Results 9,021-9,040 of 15,295 for speaker:Eoin Ó Broin

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Nov 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: I apologise.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Nov 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: I will ask the questions in one go, rather than stopping at each section. Could the Minister of State give some information on the timeline for the appointment of the chief executive through the Public Appointments Service, PAS, with respect to the possibility of an interim CEO? Is that the Minister of State's intention? Section 58 limits the consideration of matters that are in the...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Nov 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: If I understand right, section 58(2) places some limitations on the consideration of matters that may be before the courts, or may have previously been before the courts. Obviously the Oireachtas and its committees do not discuss matters that are currently before the courts. That is not the question. Does this section exclude the discussion at committee of matters that have previously been...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Nov 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: Sure. I am not seeking to delay matters. This is the only opportunity we will get to have some of this on the public record, so if it is possible to get oral answers, that is great, but if my questions are poorly framed or it is not possible, then of course I will accept written answers afterwards.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Nov 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: I have a simple question. It might be helpful to the committee if the Minister of State could give us a flavour of the kind of agreements that we are talking about. He mentioned planning authorities. Is the idea not to restrict it, but that kind of agreement? For what purpose is it? Are there other kinds of joint agreements that he is thinking of?

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Nov 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: Sometimes, when agencies or organisations are developing corporate strategies and this is relevant to section 64, they do some limited level of public consultation. Some of our local authorities do so. Was any consideration given to a form of public consultation in the development of the corporate strategy of MARA? If there was, why was it decided not to include it in this section?

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Nov 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: I move amendment No.147: In page 64, between lines 25 and 26, to insert the following: “(iii) the maritime usage is authorised in accordance with time limited development milestones as set out by the Minister requiring operations to begin within a defined period post consent.”. This is a significant part of the legislation. The Opposition has a number of concerns, which...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Nov 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: On the basis of the Minister of State's answer I am happy to withdraw the amendment, but I ask that he expand briefly on two points. I understand the difference between the MAC and the grant of permission, but there is a period between the granting of the MAC and the granting of permission where certain categories of works could be carried out such as exploratory surveys or other kinds of...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Nov 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: I had asked two questions.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Nov 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: I thank the Minister for both responses. I have two further questions. With respect to the licences, would that also apply to the legacy projects where the MAC is essentially provided by the Minister rather than MARA, prior to the establishment of MARA? Obviously, those are the licences we would be concerned about at the moment. Will all a MACs stipulate in their conditions the period...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Nov 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: It related to the licences.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Nov 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: For those of us who do not know the detail of that, does this mean that if I had one of those legacy MACs granted by the Minister, let us call them that, must I apply for licences-----

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Nov 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: Would I still have to apply to the local authority for licences to carry out surveys or exploratory activities pre-planning?

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Nov 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: There will still be a requirement for me to apply for a licence albeit to the Minister, under the Foreshore Act.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Nov 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: I have no objection to this. This is a follow-up to one of Deputy O'Callaghan's earlier question and it relates to this. If I understood the Minister of State correctly, the idea is not to have multiple parties all interested in a similar type of marine usage with MACs in the same territorial area. At the same time, when Deputy O'Callaghan asked whether a MAC gave exclusive rights to seek...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Nov 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: A cynic might say, not that I am in any way cynical about this legislation, that by placing the responsibility, through the Schedules, on the applicant to design and manage the public participation process, there is an offloading of responsibility onto the applicant. There are certain merits in that in that they have to resource, manage and oversee it. It begs the question, however, when...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Nov 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: I move amendment No. 162: In page 68, line 18, after “MAC” to insert “on grounds including an inadequate level of public participation and consultation”.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Nov 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: Does that include suspending, for example, the abolition of the time period specified in the MAC?

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Nov 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: I am shocked at the Minister of State’s suggestion that there could be unscrupulous MAC holders. That is on the record.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Nov 2021)

Eoin Ó Broin: I will explain the question with regard to standard residential developments. The section relates to whether a person is deemed fit and proper. Often when development consent is sought on land it is from a corporate entity. There may be directors. Some of those directors may behave in an inappropriate way. They then come off the board of directors. They are replaced by family members or...