Dáil amendments Nos. 186 and 187 are technical amendments concerning the recently passed Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2023. I will take them together. As the House will be aware, the Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2023 was enacted in July of this year following the restoration of the Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2016 from the previous Dáil. It facilitates a reconfiguration of the raised bog network, provides for a biodiversity duty on public sector bodies and places the national biodiversity action plans on a statutory footing.…

Dáil amendment No. 188 is a technical amendment to provide for the reference to the "Act of 2001" in the chapter to be the Valuation Act 2001. Sections 28(14) and 28(15) were amended to remove the terms "making a rate" and "rate made" and to replace those terms with "levying a rate" and "rate levied", which conform with the wording of section 4 of the Local Government Rates and Other Matters Act 2019. Sections 28(14) and 28(15) of the Valuation Act 2001 provide that amendments to the valuation list have full force …

Dáil amendment No. 193 makes precise amendments to section 19A of the Local Government Act 2001, as inserted by the Local Government (Maternity Protection and Other Measures for Members of Local Authorities) Act 2022. Section 19A permits a person to take the place temporarily of a member of a local authority who is absent from the local authority for a period due to the taking of maternity leave or due to illness or other reasons of good faith. Following the enactment of this provision, a question was raised about …

I understand this would only be in the case of where, in a temporary absence, the councillor selects a councillor to take over that temporary absence. That is my understanding of it. I think the Senator is referring to the case where a councillor is temporarily absent for a specified period but does not replace that seat with a temporary replacement on the council.

I will speak specifically to this.

That is my understanding.

That is my understanding of it.

I will speak to the note here as well. I am not in a position to support the Seanad amendment to Dáil amendment No. 193. While the proposed amendment is the same as the first part of Dáil amendment No. 193 regarding an amendment to section 19A of the Local Government Act 2001, it removes the important second part of the Dáil amendment. The precise Dáil amendments proposed to section 19A are to clarify, in the first instance, that the temporary substitute fulfils the functions of a councillor causing a temporary abs…

Dáil amendment No. 194 is a technical amendment to provide for the reference to the “Act of 2019” to mean the Local Government Rates and Other Matters Act 2019. Dáil amendment No. 195 substitutes section 4 of the Local Government Rates and Other Matters Act 2019 and contains a number of technical amendments. I will outline the notable amendments. First is an amendment to include reference to an existing valuation list under section 4(1). An “existing valuation list” refers to valuations carried out prior to revalua…

Section 65 of the 1838 Act provides for the making of a rates book. While section 5 of this Act provides that a rate book prepared by a local authority, which may be stored electronically, will satisfy the requirements under section 65 of 1838 Act and remove the requirement to make a physical rate book, it is not intended to repeal the original provision. Section 106 of the 1838 Act provides for the right to appeal the rate. It is not intended to repeal this right. Ratepayers generally avail of the appeal process u…

Amendments Nos. 207, 208 and 211 are technical amendments providing definitions. Amendment Nos. 209 inserts section 272 amending section 75 of the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021 to disapply the requirement in section 75 to hold a maritime area consent, MAC, before applying for development consent. This applies where a prospective applicant has entered into pre-application consultations with An Bord Pleanála before 1 October 2022. The provision is intended to ensure that projects that entered the planning system un…

I cannot accept the Senators' suggestion to amend or delete the provisions at amendment No. 209, as it would result in an unfair situation where an applicant who entered preplanning consultations under the pathway to consent applicable in law at that time would then find, through no fault of their own, that he or she has to obtain a MAC and recommence the entire process, delaying the project considerably. The Dáil amendment as proposed does not eliminate the need for a MAC but allows that an application for a MAC m…

I thank the Senator for giving me the opportunity to provide an update to the House on the replacement 92-bed community nursing unit, CNU, at St. Vincent’s hospital in Athy, County Kildare. I know the Senator has raised this on many occasions and I am happy to provide this response on behalf of the Minister for Health. The hospital, first built in 1844, provides rehabilitation, respite and extended care to both male and female residents with the majority of residents over 65 years of age. The standard of care deliv…

I again thank the Senator for continuing to keep this issue firmly on the agenda. I am sure this bit of friendly pressure has helped in terms of delivering this project. The current national development plan, NDP, provision is fully allocated annually, underpinned by a strong pipeline of capital projects being progressed by the HSE and the Department of Health, including several new hospitals and significant new facilities for existing hospitals and community-based services. Within the current NDP, the Government h…

I always bring good news to the House. I am very familiar with Stanley Street. It is in a beautiful part of Dublin city. I was in Stoneybatter last week and it, too, is a wonderful and historic part of Dublin. It is also an important part of the city's sustainability. Building on the successful model of social housing, including public private partnerships, PPPs, introduced in recent years, which will deliver in the region of 15,000 social homes across three bundles nationally, the Department of Housing, Local Gove…

I again thank the Senator. I will certainly take these issues back to the Department and the Minister, Deputy O'Brien. The use of PPPs is a good model and a good way of delivering. As I outlined earlier, the figures that I gave will deliver social housing to more than 2,500 individuals and families. Work is ongoing to progress further phases under the programme. It is proposed to announce bundle 7 imminently. The success of this initiative is evident from the high-quality houses delivered under the programme so far…

I thank the Senator for raising the issue. I will be responding on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Humphreys. I agree wholeheartedly with the Senator. As far as I am aware, we have the lowest rate in Europe for the employment of people with disabilities in the workplace. There are a number of significant barriers for people with disabilities that we must address. The Department of Social Protection provides a wide range of income and employment-related supports for people with disabilities. Recruitment and retention…

I thank Senator Byrne again for raising this issue. I agree wholeheartedly with her. As I outlined in my opening statement, the Government has made significant strides forward but we realise we have much more to do to address the issues of underemployment of people with disabilities. I met recently with residents in RehabCare in Kilkenny. Again, there is a great deal of frustration out there among people with disabilities who are trying to access the workplace. They often find themselves getting work experience whi…

Yes, I am indeed.

I am not sure if I can, but I will try to-----