Results 6,661-6,680 of 26,842 for speaker:Richard Boyd Barrett

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Services (21 Oct 2021)

Richard Boyd Barrett: 175. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the discussions between his Department, the NTA and a company (details supplied) in relation to the future of their services under the BusConnects programme, specifically the company's announced plans for expansion of the depot facilities in Dublin and the resulting loss of car park spaces for its staff; and if he will make a statement...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (21 Oct 2021)

Richard Boyd Barrett: All the amendments try to ensure the Oireachtas and its committees are fully alerted to any guidelines or directives being developed; the individual Members of the Oireachtas and committees have the right to put forward resolutions on those and any such guidelines have to be voted on by both Houses and there is full notification of the public and the Oireachtas on all of these. As for my...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (21 Oct 2021)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Or even a provision whereby it would be open to the Dáil to ask for a debate and for the issue to be decided. There may be matters that do not require this but directives and guidelines should, at a minimum, be discussed by a committee. There are matters that the Business Committee is happy to have a committee deal with, while there are others regarding which it is not satisfied to...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (21 Oct 2021)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I appreciate what the Minister of State is saying and that he is taking on board our concerns. It is rare enough for me to praise the Government, but-----

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (21 Oct 2021)

Richard Boyd Barrett: The new thing that we have had in recent years of Government of Ireland announcements on the radio has been helpful in alerting people to things that are happening, because many people in this country listen to the radio. I appreciate that the area of communications and media is a rapidly evolving one and that we must be open enough to ensure that we are speaking to all the relevant...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (21 Oct 2021)

Richard Boyd Barrett: To summarise, the points have been made on the policy statement, the guidelines and the directives. The Minister of State's response, essentially, is to say that this is dealt with in section 31, and that our concerns around the public consultation, the screening for strategic environmental assessments, SEAs, and the compliance with all of the relevant directives are dealt with in section...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (21 Oct 2021)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I am not saying I agree. I am listening and I am going to digest what the Minister of State is saying.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (21 Oct 2021)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I hear the Minister of State's argument that section 31 covers off all of our concerns, and this then applies to all of the things we have talked about including the statements, the directives, the guidelines. I see that we are coming up to another aspect which is a "direction". It should be very interesting to debate what is the difference between a directive and a direction, but we will...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (21 Oct 2021)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Will the Minister of State clarify from what point of view does it not work? Is it the point of view of coherent legislation or the point of view of actually-----

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (21 Oct 2021)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I agree. To clarify our question, why would the Government list in section 31, as it has done, the birds and habitats directives but not the marine spatial planning framework directive?

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (21 Oct 2021)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I get that. Let us say we conceded-----

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (21 Oct 2021)

Richard Boyd Barrett: First, there is a history in this country of non-compliance with certain directives. Let us not say that because directives exist Ministers and Governments comply with them because that is simply not true. We know there have been failures to-----

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (21 Oct 2021)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I have a related question. This gets to the nub of it. If we got clarity on this we could move through this Bill much more quickly. Is it correct that these directives would require that before consents for development are given, the directives are fully complied with, which is what Europe wants, and then we can move to the issue of applications, consents, enforcement and all the rest of...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (21 Oct 2021)

Richard Boyd Barrett: A framework is not a plan.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (21 Oct 2021)

Richard Boyd Barrett: A framework is vaguer than a plan.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (21 Oct 2021)

Richard Boyd Barrett: With all due respect, it is an advance on nothing. It is an advance on the Foreshore Act, yes. I fully accept that.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (21 Oct 2021)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Fully accepted. However, it is still not as specific as a DMAP or another plan with an acronym might be. Therefore, there is more flexibility for things to happen than there might be under a more specific plan. There is a difference between a framework and a DMAP. I am concerned that, if someone can get a development consent on the basis of a fairly general framework, it will be an easier...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (21 Oct 2021)

Richard Boyd Barrett: What the Minister of State is saying seems reasonable but I would like some clarification. Is he envisaging the possibility that an illegal decision that might be taken in Europe about compliance with a particular directive might not be covered off in the policy statement because it is new?

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (21 Oct 2021)

Richard Boyd Barrett: As a matter of interest, does that imply the necessity to review the policy statement subsequently?

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (21 Oct 2021)

Richard Boyd Barrett: It essentially implies a review of the policy statement.