Results 1-20 of 1,051,416 for in 'Dáil debates' OR (speaker:Richard Bruton OR speaker:Catherine Connolly OR speaker:Niamh Smyth OR speaker:Pádraig Mac Lochlainn OR speaker:Paul Murphy) in 'Committee meetings'

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy as it relates to Construction Sector: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Richard Bruton: Yes. I absolutely agree with this statement from the building council that we cannot tackle the three environmental crises we are facing without transitioning to a more circular construction industry. What I am hearing from the CIF, however, is that, like the Kerryman, "I would not start from here." That seems to be the dilemma we are trying to reconcile here. The first question I would...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy as it relates to Construction Sector: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Richard Bruton: Is there a number we could track to know-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy as it relates to Construction Sector: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Richard Bruton: We do not have that sort of stuff.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy as it relates to Construction Sector: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Richard Bruton: Is it difficult to turn a three-bedroom house into a duplex with a downstairs unit and a two-storey overhead? It strikes me that this is very difficult to do in Ireland.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy as it relates to Construction Sector: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Richard Bruton: Will the Irish Green Building Council look at this? It is a very practical way of starting to get better occupancy of our existing buildings, if that could be done relatively easy. It is very standard. The appearance of a street would not dramatically change because it would be duplex. Perhaps the next time the witnesses are here they will have done an evaluation of whether all the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy as it relates to Construction Sector: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Paul Murphy: I thank both groups for coming in. I will start with Ms Jammet, if I could. She has said that Ireland is not good on this front compared with other countries in Europe. We have one of the lowest rates of circular material use. Why is that the case? Why are we worse than the EU average?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy as it relates to Construction Sector: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Paul Murphy: In her opening remarks, Ms Jammet mentioned the need for these circularity principles to be integrated into planning. That includes, for example, pre-demolition audits on larger projects. That makes sense to me. I agree with the point that Senator Dooley was getting at, that if it is not in planning regulations then the tendency and incentive will be for the lowest costs to be taken, and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy as it relates to Construction Sector: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Paul Murphy: It is not related to public or private, but simply the size of the project?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy as it relates to Construction Sector: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Paul Murphy: The environment does not care whether it is done by the public sector or private sector. Is that fair to say?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy as it relates to Construction Sector: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Paul Murphy: I have a final question and then will go to CIF. A big issue here is vacant properties. They already exist and have a lot of embodied carbon. Even if they are in bad condition, full retrofits are still a fraction of the cost of building new properties. What is the main obstacle, as Ms Jammet sees it, to bringing vacant properties into use, which will obviously significantly reduce...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy as it relates to Construction Sector: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Paul Murphy: I will now turn to the CIF. Do the witnesses broadly agree with the recommendations being made in terms of planning about pre-demolition audits?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy as it relates to Construction Sector: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Paul Murphy: Mr. Fitzpatrick says CIF is broadly in favour of a more circular approach to the construction industry. The CIF lobbies the Government a lot. Is this something it has lobbied for over the past year or in recent years? I refer to an increase in standards and so on.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy as it relates to Construction Sector: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Paul Murphy: To ask the question again, in all of the Construction Industry Federation's lobbying of the Government, has it lobbied in favour of increased standards in service of environmental standards for building in terms of circularity?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy as it relates to Construction Sector: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Paul Murphy: It seems to me that the Construction Industry Federation is coming before the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action and saying it is all for circulatory but in terms of its engagements with the Government, I think the witness said the Construction Industry Federation has never lobbied for increased standards. When I asked about increased standards, the representatives immediately...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy as it relates to Construction Sector: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Paul Murphy: It has come out here that the difference is that when we got the actual points, they gave out about overregulation.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy as it relates to Construction Sector: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Paul Murphy: We did not even hear-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy as it relates to Construction Sector: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Paul Murphy: They would have previously lobbied against it. I agree; we are in here in good faith and I am engaging in good faith with them. I am interested in the response.

Report of the Select Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Motion (27 Jun 2024)

Patricia Ryan: I assure the Acting Chair that I will not take the ten minutes allocated to me. On behalf of the committee, I thank all the stakeholders. Their work was invaluable to us. The amount of work the civil servants have put in has been invaluable. I like to think that, down the road, the report will not be left gathering dust on a shelf but will be implemented and will be a launching pad for a...

Report of the Select Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Motion (27 Jun 2024)

Question put and agreed to.

Report of the Select Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Motion (27 Jun 2024)

Cuireadh an Dáil ar athló ar 6.15 p.m. go dtí 2 p.m., Dé Máirt, an 2 Iúil 2024. The Dáil adjourned at at 6.15 p.m. until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, 2 July 2024.