Results 2,141-2,160 of 9,814 for speaker:Steven Matthews

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Defective Blocks Scheme: Discussion (27 Feb 2024)

Steven Matthews: I do not want to have to cut short anybody's time. If there is a question and if someone wishes to answer, I ask them to be as brief as possible. If not, I think I have covered it in what I said.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Defective Blocks Scheme: Discussion (27 Feb 2024)

Steven Matthews: Even though there are questions I would like to ask, I am going to give up my slot because I know other people have much more pertinent questions and come from the constituencies affected.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Defective Blocks Scheme: Discussion (27 Feb 2024)

Steven Matthews: I will allow Ms Hanley to come in.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Defective Blocks Scheme: Discussion (27 Feb 2024)

Steven Matthews: There are 14 members.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Defective Blocks Scheme: Discussion (27 Feb 2024)

Steven Matthews: No, but members have other business. They might be in the Dáil Chamber or the Seanad, but they do come in-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Defective Blocks Scheme: Discussion (27 Feb 2024)

Steven Matthews: That is their business. I want to move on and stick to the redress scheme and not the conduct of members.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Defective Blocks Scheme: Discussion (27 Feb 2024)

Steven Matthews: Thank you, Ms Hanley. Sorry, I have to end this session. I have to be fair to everybody.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Defective Blocks Scheme: Discussion (27 Feb 2024)

Steven Matthews: We are done on members so I will go to Deputies McHugh and Wynne. If we have time, I will briefly go to other members.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Defective Blocks Scheme: Discussion (27 Feb 2024)

Steven Matthews: I said at the start that the purpose of the meeting was to meet with the representative groups from Mayo, Clare and Donegal and that the second meeting will be to have in the Housing Agency and a number of other agencies. They were all unavailable this time so the committee decided to reschedule that meeting. We will take the concerns, questions and issues raised here and put them to the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Defective Blocks Scheme: Discussion (27 Feb 2024)

Steven Matthews: I understand, and I apologise for having to interrupt Ms Murphy. I thank her for making those points.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Defective Blocks Scheme: Discussion (27 Feb 2024)

Steven Matthews: I thank Ms Hone. We are well over the time provided for this meeting. Deputies McHugh and Wynne raised the point that we have been concentrating very much on the technical and financial aspects. We probably overlooked, as it was a condensed meeting, the stress and anxiety. As Ms Hone said, the homeowners have done nothing wrong. I understand that. They have all had to become-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Defective Blocks Scheme: Discussion (27 Feb 2024)

Steven Matthews: They have all had to become experts on concrete standards, etc., which they never in their lives would have dreamed they would have to because they have been thrown into this. I imagine the stress of living with watching your house crumble. I have listened clearly to what the witnesses said. Ms Hone stated this was the second or third time she has been at an Oireachtas committee. I have...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Defective Blocks Scheme: Discussion (27 Feb 2024)

Steven Matthews: We do not have a situation where witnesses question witnesses. I do not see the value in doing that. It will be online and available to watch and they can watch us put those questions. I take the Deputy's point, however. It would have been ideal to have the representative groups in now and the officials afterwards while it is all fresh in our minds. Our guests could have been sitting up...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Defective Blocks Scheme: Discussion (27 Feb 2024)

Steven Matthews: It is absolutely open to any member to invite anybody to witness the proceedings in a committee room. If members want to do that and if people were available to travel here again, I am sure it could be facilitated. That is obviously a personal matter for a member of the committee. I thank everyone very much for attending.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Feb 2024)

Steven Matthews: Welcome back to Committee Stage consideration of the Planning and Development Bill 2023. I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Noonan, and his officials. We will move on to amendment No. 101 in the name of Deputy Cian O'Callaghan. How stands the amendment?

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Feb 2024)

Steven Matthews: Okay, but could we keep it to a very brief comment because it has already been discussed? I appreciate we received the note but I cannot keep going back to amendments that have already been discussed because we would then have no consistency.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Feb 2024)

Steven Matthews: I suggest that if the discussion is on section 11, when we come to the question on section 11, the Deputy comes in at that point. I do not want to be going back to amendments we have already discussed because it opens it up to everybody.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Feb 2024)

Steven Matthews: Could we discuss that when we get to agree section 11 because I would rather keep the flow?

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Feb 2024)

Steven Matthews: Sure.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Feb 2024)

Steven Matthews: I withdraw my opposition to this section based on the Minister saying they had to go back and look at third parties and how they would be included in this declarations. Deputies Ó Broin and O'Callaghan wish to speak on section 11.