Results 3,041-3,060 of 11,114 for speaker:Damien English

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: From the Seanad (5 Jul 2018)

Damien English: I propose to take amendments Nos. 4, 61, 77 and 79 together. This group of four amendments arose from amendments originally proposed by Fianna Fáil during deliberations on the Bill in the Dáil, which should not be accepted as drafted, but to which I was open. Following the examination of the wording of the Fianna Fáil amendments it was agreed that the planning regulator...

Home Building Finance Ireland Bill 2018: Referral to Select Committee (5 Jul 2018)

Damien English: I move:That the Bill be referred to the Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach pursuant to Standing Orders 84A(3)(a) and 149(1).

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: From the Seanad (5 Jul 2018)

Damien English: This Bill has been a few years going through this House. I thank everybody for giving of their time tonight, and probably tomorrow and later next week, to deal with this Bill. I am pleased we are here discussing the amendments to this Bill, which was initiated in this House in January 2016. It predated my time in this Department. Everybody in the House is familiar with the purpose and...

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: From the Seanad (5 Jul 2018)

Damien English: Amendment No. 1 relates to section 1, which contains the standard provisions relating to the Short Title, the collective citation and the construction and commencement of the Act. Given that the Bill was initiated in early 2016 with the expectation that it would progress more quickly than it has, the standard collective citation requires updating and it is also necessary to indicate that...

Home Building Finance Ireland Bill 2018: Second Stage (Resumed) (5 Jul 2018)

Damien English: I did not get a chance to listen to all of the speeches but I will go back over them. Some of the speeches are linked to housing as well as finance. We have to recognise that the Bill is a combination of measures to address housing difficulty and to help those involved in construction, especially small-scale builders who are getting back into business and having difficulty accessing...

Home Building Finance Ireland Bill 2018: Second Stage (Resumed) (5 Jul 2018)

Damien English: Is the Deputy looking for a job?

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Cross-Border Co-operation (5 Jul 2018)

Damien English: I thank Senator Ó Donnghaile for raising this issue as it gives me the chance to outline the situation with him directly. On the issue of the Six Counties and the map, certainly with the planning end of our Department under Project 2040, we made sure to try to engage properly and to plan for the island as a whole, including the linkages with the towns and cities in the Border region,...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Cross-Border Co-operation (5 Jul 2018)

Damien English: I hope the Senator recognises that we do try to do that when we can while respecting all the different jurisdictions, who is in control in different areas and so on. We have had debates here on the marine spatial strategy. Latterly we have also tried to do that on a whole-island basis and engage with our colleagues across the Border as well. The response to all emergencies is appropriately...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Cross-Border Co-operation (5 Jul 2018)

Damien English: That is a worthy request. I will look at it and discuss it with the other agencies around the table in an effort to do that. There is no point in having all these good structures in place if no one knows anything about it. The communities on both sides of the Border who are all our neighbours, friends and colleagues need to understand we work together and we are ready and happy to do to...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: School Patronage (5 Jul 2018)

Damien English: I thank the Senator Murnane O'Connor for raising this issue. The Minister for Education and Skills sends his apologies for not being present. I am taking this matter on his behalf and I will set out for the Seanad the position in terms of the schools reconfiguration for diversity process. In January 2017, the Minister announced new plans aimed at accelerating the provision of...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: School Patronage (5 Jul 2018)

Damien English: Yes, I will convey the Senator's concerns to the Minister for Education and Skills. The Minister has clearly stated that he wants parents to be consulted and for the system to be right. That is what he is trying to do and it is the reason he changed the process.

Urban Regeneration and Housing (Amendment) Bill 2018: Second Stage [Private Members] (3 Jul 2018)

Damien English: I thank Deputy Wallace for the opportunity afforded to me to speak tonight about the vacant site levy in response to his Private Members' Bill entitled the Urban Regeneration and Housing (Amendment) Bill 2018, which proposes a number of significant amendments to the 2015 Urban Regeneration and Housing Act which first introduced the levy measure. While I may not agree with every aspect of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Unfinished Housing Developments (3 Jul 2018)

Damien English: I propose to take Questions Nos. 547 and 572 together. In March of this year, my Department published the 2017 Annual Progress Report on Unfinished Housing Developments, which are regarded as developments not substantially complete in the context of the scope of works envisaged under the relevant planning permission. The report is available on my Department's website at the following link:...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Traveller Accommodation (3 Jul 2018)

Damien English: Traveller-specific projects and developments are focused on group housing schemes and halting sites. This includes meeting Traveller-specific housing needs through a range of mechanisms, including the provision of mobiles and caravans; the provision and refurbishment of halting sites and bays within sites; the refurbishment and extension of existing group housing; the return to use of void...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Regeneration Projects (3 Jul 2018)

Damien English: I propose to take Questions Nos. 558 and 566 together. Project Ireland 2040, published in February 2018, signals a significant policy shift towards securing more compact and sustainable urban and rural development, which requires significantly more effective land management in key development areas. Against that background, it is proposed to establish a National Regeneration and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Issues (3 Jul 2018)

Damien English: The Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, makes provision under section 172 that an applicant for consent to carry out proposed development subject to Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) must prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for submission to the planning authority, or the Board as the case may be, in accordance with permission regulations made by the Minister in...

Child Homelessness: Statements (28 Jun 2018)

Damien English: I welcome the opportunity to respond to the debate. It is no harm to discuss this matter again. Our previous debate on this matter was in December. It is no harm to discuss it again because doing so can bring it into focus once more. We probably have conversations about different aspects of homelessness and housing in the Dáil every week. However, this debate has focused on...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund (27 Jun 2018)

Damien English: It is good to have the opportunity to come in here to discuss this. I thank Senator Boyhan for the invitation to discuss the possibility of further funding under the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund and the option of channelling the LIHAF funding from round 2 directly to local authorities which have identified key sites within their own landbank capable of delivering significant...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund (27 Jun 2018)

Damien English: I thank Senator Boyhan for bring a focus to this issue. It is exactly what we were trying to achieve here. We are able to use the State-owned landbank to deliver housing across the three categories of social, affordable and private. We have asked local authorities to bring forward all their plans on how to activate and develop those sites. They have been doing that and we have been...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Foreshore Issues (26 Jun 2018)

Damien English: The property referred to is one of four still advertised as available for holiday rental. The particular area in question is State-owned foreshore reclaimed without appropriate consent and without payment of rent which, except in exceptional circumstances, foreshore leases/licences attract. The persons named have made an offer to purchase the area. However, my...