Results 941-960 of 6,904 for speaker:Cian O'Callaghan

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: Does that not mean-----

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: Therefore, the Minister of State is saying he believes the changes will lead to more judicial reviews and that marginal cases that would otherwise not be taken will be taken.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: On the level playing field-----

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: To be fair, we have had a good discussion and I am just about to conclude, so we might as well-----

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: I am asking about the level playing field. The current system means there is a basis for people to get decent legal representation, whereas under the Bill the level of legal representation could be reduced. I am concerned about how level the playing field will be. Although the Minister of State is telling me there will be a level playing field, how could it be the case if most people will...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: I just want to raise one issue on that. It is relevant to amendment No. 956. Amendment No. 979 seeks to address two points, one of which I referred to when discussing a previous amendment. I referred to the notification of the public. The second mistake I am trying to correct concerns the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union on 15 March 2018 on North East Pylon Pressure...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: I have a few questions on amendment No. 965. I will deal with those and then move on quickly to amendment No. 966. Amendment No. 965 reads: "In page 446, to delete lines 8 and 9." That is the requirement for an environmental NGO membership to be ten or more members in order to access justice through JR. In terms of the threshold on membership here, this is the section on sufficient...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: I do not see how this specifically stops misuse and abuse because if someone wanted to abuse the system they could gather together 11 people. There are some very good environmental NGOs that do not necessarily have ten members or are established as a company. I have previously given the example that you could have an excellent environmental NGO with ten members. As happens in organisations...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: I do not expect the Minister of State to have all of the answers to these things straight off, especially when he has just arrived from Topical Issues in the Dáil.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: Was an analysis done of thresholds in other European countries?

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: Are there thresholds in every other European country?

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: Will the Minister of State share that analysis with the committee?

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: Yes.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: How and where is that going to be determined?

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: I turn to the requirement to be a company. The Minister of State has referenced bad actors. Bad actors can set up a company like a bogus environmental NGO. You can have good actors who are not constituted as a company, so what is the rationale for that? Why would we want to exclude?

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: I turn to amendment No. 966, which states, "In page 447, delete lines 2 to 4". There are a lot of problems with this section, and in this amendment I am highlighting one aspect of it. There are three specific issues with this. There is a requirement to publish names and addresses. Will the Minister of State explain the rationale for that and why they are seeking to do this?

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: I take issue with a number of the statements in the response. In no way was I making any case for anonymising. The Minister of State has said it is a well-established practice to provide name and contact details. I have not suggested for a second that should not happen. However, the current situation is that if a residents' association puts in a submission to the planning process, it will...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: Is the Minister of State saying that when the board of an incorporated body or developer takes a vote on whether to take a judicial review, the names and addresses of the board members who vote in favour will be submitted to the court? Is that what he is saying?

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Apr 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: Absolutely. We will just finish this discussion here and then go straight to Deputy Bacik. The Minister of State was saying the same applies to a developer as is required of residents' associations here. However, I asked him whether it is a requirement under the Bill where the board of a development company is taking a judicial review that the board take a vote and a requirement that when...