Results 5,881-5,900 of 25,799 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (7 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme provides for the purchase by eligible tenants of local authority houses which are available for sale under the scheme. All applications for the Scheme must satisfy the requirements outlined in the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 and the associated regulations. The Act includes provision for a local authority to take into consideration...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Issues (7 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Under the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended (the Act), all development, unless specifically exempted under the Act or associated Regulations, requires planning permission. Section 4 of the Act and Schedule 2 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, as amended (the Regulations), set out various exemptions from the requirement to obtain planning permission. Any such...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Issues (7 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department issued the ‘Sustainable Residential Development and Compact Settlements Guidelines for Planning Authorities’ on 15 January 2024 under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000 (as amended). The provisions of the Guidelines apply to all planning decisions made after the Guidelines came into force. The Guidelines set national planning policy and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rental Sector (7 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Under Housing for All, there is a policy objective to increase and improve housing options for older people to facilitate ageing in place with dignity and independence. Housing for All builds on and takes forward the ongoing actions in "Housing Options for Our Ageing Population" policy statement from 2019, published jointly by my Department and the Department of Health, which provides policy...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Urban Development (7 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 280 and 281 together. The legislative provisions to establish Urban Development Zones (UDZ) are set out in Part 22 of the Planning and Development Bill 2023 and provide for the identification of suitable sites which in the opinion of the Minister or relevant authority, would be of ‘significant economic, social or environmental benefit to the State and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (7 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I refer to my reply to Question No. 123 of 13 December 2023 regarding this matter. Approval to purchase under the Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme is a separate matter to obtaining finance. An applicant must pay the purchase money at the time the sale of the house is completed. Finance can be sought from a variety of sources including commercial lenders, or the Local Authority Home...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Vacant Properties (7 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Pathway 4 of Housing for All sets out a blueprint to address vacancy and make efficient use of our existing housing stock. Many areas of cities, towns and villages of all sizes face the blight of vacant properties, which, if brought back into use, could add real vibrancy and provide new accommodation in those areas. While the reasons for vacancy are often complex, the re-use and regeneration...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (7 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Under Housing for All the Government will deliver 54,000 affordable homes between now and 2030. The Land Development Agency (LDA) represents a crucial lever in the Government’s delivery of affordable and social homes, coordinating relevant public lands within State control and activating key underutilised sites to maximise housing delivery. The LDA has an immediate focus on...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (7 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Housing for All sets out the range of actions necessary to increase the supply of housing to the required 33,000 homes, on average, per year over the next decade. 54,000 affordable homes will be delivered between now and 2030 to be facilitated by local authorities, Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs), the Land Development Agency and through First Home, which is a strategic partnership between the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (7 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Under Housing for All, the Government will deliver 47,600 new build social homes and 3,500 social homes through long-term leasing in the period 2022-2026. Our clear focus is to increase the stock of social housing through new build projects delivered by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs). Social Housing is delivered through a range of local authority and Approved Housing...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Public Sector Pay (1 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform has responsibility for public pay policy including negotiating collective agreements. As is usually the case, the recent negotiations were led by his Department and facilitated by the Workplace Relations Commission. The Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform liaise with sectoral management in relation to specific...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water Services (1 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Public ownership is a core principle governing the development of water services and the Government has given its full commitment to holding a referendum on ownership of water services. As I have previously noted, the establishment of Uisce Éireann in public ownership is already firmly secured under the Water Services Acts 2007 to 2022. I have previously committed to bringing forward...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Issues (1 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: It is of the utmost importance in the first instance to point out that provision for the handling and consideration of appeals where considered vexatious is currently already legislated for under section 138 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended), under which An Bord Pleanála has powers to dismiss an appeal where it is of the opinion that is frivolous or vexatious, or has...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Issues (1 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department’s role in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of local authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of accommodation and related services for homeless persons rests with individual local authorities. My Department...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (1 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The Mortgage to Rent (MTR) scheme was introduced in 2012 for borrowers of commercial lending institutions and is targeted at those households in mortgage arrears who have had their mortgage position deemed unsustainable by their lender under the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP), who agree to the voluntary surrender of their home and who have very limited options, if any, to meet...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Homeless Persons Supports (1 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: In line with commitments made in both the Programme for Government and Housing for All, a national Youth Homelessness Strategy was published in November 2022. The Strategy aims to help young people aged 18-24 who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. It sets out 27 key actions to prevent youth homelessness; improve the experiences of young people accessing emergency accommodation; and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (1 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Local authorities derive their income from a variety of central and local sources including from Local Property Tax (LPT), commercial rates, charges for goods and services and Exchequer funding from Central Government. The Annual Financial Statement (AFS) of each local authority provides an analysis of their income; these financial statements are produced at the local authority level. The...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Derelict Sites (1 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The Derelict Sites Act 1990 (the Act) imposes a general duty on every owner and occupier of land to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the land does not become, or continue to be, a derelict site. The Act also imposes a duty on local authorities to take all reasonable steps, including the exercise of appropriate statutory powers, to ensure that any land within their functional area does...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Apprenticeship Programmes (1 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: 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 or she is responsible. My Department oversees workforce planning for the local government sector, including the monitoring of local government sector employment levels. To this...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Wind Energy Generation (1 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I refer to my reply to Dáil Question No. 334 on 30 January which sets out the position.