Victor Boyhan
Agricultural Panel · Independent · Ireland
“It also mentions the agrifood sector and the importance of diversification in agriculture, the maritime sector, coastal communities and fishing communities in terms of rural policy.”
“I know from my engagement with both the Department and the Minister that over 900 submissions to the consultation process were received. No Member or parliamentarian will have had the opportunity to consider the anonymised version of these consultations, which contain many good suggestions in favour of the regulations and many concerns in…”
“I welcome the Minister and the official to the Seanad. This is particularly important Private Members' business. I thank Senators Collins and Tully for setting out the background and the rationale behind their Private Members' motion. I acknowledge the Minister's exceptional commitment to rural Ireland and his Ministry.”
“I am conscious of the Minister's public consultation, and I acknowledge it and thank them for it, in relation to the Our Rural Future work programme in 2025. In fairness to him, he did not stop at that. I received a further update when I requested it from his office very recently.”
“This will come about through that process. It is for the Minister to decide. Maybe he will do so tomorrow when the regulations are dealt with. However, when Senators are in this Chamber discussing these regulations tomorrow, they will have no sight of any constituent who made a submission. That is my first item.”
“I am pleased to see Senator Byrne in the Leader’s chair. I wish him well in that job. I also wish him well in his new position as Government Whip. There are three items I wish to discuss today. First is the exempt development regulations, which are being covered extensively in the media.”
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“I raise the issue of the report of the Commission of Generational Renewal in Farming. This was a key message that was delivered by Macra na Feirme, the IFA, the ICMSA and other farm organisations, particularly down at the Tullamore show in the summer and again at the National Ploughing Championships. This is one of the key elements. I welcome the Government's proposals on it but we need more. The Deputy Leader will know this as she represents both urban areas and amazing and fantastic rural areas. One of the key issues is about this generational renewal in agriculture and how we can pass the baton on. It has to be financially viable for families to release their homesteads, their home places that they have worked and earned. Land, farming and the homestead are at the very core of people in agriculture.”
“We have a task – we have an honour and a privilege – to shine a light in a dark place, to give hope to people. I hope we will be united, as most of us are, to continue with that advocacy work.”
“I simply ask that Members not walk by the gate today without stopping and talking to them and listening to them. They are real people with real lives but most of them do not have something that most of us have – partners, families or friends. They feel forgotten and marginalised. As long as I am here, for every day and hour I am here, I am committed to doing it because I lived that life myself. I walked that road and shared that experience. That is what empowers my gut and drives me. I will not be stopped, discouraged or dissuaded. I will be true to myself and I will not stand for something I do not believe in. I thank my colleagues. Many have been consistently supportive of me in this advocacy work and I hope I can continue for a long time to keep that work, that candle and that flame burning.”
“"Choice" is a word that is tossed all around the place, but we must respect everyone’s decision and everyone’s choice. That is really important. Today I want to make another plea for the people who were in residential care in institutions in this State run by religious and by non-religious, by the State and by the private sector, in education or in care in any form. We know they were vulnerable people. We know through the redress scheme and dialogue, as many here have articulated, that many suffered at the hands of those who were entrusted to look after them. Many of them suffered mental abuse, emotional abuse, physical abuse and torture. They were humiliated and undermined. Their connection with their families was cut. Today, there are people outside this House on a hunger strike seeking advocacy and an enhanced medical card.”
“She has been at the very kernel and very core of that in receiving in a most gracious and generous way the first person to represent us in this House. I salute her and I say that on behalf of the Seanad Independent Group, which I lead. I offer Julie our best wishes and thank her very much. On a more important issue, I have spent all of my career in Seanad Éireann as an advocate. I do not see myself as a politician. I am a politician, but my principal job is to be an advocate for the voiceless, the people who do not always have a say and who are frozen out from dialogue and political engagement and that is what I will always continue to be. Yes, people have rights and democracy is democracy, but let us all be respectful and give ourselves the space to articulate the views that we believe in.”
