I hope my presence this week will not be as noteworthy as it was last week. I want to put on record my appreciation of all the Members and, in particular, the ushers and staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas for their kind support over recent days. It was greatly appreciated. I am grateful to the Cathaoirleach and all the Senators for affording me the opportunity to present these proposed planning and development exempted development regulations. The proposed regulations amend provisions in the principal planning a…

I thank the speakers, Senators Cummins, Warfield and Fitzpatrick, for their contributions and for their warm support for the regulations. As Senator Fitzpatrick rightly pointed out, consultation is important in these matters and we are clear that the State agencies, public representatives and local authorities should be consulted in advance of occupation of these buildings. Unprecedented pressures have been presented here and hopefully this temporary measure will alleviate pressure on and support people who find th…

I thank Senator Boyhan for his remarks. The power to reduce the threshold where it is deemed necessary by the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, on environmental grounds is a key environmental protection included in the Bill, and a key factor in establishing a risk-based registration and licensing regime. Removing reference to the threshold as potentially altered by ministerial order under section 16 would potentially have negative effects on the environment into the future and contribute to the failure of water…

I thank both Senators for their observations. The Department’s position on the registration threshold is the same as that proposed for the licensing threshold. The suggested amendment would remove the reference to the power of the Minister to reduce the threshold by ministerial order under section 16. This reduces the State’s ability to ensure ongoing protection of the environment and to ensure water bodies meet their environmental objectives. The same powers exist for the EPA to advise the Minister on the registra…

This amendment is to clarify the purpose of the subsection. The amendment has been drafted to make it clear that the Bill will avoid unnecessary duplication of notices where there are two or more occupiers of the land and to prevent an abstractor from avoiding regulation of their abstraction.

This section relates to the making of regulations to address abstractions that do not require a licence or are in the process of applying to the EPA for a licence. The policy behind the development of this Bill is a risk-based approach to controlling abstractions and ensuring Ireland meets its obligations under the water framework directive. Requirements relating to appropriate assessment screening under the habitats directive do not apply in regard to these abstractions that do not require a licence. Appropriate a…

Section 8 states the Minister shall conduct a review of regulations for the purpose of achieving environmental objectives. The Minister is given powers in this regard. On the risk-based approach and risk mitigation at watercourses, the EPA is the licensing authority and has powers to bring environmental considerations to bear. Statutory agencies have a role in respect of obligations.

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that while several thousand abstract between 10 cu. m and 25 cu. m, these represent between 1.5% of the total water abstracted in Ireland. Regarding abstraction covered by the legislation, we are very clear that 99%-----

Could I stop for ten minutes?

I would like to welcome all the men and women from our retained firefighters who are here this evening. I thank them for taking time to attend. I also acknowledge those who cannot be here as it is important that we do that. I want to acknowledge and be clear that this is a genuine case that has been put before this House this evening, as indeed is what has been articulated over the past a number of years. I appreciate the work that is going into it. I would also like to sympathise with and give my condolences to th…

I thank Senator Wall for raising this very important issue and allowing me the opportunity to provide an update on the matter. My Department provides funding to local authorities under the suite of housing adaptation grants for older people and people with a disability, to assist people in private houses make their accommodation more suitable for their needs. This also facilitates early returns from hospital stays. The grants include the housing adaptation grant for people with a disability, the mobility aids grant…

I again thank Senator Wall for raising this, as he has done on previous occasions. I will raise the review with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien. It is important that is completed this year As the Senator said, these are a very valuable resource to make people's lives better and allow them to live independently. As a State, that is the space we need to be in. As I said, we have increased the funding year-on-year since 2014, which will allow a greater number of grants to be provided to carry out works. It is important t…

I thank both Deputies for giving me the opportunity to outline funding and Government support for local authorities, with particular reference to Galway County Council. Across all schemes and funding sources, my Department provided €82.9 million in 2020, €84.4 million in 2021 and €24 million to the end of September 2022 to Galway County Council. Included in this is the unprecedented level of support provided by central government during the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2020, Galway County Council applied a 100% commercial…

I thank Senator Byrne for raising this, which is a very important and pressing issue in society. It is true to say we are seeing an increase in the number of people accessing emergency accommodation and the situation is proving very challenging. The Government, local authorities and those in the NGO sector are making every effort to prevent and protect those at risk of homelessness. Resources and funding are not an obstacle to the urgent efforts required. Budget 2023 provided more than €215 million, which is an inc…

I assure the Senator that we will continue to monitor all those metrics in the Department. We have a huge challenge in the winter months in terms of the security of tenancies but the fact that the temporary no-fault eviction ban is in place gives us time to increase the supply. That is the key area. We are trying to increase right over our cities and rural areas the supply of housing, which is the only answer. Bans are not an answer in trying to ensure people get sustainable tenancies. We have a small window in whi…

In the first instance, the €2.75 million is for Galway alone, not other local authorities throughout the country. That is a recognition of the total allocation of €12.8 million for 2023. That is a significant allocation by the Government at a time when moneys are, as we know, difficult to raise in the current circumstances. I acknowledge Galway County Council is doing work in terms of its commercial rate space and also in terms of the €60 million supplementary support fund, of which it will be a key beneficiary. Th…

I thank Senator Ahearn for raising this important matter again. I had the pleasure of visiting Kickham Barracks and the site and know the huge work being done there. As the Senator said, almost all the Cabinet were down to see it and I have no doubt that will bear fruit in the future. The Minister, Deputy Harris, was eager to be here to respond directly but, unfortunately, had to attend Cabinet. The proposed development of a joint college campus between Tipperary ETB and TUS on the site of Kickham Barracks, Clonmel…

I thank the Senator for putting that passionate and detailed case in relation to Kickham Barracks. It is an excellent site, as I said when I visited. URDF is due to open again shortly. That is a competitive process but we supported that project in the past. One of the key matters arising from the first successful call and, in particular, the last call that was unsuccessful was that we responded to the issues with the Senator and his team by bringing more Departments to the table and getting an anchor tenant and a r…

I thank the Senator for raising this matter. I hear the frustrations he has quite rightly articulated in respect of his community and decisions that were taken. Public consultation should be at the core of decision-making processes of all State agencies. There are a number of different ways in which the NTA meets with elected public representatives to discuss public transport projects. At a statutory level, section 41 of the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008 requires the chairperson and chief executive of the NTA…

I again thank the Senator for outlining the position in his community regarding the projects and the NTA. I will absolutely go back to the Minister. I always report back to senior Ministers when an issue comes up during engagements with Senators, especially when there are concerns in the context of State agencies liaising with public representatives. This is a very important issue. During my time on Westmeath County Council, we used to send a delegation twice yearly to the NTA to discuss projects within the county …