I am sorry to be pedantic but amendments Nos. 29 and 30 are also in the grouping. It is unusual because they relate to the Long Title but they are in the group.

I have two technical questions for the Minister. Can I take it from his explanation of amendment No. 16 and its relationship to the definition in amendment No. 2 that the changing of the wording in amendment No. 16 is purely typographical as opposed to having substantive significance? In effect, the Act of 2020 is indeed the Health (Preservation and Protection and Other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) Act 2020, as per section 2. I ask the Minister to confirm that. With respect to amendments Nos. 29 and 3…

If this was only an emergency measure to deal with the difficulties of holding public meetings during the Covid-19 pandemic, I would support it. I am clear on the fact that it only relates to the holding of meetings at the very early, pre-plan stage. I make my comments in that context. The permanency of the Minister's proposed measures is a mistake, which is why Deputy Cian O'Callaghan and I have tabled amendment No. 6. Those early stage meetings are crucial. The difficulty is if, after Covid, we remove the mandato…

I move amendment No. 8: In page 4, line 17, to delete “appropriate” and substitute “essential”. Amendments Nos. 8 to 12, inclusive, relate to section 3 of the Bill, and specifically to powers being given to the Minister to extend emergency periods applying, for example, to planning decisions of a local authority or An Bord Pleanála or, indeed, public consultations of various kinds. Obviously, this is a measure relating to Covid-19 and, therefore, Opposition Deputies are minded to support the intention. However, we …

Thank you, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. On first reading the Bill and after listening to the debate in the Seanad, the circumstances in which the Minister was intending to use these powers were not quite clear, but having discussed it with his officials there are, in principle, two key areas where the powers outlined in the sections of the Bill to which these amendments relate could be used. The first would be a case where a local authority's planning department has a reduced staffing capacity because of Covid-19 absen…

I move amendment No. 9: In page 4, between lines 17 and 18, to insert the following: "(3) When making an order under subsection (2) , the Government shall include as a schedule to that order, or otherwise publish at the same time— (a) the reasons and considerations for the making of the order under subsection (2) , including reasons in respect of all the considerations listed in subsection (4) , and in the context of each of the administrative areas covered by the order and those excluded from it, (b) the associate…

I move amendment No. 10: In page 4, to delete line 21 and substitute the following: "(ii) an emergency period in respect of the provisions of the Principal Act and the Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016, and any instrument under the foregoing, so as to provide for a uniform and fair approach, with the exception of the potential to provide for different emergency periods to be specified in respect of enforcement matters under the foregoing, so as to ensure necessary enforcement is …

I move amendment No. 11: In page 4, to delete lines 22 to 25.

I move amendment No. 12: In page 4, between lines 25 and 26, to insert the following: "(4) Where an order under subsection (2) specifies emergency periods under subsection (3)(b)(i) or subsection (3)(b)(ii) , or both, in making the order the Government shall also consider— (a) the likely interest of the public in the administrative area for which the order is made, in environmental decision-making in other administrative areas for which no order is intended by virtue of such other administrative area not satisfying…

I move amendment No. 13: In page 4, between lines 25 and 26, to insert the following: “(4) In the context of the practical challenges the public are likely to be encountering during the period necessitating the making of the order under subsection (2) , the Government in making decisions on the specifications of emergency periods under subsection (3) shall— (a) make generous provisions for effective public participation, affording the public reasonable periods to prepare and participate effectively in environmental…

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I am fully aware that we have only four minutes to respond. This is a matter of profound importance and the fact that we have only four minutes to raise questions and get responses from the Minister shows how inadequate this process is. I will use my two minutes before allowing my colleague on the upper floor to use his. I have two questions. The Minister has said that, when the new substantive substitute consent process is in place, the board will have regard to section 177D(2) o…

The Minister said in his comment that the board, when considering the substantive substitute consent application, will base its assessment on the exceptional circumstances outlined in section 177D(2) of the Act. Why is that not made explicit in his amendment?

I refer to the Minister's proposed section 177K(1A)(a), which deals with consideration of the substantive substitute consent application. It does not make explicit reference to the legal definition of exceptional circumstances in the existing section 177D(2) of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended.

That would be helpful.

I move amendment No. 1 to amendment No. 21: In subsection (1D), proposed to be inserted by section 6, between paragraphs (b) and (c) to insert the following: “(ba) make available online all information— (i) considered by the Board at any leave stage under section 177D for the application now being considered for substitute consent where the application was subject to such a stage, or (ii) in the case where the application was made pursuant to a notice from a planning authority under section 177B or section 261A(3) …

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am sharing my time with a number of colleagues. Finbar and Mary are a working family. Finbar has a full-time job and Mary has a part-time job. They have young children. They are just above the threshold for eligibility for social housing. They were renting accommodation for approximately €1,200 a month but got notice to quit. While there were rental properties available, unfortunately, rents had increased to a level they could not afford, €1,800 to €2,000. Ultima…

On Monday of this week, I launched "What is the True Level of Homelessness?", a short report of which the Minister was highly critical before he departed the Chamber earlier. It is clear that he has not read the report, so I will summarise it for the Minister of State. A monthly report is produced by the Department of Housing, Heritage and Local Government and it reports the number of adults and children in emergency accommodation funded by that Department under section 10 of the Housing Acts. The most recent figur…

Yesterday, we learned of two more tragic deaths in our capital city. In the early morning, a man in his 40s living in a tent in the shadow of Leinster House was found dead. He had been living there for some time. Later in the afternoon, another man died in accommodation run by a well-known charity. We do not know the full circumstances of these tragic deaths but it is clear that both men were homeless. This brings the number of such deaths reported in Dublin this year to more than 52, which represents a significant…

I thank the Tánaiste for his response. We all remember that Mr. Jonathan Corrie died on 1 December 2014 while sleeping rough in a doorway opposite Dáil Éireann. The tragic death of the 43-year-old father of two caused widespread public concern and anger. His daughter, Natasha, told RTÉ in an interview that, in her view, those in power failed her father. She said: "He could have been helped a bit more, like they didn't help him the way they should have helped him." On the basis of the very significant increase in th…

Three weeks have now passed since the Tánaiste stood in this Chamber and told the House that he would be happy to provide any and all records relating to his passing of the IMO contracts to his friend and member of a rival organisation, the National Association of General Practitioners. In the same week, the Taoiseach told my party leader that his Department had an open door and that he too would provide all documentation. Yet here we are three weeks later and we have not received a single document from the Tánaist…