I move amendment No. 89: In page 91, line 3, to delete "by reason of its not having been" and substitute "by reason of it not having been".

I move amendment No. 90: In page 106, line 39, to delete "paragraph " and substitute "paragraph 50 ".

I move amendment No. 91: In page 134, to delete lines 3 to 15 and substitute the following:

I move amendment No. 92: In page 141, to delete lines 26 to 29 and substitute the following:

I move amendment No. 93: In page 141, to delete lines 38 to 45 and substitute the following:

I move amendment No. 94: In page 144, to delete lines 31 to 40 and substitute the following:

I move amendment No. 95: In page 145, to delete lines 7 to 12 and substitute the following:

I move amendment No. 96: In page 145, to delete lines 25 to 29 and substitute the following:

I move amendment No. 98: In page 146, to delete lines 22 to 26 and substitute the following:

I move amendment No. 99: In page 146, to delete lines 27 to 31 and substitute the following:

I move amendment No. 100: In page 149, to delete lines 5 to 12 and substitute the following:

I move amendment No. 101: In page 151, to delete lines 24 to 38 and substitute the following:

I move amendment No. 102: In page 152, to delete lines 33 to 41 and substitute the following:

I move: That Standing Order 187 is modified in accordance with Standing Order 233(2) to provide that it be an instruction to the Committee in relation to the Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023, that the Committee has power to make amendments to the Bill which are outside the scope of the existing subject matter of the Bill in relation to: ( a ) the Local Government Act 2001 (as amended by the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments Act) 2004) to provide that consultation is required with…

I do not think we need formally respond to the debate.

I will respond briefly on one or two points. Deputy O'Donoghue referenced council staff. I will bring an amendment forward tomorrow, which relates to staff in the directly elected mayor's office. The mayor will be consulted on the appointment of those staff. I very much took on board what came up on Committee Stage. Deputy McNamara referred to why we are bringing forward the amendment on local government. My Department only recently became aware of an issue with the consultation process required to be undertaken pr…

I thank the Deputy. The Department’s role regarding homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of local authorities in addressing homelessness at a local level. Statutory responsibility in the provision of homeless services rests with individual local authorities. The named organisation informed the Dublin Region Homeless Executive, DRHE, and the Department of potential financial issues in the organisation in July 2023. The organisation also a…

The Deputy will appreciate it is a difficult time. Our particular concern is for the more than 1,000 users of the Peter McVerry Trust, along with the more than 600 employees and the more than 600 people on the housing first scheme. The trust received €1.1 million on 4 December from the DRHE. It will receive a further €2.8 million by the end of December. It is then required to provide a restructuring plan by the end of January. Ultimately, this is about ensuring that the services are kept in place for service users …

The substantive question is about the trust. We want to ensure it is put on a sustainable footing, particularly for service users, staff and their work in delivering homeless services. The restructuring plan must be provided by the end of January. We note the points the Deputy raised on the broader context and will take them on board.

The Planning and Development Bill 2023 provides a range of measures to improve consistency across the planning system through clearer, more consistent policies and guidance throughout all tiers of planning, from national to local. Ministerial guidelines and policy directives will be upgraded to national planning statements. These statements will be approved by Government and subject to stakeholder consultation, including with councillors. It will be mandatory for all plans to be aligned to the policy element of nat…