Results 8,421-8,440 of 11,114 for speaker:Damien English

Seanad: Housing for Elderly People: Motion (30 Jan 2019)

Damien English: I am not sure how much time the Acting Chairman is giving me, but as I have plenty to say, I ask him to warn me when I am close to exceeding my time.

Seanad: Housing for Elderly People: Motion (30 Jan 2019)

Damien English: I will try to respond to all of the points made. I thank Senator Reilly for tabling this timely and worthwhile motion. We are working on a policy document in conjunction with the Department of Health and hope to complete it soon. This is an important issue and I thank the Senator for his work on it. As he stated, the motion gives us an opportunity to discuss the matter and put forward...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Legislative Measures (31 Jan 2019)

Damien English: The Maritime Area and Foreshore (Amendment) Bill has three main aims: - to align the foreshore consent system with the planning system; - to provide for a single Environmental Impact Assessment for projects; and - to provide a coherent mechanism to facilitate and manage development in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and on the continental shelf. The Bill will provide...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Chimney Sweeps Regulation (5 Feb 2019)

Damien English: Fire services attended 2,520 fires involving chimneys/ flues/ soot/ hot ashes in 2016, 2,731 such fires in 2015 and 2,668 such fires in 2014. This underlines the need for campaigns aimed at reducing the prevalence of this type of fire and the advice which fire services promote each year. My Department works with local authority fire services and issues advice on fire safety, and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (5 Feb 2019)

Damien English: In the first instance, I would like to acknowledge the stressful circumstances which the owners and residents of buildings face when defects occur in their homes. However, 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....

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rural Development Policy (5 Feb 2019)

Damien English: Under the current 2005 Guidelines on Sustainable Rural Housing, planning authorities are required to frame the planning policies in their development plans in a balanced and measured way that ensures the housing needs of rural communities are met, while avoiding excessive urban-generated housing and haphazard development, particularly in those areas near cities and towns that are under...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Fire Stations Upgrade (5 Feb 2019)

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 Services Act 1981. My Department supports the fire authorities through setting general policy, providing a central training...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Issues (5 Feb 2019)

Damien English: The Planning and Development Regulations 2001 were amended in September 2011 by the Planning and Development (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2011 to provide for initial afforestation to be exempted development, I.e. exempt from the requirement to obtain planning permission. The justification for exempting this form of activity from the requirement to obtain planning permission was...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Data (6 Feb 2019)

Damien English: I propose to take Questions Nos. 206 and 207 together. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) is the statutory agency responsible for the implementation and management of the Building Energy Rating (BER) Scheme, in accordance with Ireland’s obligations under the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.  These regulations require every new building to have a BER...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Foreshore Licence Applications (7 Feb 2019)

Damien English: My Department has not received any application under the Foreshore Act on this matter. On the basis of the Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSI) Historic 25" Map, the lands do not appear to be foreshore. This matter may be more appropriate to Inland Fisheries Ireland which has responsibility for the protection, management and conservation of Ireland's inland fisheries and sea angling resources,...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (7 Feb 2019)

Damien English: It is great to be here.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (7 Feb 2019)

Damien English: I thank Senator Lombard for raising a very important issue for Kinsale as well as the wider issue of the affordability of housing and the Government's plans to deliver affordable housing. The Senator is correct in saying that I have connections in Kinsale and I am always glad to discuss it and to visit it because it is a fabulous part of the country. It is an area that is doing very well in...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (7 Feb 2019)

Damien English: We will be inviting applications for the serviced site fund shortly. Under that fund, €310 million has been set aside over the next three years to service sites. Applications originally opened in June 2018 when we had €100 million set aside. The funding was increased in budget 2019. We will be opening the scheme again in the next few weeks but I do not have an exact date at...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Local Authority Functions (7 Feb 2019)

Damien English: I thank Senator Victor Boyhan for raising this issue. I gather it is not the first time he has raised it. As usual, he is persistent on these matters in order to get to the detail. That is fair enough; that is what it is all about. I hope to clarify the issue as best I can. The Senator has raised an important question concerning the ability of local authority members to use their role to...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Local Authority Functions (7 Feb 2019)

Damien English: I have outlined to the Senator the law in this regard. I want to make clear that councils have a role in capital projects under the law. The Senator's specific question concerns a capital plan, in which a number of votes are taken together, but individually on each project local authority members have functions if they want to use them. The law is clear on this, as I tried to set out to...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Seaweed Harvesting Licences (12 Feb 2019)

Damien English: My Department has, in recent days, written to the person referenced setting out in detail the current legal and application position in relation to the harvesting of wild seaweed. My Department outlined that in order to consider an application to harvest wild seaweed, it is now necessary to incorporate into the process a mechanism whereby applicants will need to undertake a search of the...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Housing Provision (12 Feb 2019)

Damien English: I will try to deal with the question that was asked, as well as the ten other questions that were added in during the Senator's contribution.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Housing Provision (12 Feb 2019)

Damien English: My role regarding Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 is to provide the policy and legislative framework, while the day-to-day administration and operation of Part V are a matter for the local authorities. Senator Humphreys will, no doubt, be aware that following an independent review of Part V, completed in 2014, which included a detailed and lengthy consultation process and...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Housing Provision (12 Feb 2019)

Damien English: On the Dublin docklands and Part V, the cost of purchasing units in the docklands area can often far exceed the cost ceilings we try to maintain. In some cases, land and development costs are extremely high, the units have a high specification or there are high management fees for services such a a concierge, gyms and so on beyond what the Department generally funds through the local...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Housing Provision (12 Feb 2019)

Damien English: There is another development under consideration by the city council, namely, the Landings as part of Project Wave, which will deliver 30 units on-site. The cost of these units will also be high, at more than €400,000 per unit, but the council considers them to be good value for money compared to the estimated cost of sourcing and possibly upgrading on-site units. While the...