Results 12,261-12,280 of 15,092 for speaker:Eoin Ó Broin

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Mar 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: I move amendment No. 273: In page 82, between lines 15 and 16, to insert the following: “(f) board members of Údarás na Gaeltachta, Foras na Gaeilge, the Minister responsible for the Gaeltacht, Oifig an Choimisinéara Teanga, and any Language Planning Officers within the region,”.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Mar 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: I move amendment no. 275: In page 82, to delete lines 19 to 21 and substitute the following: “(4) Notwithstanding anything else provided for under this Act, a Regional Spatial Strategy or a Revision to a Regional Spatial Strategy shall not be deemed to be made until the strategy has been published under subsection (1), and it shall take effect 6 weeks after the date on...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Mar 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: This is one of a number of what can be described as very significant "innovations" in the Bill, and I use that word not necessarily saying it is a good thing in this instance. It relates to the interaction of the various layers of plan-making with the issuance of new national planning policy statements and the role of the regulator and the Minister. As these are quite new, very significant...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Mar 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: Does the Minister of State accept these are significant changes to the way decisions are made? This goes back to a previous discussion. Because the national planning policy statements can deal not only with forward planning, but also development management, and because the scope of those statements is so great, the potential for what are termed material inconsistencies in this section and...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Mar 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: I want to reply to two points and get a bit of clarity on how section 34 operates at the point when a direction is issued. I will ask the question first. Section 34(8) states that where the Minister decides under subsection (7) that a draft direction should be issued under section 37, he or she shall identify the stated reasons and direct the OPR to issue the draft direction. I am keen to...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Mar 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: The question I was asking related to how the draft directions, as detailed in this section, will interact with section 35. Are they stand-alone, will they become implemented once the Minister lays them or will they then spill into the expedited amendment procedure in section 35? I do not want to get into section 35 now but I am trying to work out whether, if a draft direction is issued...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Mar 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: I was clear about that, but my question is what will happen if the director of the regional assembly opts not to do that.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Mar 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: And that is it.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Mar 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: Okay. I will get into the substance of that when we move on to the next section, rather than spilling over the debate now.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Mar 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: I have some questions. It might take a little longer than the previous section.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Mar 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: The Minister of State explained that, under section 34, a new national planning policy statement will be issued. There will be a procedure within which the regional assembly will have to do a report and the Office of the Planning Regulator will have to determine whether there is a material inconsistency. If there is, "the director of the regional assembly shall invoke the expedited...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Mar 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: That would be perfect.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Mar 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: I am looking for a few further clarifications. It is clear from the Minister of State's very helpful summary that there is, first of all, no public consultation with respect to the proposed amendment that is being insisted upon by the Minister. I am unclear as to why there is the provision for the six weeks, whereby if there is not a resolution, the amendment will be deemed to be made. I...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Mar 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: On that, so that I am clear, the idea of the six weeks is essentially to say to the regional assembly that if it does not get its act together and hold a meeting with the six weeks, the amendment will proceed anyway. It is to force the assembly to have the meeting within that period if it is not happy with the direction so that it cannot vexatiously delay the decision-making process for a...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Mar 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: On that - and the Minister of State will excuse me as I am one of the people in this room who has far less knowledge of the regional assemblies than others - is that six weeks, six working weeks? Does it take into account periods where the assembly might not be working, for example, holidays at certain times of the year, or is it just six calendar weeks?

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Mar 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: Ordinarily, would regional assemblies meet every four weeks, similar to councils?

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Mar 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: Is there a period where they do not meet in a four-week cycle? Some councils do not meet in August, for example.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Mar 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: What is the Minister of State reading from?

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Mar 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: On the first question I asked, will the Minister of State confirm there is no provision for public participation when the amendment has been made?

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Mar 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: However, not if they are not necessary.