Results 1,021-1,040 of 4,778 for speaker:Malcolm Noonan

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Business of Joint Committee
Update from Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (7 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: I will, of course. I thank the Chairman and the Deputy. I am keenly aware of the significant interest of Deputy Ó Broin in this area, especially in modern architecture. I thank him for his questions. As regards the national policy on architecture, he is aware the policy is to support and promote architectural quality and sustainability and it will contain policy actions to encourage...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Business of Joint Committee
Update from Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (7 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: I will try to be quick with these responses. We have a significant role to play in Dublin Zoo and Fota Wildlife Park. Our National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, for starters, has responsibility for the implementation of the regulations arising out of the zoo directive and licenses these establishments, including aquaria. When Covid hit last year, we reached out directly to zoos and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Business of Joint Committee
Update from Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (7 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: I thank the Deputy for his comments and I might ask my officials to come in on some of them. The Deputy asked a question similar to Deputy Ó Broin’s question on the architecture policy that is due to be published shortly. We can seek to get a draft to members ahead of that publication. There were a number of other questions on the energy policy and the national architecture...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Business of Joint Committee
Update from Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (7 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: I thank the Senator for her positive comments, which are most welcome. The question on the Iveagh Market is timely because last week we reached out to the Iveagh Trust to see how we can progress the matter. Like the Senator, I share the concerns of the wider community in Dublin and in the locality about the historic Iveagh Market. It is a beautiful structure with a huge social structure...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Business of Joint Committee
Update from Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (7 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: I would be more than happy to do that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Business of Joint Committee
Update from Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (7 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: I thank the Deputy. The question on posters is my pet question. I love it because I successfully ran my 2020 general election campaign without a single poster. I am of the view that posters should be banned or restricted. I would love to see candidates and political parties putting their resources into providing good information to the electorate, both online and in print. It would...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Business of Joint Committee
Update from Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (7 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: On the Deputy's second question, on damage to habitats, he is absolutely correct. There have been huge challenges. I will ask Mr. Trevor Donnelly from the NPWS to comment on this. During the first summer of the Covid pandemic, there was significant damage. There was certainly an intrusion on wildlife and damage to trails and walkways. A lot of the money we secured under the July stimulus...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Business of Joint Committee
Update from Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (7 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: I will reiterate what I said at the outset. We are really grateful on the heritage side to have this attention and focus on our work. We know this is an incredibly busy committee that has worked through a huge amount of housing legislation since the Government was formed. We deeply appreciate the fact that it is affording equal time, energy and effort into heritage. It is equally...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Business of Joint Committee
Update from Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (7 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: May I give a quick update on the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown survey? As I understand it, that survey is under way. It is due to be completed and its recommendations finalised in 2022.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Business of Joint Committee
Update from Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (7 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: I thank Deputy Ó Broin very much. With regard to Moore Street, I reiterate that we are committed to working on the national monument aspect. Over €12 million was awarded under the urban regeneration and development fund, URDF. We want to get working on that early next year. I will ask Ms Ryan to come in specifically on any comments the Department may have made. I do not want...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Business of Joint Committee
Update from Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (7 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: Absolutely. I will ask Ms Ryan to come in on that specific question if that is okay.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Business of Joint Committee
Update from Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (7 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: I thank Mr. MacDonagh and Ms Ryan. With regard to the timeline for the Electoral Reform Bill, as I have said, the Chair has written to us and we hope the Bill will be given consideration early next year. Mr. Ryan might be able to provide an update with regard to the timeline for that. As the Deputy can understand and appreciate, it is a very expansive Bill so we are still giving...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Business of Joint Committee
Update from Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (7 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: I thank Mr. Ryan. On the issue of posters, I absolutely take on board Deputy Ó Broin's point. These are issues I hope the commission will consider in carrying out its research and advisory function. I agree on the issue of declining electoral turnouts. Yesterday, the other four Oireachtas Members from Carlow-Kilkenny and I attended a fantastic event in Loreto Secondary School,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Business of Joint Committee
Update from Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (7 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: Specifically, on the built heritage investment scheme and the historic structures fund, we could treble those funds over the next couple of years and we would still have huge demand for them. That would be our ambition; we would love to do that. They are very popular. They also provide much local employment. We have been trying to compile the number of hours in local skills and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Business of Joint Committee
Update from Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (7 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: We have also responded to the Senator’s colleague, Deputy Higgins, about paid political advertising outside of electoral events. We see this as quite innovative in our electoral reform Bill. Certainly, we will be working with the European Commission around other proposals concerning the online space. This has come out loud and clear in the pre-legislative scrutiny report this...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Business of Joint Committee
Update from Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (7 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: Is that the only question the Chair is asking?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Business of Joint Committee
Update from Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (7 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: I thank the Chair. On the wildlife crime unit, it is the case that the NPWS, in association with the Garda, has been doing fantastic work, and continues to do so, on wildlife crime. Earlier this year, we signed a memorandum of understanding with the Garda around the investigation of wildlife crime and, more recently, we have formally established a wildlife crime unit within the NPWS. That...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Business of Joint Committee
Update from Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (7 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: I thank Mr. Donnelly. The Chairman also asked about information on the sites of national monuments. I was in County Cavan last week with Deputy Niamh Smyth and it was incredible to see the work that local communities have done on their interpretation of the local heritage and monuments, particularly graveyards and church sites. Funding is available under the community monuments fund,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Business of Joint Committee
Update from Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (7 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: I might ask an official from the Department to respond to that question.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Business of Joint Committee
Update from Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (7 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: This issue, particularly in relation to the directly elected mayor, is the responsibility of my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke. As such, I am not in a position to comment. On the question of a citizens' assembly, we want to get the citizens' assembly on biodiversity loss over the line first. We have found, through Covid, that it is possible for online resources to...