Results 61-80 of 2,691 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 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...

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

Ossian Smyth: The Deputy might wish to note that the Department of Social Protection has a Telephone Support Allowance currently in place which provides a weekly payment for people who live alone and are already in receipt of certain other social welfare payments. That allowance assists with the cost of communications and home security solutions. More details are available from that Department, including...

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

Ossian Smyth: The roll-out of infrastructure for telecommunications services in Ireland is primarily a matter for private mobile network operators, operating on a commercial basis in a liberalised market, regulated by the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg). ComReg is statutorily independent in the exercise of its functions in accordance with section 11 of the Communications Regulation Act...

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

Ossian Smyth: I refer the Deputy to my reply to Question No. 91 of 27 February 2024 which gives consideration to the correspondence concerning prices for broadband and mobile network services. My officials are examining the matter and will also be guided by legal advice on appropriate policy options.

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

Ossian Smyth: A new Green Public Procurement Strategy and Action Plan is currently being finalised by my Department. A draft Green Public Procurement Strategy and Action Plan was launched for public consultation in September 2023. Key areas of focus in the draft Strategy and Action Plan include measures to progress Green Public Procurement implementation in the Public Sector; Monitoring and Reporting;...

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

Ossian Smyth: The Government charges a levy of 22c on single-use lightweight plastic bags. The levy was introduced in 2002 as a means of reducing the consumption of such plastic bags by influencing consumer behaviour. It has proven enormously successful, reducing the use of these bags from a peak of more than 132 million in 2006 to just over 8 million during 2022 (the last full year for which figures are...

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

Ossian Smyth: In December 2022, my Department published Ireland's Digital Connectivity Strategy which supports the ambition outlined in the National Digital Strategy and sets out a number of ambitious targets, including that: all Irish households and businesses will be covered by a Gigabit network no later than 2028 all populated areas will be covered by 5G no later than 2030, and digital connectivity...

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

Ossian Smyth: More than half a million coffee cups are sent to landfill or incineration every day in Ireland. An environmental levy on single-use cups (coffee cup levy) will incentivise people to choose re-usable cups and reduce single-use waste. A detailed consultation report, along with copies of all submissions received, were published in late 2023 on the Department’s gov.ie website. ...