Results 161-180 of 1,047,503 for in 'Dáil debates' OR in 'Committee meetings' (speaker:Tom Kitt OR speaker:Jennifer Carroll MacNeill OR speaker:Eoin Ó Broin OR speaker:Rose Conway-Walsh OR speaker:Norma Foley OR speaker:Stephen Donnelly)

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consultation on the Draft National Planning Framework: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: On page 58 of the amendments' document I want to pick up on Deputy Leddin's line of questioning so that I understand it. Table 4.1 on page 58 contains the amended population-growth targets by region. Two things jump out when I look at the tracked changes. While the range for population growth in Dublin city and the suburbs remains as it was at 20% to 25%, in Cork, Limerick, Galway and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consultation on the Draft National Planning Framework: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: That means that the actual end point at 2040 has not changed. It is just reflective of the distribution of population growth to date, from 2018 to 2023 or 2024. Is that correct?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consultation on the Draft National Planning Framework: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: I have a supplementary question. In the last column on the right-hand side, all the minimum target population growth numbers are higher than they were in the previous document. Is that just reflective of the general overall increase in population growth? What explains that set of track changes?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consultation on the Draft National Planning Framework: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: That is made clear. I will move to page 65 of the Department's amendment document, where a very interesting change is outlined. It will be remembered that what was national policy objective 10a was the creation of a national regeneration and development agency. In the language of the original NPF, NPO 10a clearly meant an active land management agency. In fact, at that stage, Mr. Hogan...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consultation on the Draft National Planning Framework: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: I will challenge Mr. Hogan in one sense. I say this in good faith. NPO 10a referenced co-ordinating and securing the best use of public lands. It was not limited to housing because it was wider. That is not in NPO 21. Mr. Hogan is correct that the LDA, as per the LDA Act, has two functions. One is active land management and the other is residential development. The wording of NPO 21,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consultation on the Draft National Planning Framework: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: Those elements are activation measures. Active land management is more than that. There can be lots of individual activation measures but the idea of NPO 10a was to state that we needed a State entity that would be involved in active land management. I will raise two very quick matters that probably will not get answers. On pages 102 and 103 and the language around homelessness, we...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consultation on the Draft National Planning Framework: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: I will come back in the next round. I will see what else I can find in between times.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consultation on the Draft National Planning Framework: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: If I were very ungenerous, I would say it was the Department saying the quiet bit out loud.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consultation on the Draft National Planning Framework: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: Do not mention the war.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consultation on the Draft National Planning Framework: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: I agree 100% with the Cathaoirleach.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consultation on the Draft National Planning Framework: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: Let me continue with some of this discussion. On page 143 of the amendment document, a table sets out targets for onshore renewable wind and solar energy. Is that the first time those targets have been set out in a statutory fashion or have they been transposed from somewhere else?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consultation on the Draft National Planning Framework: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: To be clear, that table is not indicative; as it is actually part of national policy objective 75 it has the legal weight of that policy objective. That raises a couple of interesting questions. Again, this is not to argue against the targets that are there. It relates to the Cathaoirleach's legitimate question regarding the onshore wind regulations. In some ways, the document seems to be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consultation on the Draft National Planning Framework: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: I assume there will be a revision in light of this policy objective and its outworking through the regional assemblies.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consultation on the Draft National Planning Framework: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: When these targets were being set, both in terms of the total amount and the regional distribution, what were they based on? They obviously are not based on the current development plans or the regional spatial and economic strategies. I am interested to know where they came from.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consultation on the Draft National Planning Framework: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: There is a regional distribution and then there is a distribution across a number of categories. How is the regional distribution established? Is it set out in the climate action plan?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consultation on the Draft National Planning Framework: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: The energise capacity for the eastern and midland region is 284 MW, which is a very small amount out of the total of 4,667 MW. This is just a query. It is not a criticism. Why is the eastern and midland region target for the energise capacity so low, as set out in the column I am referring to, compared with the targets for the other two regions? Is it reflective of a higher existing level...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consultation on the Draft National Planning Framework: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: There is already a higher level of energise capacity in the eastern and midland region. Therefore, what it is expected to deliver over the next period is lower.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consultation on the Draft National Planning Framework: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: Does the next column represent the additionality that needs to be achieved arising from this national policy objective?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consultation on the Draft National Planning Framework: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: Okay. My question then, to flip that, is whether the figure for the southern region is lower than the other two because it has a higher level of energise capacity currently.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consultation on the Draft National Planning Framework: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Eoin Ó Broin: I do not see a similar national policy objective for offshore wind energy. Is that because this document is not the right place for it? Perhaps it fits within the marine spatial plan. Is there a comparable table in that plan for offshore wind?