Results 261-280 of 8,310 for speaker:James Browne
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)
James Browne: Supply, supply, supply.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)
James Browne: I am certainly treating the housing crisis we are in as a national emergency. That is why I am making rapid decisions in terms of what we can do to address the housing crisis and to get as many houses and apartments built as quickly as possible. I agree that planning should be before people. That is why we are reforming our planning development laws. I want to get to a situation where,...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)
James Browne: We have restrictions around competition law, State-aid law and environmental law. Of course, there are also fire safety and disability rights as well. Within that, I am making as many moves as quickly as possible, including the announcement today around specifications, to be able to reduce the costs on average per unit and therefore maximise the viability and, in turn, the affordability for...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)
James Browne: I thank the Senator. We have serious variation across the country in terms of housing delivery. When we get under the hood of it, we can see that while some local authorities might be meeting their overall social housing targets, they are doing very little self-building. We need the local authorities to be doing their own-build social housing because it adds to the housing stock rather...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)
James Browne: In relation to any changes, we always give very careful consideration to them. We do our research and analysis when it comes to proposing and making those changes. We do it with very careful cognisance of the impact those changes will have on various groups, but I think we are happy enough with any changes we have proposed.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)
James Browne: Yes, accessibility is really important. I am working with the Minister, Deputy Foley, in relation to what we can do regarding access. It is critical. We do have strong building regulations around ensuring we do have access and safe access in respect of accessibility. We are considering what else can be done or needs to be done in ensuring the accessibility piece is there.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)
James Browne: Before we go any further, in relation to the question I was asked earlier concerning legal proceedings, I did ask the officials to make inquiries in the Department. They have confirmed to me that judicial review proceedings have been initiated and my Department was notified of it. I was not aware of that when I commented earlier. I can confirm that legal documents were received by my...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)
James Browne: I agree.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)
James Browne: We have a crisis in this country in terms of housing, and this crisis, that I am treating as an emergency, is a result of a lack of delivery of housing. There are two aspects to this - viability and affordability. The State is delivering approximately 50% of all homes. What I am doing is taking measures to make the delivery of homes viable.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)
James Browne: Apartments that never leave the planning and design stage are of no benefit to those people the Deputy mentioned when they are left paper. We need to get them built.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)
James Browne: I can tell the Deputy that the people living at home in box rooms in their houses want apartments to live in.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)
James Browne: It is not a question of delivering any homes first. We need to-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)
James Browne: We need more than those 11,000-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)
James Browne: We need to get up to 50,000 homes a year delivered. We are spending a record amount-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)
James Browne: The Deputy does not want to hear the answer. We are delivering 50% of all home solutions in this country. Approximately 30% of all capital funding in the State is now going towards housing delivery. While the Deputy waves those sheets around, I have been asking for months where Sinn Féin would get the funding to increase the delivery of social and affordable housing. The State only...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)
James Browne: I am very aware of any challenges around housing delivery across the country. We do everything we can to unblock it. That is what we are doing-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)
James Browne: When I became Minister for housing, there was €60 million available for the tenant in situ scheme.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)
James Browne: Hold on. I got a significant increase from the Minister, Deputy Chambers, to increase it to €320 million. That money was distributed to the local authorities. Any funding I have for the tenant in situ scheme has been distributed to the local authorities-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)
James Browne: Cork city was allocated €20 million and approximately 41% of that funding has been drawn down to date.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)
James Browne: I am answering the question. The Deputy just does not like the answer.