“First, I salute Julie Lyons in our Distinguished Visitors Gallery with her huge family. I do not think the Gallery can take any more. Well done, Julie. What can I say about Julie Lyons? She has wined and dined – I will stop there – world leaders. She has many a story she could tell but she is always discreet. She has a great sense of humour but she is always discreet, which is an important part of the job. She nourishes us and feeds us but more importantly she is a constant friend and colleague to us all and knows all our quirks and ways. We will really miss Julie. She is more than special. She went way beyond catering. She went on about hospitality, which should be at the heart of the Houses of the Oireachtas, the people’s house, as I always say.”
“We need to be equipped to say what the Government is doing. We do not have to be at odds. Let us deliver a clear message on what we intend in terms of our support and commitments for young families who wish to live in rural parts of this country.”
“My only fear is I do not think he will stay here too long if his trajectory continues the way it is. I genuinely wish him every success. I hope it will not be too long before we have our Clerk Assistant. I again ask the Leader of this House for a debate about one-off rural housing. I spent a whole day at the ploughing championships, as did many other people and leaders of all parties. Again and again, the issue that keeps coming up is why have we not got change. We are years waiting; I could paste the walls down there with letters from Ministers saying it is coming in a few weeks. Let us deliver on a commitment to rural communities. All of us will have opportunities to walk in and out of the homesteads of people in rural Ireland in the run-up to the presidential election. We will be asked questions over it.”
“I hope that we will have an opportunity to celebrate Martin Groves and Bridget Doody for their commitment and support to us in doing our work in this democratic Parliament. I now turn to congratulate Martin Hughes. I have observed him over a number of years and worked with him in different ways. We have collaborated and chatted formally and informally up and down the stairs in Leinster House about how we could do things better, particularly in relation to the Oireachtas joint committees. In Martin, we have an exceptionally diligent person who has clearly been elevated very quickly since he came here in 2017. He has gone and worked in the private sector and proved himself well there. He has taken third level and further education. He is a very befitting, loyal and professional colleague. I have no doubt he will excel.”
“I thank Bridget Doody, our former Clerk Assistant. What an extraordinary public servant. What a wonderful personality. What a diligent person. She always supported Seanad Éireann and Senators of all parties and none. I do not know what I can say but I think we have lost a wonderful, loyal colleague and an immense friend. I know it was very hard for Bridget to say goodbye here, and I understand that, because she built personal relationships. I always say that in politics everything is about relationships and connection. If you are not a decent person and cannot be trusted, you are basically not collegiate with your colleagues and you turn off the key. I wish Bridget well. No doubt she will be looking in here at some stage.”
“I understand that there has to be follow though with Department officials, the Minister of State must be comfortable with analysing all of that and getting independent advice and people were not necessarily in a position that day to tease out some of the issues I and others brought to the table. I know this was discussed in the Dáil and I heard from Deputies from all parties that it was very favourable. I thank the Minister of State for what might appear simple things. She clearly listened and considered the matters, they were reasonable and she could accommodate them.”
“I thank the Minister of State sincerely for this. We are always thought of as saying in the Seanad that it does not matter what we do but we had meaningful and constructive engagement here. I thank the Office of the Chief Herald and the Genealogical Society of Ireland and Michael Merrigan, who was the chief principal behind some of the memos and engagement with us. At the time, there was some resistance. The Minister of State took it away on the basis of needing further clarification and teasing out. There are always, of course, unintended consequences of doing something.”
“You will hear again and again about the high levels of anxiety experienced by victims of abuse. Their antennae is up all the time. Their alertness is there. They are there because they were on their own most of time trying to keep themselves safe.”
“I am highly impressed by what the Minister has said here. It is clearly a strong roadmap of hope. It appears that eventually something is going to be done. I hope that within weeks, the Minister will put in place the resources and supports needed for people who are asking questions like whether this the time to tell their story, whether they will have the supports, whether there will be a slur on their character for a range of reasons or whether they will be asked did they visit this on themselves. I genuinely thank the Minister for the work she had done and for this important document. None of this could have come out without the courage and bravery of the survivors who continue to struggle. It is a never-ending and evolving process. It is a pathway and walk that has to be constantly navigated.”
