Results 8,001-8,020 of 10,577 for speaker:Barry Cowen

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Barry Cowen: My comments are in much the same vein. It is a peculiar sort of exercise. The county development plan is a service delivery plan which sets outs the aspirations and goals of the local authority, the mechanisms that govern it and the way in which it does business over five or six years. The roads programme in any given year is a service delivery plan, as are the arts programme and the...

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Barry Cowen: I move amendment No. 60: In page 44, to delete lines 33 to 44, and in page 45, to delete lines 1 to 33 and substitute the following:"128D.(1) Subject to and in accordance with any regulations made, or general policy guidelines issued, by the Minister for the purposes of this section, the membership of a Committee shall comprise partly of persons who are and partly of persons who are not...

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Barry Cowen: I move amendment No. 70: In page 51, line 40, after "council" to insert ", or a municipal district".

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Barry Cowen: The Minister said the national spatial strategy will be replaced by the regional guidelines.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Barry Cowen: Is the existing national spatial strategy is up for review?

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Barry Cowen: Any amendments will be cognisant of that review.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Barry Cowen: There is some equalisation also.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Barry Cowen: When is it proposed to take a break?

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Barry Cowen: Amendment No. 60 acknowledges the composition of the board would be both elected and non-elected members. I ask that there be at least three local authority members on such a board and that one of those be the chairperson of the board. In essence, this reflects the thrust of the proposition on the part of the Minister for integration of those companies into local authorities. If this is...

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Barry Cowen: That is what we wanted.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Barry Cowen: Thank you. I am delighted the Minister bowed to pressure.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Barry Cowen: The Minister has backed down. That is great news.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Barry Cowen: Am I correct that the Minister's commitment today is that the variation within local authorities will be downwards in all cases and that the higher rate will not be the applicable rate in any local authority?

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Barry Cowen: So the Minister is not giving a categorical commitment in this regard.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Barry Cowen: The Minister cannot give that commitment and not be able to back it up.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Barry Cowen: "In so far as that is possible," is as much as the Minister, no more than I, can say. The Minister cannot give a commitment in this regard.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Barry Cowen: In regard to the difficulties with the revaluation in Waterford, is the Minister aware that up to 9,000 appeals have been lodged in Dublin?

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Barry Cowen: Is he also aware that Dublin City Council has not yet held an estimates meeting in order to discuss the possibility of carrying out its duties?

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Barry Cowen: There was at least an indication of-----

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Barry Cowen: The Minister has accepted Deputy Coffey's suggestions in good faith and responded to them. Deputy Coffey's suggestion that the Minister, Deputy Howlin, be asked to appear before the committee is a good one. There are difficulties with regard to the revaluation in Waterford and Dublin. Many other parts of the country have not been touched. This committee could investigate why this might...