Results 341-360 of 7,789 for speaker:James Browne

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (28 May 2025)

James Browne: The Government is providing continuing and substantial financial support to local authorities to acquire second-hand properties for priority categories of need including tenants-in-situ who have been in receipt of supports under HAP or RAS and who had received a Notice of Termination. For 2025, Government has increased the funding available for second hand social housing acquisitions from...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Issues (28 May 2025)

James Browne: The Land Development Agency (LDA) is a key delivery partner in the Government’s delivery of affordable and social homes, co-ordinating housing delivery on relevant public lands within State control and activating key underutilised public sites to maximise housing delivery. Government maintains a strong focus on the use of vacant and underutilised public land for housing and has...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (28 May 2025)

James Browne: Housing for All includes a commitment to review income eligibility for social housing. From this review, completed in November 2021, it was recommended moving five local authorities from Band 3 to Band 2, ensuring the income eligibility thresholds better reflect housing costs in those counties. Government also agreed to increase the baseline income thresholds by €5,000 for all local...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (28 May 2025)

James Browne: Government is fully committed to working with all stakeholders to deliver social, affordable and cost rental homes at scale and to continue accelerating housing supply across all tenures. This is demonstrated by the record level of investment which is being provided for the delivery of Housing in 2025, with overall capital funding available of €6.8 billion. The capital provision is...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rental Sector (28 May 2025)

James Browne: The latest RTB/ESRI Rent Index in respect of Q4 2024 was published on 15 May. The Rent Index is designed to measure developments in rental prices faced by those taking up new tenancies and existing tenancies. The Rent Index report is the most accurate and authoritative rent report of its kind on the private rental sector in Ireland. Compared to other market monitoring reports produced for...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rental Sector (28 May 2025)

James Browne: I refer to my reply to Question No. 81 of 15 May 2025 which sets out the position in this matter.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Issues (28 May 2025)

James Browne: On 15 October 2024, my Department published a Ministerial Action Plan on Planning Resources to respond to capacity challenges in the planning sector. This Action Plan provides a detailed roadmap to increase the pool of planning and related expertise needed to ensure a planning system fit for future needs. It sets out 14 high-level actions that provide a coordinated pathway to ensure a...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (28 May 2025)

James Browne: Through the Social Housing Investment Programme and the Capital Assistance Scheme my Department is providing continuing and substantial financial support to local authorities and approved housing bodies to acquire second-hand properties for priority categories of need such as tenants-in-situ who had received a Notice of Termination; properties that allow persons/families to exit homelessness;...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Wildlife Protection (28 May 2025)

James Browne: The information requested is being compiled and will be forwarded to the Deputy in accordance with Standing Orders.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (28 May 2025)

James Browne: My Department is continuing to providing substantial financial support to local authorities to acquire second-hand properties for priority categories of need, including tenants-in-situ who have been in receipt of supports under HAP or RAS and who had received a Notice of Termination. As was the case in previous years, local authorities are best placed to determine the most appropriate way...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Heritage Sites (28 May 2025)

James Browne: Whilst the question of the State acquiring some or all of the Dublin Central site surrounding the Moore Street area has been raised in recent years, the priority focus of government at present is the completion of the commemorative project underway at the national monument which is in state ownership at numbers 14 - 17 Moore Street. The cost of purchasing the remaining ten properties...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Heritage Council (28 May 2025)

James Browne: My Department provides annual funding to the Heritage Council. This has risen steadily over the last number of years, from €6.6m in 2019 to €18.8m in 2025. The table below sets out the cost of increasing the 2025 level of Heritage Council funding on the basis outlined, including a calculation of +2.2% based on the CSO's year-on-year rate of Consumer Price Index as of the most...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (28 May 2025)

James Browne: Under Section 159 of the Local Government Act 2001, each Chief Executive is responsible for the staffing and organisational arrangements necessary for carrying out the functions of the local authority for which he/she is responsible. The salary scale for an archaeologist in the local government sector is linked to the Executive Engineer Grade and ranges from €59,067 to...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Environmental Policy (28 May 2025)

James Browne: Incentivised community-led action by local action groups, landowners and farmers is a central plank of nature restoration, especially in an Irish context. In May 2025, I announced €2.9m in funding for 262 local biodiversity projects across all 31 local authorities through the Local Biodiversity Action Fund (LBAF), that is managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) of my...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Environmental Policy (28 May 2025)

James Browne: Determining the cost of a task force to address biodiversity loss is inherently complex. Biodiversity spans ecosystems, species, and services that defy simple valuation. A task force must operate across research, policy, enforcement, and community action - each with variable and evolving costs. There are currently no plans to develop such a taskforce. My Department, through the National...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Parking Provision (28 May 2025)

James Browne: It is not clear which exact lands the Question refers to in the details supplied, but it is assumed it is a parcel located within the Castlemaine Harbour Special Protection Area (SPA). The primary species of conservation interest in this SPA is wintering waterfowl and waders. Chough is also listed for the site and may use this field for foraging post breeding and/or fledging. The...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Compulsory Purchase Orders (28 May 2025)

James Browne: Under the Derelict Sites Act 1990, local authorities are required to maintain a Derelict Sites Register, which includes the name and address of each owner and occupier, where these can be ascertained by reasonable enquiry, of any land which, in the opinion of the local authority, is a derelict site. A property can be placed on the Derelict Site Register where it is deemed by a local...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water Quality (28 May 2025)

James Browne: The introduction of any specific compensation schemes, is primarily an operational matter for Uisce Éireann, operating under the regulatory oversight of the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU). As Minister, I have no function in such operational matters. Uisce Éireann has established a dedicated team to deal with representations and queries from public...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Energy Policy (28 May 2025)

James Browne: I propose to take Questions Nos. 261, 270 and 281 together. The Energy Efficiency Retrofit Programme (EERP) aims to retrofit a local authority home to a minimum BER rating of B2. It is expected that 36,500 local authority owned homes will be retrofitted under this programme out to 2030. €90m is available to the programme in 2025 to upgrade approximately 2,500 homes. The table...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Energy Policy (28 May 2025)

James Browne: I propose to take Questions Nos. 262, 263 and 271 together. An Bord Pleanála (the Board) is the national independent statutory body with responsibility for the determination of planning appeals and direct applications for strategic infrastructure and other developments under the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, and certain other Acts. As of April 2025, there were...