“As I have stated previously, including to the Minister here last week, redress comes in many forms. That is important and it is not all about money. There are things like counselling support and there are different cohorts of people with different backgrounds who have different issues. It is important that people get redress and it is not all financial. In tandem with this, as the Minister has confirmed here today, we will continue to work out how we are going to bring redress. It is important. Quite frankly, "sorry" is too simple and too short a word. It is a word people move on from. That is not something people want. They want to be understood, they want to have a voice and they want redress. The most important thing is that we do not run away in time. Resources must not run away either. Let us bring justice.”
“Likewise, listening and providing support are vital. We must listen and support the affected and make sure their voices are heard. A recurring theme I hear time and time again - I used to say it to myself - is "One day I will tell my story and I will be believed." That is powerful. One day, each and every one of us will tell our story and we will be believed. It is liberating and important in terms of what we are dong here. On redress, I read an article attributed to the Tánaiste, Deputy Simon Harris, that appeared on the front page of Saturday's edition of The Irish Times . I welcome that because he, like the Minister herself and the Minister, Deputy Norma Foley, have been powerful advocates. I pay credit, as has the Minister today, to the Minister, Deputy Foley, for her work and engagement on this issue.”
“The most important point is the issue of strengthening child protection. Arising from the court case brought by Louise O'Keeffe, she stated "Nothing is going to change the past, but we can protect the children of the future." That is the task. That is the challenge. That is what motivates me and continues to spur up hope. I am leaving here today with hope. I can honestly say that. I am hopeful that we are going to have strengthened child protection and that every organ of the State and every institution must implement the full range of child protection policies. They must review them regularly and ensure they are being applied. On the issue of independent oversight, abuse must never be dealt with internally. External, independent bodies are needed to investigate and monitor all instances of abuse. They must be followed up and recorded.”
“We now have the more bracing and fairer commission of investigation into historical sexual abuse in all schools, because that is important. I do not think we should draw a distinction between religious and non-religious schools. It is a welcome measure. I put down a few points that I wanted to touch on, namely, transparency, responsibility, accountability, strengthening child protection, independent oversight, listening and supporting and redress. All known abusers must be fully investigated and the details of their crimes published regardless of the perpetrator's position or rank. The Minister has confirmed that here today, for which I thank him. On responsibility, those who have failed through acts of cover-up, turning their heads the other way or neglect must be held accountable. That ties in with the issue of accountability.”
“We need to support those people now, as this starts evolving and going out into the media. For the past two weeks they have watched news reports from America about the extradition. They are reminded of their experiences by footage of pool's blue tiles with the insignia of Trojan Swimming Club. We need active support now for people who feel vulnerable. I thank the journalists and wider media, particularly the journalists from RTÉ who produced the documentaries on "RTÉ Investigates". They have done a lot of work. I also thank Mary O'Toole. I notice and welcome the initiative from her original report, which was a report on the scoping inquiry into historical sexual abuse in day and boarding schools run by religious orders. That is what the caption was back then.”
“I travelled some of the journey with two of them. It was not an easy task. Every child is vulnerable but they were particularly vulnerable. I also think of the people from Newpark, the school I went to and the Gibney accusers and allegations. I knew of Gibney because he was there during my time in the 1970s. I knew many people who lobbied this State and Government to have him extradited many years ago and were given many excuses. I looked at pictures on the RTÉ news of this week of Newpark, which is a famous and excellent school in Blackrock. Colour graphics of the pool and that individual against whom the allegations are being made were shown. I also met a few people of my own age and younger who went to the school. It struck me that they have no one to turn to. I am conscious that we need immediate counselling.”
