Results 3,501-3,520 of 11,114 for speaker:Damien English

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2018)

Damien English: I am scratching my head thinking where do I start with this. There are two different debates - there are probably ten different ones - going on here and I will try to deal with both of them separately. I will try to separate legislation from this week's debate.

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2018)

Damien English: I will do that. I do not propose to accept amendments Nos. 34 and 35 relating to the adoption of the national planning framework, as tabled by Sinn Fein Senators and Senator Murnane O’Connor, respectively. As background to my opposing them, I remind the House that the objectives of the national planning framework are fundamental to the achievement of long-term economic, social and...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2018)

Damien English: Somebody has to make that decision at the end of the day and that is what governments are elected to do. They have to make a final decision. The legislation we are discussing in the context of these amendments refers to the draft legislation. I point that out in case people have not had a chance to read what is in the legislation, this relates to what is expected of future national...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2018)

Damien English: We also had this discussion on Committee Stage. There has been a great deal of consultation on this plan.The legislation we are debating will ensure that the same consultation will take place under future Governments, regardless of who is in them. This Government has made sure we have honoured the spirit of it on this occasion by having that consultation. If the Acting Chairman will allow...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2018)

Damien English: As a final point, I note this House and the Dáil made a decision. The Houses asked a committee on Members' behalf to undertake a report and feed into it. That is what the House decided to do. Members voted on that and agreed to do it. I was at that committee, as was the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, along with many Members present. The committee did a lot of good work and...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2018)

Damien English: We are not debating it today.

Order of Business (13 Feb 2018)

Damien English: If there is an issue with the housing assistance payment, HAP, scheme, we will look at it, but there are over 32,000 HAP tenancies that are going quite well. I hear reports week-in, week-out that the scheme does not work. From what we can see, it works very well and most people are happy with it because it gives them a chance to be able to obtain rent assistance while in work. Under...

Order of Business (13 Feb 2018)

Damien English: As the Deputy knows from the meeting he attended before Christmas, the plan is to have recommendations Nos. 1 and 2 in place by March. We will bring something to the Cabinet in March. We are still on track for that, which the Deputy will be aware of, given that he has been involved in the meetings. At that stage, all the legal and funding questions can be answered and we will be in a...

Order of Business (13 Feb 2018)

Damien English: I understand banks are giving those letters, which are very detailed, and they clarify how much money has been approved. This new loan will cater for people who do not get approval for the full amount. We will ensure that happens.

Order of Business (13 Feb 2018)

Damien English: That is grand.

Order of Business (13 Feb 2018)

Damien English: There is a considerable amount of legislation but it will not be finished until after Easter. We have had discussion in the House. We went through the committee with the report. We had a debate in this Chamber in October on the draft report and the committee report. It was agreed to honour the spirit of the legislation, which we are still teasing through the House. It will be finished...

Order of Business (13 Feb 2018)

Damien English: Deputy Ó Broin has been fully engaged in that consultation. During the last round of the discussion we had more than 150 submissions from Oireachtas Members.

Order of Business (13 Feb 2018)

Damien English: We will submit it to that as well. Our office has been well engaged on this at committee, Dáil and Seanad level during the past year.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Seaweed Harvesting Licences (13 Feb 2018)

Damien English: The role of my Department in regard to seaweed harvesting is to regulate the activity in accordance with the Foreshore Act 1933. The Act provides that a licence may be granted to remove beach material, including seaweed. Any licence granted would be temporary in nature.  The Foreshore Act does not include any mechanism under which harvesting rights may be sold...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Seaweed Harvesting Licences (13 Feb 2018)

Damien English: There are two Departments with responsibility for the regulation of seaweed. My Department has responsibility under the Foreshore Act for the regulatory regime applying to the harvesting of wild seaweed while responsibility for the licensing of seaweed cultivation, and policy in this area is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. While I have...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Unfinished Housing Developments Data (8 Feb 2018)

Damien English: The information requested is available on my Department's website at the following link: . The above link indicates the names of the 22 unfinished estates in County Laois as well as the number of units that are "complete and vacant" and "near complete" in the context of the 2016 Unfinished Housing Developments Reports. Further information on the Summary Reports for 2016 on Unfinished Housing...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Second Stage (7 Feb 2018)

Damien English: The main background to this important Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016 is the Final Report of the Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments, otherwise known as the Mahon tribunal, which was published on 22 March 2012. The Bill is therefore primarily intended to give legislative effect to the planning-related recommendations of the tribunal report, providing...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Second Stage (7 Feb 2018)

Damien English: I thank the Senator for telling me.

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Second Stage (7 Feb 2018)

Damien English: I have worked on it since the start.

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Second Stage (7 Feb 2018)

Damien English: It was 1998.