Results 2,541-2,560 of 26,021 for speaker:Kieran O'Donnell

Historic and Archaeological Heritage Bill 2023 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed) (27 Apr 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: I thank the Ceann Comhairle. I welcome his contribution. It is important that he would put on the record the significance of the Bill. It comprises 238 sections and 242 pages. It is a monumental Bill. I want to pay tribute to my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Malcolm Noonan, and the officials in the heritage section of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage on...

Historic and Archaeological Heritage Bill 2023 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed) (27 Apr 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: We were taught it at home.

Historic and Archaeological Heritage Bill 2023 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed) (27 Apr 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: We all had a couple of them.

Historic and Archaeological Heritage Bill 2023 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed) (27 Apr 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: Who owns the building?

Historic and Archaeological Heritage Bill 2023 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed) (27 Apr 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: It is not the only time in this debate-----

Historic and Archaeological Heritage Bill 2023 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed) (27 Apr 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: Or "The Quiet Man".

Rent Reduction Bill 2023: Second Stage [Private Members] (26 Apr 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: The Deputy was smiling. I hear people talking. Ultimately, it must be viable for a builder to build and it must be at a price that is affordable for the person to purchase. We are bringing in the cost-rental scheme. Six hundred of those units are already up and running and we have another 1,000 in the pipeline. This new scheme we have announced is now being worked on by a group. We want...

Rent Reduction Bill 2023: Second Stage [Private Members] (26 Apr 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: I thank all the Deputies for their contributions, and I am grateful for the opportunity to close the debate for the Government on the People Before Profit-Solidarity Rent Reduction Bill 2023. As my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, stated earlier, the Government opposes the Bill for the reasons he outlined, which I will summarise. A similar Bill was debated last July, so,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: Collectively, under the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, we wanted the grants for refurbishment to go up. They are now going up to €50,000 and €70,000, a rise of two thirds on the €30,000 for properties vacant for two years and a 40% rise on the €50,000. We want this scheme to work. As the Minister has said, this is a demand-led scheme. We had an initial...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: We have received the report. We are considering jointly it with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. We will move on it quickly

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: Yes

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: Tomorrow, Department officials will meet the vacant homes officers in each local authority to brief them on the changes, which will be followed by the issuing of a circular and guidance, and a list of frequently asked questions and answers will be provided. We will move into full action on this tomorrow with the key people, who are the vacant homes officers and the designated teams in local...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: Credit is due to Senator Cummins.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: I have a brief note to add to what the Minister said on vacancy. Many local authorities already have specialised vacant home units and these are being set up in all others. The units are multidisciplinary. Those that have been set up already are very successful at dealing with derelict sites. If local authorities have a requirement for additional resources, we are encouraging them to make...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: I know that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: On the tenant purchase scheme, the traditional model is now called the incremental purchase scheme, I think. The Deputy made a fair point. Perhaps we can get the officials to look at it based on age. If there is a young person coming in, ten years might be more reasonable than someone coming in, say, in their 40s. It is something we will look at. On affordable housing, that is coming...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: The Minister stole my line. It has to be kept simple.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: It is an activation measure. For it to be activated quickly, it must be relatively easy to implement. The measure is universal. We have had 1,600 applications so far and 600 of them have been approved. We will keep it under advisement, but the scheme now is relatively straightforward to understand. If the property is vacant for more than two years and was built pre-2007, the applicant...