“It took Ms O'Keeffe 40 years to get justice against the might of the Department of education, the might of the State and the might of the school in Cork eventually with her tenacity, her conviction, her belief and her sharing of her lived experience, and, of course, the European Court of Human Rights ruling in January 2014. Ms O'Keeffe is, therefore, in my mind and is someone we owe a great debt of gratitude to. There is also, as the Minister said, Mark and David Ryan, and their amazing work. I could go on and on listing people. I particularly want to mention the students of St. Augustine's School, Blackrock for their courageous testimony which saw a man sentenced to five years in prison last week. That was a brave thing for those people to do. It is a special needs school. They were men who needed help and support.”
“First, I welcome the Minister and her officials here. At the outset, I am struck by the empathy and the detail of the Minister's statement here today and I welcome it. It pulls no punches. It sets out clearly the Minister's position and that of the Government and I really welcome that. It is articulate and yet nuanced and something that is positive. There is no ambiguity about it and I thank the Minister for that. I thank the Minister for the enormous clarity, particularly when she states, "The commission will investigate matters of critical importance to survivors", and lists them clearly. I am conscious I want to keep my contribution simple. First, I want to thank a few people. In thinking about what I might say here today, I was conscious of Louise O'Keeffe from Cork.”
“I am calling for the Government to print and publish its national co-ordinated housing policy to deliver the much-needed homes people in this country are simply crying out for.”
“It expects the Government to miss its housing targets in both years. It said the Government is currently forecast to deliver 33,000 units this year and 37,000 units in 2026, which is well below the Government targets of 41,000 and 46,000, respectively. The ESRI has also flagged issues regarding the labour force and so on. We have a national problem. What occurred to me as I drove home last night, having listened to our debate and engaged with the Minister of State and Members of this House, was how piecemeal the Government's approach to dealing with housing is. This Government is now well established and there is continuity because it has been in government for so long in some shape or form. We need the Government to publish its new national housing policy. We cannot keep putting it off.”
“Last night, we had a very robust but good debate on the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2025. Of course, the Government guillotined that debate so we did not have a full and frank debate. The legislation is going back to the Dáil today. Deputies were asking me what went on last night so I told them the debate had been guillotined. That is on the record and it is important that we make that very clear. The headlines in much of the media this morning tell us that the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, has said the housing outlook is bleak. It expects no significant increase in housing delivery from 2025 to 2026. Officials from the ESRI told the Oireachtas Committee on Budgetary Oversight that it expects no significant increase in housing delivery in 2025 or 2026.”
“People cannot afford to pay for anything. They are in rooms. The only place they can get away from their partners is to lock themselves in a toilet with a shower, not even a bathroom. Let us have a bit of empathy here. Let us be practical and respectful to everyone involved. The Minister of State has put his best foot forward, but it is simply not good enough.”
“Sometime, it would be lovely for a Minister to come in here and say, "Actually there's a bit of sense in what you're saying, Senator, and we're going to accept it." However, there is a mentality of opposing everything for the sake of opposing and then having spin doctors go out on the airways to tell us they have the problems all sorted. They have not got the problems sorted. The country is in a mess in relation to housing. The last three Administrations in this country have failed to deliver. That is the reality of it. This is a legacy issue on the Minister of State's hands. He needs to be realistic. We hear all these things about the disappointment and everyone is mad and a lunatic because they are outside the gate complaining. People have no homes. People who work here are coming from the midlands every day.”
“I will again put on the record that it is exceptionally disappointing that senior civil servants prepare papers, staple them together and then hand them to the Minister of State or someone else - I am not commenting on the Minister of State personally - to be read out. There is a record of opposing everything. The Minister of State has been on the other side of the House himself, although his group has been in government for many years. Every few months, there is another excuse. There comes a time when we have to put our hands up and hold people to account. Our job is to hold the Minister of State to account as he has held many people to account over his own political career, which is right and proper. I just wish he would go back to someone in his Department.”
