English: -----but the matter is now before the courts. I had offered to meet the group.

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: From the Seanad (5 Jul 2018)

Damien English: I have engaged with Deputies on this matter and had arranged to meet the group with them and with officials of my Department. I made that offer but could not fulfil it because the matter went before the courts.

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: From the Seanad (5 Jul 2018)

Damien English: That is not the case.

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: From the Seanad (5 Jul 2018)

Damien English: I think the answer to Deputy Casey's question might solve all the questions. The Minister is getting fewer powers because the Bill is giving the power to the regulator, who is independent of Government, politics or a crazy Minister who may be in this position in the future. The regulator will make suggestions to the Minister. The Minister will have the final say but that will be on foot of...

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: From the Seanad (5 Jul 2018)

Damien English: I am sorry. The Deputy asked for an example. If, in the future, we set national guidelines on solar farms and a local development plan does not respect the national guidelines, the regulator will step in and suggest they should be respected, that the local development plan should be changed and recommend a direction by the Minister. Today, that direction is carried out by the Minister and...

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: From the Seanad (5 Jul 2018)

Damien English: I will answer that.

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: From the Seanad (5 Jul 2018)

Damien English: To bring some clarity and put Deputy Danny Healy-Rae at ease, we are not bringing in loads of changes to give more powers to the regulator. This process has been going on for the past two years. I will not be able to satisfy the concerns Deputy Danny Healy-Rae has and those of the Sinn Féin Deputies because they want two different things.

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: From the Seanad (5 Jul 2018)

Damien English: The Deputies have other people who do that for them. At present, county development plans are put together by the councillors. It is their statutory right and most take it very seriously and put a lot of work into it. The Department recognises that. There are national policy guidelines that also have to be implemented in local development plans. Some councils choose not to follow the...

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: From the Seanad (5 Jul 2018)

Damien English: I will check that for the Deputy and come back to him. It is a fair point.

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: From the Seanad (5 Jul 2018)

Damien English: There is a process to an appointment. It will not just be me. It is a good question, though.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Cross-Border Co-operation (5 Jul 2018)

Damien English: I thank Senator Ó Donnghaile for raising this issue as it gives me the chance to outline the situation with him directly. On the issue of the Six Counties and the map, certainly with the planning end of our Department under Project 2040, we made sure to try to engage properly and to plan for the island as a whole, including the linkages with the towns and cities in the Border region,...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Cross-Border Co-operation (5 Jul 2018)

Damien English: I hope the Senator recognises that we do try to do that when we can while respecting all the different jurisdictions, who is in control in different areas and so on. We have had debates here on the marine spatial strategy. Latterly we have also tried to do that on a whole-island basis and engage with our colleagues across the Border as well. The response to all emergencies is appropriately...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Cross-Border Co-operation (5 Jul 2018)

Damien English: That is a worthy request. I will look at it and discuss it with the other agencies around the table in an effort to do that. There is no point in having all these good structures in place if no one knows anything about it. The communities on both sides of the Border who are all our neighbours, friends and colleagues need to understand we work together and we are ready and happy to do to...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: School Patronage (5 Jul 2018)

Damien English: I thank the Senator Murnane O'Connor for raising this issue. The Minister for Education and Skills sends his apologies for not being present. I am taking this matter on his behalf and I will set out for the Seanad the position in terms of the schools reconfiguration for diversity process. In January 2017, the Minister announced new plans aimed at accelerating the provision of...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: School Patronage (5 Jul 2018)

Damien English: Yes, I will convey the Senator's concerns to the Minister for Education and Skills. The Minister has clearly stated that he wants parents to be consulted and for the system to be right. That is what he is trying to do and it is the reason he changed the process.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Traveller Accommodation (10 Jul 2018)

Damien English: In accordance with the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998, housing authorities have statutory responsibility for the assessment of the accommodation needs of Travellers and the preparation, adoption and implementation of multi-annual Traveller Accommodation Programmes (TAPs) in their areas. This responsibility includes carrying out the necessary health and safety checks on individual...