Results 4,921-4,940 of 9,814 for speaker:Steven Matthews

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Feb 2023)

Steven Matthews: I thank Ms Comiskey for that clarification. I invite Deputy Ó Broin for his second round. We want to cover endorsement and data. He might want to include that in his questions.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Feb 2023)

Steven Matthews: Yes, absolutely.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Feb 2023)

Steven Matthews: We have plenty of time because others have had to leave.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Feb 2023)

Steven Matthews: To clarify, can we define appropriate in terms of this, or would Mr. Fogarty suggest taking the already established definition of appropriate under the IUCN?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Feb 2023)

Steven Matthews: Future threats, okay.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Feb 2023)

Steven Matthews: Will someone clarify for me, how much protected area have we at the moment? We are aiming for 30%. Where are we at the moment?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Feb 2023)

Steven Matthews: We are at 8%. We were at 2.3% until quite recently, we were at 8% now and we are heading for 10%. That is not marine protected areas as such because we do not have marine protected areas. It is in process at the moment.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Feb 2023)

Steven Matthews: I will finish the point I am making. Ms Uí Bhroin recently referred to the speed at which legislation has quite recently gone through the Houses of the Oireachtas. I know her concerns on that but I am quite happy that we proceed with this and get it right. That is to be acknowledged as well because we all want to achieve the 30% and the 10% and this will assist us to do that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Feb 2023)

Steven Matthews: Did Mr. Goodwin say that further investment in the NPWS would be welcome?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Feb 2023)

Steven Matthews: I think that is in train at the moment. There was a €55 million increase in investment in the NPWS. Obviously the service has to build around the funding that goes to it as well. Otherwise, it is destined to fail, even if it has the money. I agree with Mr. Goodwin that An Bord Pleanála and other agencies need further investment. They have been neglected for many years and we...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Feb 2023)

Steven Matthews: Yes. I was thinking yesterday about that and consultation with the landowners is the last part of that. We go to public consultation and then we come back to the interested parties-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Feb 2023)

Steven Matthews: Ms Uí Bhroin made a point earlier and used a phrase "closed door" or something similar. The consultation submissions should be publicly available, like they are with planning applications.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Feb 2023)

Steven Matthews: If people object to something for whatever reason, they should set out the reason so that we can all see it and make a determination. It should not be something that is not published. Before I give our witnesses the opportunity to make a final comment, it should be noted that we intend to produce a report by 21 February. Some of you suggested that you would send further information to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Feb 2023)

Steven Matthews: Yes. Generally, what we do with these reports is produce a recommendations section at the back with 15, 20 or 40 recommendations, depending on the issue. The witnesses will see from previous reports the format that we use. If they want to use that kind of format, it would be helpful to us. Senator Boyhan made a similar point. Just out of interest, if Mr. Goodwin could forward the MaREI...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Feb 2023)

Steven Matthews: One of the recommendations in our pre-legislative scrutiny report on the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021 was that adequate funding be provided for environmental NGOs, especially those dealing with the marine area, which is difficult by its nature to observe and get to.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Feb 2023)

Steven Matthews: It was suggested that a graphic of the architecture of enforcement that is simple to follow would be useful. I would say that if we all had a go at that, we would all come up with a different graphic.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Feb 2023)

Steven Matthews: I suppose in generality, this is the most common type of issue or complaint, in terms of easy enforcement; the more complex ones are obviously more complex. The architecture in terms of the plans, policies and guidelines, EU directives and our national legislation governing the whole sea area is very complex. That is why we appreciate so much our guests coming in to assist us with this. We...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Feb 2023)

Steven Matthews: Thank you and you are welcome. I have no doubt we will be seeing you again at some stage in the coming months to discuss other legislation that we are working on.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Programmes (1 Feb 2023)

Steven Matthews: 120. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the schools' energy retrofit pathfinder programme; the number of schools supported to date under this programme; the proposed number to be funded in 2023 and 2024, respectively; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4083/23]

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Industry (31 Jan 2023)

Steven Matthews: 283. To ask the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to cases of car insurance quotes increasing significantly from previous years, despite no significant change in the circumstances of the applicant; the efforts he is making to engage with this sector to avoid this financial impact on customers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4771/23]