Results 241-260 of 9,131 for speaker:Steven Matthews

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Committee Work Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Oct 2020)

Steven Matthews: We are in public session. We will continue discussing the work programme. We finished last week with Senator Cummins and were moving on to Senator Boyhan's suggestions. Members were circulated with an updated proposed draft topic in which I tried to look at all the different categories and issues that members wanted addressed. There had been quite a lot of repetition, as would be expected...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Committee Work Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Oct 2020)

Steven Matthews: What I am trying to do is put this into a number of categories. I have it down to 26 but we might end up with 30 by the end of the day. We might say there is too much in one category and that it needs to be split. I am happy to do that and we can agree on it as members. If we have a section on water, we may want to break it down into water supply and water quality. I will go through...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Committee Work Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Oct 2020)

Steven Matthews: It was I who added the national monuments if we want to include them.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Committee Work Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Oct 2020)

Steven Matthews: Then there is a media file on wastewater treatment plants. We have covered that under the Irish Water category, I think. The Senator has an item referring to the Planning Regulator. I have included that under category 14, the Office of the Planning Regulator. The witnesses under that category would be officials from that office and from the Department. I think the Senator had another point.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Committee Work Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Oct 2020)

Steven Matthews: That is the possibility of inviting the Land Development Agency, LDA, before the committee. It is covered under category 7. It has been discussed already and it was agreed to put it in the work programme as Land Development Agency briefing, LDA and Department. Under No. 10, the committee is asked to consider the practice of inviting a number of city and county council chief executives to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Committee Work Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Oct 2020)

Steven Matthews: We will consider that under ministerial business.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Committee Work Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Oct 2020)

Steven Matthews: I will run through my submission. Building defects will be covered under No. 2. I have suggested that local property tax and a review of how the baseline figure for local authorities has been agreed over the years be included in No. 15, which concerns local government funding and other issues. With members' agreement, I would like to explore the possibility of doing a report on replacing...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Committee Work Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Oct 2020)

Steven Matthews: That might be a good place to put that in there; I will give that No. 15. I thank the Deputy for that. We have covered category No. 12, Irish Water. I would like to examine the national retrofitting programme, especially for local authority stock and how that is going to be rolled out. We can put this under No. 17, the local authority housing department, and perhaps we could have a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Committee Work Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Oct 2020)

Steven Matthews: I do not know. The idea of these categories is that if we establish them, we can then fine-tune and prioritise them. This is just to try to give us some boxes to put things into for the moment. I call Deputy Ó Broin.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Committee Work Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Oct 2020)

Steven Matthews: I am open to suggestions on whom we may bring in on that. These are just notes that I have jotted down as I was going through this. We will put this under No. 17. I have mentioned biodiversity, heritage, and climate change. Officers and staffing levels in local authorities can go under No. 18, or possibly No. 15? Are members are agreeable to this proposal? I also wanted to look at...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Committee Work Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Oct 2020)

Steven Matthews: We might also------

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Committee Work Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Oct 2020)

Steven Matthews: ----- address that under No. 24, which is living city, urban regeneration, town centres and first living over shops. I do not mind as this may cross two categories but I agree that we should include it. I call Deputy Gould and then Deputy Duffy.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Committee Work Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Oct 2020)

Steven Matthews: I thank the Deputy. I call Deputy Duffy now and then Deputy O’Donoghue.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Committee Work Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Oct 2020)

Steven Matthews: It is critical that we address emissions also. I agree with the Deputy on that. I have categorised item No. 19 as covering building design and universal design for disability and elderly people. I also included Covid-19 learnings and safety within building regulations and standards because that issue had been raised by Deputy Cian O'Callaghan. When I get to that section, he can agree on...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Committee Work Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Oct 2020)

Steven Matthews: That is right. On No. 20, are members agreeable that we would have at least one session with the Minister and the Department on a departmental update on the programme for Government commitments in those areas? Agreed.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Committee Work Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Oct 2020)

Steven Matthews: Both of them are enormous bodies of work. I have no problem if that is split into, say, Nos. 20a and 20b or something like that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Committee Work Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Oct 2020)

Steven Matthews: We did it based on a possible referendum. I have written down that I want a briefing from the Housing Agency. I do not know if that can be incorporated into another area. Do members have suggestions on the Housing Agency? Would we take it as a separate briefing?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Committee Work Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Oct 2020)

Steven Matthews: I have that down as No. 21. There is a list including affordable purchase, serviced site fund, help to buy, Rebuilding Ireland, approved housing bodies, cost rental model and affordable housing models. It is that range of areas to do with supply of housing. Item No. 3, which we agreed last week, was about affordability and land use management, which Deputy Ó Broin had raised. He...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Committee Work Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Oct 2020)

Steven Matthews: The proposal is that we leave No. 3 as it is. I refer to the suggestion made last week by Deputy Ó Broin, which was that we should pull the five reports together and that he act as rapporteur. Was that not his suggestion?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Committee Work Programme: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Oct 2020)

Steven Matthews: That is fine. With regard to all the other mechanisms for the provision of houses, including affordable purchase and serviced sites, Deputy Cian O'Callaghan or another member mentioned construction costs. Will we investigate all of those as a completely separate module and consider the progress in that regard as a new committee?