Results 4,641-4,660 of 5,013 for speaker:Victor Boyhan

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Jun 2017)

Victor Boyhan: I raise the ongoing issue of the judicial appointments commission which has been discussed in recent days in the media and by some politicians. There has been much bile and anger and many words vented about the Judiciary. The former Minister for Justice and Equality, former Deputy Alan Shatter, initiated a public consultation process and invited the Judiciary to make submissions on reform...

Seanad: University Hospital Waterford Cardiology Services: Statements (27 Jun 2017)

Victor Boyhan: I will not take five minutes, as I am conscious that there are others present who are more involved in dealing with this matter. I acknowledge Deputy Mary Butler's presence. I also acknowledge the enormous amount of work Senators Paudie Coffey and Grace O'Sullivan have done on this issue. I congratulate the Minister on his reappointment. Despite all of the speculation, it is great to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (Resumed) (27 Jun 2017)

Victor Boyhan: I welcome the witnesses. The Minister, who I congratulate on his appointment, made an opening statement at last week's meeting and I would like to make one or two comments on that. When the Taoiseach announced his appointment two weeks ago, he stated, "Rebuilding Ireland is working but it may not be enough and so I am tasking him to review it within three months and to consider what...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (Resumed) (27 Jun 2017)

Victor Boyhan: I would like to come back at some point to Pillars 4 and 5 if I could.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (Resumed) (27 Jun 2017)

Victor Boyhan: My request for clarification concerned St. Laurence's Park and George's Place in Dún Laoghaire. I think the Minister is going to answer those questions so that is fair enough and I accept that. I would also like to address point 4.23, which is on page 47. This deals with accommodation in the rental sector. There are three points I would like to make about this. Is the Department...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (Resumed) (27 Jun 2017)

Victor Boyhan: While Mr. Walsh is here, I want to say something relevant to this point about LIHAF in the broader sense, rather than specifically on Cherrywood which is the one that I know best and on which I want answers. All moneys going to LIHAF are public moneys. Mr. Walsh makes a very valid point about the arrangements regarding the planning authorities and the agreements but ultimately, there has to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (Resumed) (27 Jun 2017)

Victor Boyhan: The site is in a major town centre and 12 units are being proposed. The private sector developer across the road built a five-storey private block, yet Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council with the help of the Department is proceeding with a two-storey, 12-unit, block on part of a large site it owns, which is zoned as a major town centre. Good planning tells us to maximise our zoning....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (Resumed) (27 Jun 2017)

Victor Boyhan: We all know what a major town centre zoning comprises. It envisages two-storey units, yet across the road there is a five-storey block which sold out and which benefited from Part V. This project was a knee-jerk response to getting some rapid build in Dún Laoghaire. That has not started and it should not start. We should maximise the full potential of the entire site, which is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (Resumed) (27 Jun 2017)

Victor Boyhan: I ask the Minister to have a look at this. We are where we are because of the mess of local authorities. I was a member of one for many years. We now have a Government policy, which is Rebuilding Ireland. The Minister is the guardian of it and he must fast-track and deliver it. This hinges on him how. I fully respect councillors having a say but the majority are politically...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (Resumed) (27 Jun 2017)

Victor Boyhan: I will clarify. The Minister was not here and I know he was attending other business at Cabinet. What he said is not correct. We have been constantly told for the past number of years there were negotiations with the people. The owners of the site changed and next door, part of the bigger site, was put up for sale. The council failed to secure it and it was outbid on it. That is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (Resumed) (27 Jun 2017)

Victor Boyhan: They have not come up with a plan and it has been going on for years.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (Resumed) (27 Jun 2017)

Victor Boyhan: They argue that they want a synergy with the private developer next door but that has not come off. I wish them well but in the meantime, we cannot leave these units empty.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (Resumed) (27 Jun 2017)

Victor Boyhan: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (Resumed) (27 Jun 2017)

Victor Boyhan: We are talking about this for the past four years. To be helpful, I ask the Minister to visit this at some stage. He is just up the road from it. He would be appalled to see what is happening at these units. Another block in McIntosh Park has the same type of properties, built by the same developer, and everybody in them is very happy. They are not knocking them down.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (Resumed) (27 Jun 2017)

Victor Boyhan: I stated this earlier but I will do so again as the Minister is here. He stated last week that, as Minister, he would look at everything new. There is clearly a need for publicly built, publicly owned and privately rented accommodation on public lands. We should stop getting hung up on that issue. Deputy Boyd Barrett raised an alarming issue on the record of this meeting that there is a...

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Engagement with Lord Alderdice, Former Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly (22 Jun 2017)

Victor Boyhan: I warmly welcome Lord Alderdice to the Seanad. We go back a long time and were members of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party, ELDR, when I was a member of the Progressive Democrats Party which was affiliated to the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party. I am also a member of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly and have the opportunity to be in the House of Commons from...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (22 Jun 2017)

Victor Boyhan: Could the Chairman call out the names and the order in which we are waiting? We need to know if we need to leave. We are here since 2 p.m.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (22 Jun 2017)

Victor Boyhan: It is a long day.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (22 Jun 2017)

Victor Boyhan: What time is the meeting running to?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (22 Jun 2017)

Victor Boyhan: We have business to deal with-----