Results 3,161-3,180 of 11,114 for speaker:Damien English

Seanad: Marine Spatial Planning: Statements (Resumed) (12 Jun 2018)

Damien English: I agree with some of the Senators that it is regrettable that we did not have this discussion before the legislation but I am not in charge of how this House orders its business. I am glad we had the chance to have the debate on the one day as it brings a lot of clarity to the concerns raised during discussion of the planning area earlier. This process started in December 2017 with the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Expert Panel on Concrete Blocks (12 Jun 2018)

Damien English: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1301 and 1319 together. The Expert Panel on concrete blocks was established by my Department in 2016, to investigate problems that have emerged in the concrete blockwork of certain dwellings in Counties Donegal and Mayo. The panel had the following terms of reference: (i) To identify, insofar as it is possible, the numbers of private dwellings which appear to...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Vacant Sites Data (12 Jun 2018)

Damien English: The Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015 introduced a new measure, the vacant site levy, which is aimed at incentivising the development of vacant, under-utilised sites in urban areas. Under the Act, planning authorities are required to establish a register of vacant sites in their areas, beginning on 1 January 2017. Planning authorities have issued notices to owners of vacant sites by 1...

Residential Tenancies (Greater Security of Tenure and Rent Certainty) Bill 2018: Second Stage [Private Members] (30 May 2018)

Damien English: The Deputy might pass on the message to him. He has managed again to be gone by the time I get up to speak. It is important to correct these points in relation to housing because a great deal of work has gone into trying to change the system. I compliment the local authorities involved. People often ask why we have to open developments of ten or 12 houses. It is for one reason only,...

Residential Tenancies (Greater Security of Tenure and Rent Certainty) Bill 2018: Second Stage [Private Members] (30 May 2018)

Damien English: That helps too. It is a great bonus if it works. The commitment is there and there is no ideological difference. The difficulty is about how quickly one can scale up. In fairness, Deputy Howlin was in Cabinet and understands about finance and the fact that the money was not there in the past to deal with this. If it had been there, I have no doubt that Deputy Howlin would have found the...

Residential Tenancies (Greater Security of Tenure and Rent Certainty) Bill 2018: Second Stage [Private Members] (30 May 2018)

Damien English: That is why the system is beginning to deliver. It has taken years to put the system together again but it is now beginning to deliver houses. Hopefully, we will get back to the scale we need. There is a commitment to get to 50,000 houses and then beyond that. The idea that it is part of Fine Gael’s ideology not to do social housing is not true. It is not fair to say that when the...

Residential Tenancies (Greater Security of Tenure and Rent Certainty) Bill 2018: Second Stage [Private Members] (30 May 2018)

Damien English: They are built to order.

Residential Tenancies (Greater Security of Tenure and Rent Certainty) Bill 2018: Second Stage [Private Members] (30 May 2018)

Damien English: They are not competing. I can bring the Deputy to the sites.

Residential Tenancies (Greater Security of Tenure and Rent Certainty) Bill 2018: Second Stage [Private Members] (30 May 2018)

Damien English: And I will bring the Minister of State to lots of sites where they were built to order.

Residential Tenancies (Greater Security of Tenure and Rent Certainty) Bill 2018: Second Stage [Private Members] (30 May 2018)

Damien English: I can bring the Deputy to lots of sites. I will bring him with me.

Residential Tenancies (Greater Security of Tenure and Rent Certainty) Bill 2018: Second Stage [Private Members] (30 May 2018)

Damien English: I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on this Bill and to deal with some of the issues raised. I thank Deputy Jan O'Sullivan for bringing forward the Bill. While we might not agree with everything in it, I hope we can do much of the work she is seeking to have done in our Bill or in conjunction with bringing Deputy O'Sullivan’s Bill through Committee Stage, whichever way it...

Residential Tenancies (Greater Security of Tenure and Rent Certainty) Bill 2018: Second Stage [Private Members] (30 May 2018)

Damien English: That is fair enough. I am not holding you responsible, a Cheann Comhairle. I am simply saying that it has happened repeatedly in the Chamber and in my view it is not a fair political charge. I believe it is completely out of order. The Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government is very straight and honest in everything he does. Two things arise. First, it is not something he...

Residential Tenancies (Greater Security of Tenure and Rent Certainty) Bill 2018: Second Stage [Private Members] (30 May 2018)

Damien English: We all want that. I have had it on plenty of times. We need to be clear on this point.

Residential Tenancies (Greater Security of Tenure and Rent Certainty) Bill 2018: Second Stage [Private Members] (30 May 2018)

Damien English: I must get one that fits. The turnkey is important.

Residential Tenancies (Greater Security of Tenure and Rent Certainty) Bill 2018: Second Stage [Private Members] (30 May 2018)

Damien English: Does Deputy O'Brien not want the four houses? Is there something wrong with the houses in his area, something he did not like? I did not see Deputy O'Brien giving them back.

Residential Tenancies (Greater Security of Tenure and Rent Certainty) Bill 2018: Second Stage [Private Members] (30 May 2018)

Damien English: I was not slagging Deputy O'Brien for not being there. I asked whether he wanted to give them back. We all agree we want this on a greater scale but every house is important. Thankfully, when we open them in groups of eight, 12, 15, 20 and so on, eventually they add up. Last year, over 7,000 houses came into the system. The figure was a combination of build, voids, empties, acquisitions,...

Residential Tenancies (Greater Security of Tenure and Rent Certainty) Bill 2018: Second Stage [Private Members] (30 May 2018)

Damien English: I did not interrupt Deputy Burton. I know they are but let us be clear. Some 8,000 plus voids were brought back into the system.

Residential Tenancies (Greater Security of Tenure and Rent Certainty) Bill 2018: Second Stage [Private Members] (30 May 2018)

Damien English: There is a different story there. I will come to that in a minute. I am happy to go there but there should be no voids. There is absolutely no reason for it.

Residential Tenancies (Greater Security of Tenure and Rent Certainty) Bill 2018: Second Stage [Private Members] (30 May 2018)

Damien English: I have no problem complimenting Deputy O'Sullivan on that. A total of €150 million has been spent. Voids are an essential part and must be brought back into use. The then Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, started it and we continued with it. Deputy Alan Kelly was in the Department as well. We always said there is no excuse for voids and they should not be there. Far too many...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Building Regulations Compliance (30 May 2018)

Damien English: Under the Building Control Acts 1990 to 2014, primary responsibility for compliance of works with the requirements of the Building Regulations, including Part B (Fire Safety), rests with the owners, designers and builders of buildings. Enforcement of the Building Regulations is a matter for the 31 local building control authorities, who have extensive powers of inspection and enforcement...