I am not in charge of it but I will endeavour to respond.

I apologise on behalf of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and thank Deputy Cullinane for raising this issue. Responsibility for the development and maintenance of local authority-owned piers, harbours and slipways rests with each local authority. The relevant local authority in the case of Helvick Harbour is Waterford City and County Council. However, as part of its annual fishery harbour and coastal infrastructure development programme, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has, in pr…

I undertake to raise the matter with the Minister. Between 2010 and 2020, 15 coastal local authorities benefited from grants under the scheme. Over that period, the Department provided €31 million in grants for investment in local authorities and infrastructure. Approximately 14 piers in Waterford have benefited from one or more project approvals, to the tune of almost €3.15 million over that time. As for capital finance from the Department, we have increased the allocation, as I said earlier, from €150,000 to €200…

I thank the Senator for raising this important issue and I acknowledge his work in this area because he has been consistently bringing this matter to the forefront of our Department since his election to the Seanad. By way of background, the Planning and Development (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2018, which came into operation on 8 February 2018, provide for an exemption from the requirement to obtain planning permission in respect of a change of use of certain vacant commercial premises, including vacant areas ab…

I thank both the Leas-Chathaoirleach and Senator Cummins again for this Commencement matter. It must be very workable for everyone to achieve a balance in our towns, villages and cities, as the Senator has referred to in Waterford, to ensure that we can bring vacant properties back into use. I have not had sight of the finalised review as of yet but I am in full agreement with the Senator that it should allow for the bringing of commercial premises, such as pubs, into residential use. I do not believe that anyone i…

I thank Senator Fitzpatrick for her very important Commencement matter. In March, €121,285,388 was allocated to Dublin City Council in respect of the north inner city concept area 1 under call 2 of the urban regeneration and development fund. The north inner city project involves the regeneration and redevelopment of several areas of the north city that have experienced a degree of decline and dereliction over a number of years, resulting in poor perception issues and a depiction of an area that the market has now …

I thank Senator Fitzpatrick for her comments and acknowledge the genuine concern that she has about this area. We all share that and it is very important that we put that point across. I will raise with the Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, the Senator's request to meet with the Dublin city manager to try to progress a distinct timeline for when work will commence. I met the management of Dublin City Council last week to discuss projects in other areas of the north inner city that have been delayed…

I thank Senator Boylan for raising this very important issue. To provide some background, under the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, all development, unless specifically exempted under the Act or associated regulations, requires planning permission. Various exemptions from the requirement to obtain planning permission are set out in the Act and regulations and these exemptions are subject to compliance with general restrictions on exemptions set out in the Act and regulations. Included among the plann…

I again thank Senator Boylan for raising this very important issue. I appreciate the concerns in the community with regard to getting this up and running because it is the low-hanging fruit and will aid in building a sustainable model in our communities. We will progress as quickly as possible and there is urgency in the Department on it. We have to comply with the directives and ensure we have the scoping documentation and seek public consultation on it. We will come back to both Houses of the Oireachtas to approv…

I thank Senators Burke and Kyne for tabling the Commencement matter. I concur with their sentiments. Notwithstanding this, I am stepping in for the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine so I will read the response from him. I will raise with him the very valid issues the Senators have raised. The basic payment scheme is a critical income support paid to farmers. It is fully funded by the EU and is subject to EU regulations. Applicants under the basic payment scheme are allocated payment entitlements and are…

I thank Senators Kyne and Burke again for raising the matter. I am from a large rural constituency and fully appreciate and understand how delays can affect farm management. As we all know, farmers are dependent on cash flow and they receive payments in many cases only once or twice a year. Farmers must make their cash flow management work for the full year. I understand there should not be any delays in that regard, especially if those farmers have not committed any wrongdoing to cause the fire. I will raise the m…

I thank Members for the debate and the genuine views expressed by all. I also thank the Labour Party for bringing this important Bill before the House and acknowledge the work of Senator Moynihan in association with her party colleagues. As has been outlined by her, the primary purpose of this Bill is to restrict the submission of change-of-use planning applications in respect of student accommodation developments where such proposals relate to change of use to permanent residential accommodation or a hotel, hostel…

I thank Senator Boyhan for raising the matter. With regard to the safeguarding of protected structures, Part IV of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, gives primary responsibility to local authorities to identify and protect architectural heritage by including particular structures on their respective record of protected structures, RPS. The making of a statutory development plan of a planning authority is set out in the Act and provides for the identification and protection of structures of heritage…

It is very clear there are differences in timeframes to reflect both the stages of the development plan process and the different nature of the development plan as opposed to a process solely focused on the listing of protected structures. These differences do not mean, however, that there is a conflict between them. They simply mean that there are different contexts in which the important function is to be undertaken. When considering the draft development plan, there are multiple matters to be considered, reporte…

I thank the Senator for raising this matter and I will specifically raise it with the Minister for Education. Summercove National School is a Catholic co-educational primary school under the patronage of the Bishop of Cork and Ross. In September 2020, the school had an enrolment of 223 pupils with a staffing of a principal, eight mainstream class teachers and three special education teaching posts. It is the Department’s intention to progress the construction of a new school building for the school as part of the s…

I thank the Senator again for raising this important issue on behalf of the community in Kinsale. I will raise it with the Minister for Education and outline to her the key priorities the community has in order to try to get this school progressed as quickly as possible. The Senator has put forward a strong case in connection with it and we need to ensure we have a good, strong and new school to underwrite the community there and support it into the future. We will do our best to unlock that for the Senator.

I thank the Cathaoirleach for this opportunity to speak to the House today on peat harvesting. As someone from a large rural constituency, I absolutely understand the critical importance of the horticultural industry and its value to the wider economy. I have and will continue to work side by side with the industry to facilitate peat extraction. I have done this as a back bench Deputy and now as Minister of State. However, I want to put firmly on the record that most of the required decisions are beyond my powers a…

I am not contesting it.

I did not say that I had no problem with that. The Senator has misquoted me.

I never said that I did not have a problem with the importation of peat.