Results 741-760 of 2,156 for speaker:John Cummins

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Infrastructure Provision and Residential Developments: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

John Cummins: On your turnaround times at the moment in terms of getting those offers out versus when it moves through the planning process and out the other side, are you satisfied that they are being turned around as quickly as they could be? If not, what measures are you implementing?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Infrastructure Provision and Residential Developments: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

John Cummins: Chair, may I come in during the next round?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Infrastructure Provision and Residential Developments: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

John Cummins: I will keep going on that point, if I may. In the past, local authorities would have taken a longer view. They would have said, in reference to a land bank that is zoned, that over the course of the next 15 to 20 years, 1,000 houses would built on it, for example. Over the course of ten years or two life cycles of a development plan, houses would be built and the levies on same would pay...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Infrastructure Provision and Residential Developments: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

John Cummins: I have a question for the CIF in that respect. We did have such a model in the form of the local infrastructure housing activation fund, LIHAF, which was introduced for exactly that reason but it did not really work. Why did that not work? Some LIHAF schemes were developed, one of which is in my own county of Waterford at Kilbarry. The Land Development Agency, LDA, is building on the site...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Infrastructure Provision and Residential Developments: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

John Cummins: It is right to reference HISCo and what it is doing because it is a really good example of what can be done. It is essentially a LIHAF model but involves a different way of thinking. Is Mr. Kelleher satisfied that HISCo is working or does he think that now that we have a residential zoned land tax and the land value sharing, an opportunity for LIHAF mark two is there? Is there more of a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Infrastructure Provision and Residential Developments: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

John Cummins: My next question is for Irish Water. I have raised this issue previously and I appreciate the answer that comes back, which is that it is a matter for the regulator. I also know that development levies are now parked for a period so the point is not so relevant, but I am interested in greenfield versus brownfield development and how it is treated. Let us take the example of a development...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Infrastructure Provision and Residential Developments: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

John Cummins: It is absolutely an anomaly but I suppose we have bought ourselves a bit of time now. I would like there to be a concerted effort among all parties in addressing that over the next 12 months. We all want to see those brownfield sites in our cities and town centres developed. There is existing infrastructure. They are not greenfield sites. Account must be made of the fact that there is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Infrastructure Provision and Residential Developments: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

John Cummins: Yes, and the CIF.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Infrastructure Provision and Residential Developments: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

John Cummins: No, you are fine, Chair. Not to labour the point from the last round, but contrary to what the witnesses have said about reduced capacity, if something is being re-established for the existing purpose - regardless of whether all of the used capacity has been used in the system - they do not require the payment of connection charges. They can restart. If one took the nursing home, for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Infrastructure Provision and Residential Developments: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

John Cummins: It does not matter about specifics, just in general. Let us take as an example a nursing home in the midlands that was not operating as a nursing home for five years, but tomorrow is going to be re-established as a nursing home. It has the existing infrastructure, but in the meantime, if all of the capacity in that area had been taken up, they could still open.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Infrastructure Provision and Residential Developments: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

John Cummins: Sure.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Infrastructure Provision and Residential Developments: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

John Cummins: Would they not be required to ask Uisce Éireann?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Infrastructure Provision and Residential Developments: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

John Cummins: Yes, which kind of goes back to the point. It might be worth our while as a committee to engage with the CRU on the brownfield-greenfield question. I think it is important that when the levies are back in place - or maybe not - that if we are not incentivising brownfield development, we would not disincentivise it. That would be useful.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Infrastructure Provision and Residential Developments: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

John Cummins: Absolutely, and I prefaced what I said by saying that. Regarding the existing levy waiver that is in place, my understanding of the circular is that the developer still has to pay a new refund. Am I reading that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Infrastructure Provision and Residential Developments: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

John Cummins: Then Uisce Éireann recoups-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Infrastructure Provision and Residential Developments: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

John Cummins: They have to issue a commencement notice.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Infrastructure Provision and Residential Developments: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

John Cummins: I have engaged with some of the members of the CIF, and I know it is not a big issue for the bigger players in this, but is it not a cash flow issue for some of its smaller members? There is that piece. Uisce Éireann is being recouped by the Department for it. Could that be frontloaded? Is there an engagement at Department level? The way I see it, there is a cash flow issue for the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Infrastructure Provision and Residential Developments: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

John Cummins: That final offer has to happen prior to the developer pressing the commencement notice. Would the witnesses like to comment on that? It is an issue that has been brought to me. I am just trying to see if there is a way to overcome it whereby we can reserve the capacity in line with the commencement notice and Uisce Éireann can be paid by the Department rather than going from one and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Infrastructure Provision and Residential Developments: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

John Cummins: Is the bond not sufficient? The developer is showing the commitment to commence. It is not just a follow-on or hypothetical from the pre-connection agreement. They are showing a commitment that they will be starting within a four-week period. It is not something that could potentially happen in seven months' time. It is something that is happening.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Infrastructure Provision and Residential Developments: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

John Cummins: I appreciate that but there is merit in investigating the streamlining of it. Account should also be taken of the fact that this is a time-limited waiver. I take the point that people would essentially be banking capacity. That is not something anyone could stand over. I think there is capacity in terms of engagement between the Department, Uisce Éireann and CIF. Perhaps that can be...