Results 1,221-1,240 of 7,163 for speaker:Cian O'Callaghan

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 May 2021)

Cian O'Callaghan: I have tabled amendments No. 240 and 258. I hope the Minister will accept amendment No. 240. Rather than putting the focus on housing alone, the amendment suggests that housing has to be developed in the context of sustainable development and creating sustainable communities. That is very important. I cannot see any reason the Minister would not accept this amendment. We should be...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 May 2021)

Cian O'Callaghan: If parties were agreeable to this, we could have 1,200 affordable and social homes being delivered quickly in Donabate. If we are to get the kind of delivery we need, selling off that land to a private developer and not getting those badly needed 1,200 affordable and social homes is hugely regressive in terms of what needs to be done. The Minister stated the amendments in this group,...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 May 2021)

Cian O'Callaghan: I support that proposal from Deputy Ó Broin. We have a general housing crisis at the moment, but the housing crisis which is affecting Travellers is especially severe, not just in terms of conditions. We also see that Travellers are greatly over-represented in the number of people who have become homeless. Given that the LDA is, and will be, dealing with such a large amount of public...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 May 2021)

Cian O'Callaghan: I will support the amendment. It is very important and it has to be included in the legislation. If it is not, we run a high risk that it will just be something the LDA does not do because it will say it is not specifically in its remit and it is not listed in the legislation. We will then be reliant on individuals in the management of the LDA, on its board or whatever to ensure this is...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (3 Jun 2021)

Cian O'Callaghan: My amendment, No. 62, is very similar to amendment No. 61. The wording is slightly different but the aim is the same, which is to ensure that the review of the achievement of the purposes of the Act by the LDA and its subsidiaries would be on an annual basis rather than every five years. This is a new agency and it is important, in the context of transparency and accountability, to make...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (3 Jun 2021)

Cian O'Callaghan: It is important to distinguish between the two different provisions of this Bill. There is a provision for an annual report, which I support. There is no issue with that. In this section, we are talking about the review-----

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (3 Jun 2021)

Cian O'Callaghan: There are two particular sections, one of which provides for an annual report. I do not have any issue with that, it is fine. The section I am seeking to amend relates to the review of the achievement of the purposes of the legislation. The review is required every five years. I do not think the timeframe is adequate, it should be done on an annual basis. If the Minister considers an...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (3 Jun 2021)

Cian O'Callaghan: I move amendment No. 62: In page 11, line 27, to delete "31 March 2024, and every 5 years" and substitute "31 March 2022, and every year".

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (3 Jun 2021)

Cian O'Callaghan: The ESRI report today is highly significant, not least because the ESRI is an independent, mainstream and very well established centrist think tank. The game is up now for the Government and it can no longer ignore the very clear and strong calls for public investment along the lines of what the ESRI and the rest of us have been saying for a long number of years. The Government can no...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (1 Jun 2021)

Cian O'Callaghan: I thank the Minister for his comments. Can he clarify if he is accepting amendment No. 86?

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (1 Jun 2021)

Cian O'Callaghan: My thanks to the Minister for clarifying that and for effectively accepting both amendments. There is another point following from the discussion last week and from what Deputy Gould was saying about segregation. We are seeing some new developments under Part 5 designed in a segregated way. There is a relatively new development in the Minister's constituency that I am aware of. The...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (1 Jun 2021)

Cian O'Callaghan: I do not wish to name the development.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (1 Jun 2021)

Cian O'Callaghan: I will. To be fair to the residents in the development I do not wish to name it, but I will tell the Minister. It is in the southern end of the constituency. That sort of design - which I gather is done by the developers - should not be acceptable and needs to be challenged.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Jun 2021)

Cian O'Callaghan: Amendment No. 119 concerns the chief executive of the LDA giving evidence to the Committee of Public Accounts and amendment No. 121 is about the chief executive giving evidence to all other Oireachtas committees. I am seeking to delete the provisions that bar the chief executive from questioning or expressing an opinion on the merits of any policy of the Government or a Minister when before...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Jun 2021)

Cian O'Callaghan: In this legislation, the Oireachtas is seeking best practice. We are not seeking for it to be the case that, since the standard practice in other State agencies is to do something this way, we will not question it. If the Minister of State is going to defend this practice, he should explain to us why he believes that it is beneficial during a housing emergency when we need every bit of...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Jun 2021)

Cian O'Callaghan: I move amendment No. 119: In page 18, to delete lines 12 to 14.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Jun 2021)

Cian O'Callaghan: I move amendment No. 121: In page 19, to delete lines 15 to 17.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Jun 2021)

Cian O'Callaghan: I appreciate the report will be available to people on the website. However, co-operation between local authorities and the LDA should be two-way in terms of having the provision for the report to formally go to local authorities as part of accountability. It seems to me to be a very sensible amendment that would not place a huge burden on the LDA. It formalises communication, co-operation...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Jun 2021)

Cian O'Callaghan: Deputy ÓBrion had his hand up first but I am happy speak first. This section and the discussion on these amendments are a key part of the Bill. Amendments Nos. 157, 160, 164, 166 and 169 in this grouping are in my name. They all seek to remove the references to market value and substitute the words "existing use value". If we are serious about delivering affordable, cost-rental and...