Results 2,841-2,860 of 7,983 for speaker:Peter Burke

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: State Examinations (11 Nov 2021)

Peter Burke: I again thank Senator Ward for his remarks and for the very strong case which he has put forward, backed up by evidence. I will revert to the Minister, Deputy Foley, with the content of the Senator's response. I will set out clearly the evidence he has put on the table here today in terms of the benefits to our State that this can potentially have, but also the accusations that the State...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Water Services (11 Nov 2021)

Peter Burke: We will commit to doing that. We are establishing a programme early next year to support villages and towns that do not have public wastewater infrastructure to enable them to develop that through Irish Water. The senior Minister was down in Broadford and in a number of other parts of County Clare during the summer and I am very aware of the problem that if infrastructure is not there to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Water Services (11 Nov 2021)

Peter Burke: We have a specific taking-in-charge initiative, underpinned by a budget, which has worked in taking 330 estates containing more than 14,900 homes in charge. As to what the Deputy has outlined in the context of the taking in charge by Irish Water of a treatment plant, that depends on the criteria and there should not be an issue with that. If he has an example of that he might revert to us...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Local Authorities (11 Nov 2021)

Peter Burke: I hear the views that have been expressed and we will clarify it on foot of the examples the Deputy will give. I have highlighted that as we see it, the discretion should be carried forward through the local authority network if someone's circumstances have changed. It is beyond their control. The last thing we as a Government want to see is the vulnerable people that I meet every week in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Water Services (11 Nov 2021)

Peter Burke: I thank the Deputy for his question. The Department builds in strategic water policy and infrastructural delivery programmes around the National Planning Framework 2018-2040 and the National Development Plan 2018-2027. Investment is primarily delivered through Irish Water while the Department operates the rural water programme directly. The programme for Government supports the uptake of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Local Authorities (11 Nov 2021)

Peter Burke: I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 17 together. The 2011 social housing assessment regulations prescribe maximum net income limits for each local authority, in different bands according to the area concerned, with income being defined and assessed according to a standard household means policy. The 2011 regulations do not provide local authorities with any discretion to exceed the limits...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Local Authorities (11 Nov 2021)

Peter Burke: Our ethos is to ensure that the most vulnerable families are protected and not taken off the list. That is why I have emphasised the point regarding discretion in my response to the Deputy. However, if he wants to get in touch with me and provide me with examples that he has raised in the House, we will try to clarify the situation. If that means sending out a clarification to the local...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Derelict Sites (11 Nov 2021)

Peter Burke: I know exactly what I am talking about. I have been in Waterford, as I alluded to-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Derelict Sites (11 Nov 2021)

Peter Burke: Let me finish. I saw derelict sites being brought into use through the utilisation of schemes of the Department. I ask the Deputy to engage with his local authority to ask it what it is doing regarding the 400 houses he mentioned. The support exists in the Department to bring them back into use. I ask the Deputy to take up the question of why they are not being brought back into use. ...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Wind Energy Generation (11 Nov 2021)

Peter Burke: My Department is currently undertaking a focused review of the 2006 Wind Energy Development Guidelines. The review is addressing several key aspects, including noise, setback, shadow flicker, community obligation, community dividends and grid connections. Guidance on the noise aspect is currently being finalised by my Department in conjunction with the Department of the Environment,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Wind Energy Generation (11 Nov 2021)

Peter Burke: I thank Deputy Nolan for her supplementary question. In the first instance, I would love to give an exact date, but unfortunately I cannot because I do not have one. The Deputy referred to public consultation. There were 500 submissions in the round of public consultation to bring about the draft guidelines. Some are very technical in respect of noise and they are being assessed on a...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Wind Energy Generation (11 Nov 2021)

Peter Burke: I am absolutely aware of the urgency. The position was the same when I entered the Department. I have brought a sense of urgency to this matter also but, unfortunately, it is beyond our control. I say that genuinely because, in addition to there being another Department involved, there is the difficulty that we may require another strategic environmental assessment given the technicality...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Planning Issues (11 Nov 2021)

Peter Burke: As I clearly outlined, there was a review in 2016. The recommendations on foot of that review are now being examined as to their implementation subsequent to that. My Department has an oversight agreement with An Bord Pleanála where vital issues and concerns are raised on an ongoing basis. The Office of the Planning Regulator, OPR, has statutory functions to conduct reviews in this...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Planning Issues (11 Nov 2021)

Peter Burke: I just made clear that we are actively doing that, through the oversight agreement in the first instance, and the other two mechanisms I outlined. Some 27,000 planning permissions are granted in this State per annum, 10% of which go to appeal. The process is working as prescribed. There are instances, such as those the Deputy has outlined, of concern and we are actively engaging on those...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Derelict Sites (11 Nov 2021)

Peter Burke: The Derelict Sites Act 1990 confers significant powers on local authorities to tackle the problem of dereliction in our towns and cities. The application of the derelict sites levy is only one of those powers which also include requiring owners or occupiers to take appropriate measures on derelict sites and acquiring derelict sites by agreement or compulsorily. It is a matter for the local...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Derelict Sites (11 Nov 2021)

Peter Burke: It is definitely not for the want of support form central Government to local authorities. That can be proved with evidence. If one is to critically evaluate the network, one should look at Waterford. Almost 55% of Waterford's repair and leasing scheme has been utilised. That is delivering properties on the ground. I was there to see it first-hand. One should look at how compulsory...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Planning Issues (11 Nov 2021)

Peter Burke: I thank the Deputy for his question. I wish to explain from the outset that under section 30 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, I am specifically precluded from exercising any power or control in respect of any particular case in which a planning authority or An Bord Pleanála may be concerned. Sections 50, 50A and 50B of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Vacant Properties (11 Nov 2021)

Peter Burke: Addressing vacancy and maximising the use of existing housing stock is a primary concern of this Government, as demonstrated by one of the four pathways dedicated solely to this priority area in the new Housing for All strategy. The most recent figures available from Census 2016 indicate that there were 183,000 vacant homes nationwide, a 20% reduction on figures reported in Census 2011...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Proposed Legislation (11 Nov 2021)

Peter Burke: The General Scheme of the Housing and Planning and Development Bill 2019 now referred to as the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill in the Legislative Programme Autumn Session 2021, was published in late 2019. The General Scheme was the subject of a public consultation process which ended in January 2020. The General Scheme sets out an initial outline of proposed revisions to the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (11 Nov 2021)

Peter Burke: The Land Development Agency (LDA) was established on an interim basis in September 2018, by way of an Establishment Order made under the Local Government Services (Corporate Bodies) Act 1971. The Land Development Agency Act was recently signed in law and, on commencement, the LDA will be established as a commercial State agency. There is ongoing engagement between the LDA and...