Results 4,281-4,300 of 11,114 for speaker:Damien English

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Tribunals of Inquiry Recommendations (28 Mar 2017)

Damien English: I think Senator Boyhan for raising this issue. The Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments, otherwise known as the Mahon tribunal, was established by order of the then Minister for the Environment and Local Government back in 1997 to inquire into and report on various planning matters as set out in resolutions passed by the Dáil and Seanad concerning the...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Tribunals of Inquiry Recommendations (28 Mar 2017)

Damien English: The Bill to which I referred - it is on Committee Stage - will deal with the matter. In terms of timelines in regard to the independent planning regulator I do not want to second guess what will happen on Committee Stage. As the Senator knows, proceedings can go quite smoothly or take time. Either way, we are open to having a lengthy discussion with all Members of both Houses on Committee...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Housing Provision (23 Mar 2017)

Damien English: The purpose of the Building Control Management System (BCMS) is to facilitate building control authorities, building owners, builders and construction professionals in discharging their separate responsibilities under the Building Control Act 1990. The system provides a common platform for clear and consistent administration of building control matters across the local authority sector. The...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Pyrite Resolution Board (23 Mar 2017)

Damien English: I propose to take Questions Nos. 106 and 109 together. In accordance with section 9(4) of the Pyrite Resolution Act 2013, the Pyrite Resolution Board, not later than 30 June in each year, shall prepare and submit to the Minister a report on the performance by it of its functions under the Act in the immediately preceding year, and the Minister shall, as soon as may be after receiving the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Pyrite Resolution Board Membership (23 Mar 2017)

Damien English: The Pyrite Resolution Board, which was first established on an administrative basis in early 2013, was placed on a statutory footing on 10 January 2014 when the Pyrite Resolution Act 2013 came into effect. The Board is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the pyrite remediation scheme and is being assisted in this regard by the Housing Agency. The current membership of the Board...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Pyrite Resolution Board (23 Mar 2017)

Damien English: The Pyrite Resolution Board, where possible, has sought to recover from parties, with a liability, and capacity, all or part of the costs of remediating dwellings that are included in the scheme. Under Section 12 of the Pyrite Resolution Act 2013, such contributions can be accepted by the Board with the consent of the Minister and the Minster for Public Expenditure and Reform, as gifts. The...

Topical Issue Debate: Local Authority Housing (21 Mar 2017)

Damien English: The Deputy's general question was not specific to Louth but I will certainly deal with Louth as well. Rebuilding Ireland contains a number of integrated actions to underpin active land supply management for the delivery of housing. Initially, this involves identifying and mapping sites in local authority and public ownership, with appropriate lands to be master-planned to deliver increased...

Topical Issue Debate: Local Authority Housing (21 Mar 2017)

Damien English: I had the same mantra from the Deputy's colleagues in the Seanad earlier but we are clearly not what they describe. We are committed to social housing projects and putting the capacity back in the system to deliver social housing. There is a commitment of approximately €5.5 billion for social housing and 47,000 housing units throughout the country. Louth will play a major part in...

Topical Issue Debate: Local Authority Housing (21 Mar 2017)

Damien English: Please do not try to say we do not have it. We have engaged with the local authority to ask it to bring forward proposals for all these different sites. On some sites there has been an application for funding from the local infrastructure fund; that will be announced at the end of the month and I hope some of the sites in Louth will be able to benefit so we can activate these sites. Most...

Topical Issue Debate: Local Authority Housing (21 Mar 2017)

Damien English: As I indicated to the Deputy's colleague in the Seanad, we have put in place a plan to reactivate the construction of social housing. It had been closed down well before the recession. We do not have Sinn Féin's magic pen to make that happen tomorrow. All we can do is put in place plans to deliver that over the years ahead. We have made strong commitments in that respect. The money...

Companies Act 2014 (Section 1313) Regulations 2017: Referral to Joint Committee (21 Mar 2017)

Damien English: I move:That the proposal that Dáil Éireann approves the following Regulations in draft:Companies Act 2014 (Section 1313) Regulations 2017,copies of which have been laid in draft form before Dáil Éireann on 9 February 2017, be referred to the Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, in accordance with Standing Order 84A(4)(k), which, not later than 13 April 2017,...

Seanad: Rebuilding Ireland: Statements (21 Mar 2017)

Damien English: I am pleased to have this opportunity to update the House on the second quarterly progress report on the Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness. The report we are discussing was published on 7 February last. The Rebuilding Ireland document is over six months old at this stage, having been published in late July 2016. We received valuable input from Oireachtas colleagues during the...

Seanad: Rebuilding Ireland: Statements (21 Mar 2017)

Damien English: That is not the case.

Seanad: Rebuilding Ireland: Statements (21 Mar 2017)

Damien English: I thank Senators for their comments. Most were positive but some were negative. I will not thank Senators for the negative ones but we have to accept them and take them on the chin. Joking aside, everyone is committed to the process of delivering more housing. We also have to take criticism as well because we cannot get this done as quickly as we want. I am not fully sure what Senator...

Seanad: Rebuilding Ireland: Statements (21 Mar 2017)

Damien English: Some councils have significant debts on land and have brought forward proposals to the Department to activate that. We will respond to that. I have met the Carlow housing team on two occasions at the various workshops we run in the Department but did not hear the issues the Senator raised. The Department has had numerous engagements will all local authorities, including Carlow, on all the...

Seanad: Rebuilding Ireland: Statements (21 Mar 2017)

Damien English: I would be concerned if there is an accusation of misinformation or a lack of information because everyone agrees there probably is too much information. We are certainly not hiding anything. That is not the game we are in. I am happy to sit down with the Senator and a delegation from Carlow County Council at any stage to go through any questions. I do not agree with what the Senator said...

Seanad: Rebuilding Ireland: Statements (21 Mar 2017)

Damien English: This is not just a rebuilding strategy and action plan for cities such as Dublin and Cork. It is fair to say the media may concentrate on the emergency situation that is at its worst in Dublin, Cork and perhaps Galway. This is a national plan, however, which affects every county and all cities. We are engaging with everybody of all abilities and disabilities on this issue. It is not a...

Seanad: Rebuilding Ireland: Statements (21 Mar 2017)

Damien English: Exactly, and I wish we had the Sinn Féin magic pen but we do not. We must deal with reality and make it happen week by week and bit by bit.

Seanad: Rebuilding Ireland: Statements (21 Mar 2017)

Damien English: I have seen Sinn Féin's proposals, but when they are all put on the one page, they do not add up. The money is not there. We can only spend what we are earning and what we have. Again, because of solutions in the housing plan-----

Seanad: Rebuilding Ireland: Statements (21 Mar 2017)

Damien English: I will come to that because I will tell the Senator that the reason we were able to allocate an extra €2 billion on top of what the previous Minister of State had secured for housing in the previous budget was because of a jobs recovery. I will not claim credit for all that. The private sector created all the jobs but there are an extra 230,000 jobs, which is more than there were...