Results 3,601-3,620 of 11,114 for speaker:Damien English

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) (30 Jan 2018)

Damien English: That is in here.

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) (30 Jan 2018)

Damien English: Again, I understand what the Deputy is saying but-----

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) (30 Jan 2018)

Damien English: Okay, I will just pop in then.

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) (30 Jan 2018)

Damien English: I might have to ask-----

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) (30 Jan 2018)

Damien English: I will just make one quick comment. The regulator will have the ability to make a direction through the Minister. The regulator will bring it to the Minister. That process is in the Bill. It is not there at the moment, but will be after this Bill is enacted. That is what we are trying to do here.

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) (30 Jan 2018)

Damien English: I oppose the amendments which primarily propose the making of legally binding determinations on development plans and regional strategies by the office of the planning regulator, OPR. The primary role of the regulator is to evaluate and assess development plans and regional strategies and make statutory observations and recommendations on them. It is not necessary or appropriate to amend...

Topical Issue Debate: Planning Guidelines (30 Jan 2018)

Damien English: I understand the Deputy's concerns. The Department is consulting the European Commission on proposed revisions to the statutory housing guidelines. The working group completed its work last September and we have been in negotiations with the European Commission since. I hope that in the months ahead we will be able to bring clarity to this issue. Through the national planning framework,...

Topical Issue Debate: Planning Guidelines (30 Jan 2018)

Damien English: I thank Deputy Breathnach for raising this matter, which is an important issue for many people living in rural Ireland. I also thank him for the opportunity to provide an update on the review of the 2005 planning guidelines for sustainable rural housing, issued under section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended. Like Deputy Breathnach, as a former councillor and a Deputy,...

Order of Business (30 Jan 2018)

Damien English: The pensions Bill is being drafted currently but with regard to retirement age for firefighters, it is international best practice. A working group looks at this every couple of years. This group came together about six years ago to look at this and compare it to international developments. It was agreed that the timeline should be increased slightly but no more than that so 58 is still...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Estates (30 Jan 2018)

Damien English: The taking-in-charge of housing estates is a matter for the relevant local authority under section 180 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended). In an attempt to enhance learning and systems development and to accelerate the taking-in-charge process, my Department launched the National Taking-in-Charge Initiative (NTICI) in April 2016. The Initiative was set up on a...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Funding (30 Jan 2018)

Damien English: Information on Exchequer funding provided by my Department to each local authority, including Galway and Mayo, for the Housing Adaptation Grant Schemes for Older People and People with a Disability, is available on my Department’s website for the years 2009 to 2016 at the following link: .  Information in respect of 2017 delivery will be added when it is...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Pyrite Issues (30 Jan 2018)

Damien English: 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 be affected by defects in the blockwork in the Counties...

Planning and Development (Amendment) Regulations 2018: Motion (25 Jan 2018)

Damien English: I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for the opportunity to clarify a number of points. This is different from the way in which these motions are normally dealt with. The committee clashed last week and we did not get a full chance to discuss this in detail. If it is of help to Deputy Barry Cowen, I have here a copy of the reply to the letter he raised with the Minister. It deals with and...

Planning and Development (Amendment) Regulations 2018: Motion (25 Jan 2018)

Damien English: To answer Deputy Collins's question, Part 8 does not-----

Planning and Development (Amendment) Regulations 2018: Motion (25 Jan 2018)

Damien English: Irish Water is not a part of that. It cannot apply for planning permission under Part 8. We are giving Irish Water the same exemptions the local authorities had before - nothing less, nothing more, just exactly what was always there. A question was asked about pipes going through people's gardens, public pipes going through private gardens. Because gardens can extend over boundaries over...

Planning and Development (Amendment) Regulations 2018: Motion (25 Jan 2018)

Damien English: Regarding Deputy Michael Collins's question, the issue he raised has nothing to do with an exemption. That is a planning permission and a licence permission issue, and it would be unfair to confuse this debate on exemptions in that way. There are other issues in this regard, and my job is to try to put conditions on the exemption to ensure we develop it sustainably. I have done what I can...

Planning and Development (Amendment) Regulations 2018: Motion (25 Jan 2018)

Damien English: I will drop Deputy Coppinger a letter about the telecommunications antennae but, again, the proposal only updates existing exemptions allowing for very small variations. It is not for large infrastructure at all. However, I will drop Deputy Coppinger a note on the matter to clarify it and put her mind at ease.

Planning and Development (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2018: Motion (25 Jan 2018)

Damien English: I move:That Dáil Éireann approves the following Regulations in draft:Planning and Development (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2018,a copy of which has been laid in draft form before Dáil Éireann on 13th December, 2017.”

Planning and Development (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2018: Motion (25 Jan 2018)

Damien English: I move:That Dáil Éireann approves the following Regulations in draft:Planning and Development (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2018,a copy of which has been laid in draft form before Dáil Éireann on 13th December, 2017.”

Planning and Development (Amendment) Regulations 2018: Motion (25 Jan 2018)

Damien English: It was not an exemption, to be clear. One must not mislead the Houses.