“34 is a very practical suggestion. It seems to be run of the mill for Government not to accept amendments. No amendments have ever been accepted. Some Ministers come in here reading out pink sheets stapled together saying they cannot accept amendments for whatever reason. It is all pretyped and ready in advance then a fresh set of stuff comes in for the next Minister. We have not yet had the Minister here, although we have had two Ministers of State. We live in a democracy. This is a democratic bicameral parliament. We are meant to be enhancing and revising legislation, as the Minister of State's former leader reminded us in this House on many occasions.”
“One of the kernels of the problem is that we have all of these developments approved and ready to go on serviced sites in the key locations where we want them but we are told they are not making enough money. The developers are making a profit. No one is doing this at a loss. Let us not fool ourselves. The Vienna model is interesting. My colleague Senator McDowell searched it on Google a minute ago. We are talking about €300 a month in Vienna for the studios the Minister of State has mentioned. I respect that there is a market for studios and I have no difficulty with that but you cannot talk about the Vienna model, where units are €300 a month, when a man has told me he is paying €1,050 a month. If anyone is talking about the Vienna model - I am not referring to the Minister of State per se - that is the reality. Amendment No.”
“I support amendment No. 34, which Senator Collins has just set out. It makes a lot of sense. It is a very practical suggestion. It introduces some sort of monitoring and engagement, which is important. It is also important that this engagement be on the record because we have heard many excuses. The amendment refers to an explanation as to why a developer has not yet commenced and requires a viability assessment. Let us keep it simple. These developers put in these applications at great expense to themselves. They must have thought the developments were viable. Otherwise, why would they have put them on the drawing boards in the first place? They then got these permissions.”
“To nail that point, this section is particularly interesting, as are all the proposed amendments to it that we have spoken about. I do not know what the Minister of State will say about the amendments that were debated a few moments ago, but is important that we nail the lie. Only 7,500 of the 50,000 unstarted units are held up in the judicial review process. That is the narrative people have decided to peddle outside the Oireachtas. The reality is different. I do not know how we can compel developers. There are all kinds of advantages. They have made cases for reduced planning levies and reduced public spaces and public realm. There comes a point where we have to stop and tell them either to deliver the houses or not. I am interested to hear what the Minister of State has to say, more so about the debate on the amendments.”
“Where is the evidence on the finances to back it up? Does it stack up? There was no regulatory impact assessment of this Bill, as the Minister of State will be aware. Can he share with us the evidence that suggests that this will dramatically reduce costs, by €50,000 to €100,000? That is what the Government press statement said. I looked at it this morning. That is an important point. A councillor wrote to me this evening about the new design guidelines from last year, which were working quite well. However, she says that because no revised planning permission is required, the public will not have any say in respect of the revised structure and their input into the original planning permission will be set at naught. She then asked whether that can be legally sound. The Minister of State might consider it.”
“The previous speakers on this side of the House made a very good point. To go back to what Senator Murphy said on viability, we are worn out with this idea of viability. I have been around for a long time. I have served for two terms on the Oireachtas joint committee on housing, planning and local government. We constantly heard from developers and other representatives of the construction industry looking for changes and we kept giving them changes and modifications to issues around regulation and all of what I have said previously. The reality is that the private sector will not build unless it can sell the units. There is no huge demand. On the argument we hear time and again about the €50,000 to €100,000, no one has provided that information. The Minister of State might be able to provide us with that data.”
“A number of independent commentators and expert planners have raised concerns. I was at the meeting of Oireachtas committee on housing, planning and local government, although I am not a member, where the Minister was asked to substantiate the saving of €50,000 to €100,000. There is no evidence for that. There is absolutely no evidence that I have seen on it. Let us not get into that. To go back to amendments Nos. 44 and 46, in terms of the Aarhus Convention, is the Minister of State in a position to share any concerns that may have been expressed to him or his Department regarding this legislation? He might share that information with us.”
“There are very successful NGOs who work well and are funded by the Minister of State’s Department. It is one of the great things about our democracy that we fund many prescribed bodies and NGOs in the environmental area. They make a great and very valuable contribution. There is a special place for them as there should be in any democracy. The fact that the Government supports them and finances them and they are sometimes the strongest opponents to Government policy is democratic. That is a healthy democracy. I commend all of them and thank them for engaging with us. The real issue is public consultation. I understand what the Government is trying to do in this legislation and the needs, but I am not convinced based on the lack of data. The IPI, as I said earlier when the Minister of State was not here, raised concerns.”
