Results 3,661-3,680 of 11,114 for speaker:Damien English

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development (Amendment) Regulations 2018: Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government (23 Jan 2018)

Damien English: Moreover, people can go to the credit union or the bank, make the case that the council is willing to lease their property for 20 years and seek a loan on that basis. There are other ways to do it. The scheme is in place because we recognise that in some cases people do not have access to funds. It seems like a good investment to me to spend this cash on a property to get rent in straight...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development (Amendment) Regulations 2018: Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government (23 Jan 2018)

Damien English: We have done that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development (Amendment) Regulations 2018: Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government (23 Jan 2018)

Damien English: I wish to be clear: we have made changes to the scheme. Participation in the scheme was possible under the old rules. It is simply more attractive under the new rules. I disagree that it was not possible; it was absolutely possible.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Emergency Planning (23 Jan 2018)

Damien English: The Principal Response Agencies are designated as such in the framework for major emergency management (2006) which was approved by Government decision. The framework enables An Garda Síochána, the Health Service Executive and local authorities to prepare for and make a co-ordinated response to major emergencies resulting from events such as fires, transport accidents, hazardous...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: National Planning Framework (23 Jan 2018)

Damien English: The draft National Planning Framework, which is currently being finalised by my Department includes national policy objectives, NPOs, reflecting wider Government objectives in relation to climate change.  These include objectives to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by integrating climate action into the planning system in support of national climate...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Land Availability (23 Jan 2018)

Damien English: As part of the active management of the publicly owned housing land bank, all local authorities have been requested to prepare strategic development and management plans for housing lands in their ownership, with particular emphasis on prioritising those sites with the greatest potential to deliver housing at scale, in the short to medium term. The plans received...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Foreshore Licence Applications (23 Jan 2018)

Damien English: Providence Resources surrendered a licence to allow for an exploratory rig on the Kish Bank on 12 February 2013.  My Department has not received a subsequent application in respect of exploratory works on the Kish Bank.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Foreshore Licence Applications (23 Jan 2018)

Damien English: The following is a list of the members and their organisations of the Marine Licence Vetting Committee (MLVC) that completed the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Appropriate Assessment (AA) screening reports for the Marine Institute (MI) foreshore lease application in respect to the proposed development at Spiddal, Co. Galway (FS006566): 1. Mr Richard Cronin (Chair), Senior Adviser,...

Topical Issue Debate: Flood Risk Management (18 Jan 2018)

Damien English: I have no problem getting more information on this for the Deputy and sitting down with her at a later date. She has raised questions that I will put to GCC as well. The national co-ordinating group assesses the fallout from all these events and makes changes accordingly. However, warnings are given on a regular basis and the OPW, Met Éireann and the Department are involved in that....

Topical Issue Debate: Flood Risk Management (18 Jan 2018)

Damien English: I am happy to meet her to discuss this.

Topical Issue Debate: Agriculture Scheme Payments (18 Jan 2018)

Damien English: I will pass that on to the Minister, Deputy Creed. The Department has processed the 2017 applications concerned, for these farmers, based on the reduced area on the over-claimed parcel and has made payments accordingly. There has been some payout. The applicants have been written to by the Department outlining the current position in regard to their BPS applications and setting out the...

Topical Issue Debate: Flood Risk Management (18 Jan 2018)

Damien English: I thank Deputy Connolly for raising the issue. It was actually raised with the OPW so I am taking the debate on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, because he could not make it on short notice. It affects my Department as well. If I had known on time, I could maybe have brought more information to the Deputy to discuss this but I can certainly add to this conversation directly...

Topical Issue Debate: Agriculture Scheme Payments (18 Jan 2018)

Damien English: It is on my bucket list. I welcome the opportunity to address this matter on behalf of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Creed. I hope the Deputy will accept the Minister's apologies for not being able to take it in person. The range of schemes available to farmers, such as the BPS, greening and the ANC scheme are vital supports which help to underpin the...

Topical Issue Debate: Housing Provision (17 Jan 2018)

Damien English: thank the Deputy for raising this issue as it is very pertinent to the sustainable development of land in the coming years and ensuring we have the right structures and systems to deliver on our vision and ambition. The Deputy refers to an article in today's newspaper but it actually refers to a part of our national planning framework document which has been circulating here for the last...

Topical Issue Debate: Housing Provision (17 Jan 2018)

Damien English: I again thank Deputy Boyd Barrett for highlighting the need to have good land use policies. Our ambition with Ireland 2040 is to make sure we do not have a repeat of the housing crisis we have had in recent years which we are trying to manage our way through. The Deputy might not like how we are managing this but we added-----

Topical Issue Debate: Housing Provision (17 Jan 2018)

Damien English: -----7,000 new social houses that were not there last year but which are in use this year. Some 25,000 households who were not in a house last year are in a social house this year. In the year ahead, there will be more than 8,000 new social houses available to the local authorities that were not there two years ago. Despite all the Deputy's complaining, we are making progress. We all...

Topical Issue Debate: Housing Provision (17 Jan 2018)

Damien English: As Minister of State, I have been tasked with chairing a new residential land management and development group within the Department on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Murphy, with the aim of overseeing and driving the strategic management and development of housing on State land, with monitoring and accelerating the delivery of housing on residentially zoned lands, particularly on strategic...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Vacant Sites Data (17 Jan 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, and to issue notices to owners of vacant sites by 1 June 2018...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Issues (17 Jan 2018)

Damien English: Under current planning legislation, namely the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended (the 2000 Act) and the Planning and Development Regulations 2001-2017, the processing of planning applications is based primarily on physical documents.  While planning authorities endeavour to upload on-line as soon as possible the principal planning documents that are required to be...

Order of Business (16 Jan 2018)

Damien English: The question refers to a condition that was signed off on by a Minister in the Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government back in 2011. It was again signed off on-----