These references must be updated and the Department has undertaken significant work in recent months, in consultation with other Departments with responsibility for each enactment identified, to finalise the required amendments. These consequential amendments are to maintain the status quo by the insertion or substitution of references to the relevant provisions of the Bill and do not intend to make new policy changes. Where provisions in the Act of 2000 have changed significantly in comparison to those correspondi…

I thank the Senators for their input. I will first address amendments Nos. 26, 27, 31 to 38, inclusive, 42, 43, 50 and 51, tabled by Senators Higgins, Ruane, Black and Flynn, which all relate to Part 2. Amendment No. 26 seeks to amend section 7, which relates to change of use. The amendment seeks to provide that a change in use of an artistic or cultural premises to a primarily retail or commercial purpose is a material change in use. I cannot accept this as it is imperative that we respect the expertise and decisi…

I thank the Deputy for his question. Under Housing for All, the Government will deliver 47,600 new-build social homes in the period 2022 to 2026. Our clear focus is to increase the stock of social housing through new-build projects delivered by local authorities and approved housing bodies. For 2023, the Government agreed increased provision for social housing acquisitions. This has continued into 2024 and my Department has approved funding for the acquisition of 1,500 homes this year by local authorities and appro…

I thank the Deputy for his positive feedback on the scheme. I re-emphasise that local authorities have been asked to focus on RAS and HAP properties where the tenant has been issued a notice of termination. There is no ceiling in the sanction of acquisitions. Properties already in social housing help to mitigate against the risk of a negative impact on the tenant in ensuring we can address potential homelessness, which continues to be a challenge with the exit of landlords from the private rental market. In the Dep…

I will talk to the Deputy about the case he mentioned offline. In July, the Minister wrote to local authorities about this matter. We worked closely with local authorities, which can be seen in the feedback. There is a cross-sectional team and steering group on acquisitions in place to support households and local authorities in acquisitions. Any request for additional acquisitions above a certain threshold will be taken on a case-by-case basis. Other than that, it is up to local authorities to do evaluations and a…

I thank the Deputy for his question. We understand the importance of housing adaptation grants for people with disabilities, mobility aids and housing aids for older people. These grants are 80% funded by our Department. The Exchequer funded the provision of €74.5 million for the housing adaptation grant for older people and people with a disability scheme, which has increased by €8 million for 2024 continuing the year-on-year increase since 2014. Housing for All commits to reviewing the housing adaptation grants f…

First, I want to thank all the Senators for raising the issues on Committee Stage of this Bill. There has been criticism of the guillotine on Wednesday but we are offering up to 25 hours to debate the Bill between now and then. It does not undermine the role and responsibility that Seanad Éireann has in the legislative process. The Bill is one of the most important pieces of legislation in recent times. Many have criticised it but it seeks to deliver greater clarity, consistency and confidence in our planning syste…

I thank all the Senators. First, I will address the comments from Senator Boyhan in relation to the chief planning officer. While his suggestions have merits, the directors of services have strategic leadership responsibilities in each local authority and a management role. They are equipped with several different competencies and do not just have a single profession or area of expertise. In all local authorities, we have a senior grade planner who looks after the functions in this respect or is the lead planner in…

We will be guided by the advice of the Attorney General and his office on the response. We will be open and transparent on Report Stage about what has been presented to the Government on the Aarhus Convention. Until then, I do not have anything further to add.

Regarding Senator Burke's comment around local authority members and their engagement around development plans and the content, they must be in one sense consistent with the national plan and framework and policies of the Government but also with proper planning around sustainable development. At any stage, local authority members can make a variation to their local area plan or the county development plan. That will then be appropriately assessed by the Office of the Planning Regulator. Their input is important bu…

I take the Senator's point. The key word in the section is "prescribed". For example, a retail warehouse is very different from a convenience supermarket. In that context, "prescribed" determines where this fits into the Bill.

Senators raised points on what is prescribed for one particular use, and various analogies around takeaways, retail units and betting shops were made. What is important here is that the type of use of a facility has an impact in various ways, whether it relates to traffic management, opening hours, noise disturbance or size. The important thing is that we specify a premises' prescribed use in that regard. We will deal with short-term lets under section 8. Section 7(d) states, "a change in use of a house or part of …

As I said previously to the Senator, it impacts on different types of originally prescribed planning that was previously granted in relation to that unit

Yes, and I think there are implications for traffic, size and scale, opening hours, etc. and these are all factored in.

Amendment No. 17, as proposed by Senators Moynihan, Hoey, Sherlock and Wall, seeks to place a ban on material change-in-use permissions for recently developed student accommodation for a period of 15 years following completion. While I acknowledge the good intent behind this amendment, the planning system as it currently exists, as well as the system envisaged under the Bill, requires permission in order for a material change in use to be authorised development. As such, a decision to permit a material change in us…

Can I confirm that the Government amendments in the first group, namely, amendments Nos. 5, 7 and 8, were moved previously?

Amendment No. 8, too.

I previously addressed amendment No. 17, which deals with developed student accommodation. I propose now to speak to Opposition amendments Nos. 18 to 26, inclusive, and amendment No. 28. Amendments Nos. 18 to 20, inclusive, are all related to short-term letting and various Senators have made comments on that issue. We are awaiting the short-term letting Bill from the Department of tourism. I know this issue affects the tourism sector in Senator Cummins's region of Waterford. It is important this is done right and p…

I thank the Senators for their contributions on sections 10 and 11. Section 10 deals with declarations on development and exempted development and section 11 provides that such declaration shall be conclusive evidence in relevant proceedings brought by an enforcement authority, a local authority or the DPP against a person who requested the declaration unless it is proved that the person knowingly provided false or misleading information or withheld information for the purposes of the making of the declaration and …

I will clarify some matters concerning exempted development declarations. The only answer to the question of whether a development is an exempted development is that this provision does not make the development exempted. This is important. A development will have to adhere to enforcement proceedings. Indeed, all planning decisions are on the planning register and publicly available. In essence, sections 10 and 11 are replacing section 5 of the 2000 Act on where the planning authority or the commission may give a de…