“I wish to focus on amendments Nos. 44 and 46 and meaningful public consultation. The Minister of State is welcome back to the House. I am conscious of his particular role with special responsibility for planning and local government and his own keen interest in this area, which I have observed over time. He is genuinely committed to this area outside of politics. He has a particular grá and interest in it. It is appropriate that he is actually our Minister of State with special responsibility for heritage, built and natural. In the 2024 Act and this legislation, it is important that we reassure the public in respect of the Aarhus Convention. There are issues in relation to the compliance committee. I do not know if the Minister of State is in a position to tell us where we stand on all that.”
“She said they are city and county councillors, and they are now being asked to be involved in a task force, yet the Government does not want to hear what they have to say. It is talking about all this meaningful engagement, but councillors have a role too in the planning and development process. It begs the question about how things become so centralised. The Office of the Planning Regulator has so much control. The Department has so much control. It just begs the question when it comes to our democratically elected members, who have a mandate to represent communities and have knowledge of planning, somehow, there is no consultation with regard to what they say.”
“It is a bit like the big case that was made that we do not need to have development, and we want ten-year plans because we want consistency. The Minister of State is back here already within the year amending the 2024 legislation, but we were told that not at all, ten years will be loads. We talked about that flexibility, and how a development plan and planning Bill had to be agile and responsive to the ongoing needs. Of course it has to be agile and responsive to ongoing needs, but that was not the argument the Government wanted to hear a year ago. Now, suddenly, it can bring this up. I am going to sit down and shut up at this point, but this does beg a question. I received a letter from a councillor in south County Dublin today that talked about democracy and the local task force. She asked what it was all about.”
“Of course, one other aspect of this Bill is that they can go back and modify this without any reference to the planning authority. We must remember that citizens who we represent have that right to engage in a planning process. That is a constitutional right. We have to careful when we look. I am all for reform and for more houses, and I do not have difficulty with studio apartments in appropriate places and with a ratio. However, in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, where I live, there was a proposal for three-bedroom units and a percentage of them would be there. That is all going to be thrown to one side. Where is the democracy for local men and women who we elect to run our councils, and who are the guardians of their city and county development plans?”
“I have taken the time to have a look. Many of the appeals with regard to some developments are by developers. Many appeals, particularly around infrastructure for development, have been objected to by democratically elected TDs and Senators and city and county councillors from all parties and none. That is their democratic right. That is not a criticism, absolutely. I have always been active in planning and monitoring planning in my own area and will continue to do so. We need to get that message out there. There are plans on the drawing boards, fully approved to go, but developers have decided they want to stall them. However, if they were told to use it or lose it, and if that was in this legislation, they would be developing it pretty quick then. They will hold and hold and keep changing and changing.”
“We were told about the regulation for the construction industry was happening; it still has not happened. We hear all the commentary about viability and resources. I am sorry; there comes a point. The public are losing hope here. We have today 50,000 units with full planning permission not being built out. Why? Because developers that coming down the track, they will have opportunities under this Bill. That is the nature of it. The other myth we need to nail here once and for all is that there are only 7,500 units affected by judicial reviews. They are the facts. There should be none of all this old poppycock about judicial reviews and litigants and people frustrating planning processes. That is not factually correct. We know that many of these judicial reviews have actually been initiated by developers themselves.”
“That is my message. I do not think the Minister of State is disagreeing with me, so I would appreciate if he could push it along. I want to wrap up on two issues. We need to be clear; the public are listening in and watching "Oireachtas Report", and they need to see the context. I thank the library and research team for their Bill digest last week. I will reiterate one key line, which states that today, there are 50,000 apartments in Dublin with active live planning permissions. We heard that great old cliché about use it or lose it. That is the problem. All I am hearing is viability. I run a business; it has to be viable. Many of us are involved in businesses that have to be viable, but we cannot bend over backwards for people every name of the game.”
