Results 2,721-2,740 of 14,941 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: Yes. Will the Minister of State confirm whether he is saying it has no decision-making functions?

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

Eoin Ó Broin: However, even where there is consensus, numbers matter.

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

Eoin Ó Broin: I am not. A concern has been expressed by the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly that it is being given a number of functions under section 27(10) but it is not clear on the criteria against which it will exercise those functions. I really do not want to stray into discussing section 70, which we will get to separately.

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

Eoin Ó Broin: I have a question on the second point raised by the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly, which concerns co-ordinated area plans in an area that overlaps two regional assemblies. Is the Minister of State saying that in all such cases, the process would be jointly administered by the two regional assemblies? Is Athlone unique in being in that situation or are there other locations to which...

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

Eoin Ó Broin: It is a unique situation? Is the thinking that the two assemblies would jointly oversee the process?

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

Eoin Ó Broin: Might it be done by way of agreement, with one assembly taking the lead?

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

Eoin Ó Broin: There could be a national planning policy statement that governs such an instance.

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

Eoin Ó Broin: That means there are three different options

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

Eoin Ó Broin: That all sounds very vague. The only reason I am raising this issue is that the experience of Deputy Phelan, when he was Minister of State and was trying to develop a White Paper to find a mechanism to cover this process, was that there was a great deal of subterranean disagreement and conflict. This ultimately led to that particular proposition being withdrawn by the Government, even...

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

Eoin Ó Broin: It is the total.

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

Eoin Ó Broin: Yes, okay.

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. 256: In page 74, between lines 3 and 4, to insert the following: “(iv) any relevant language plans agreed in accordance with the Gaeltacht Act 2012 for a Gaeltacht Language Planning Area, Gaeltacht Service Town or Irish Language Network relevant to the area of the regional spatial and economic strategy,”.

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. 257: In page 74, between lines 11 and 12, to insert the following: “(vi) any language plans agreed in accordance with the Gaeltacht Act 2012 relevant to a Gaeltacht Language Planning Area, Gaeltacht Service Town or Irish Language Network 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. 259: In page 74, between lines 25 and 26, to insert the following: “(vi) board members of Údarás na Gaeltachta, Foras na Gaeilge, the Minister responsible for the Gaeltacht, Oifig an Choimisinéara Teanga, and any Language Planning Officer 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 have three or four technical questions but they might take about ten minutes.

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

Eoin Ó Broin: I would like some clarification on section 29(1), (5) and (6).

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

Eoin Ó Broin: I have a couple of questions, just to seek clarity. Subsection (1) reads "Before making or revising a regional spatial and economic strategy in accordance with section 30, a regional assembly shall" and then stipulates the various things a regional assembly shall do and whom it should consult. When discussing the national planning framework, I was struck that the soft word "may" was used in...

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

Eoin Ó Broin: That is fine but I would like the Minister of State to address the specific part of my question, which is on where there is no agreement. Section 29(5) sets out that if agreement is not reached between a regional assembly and a local authority under subsection (4), in accordance with the process set out, the Minister may direct the local authority to co-operate with the regional assembly on...

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

Eoin Ó Broin: Is that an admission that, by using "may" rather than "shall", we do not want to give the same clear direction to the Minister in comparable but more important statewide plan-making?

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

Eoin Ó Broin: I thank the Minister of State for that.