Results 221-240 of 2,858 for speaker:Ossian Smyth

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Deputies for clarifying this for me. If we look at section 246 we can see some additional and supplemental provisions with respect to public rights of way. I am looking in particular at subsection (2) whereby, with regard to a right of way required by the section to be maintained by a planning authority, a person shall not damage or obstruct the way or hinder or interfere with...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Ossian Smyth: It states in section 246(4) that where a right of way required by the section to be retained by the planning authority is damaged or obstructed by any person, the planning authority concerned may repair the damage or remove the obstruction. The expenses incurred by it in the repair or removal shall then be paid by that person. Whoever obstructed the right of way has to pay for the removal.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Ossian Smyth: Yes.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Ossian Smyth: The planning enforcement section would bring it before the courts if required, as it does in other cases.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Ossian Smyth: Amendment No. 945 relates to providing for landscape conservation areas. Landscape conservation areas, which were dealt with in section 204 of the Act of 2000, were not included in the Bill as it was a little-used provision and because its objectives may be achieved through the development plan process and through controls on the scope of exempted development. I am satisfied these...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Ossian Smyth: The two points are-----

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Ossian Smyth: My apologies.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Deputies for their questions. There are two answers as to why landscape conservation areas are being removed and why they are not included in the Bill. The first is they were little used in the past. The second is that it is expected it will be achieved in another way. This is looking at section, where there is an obligation to prepare a strategy for conservation. According to...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I thank Deputy O'Callaghan. It is more than a high-level strategy. Section 48(2) states the strategy shall include objectives for conservation, protection, management and improvement. Section 48(2)(j) mentions the strategies for landscapes, views and prospects in a manner consistent with the strategy referred to previously, having due regard to any framework of any Minister or Government...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Ossian Smyth: In practice it was rarely, if ever, used. I am not sure I entirely understand the difference between designating an area as a landscape conservation area and putting into a conservation strategy designating a particular landscape as being worth protecting. I think that-----

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Ossian Smyth: Architectural conservation areas have been used a lot.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Ossian Smyth: They have been very frequently used. They have been found to be-----

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Ossian Smyth: Architectural conservation areas are, as all of us who have been involved in the preparation of county development plans know, a practical and useful tool that has been in use for the past quarter of a century. Landscape conservation areas have not succeeded in their objective. I do not see the benefit of legislating for something which, in practice, has not turned out to be useful or used.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Ossian Smyth: It is too much to say that we are giving up on landscapes.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Ossian Smyth: Section 48 provides for the preparation of strategies for the conservation of landscapes and for detailing what those landscapes are.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (26 Mar 2024)

Ossian Smyth: Effectively, this is a new section. It brings in the concept of a collection of objectives for a settlement. Settlements are defined in Central Statistics Office reports as being collections of more than 1,500 people. It is a collection of objectives. We are used to SLOs in development plans, so that gives the Deputy an idea. It is a collection of objectives that fit together. Part of...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (26 Mar 2024)

Ossian Smyth: The consequence is that zoning will only happen at the development plan. Zoning will not happen in local area plan and there is no zoning in the settlement objectives either.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (26 Mar 2024)

Ossian Smyth: It is related. The idea is that the overall settlement strategy and the development plan align with each of the settlement strategies for each individual settlement.

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Legislative Measures (20 Mar 2024)

Ossian Smyth: In June 2023, I launched a public consultation to help inform Ireland’s environmental response to disposable vaping devices. Disposable vaping devices present several challenges to our current waste collection and recycling system, and they can and should be recycled in a responsible manner. Over 3,000 submissions were made by individuals and organisations, including retailers, and...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Recycling Policy (20 Mar 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I propose to take Questions Nos. 90 to 92, inclusive, together. The Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) has been in operation since the 1st of February. Both the Department and Re-turn, the DRS operator, are monitoring the scheme closely and I receive regular updates on its performance. To date: There are currently 2,529 retail return points across the country. The vast majority of retailers...