Results 4,561-4,580 of 8,342 for speaker:Peter Burke

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Local Government (Directly Elected Mayor with Executive Functions in Limerick City and County) Bill 2021 (18 May 2021)

Peter Burke: I thank the Senator for his constructive narrative throughout this process. It is very much In terms of a deputy mayor, it is important to state that we did not create a position that would be directly below that of the mayor in terms of name, particularly in view of the fact that it is a body holding him to account. The councillors will hold him to account. I draw the Deputy's...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Local Government (Directly Elected Mayor with Executive Functions in Limerick City and County) Bill 2021 (18 May 2021)

Peter Burke: Yes, that is correct. I will get a figure for the Senator in a few moments. I do not have it written down.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Local Government (Directly Elected Mayor with Executive Functions in Limerick City and County) Bill 2021 (18 May 2021)

Peter Burke: To clarify, the salary for the director general is to increase from €162,000 to €171,000 but I would add the caveat that this has to be negotiated with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. The Senator's point about having a deputy speaker is well made. The implementation and advisory group, the people of Limerick and various actors in Limerick were very strong on...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Local Government (Directly Elected Mayor with Executive Functions in Limerick City and County) Bill 2021 (18 May 2021)

Peter Burke: To correct the Deputy, in an instance where, due to incapacity or something happening to the mayor, all the powers revert to the príomh comhairleoir. This will mean that he will have to exercise the duties and functions of that office until there is a replacement becomes available following an election that has to be held within six months. The latter will also depend on the electoral...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Local Government (Directly Elected Mayor with Executive Functions in Limerick City and County) Bill 2021 (18 May 2021)

Peter Burke: I thank the Chair for his input. I will go through his points one by one. The development contribution schedule and rates will be the responsibility of the mayor. It will be his job to liaise with the executive. Let us think about what is happening here. All the powers the current chief executive has will be transferred to the new democratically elected mayor, except for those core...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Local Government (Directly Elected Mayor with Executive Functions in Limerick City and County) Bill 2021 (18 May 2021)

Peter Burke: Under the general scheme, the selection of a special adviser is currently up to the elected mayor. The other staff complement of the office will come from the local authority section but he will have his choice of special adviser. This is something we can consider if the committee has views on it. I would be careful, however, of pigeonholing the new mayor by insisting that the person to be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Local Government (Directly Elected Mayor with Executive Functions in Limerick City and County) Bill 2021 (18 May 2021)

Peter Burke: I hope that on as many occasions as possible today I have used the phrase "he or she". I apologise. When talking about the position of mayor, my language may sometimes slip. I hope the work I am doing with our female councillors, giving them the human rights they deserve and have been denied for so long in terms of maternity leave, and my work with Women for Election, will demonstrate my...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Local Government (Directly Elected Mayor with Executive Functions in Limerick City and County) Bill 2021 (18 May 2021)

Peter Burke: I appreciate the Deputy's comments and his support for the scheme. I look forward to working with him in delivering it. On Dublin, following its decision on gender equality, the Citizens' Assembly is now taking a look at the four local authority areas of Dublin. This will be a significant body of work. The Department of the Taoiseach is leading on this. We will feed into the process...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Local Government (Directly Elected Mayor with Executive Functions in Limerick City and County) Bill 2021 (18 May 2021)

Peter Burke: I thank Deputy Higgins for her very kind comments. There is a huge amount of reform going on in the local authority space. I am very proud to work with a Department that is really to the forefront of delivering that change. The Deputy referenced a number of items. One thing that really struck me looking around the various different local authorities is that it is key an authority...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Local Government (Directly Elected Mayor with Executive Functions in Limerick City and County) Bill 2021 (18 May 2021)

Peter Burke: I absolutely appreciate the Deputy's ongoing role as we develop this process. First, on the question of where we are, we have our general scheme. As I said, I have been in close contact with the Office of the Attorney General trying to get priority in terms of a drafter. There should be a drafter available this month and we will keep in close contact with the office. However, the office...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Local Government (Directly Elected Mayor with Executive Functions in Limerick City and County) Bill 2021 (18 May 2021)