“I will come back to the Minister of State. I take on board his point that translation is not a matter for the Department, but that it is a matter for the Oireachtas. However, I have had raised this with numerous Ministers. I have raised this under Commencement matters, which is nothing to do with this debate and which I will send to the Minister of State tomorrow, and I have been told every time that the sponsoring Minister and the Minister of State's Department are endeavouring to get it published. We do not, therefore, operate in a bubble or a vacuum. It is cross-party and interdepartmental, and it is in everyone's interest, including the legislators and the Minister of State, to pursue the agenda. The Minister of State might not personally be responsible but let us park all the sideshows here. It should be translated at this stage.”
“We can spend all night pointing out the shortcomings or we can engage in a meaningful way, have our votes, make our points and ultimately, vote on this legislation, which will clearly happen tonight.”
“We are talking about this being emergency legislation. The timing of this legislation as it kicks in will be critical because the Government has given notice to developers of this legislation. I do not know the extent of the notice given but there certainly has been now. We have no guarantee. Many sections of the 2024 Act have not commenced. What assurances do we have? I note there is no emergency request for the President to sign this legislation as of yet. If this Bill passes the Houses this week, when will it be signed by the President? What is the Government's intention? When will it be fully, not partly, enacted? Timing is of the essence with this legislation. In summary, this is unsatisfactory. I cannot see how many Members will support this legislation.”
“It paints a picture that the only room to break away from someone else for a couple who are stuck, because that was all they could afford, is in this room. Quite frankly, that is not the way we should be going. There is a place for studio apartments but not for single aspect. I will finish on that and look forward to contributing to the debate. There are serious concerns and shortcomings. The Minister of State knows there has been no regulatory impact assessment of this Bill. He knows the committee waived pre-legislative scrutiny; it is the right of any committee to waive, but that does not mean anything. It just means the Government wrote to the committee to ask whether it would waive pre-legislative scrutiny. It did in this case, which is its right, and I respect that right. That was a pity too.”
“I spoke to a man last week who told me he lived in the Fingal County Council area. He ended up buying accommodation. He told me the price and the repayments were a little more than €1,000 per month. I said "Oh, that sounds like great value.". It was local authority or private arrangement partnership funding mechanism. I did not quite know the funding mechanism. The point is his repayments were €1,050 per month. I asked him how many rooms he had and he told me he had no rooms. He was living in a studio. He was married and 37 years of age. His wife was 38. They were not able to have a family at the moment. He said the other day he got a knock on his bathroom door. It was his wife and she asked him if he was okay in there because she had not heard the water. He said no, he was in there reading a book. That paints a picture.”
“It is not all of them, some of them I did not get to speak to. I had reason to be at two local authorities in Dublin yesterday. I spoke to people there. They just cannot understand it. The Land Development Agency seems to know more than anyone about what is going on. Of course, it has a lot to gain. I am a supporter of the Land Development Agency. I do not have an issue with the Land Development Agency. I want to share two stories before I close. I am absolutely against the idea of single aspects. If you face north, you will have to use energy. We are talking about sustainable development. You will have to use energy to heat them up. If you face south, for the past two weeks, you would have had to have energy to cool them down. This is not sustainable planning. It is not proper and sustainable development - end of story.”
“The Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, will remember this because he was sitting in this Chamber then. In our development plan, the whole emphasis was, as we were told by the then Minister and Ministers of State that this was moving from a developer-led system. There were suggestions, assertions and aspersions about developers and what they may or may not have been up to. I do not subscribe to them, so I put that to one side. We were told this would now be planning-led development. What I want to say is that I am deeply concerned. The IPI states "Our members understand the motivation to make unviable housing projects deliverable, however our members are deeply concerned about the potential unintended consequences of the Minister’s actions." I talk to chief executives around the country and many of them are aghast.”