Results 3,521-3,540 of 11,114 for speaker:Damien English

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

Damien English: In the few minutes left, I will try to deal with most of the issues raised. If not, we will deal with them next week through the amendments that I believe are coming in, according to Senator Boyhan. It is to be hoped we will. In respect of the fees, it is a point well raised that it is nearly 20 years since the fees were addressed. There are proposals being worked on in the Department at...

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

Damien English: Yes, I know. However, just to be clear, councillors come under pressure as well when people come to them to bring forward their individual concerns as opposed to the community concerns. We recognise that councillors need to represent the community and to try to keep those fees to a minimum. However, I ask Members to remember that councillors will come under pressure to make observations or...

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

Damien English: I have full confidence councillors can withstand that. However, it is something to bear in mind and it is something we are conscious of too. We have all been there. Most of us have been councillors at some stage. We know what comes to the desk as well. That is something we are looking at. On the timelines, there was a lot of merit in what Senator Lombard said in respect of the cycle of...

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

Damien English: The Minister, Deputy Murphy, who is bringing this plan through, is very clear on this. It is a plan for the country. We will make decisions that are right for the country, as Senator Humphreys has said as well. It will reflect the ambitions of each individual county but decisions have to be on behalf of the country and the regions. That is prioritising and that is what we will do. I know...

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

Damien English: Most of the issues were general. It is about giving confidence in the planning system. Senator Boyhan is absolutely right on that. The work we do in bringing forward a planning amendment like this, reflecting the Mahon tribunal's recommendations, is to give confidence in the system. It is to give people a guarantee they can trust the planning system. They have been let down by that...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Fire Safety Regulations (7 Feb 2018)

Damien English: I propose to take Questions Nos. 302 and 303 together. In general, building defects are matters for resolution between the contracting parties involved: the homeowner, the builder, the developer and/or their respective insurers, structural guarantee or warranty scheme. It is important to note that while my Department has overall responsibility for establishing and maintaining an...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Issues (7 Feb 2018)

Damien English: The principal Planning and Development Regulations 2001 were amended in September 2011 by the Planning and Development (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2011 to provide that initial afforestation shall be exempted development. The justification for exempting this form of activity from the requirement to obtain planning permission is because such activity was subject to a separate statutory...

Topical Issue Debate: Regional Development (6 Feb 2018)

Damien English: I apologise to the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I thought I was taking the fourth issue-----

Topical Issue Debate: Regional Development (6 Feb 2018)

Damien English: -----and I am sorry if I delayed the House earlier. I thank Deputy Durkan for again raising the matter of the stalled town centre development in Naas. I appreciate and understand his eagerness that it be brought to a satisfactory and speedy resolution. This is our third or fourth time discussing it here so I know it is an issue that is very close to the Deputy's heart and that he raises...

Topical Issue Debate: Regional Development (6 Feb 2018)

Damien English: I fully accept Deputy Durkan’s desire that this long-running matter, which is an unfortunate legacy of our recent economic recession and is impacting on the further development of Naas, be progressed and completed as soon as is practically possible in order that the expanding town of Naas can achieve its full potential. If we can help bring Naas back to its former glory through our...

Topical Issue Debate: Regional Development (6 Feb 2018)

Damien English: We will also try to make a case for him as well because this is something our Department, and the employment and development Departments, want to see addressed. It is an issue that the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, discussed with all the local authority managers and housing officers at the recent housing summit. We want to try to strengthen the powers of local authorities to deal with...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Fire Service (6 Feb 2018)

Damien English: The provision of a fire service in its functional area, including the establishment and maintenance of a fire brigade, the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of fire station premises, is a statutory function of individual fire authorities under the Fire Service Act, 1981.  My Department supports the fire authorities through setting general policy, providing a central...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: NSAI Inspections (6 Feb 2018)

Damien English: The aim of the building regulations is to provide for the safety and welfare of people in and about buildings. The building regulations apply to the design and construction of a building or to an extension or material alteration of a building. The minimum performance requirements that a building must achieve are set out in the second schedule to the building regulations. These requirements...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Construction Costs (6 Feb 2018)

Damien English: Under the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, the Government is committed to a broad range of measures to tackle, among other things, some of the costs associated with the provision of housing. This includes undertaking a detailed analysis, in conjunction with the construction sector, to benchmark housing delivery input costs in Ireland, in order to facilitate an...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Foreshore Issues (6 Feb 2018)

Damien English: The piece of land referred to is State Owned Foreshore reclaimed without consent and occupied by the persons named for many years. My Department has been making every effort to ascertain when and by whom the area in question was reclaimed.  Correspondence dated 26 January 2018 was received from the legal advisor to the persons named, offering to purchase the area. However, no...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Fire Stations Provision (1 Feb 2018)

Damien English: The provision of fire services in local authority areas, including the establishment and maintenance of fire brigades, the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of premises, is a statutory function of the individual fire authorities under the provisions of the Fire Services Act, 1981. My Department supports the fire authorities through setting general policy, providing a central...

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (31 Jan 2018)

Damien English: I move amendment No. 96:In page 53, between lines 25 and 26, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 10 (supplemental provisions to section 9) of Act of 2016 28. (1) Section 10 of the Act of 2016 is amended in subsection (2) by substituting the following for paragraph (a):“(a) The Board shall publish on its website both a notice and a copy of a decision under section...

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (31 Jan 2018)

Damien English: Now.

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (31 Jan 2018)

Damien English: I outlined our position on the amendment but I am not sure if Members want me to go back over it or not. I was dealing with amendments Nos. 93 to 96, inclusive, and I read it quite fast. Do Members want me to go back over it or to move on?

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (31 Jan 2018)

Damien English: Great. So Members are in agreement with this? I will clarify a matter on amendment No. 92. We had discussed it and I was meant to move it to vote on it but I withdrew it by mistake. I will come back in with it in the Seanad. Members are all happy with it but I mention it in case there is confusion on it. I withdrew the wrong amendment by mistake. We are not allowed to discuss it again...