Peter Burke: I thank the Deputy again for his remarks. In the first instance there can be a positive resolution by the local authority members. If the local authority resolves to have its own democratically elected executive head, that is sufficient. Demand for a plebiscite can also be demonstrated by petition of 20% of registered voters within an authority's functional area. I would point out that my...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Local Government (Directly Elected Mayor with Executive Functions in Limerick City and County) Bill 2021 (18 May 2021)

Peter Burke: I thank the Senator. I acknowledge her work and her representations on the role of our local authority members in respect of to their pay and conditions specifically. I appreciate the engagement from the Senator and her colleagues in connection with the legislation. The Senator mentioned the need for engagement with the council. We have done a good bit of that. I absolutely agree with...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Local Government (Directly Elected Mayor with Executive Functions in Limerick City and County) Bill 2021 (18 May 2021)

Peter Burke: I thank the Deputy. I acknowledge his work in this area as well. I have had great engagement with the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and his office through this process and as the leaders were meeting to try to progress the heads of Bill through the Cabinet process. The Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, over in the Custom House has also been very helpful to me in going through...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Local Government (Directly Elected Mayor with Executive Functions in Limerick City and County) Bill 2021 (18 May 2021)

Peter Burke: I thank Deputy for his comments. Like him, I had the privilege of serving on my local authority in County Westmeath. I was humbled to, and had the privilege of, serving as cathaoirleach and mayor of my town of Mullingar. I could really acutely see the pressures of trying to raise a young family as well. It is so difficult to balance the work of being a councillor, and being the first...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Local Government (Directly Elected Mayor with Executive Functions in Limerick City and County) Bill 2021 (18 May 2021)

Peter Burke: On the national development plan, we are renegotiating the capital envelope. As I go around the country and talk to people, I am finding that wastewater and water infrastructure are key stumbling blocks to development. We are trying our best in the context of the new capital envelope that is being negotiated. We all have to be honest. Irish Water was deprived of many of its funding...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Local Government (Directly Elected Mayor with Executive Functions in Limerick City and County) Bill 2021 (18 May 2021)

Peter Burke: I thank Deputy McAuliffe for his detailed analysis. To be fair, he is putting work into it. Head 46(4) provides some detail. It states: "The mayor and the director general shall agree a programme of delivery of local authority services following the budget meeting.." It gives the mayor reach in terms of the staffing element. It is codified to a certain extent but in the context of HR...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Local Government (Directly Elected Mayor with Executive Functions in Limerick City and County) Bill 2021 (18 May 2021)

Peter Burke: I absolutely agree. Strict deadlines are included in the legislation which would have to be adhered to when embarking upon the process. I hear the Deputy's concerns. There will be a certain element of risk involved in introducing any process to remove an elected individual which, as I have said, would be very serious. I hope it is a process on which we will never have to embark but,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Local Government (Directly Elected Mayor with Executive Functions in Limerick City and County) Bill 2021 (18 May 2021)

Peter Burke: I thank Deputy Quinlivan for his comments. I am brave but I am not brave enough to say when the President will sign the Bill. Obviously, there is a very significant amount of work that needs to be done to get us to that juncture. Matters are still unpredictable. As I said at the start, the Dáil has been sitting only two days a week until recently. I spoke to the Attorney General...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Derelict Sites (13 May 2021)

Peter Burke: Local authorities have been provided with a number of powers and measures to deal with the issue of derelict properties, both in larger urban conglomerations and in smaller rural towns and villages. There also exists a framework of overarching policy and capital funding which provides support to development, including urban regeneration. The Derelict Sites Act 1990 imposes a general duty...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (13 May 2021)

Peter Burke: The Planning and Development (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2018, which came into operation on 8 February 2018, provide for an exemption from the requirement to obtain planning permission in respect of the change of use of certain vacant commercial premises, including vacant areas above ground floor premises, to residential use. This measure is aimed at facilitating the productive re-use of...