Results 4,461-4,480 of 5,040 for speaker:Victor Boyhan

Seanad: Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018: Second Stage (Resumed) (30 Jan 2018)

Victor Boyhan: On the argument that the Bill, if enacted, would gravely undermine Ireland's economic links to the United States, that is an argument some have made and we have to take it on board. We have to respect that people come from different perspectives and points of view, and they have made that point. It is very important that we emphasise those points. Turning to the Palestinian-Israeli crisis,...

Seanad: Technological Universities Bill 2015: Second Stage (30 Jan 2018)

Victor Boyhan: I welcome the Minister of State and acknowledge the enormous work she has done in fast-tracking this legislation and pushing it along. It is clear from what she has told us this evening that she has accommodated concerns. She outlined in some detail the three key issues in discussions that took place. I wish to acknowledge that from my understanding, as part of these preconditions and the...

Seanad: British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly (Committee D) Report on Childhood Obesity: Statements (25 Jan 2018)

Victor Boyhan: I will be brief. First, I welcome the Minister of State and I acknowledge the work that my colleague, Senator Noone, has done in this area. She has been very active in the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly, BIPA. Senator Wilson is a member of BIPA too. What is really important about BIPA is that it drills down to very local issues. It is not all about highfalutin politics. It is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (25 Jan 2018)

Victor Boyhan: This focused approach to reporting is a good one and is the way forward. We have exchanged views very often and now it is about accountability and delivery of housing solutions. This point has been echoed by members on other occasions and it has to be the focus of Rebuilding Ireland. Pillar 5 deals with utilising existing housing stock and there were 22 action items but I will deal with...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (25 Jan 2018)

Victor Boyhan: I apologise for cutting across, but the words accountability and transparency are key words the Deputy is using all the time. I like the fact that he is using them, but I am going to keep coming back to him about it. It is about accountability and transparency, and if the Deputy is saying that people are on statutory housing lists they need to be able to validate that. They need that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (25 Jan 2018)

Victor Boyhan: I rang a local authority yesterday which said that information is not given to tenants at all. The Deputy on my left hand side can confirm that. The people are not told where they are on the list.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (25 Jan 2018)

Victor Boyhan: I am particularly singling it out for attention.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (25 Jan 2018)

Victor Boyhan: One, two and three.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (25 Jan 2018)

Victor Boyhan: I will try to maintain the focus. As the Minister said, the Joint Committee on Housing and Homelessness recommended 10,000 units per annum. That was a very large target and is clearly not going to be met. There are a few key issues. One is the housing summit. The Minister spoke to us last week about the importance of the housing summit. He has set targets for the chief executives but we...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (25 Jan 2018)

Victor Boyhan: I asked about the comprehensive report on the Part 8 housing.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (25 Jan 2018)

Victor Boyhan: It is also about having that as something that is ongoing. It all feeds into our work. We all have responsibilities here. We need to see how everything is progressing. It is a question of having a system in place for monitoring. It would be very helpful. It is another layer of transparency which allows us to see what is happening. The more we can put the information into some type of...

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Jan 2018)

Victor Boyhan: I would like to raise two issues under the Order of Business today. The first of these relates to Coillte and the forestry sector. I attended a meeting of the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association in Leitrim a few days ago, at a packed venue in the Bush Hotel. I listened to distraught farmers talking, one after the other, about the devastation of their beloved County Leitrim through...

Seanad: Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture: Statements (24 Jan 2018)

Victor Boyhan: I warmly welcome my colleague and friend, the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Josepha Madigan. Having served with her on Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, I know something of her enormous commitment to and passion for the arts and culture. I am delighted with her appointment and wish her every success in her role. I also wish her well with the Creative...

Seanad: Agricultural Issues: Statements (24 Jan 2018)

Victor Boyhan: I welcome the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and thank him for his comprehensive statement on agriculture. I note his comments and his response, and the attention to detail he has given to the review of the areas of natural constraint, ANC, scheme, the green low-carbon agri-environment scheme, GLAS, the fodder situation and cattle breeds. I do not know where that list came...

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)

Victor Boyhan: I thank the Minister of State. I see the logic behind all of the regulations. Let me preface my remarks by saying I am conscious that the Minister now has this power. While I am not suggesting this committee is just a talking shop, we do not have a great deal of power. We cannot effectively-----

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)

Victor Boyhan: Absolutely. We cannot amend the regulations, but the Minister could revoke them and come back with something better if he thought there were grounds to do so. I am not going to deal with the proposals for water services, as I see the logic in them. I want to deal with the Planning and Development (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations and change of use. Will the Minister of State outline the...

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)

Victor Boyhan: I referred to section 57.

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)

Victor Boyhan: No; I have referred to local authorities which have overall responsibility for planning. I did not refer to the register, trade or vested interests but rather the planning authorities which have statutory responsibility for ensuring sustainable proper planning and development within the country.

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)

Victor Boyhan: I want to pick up on two or three points, and I am mindful of what the Minister of State said in his responses. Regarding section 5 and section 57 declarations, and I have had a look through the Planning and Development Act, a copy of which I have in front of me, members of the public and politicians would not know if a section 5 or a section 57 declaration had been submitted. We need to...

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)

Victor Boyhan: The Minister of State need not worry. It is not pylons I am talking about. What I am asking about is how the public engages. There is also a health issue. There was a reference to the Minister including two reminders to the planning authorities about not accepting health grounds as a basis for objection. That is alarming. I know that before the close of business the media will be asking...