Results 7,121-7,140 of 25,844 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Waterways Ireland (26 Sep 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 346, 347 and 353 together. Waterways Ireland is a North South Body responsible for the management and maintenance of more than 1000km of Ireland's inland waterways. They include the Shannon, Shannon Erne Waterway, Erne System, the Barrow, the Royal and Grand Canals and the Lower Bann Navigation. It is funded by my Department and the Department for...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Waterways Ireland (26 Sep 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 348 and 354 together. Waterways Ireland is North-South Body under the British-Irish Agreement Act, 1999, and as such was established without a Board. The functions of the Agency are exercised by a Chief Executive and Accounting Officer, under the direction of the North South Ministerial Council and a Monitoring Committee consisting of senior officials form...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Agriculture Industry (26 Sep 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I have considered the matter raised and in accordance with the Good Agricultural Practice Regulations (SI 113 of 2022) I have decided, this year, to extend the slurry spreading period to 7 October 2023. The closed period for slurry spreading will therefore start on the 8 October 2023.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (26 Sep 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The First Home Scheme, launched in July 2022, is a shared equity scheme, designed to help bridge the gap for eligible first-time buyers, eligible homebuyers, and now self-builders, between their deposit and mortgage, and the price of their new home (within price ceilings established across the country). The expansion of the First Home Scheme to include a self-build product was officially...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (26 Sep 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: Under the Help-to-Buy Scheme, for self build properties, the approved valuation of the home must be €500,000 or less, which includes the cost of the site. This threshold is set by the Minister for Finance. Policy in relation to the Help to Buy Threshold is a matter for the Department of Finance. The supports available through my Department are set out at...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Waterways Ireland (26 Sep 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: Waterways Ireland is proposing to update the Shannon Bye-laws and Canal Bye-laws which are more than 30 years old and no longer fit for purpose. The needs of users have changed, environmental landscape and health and safety considerations have developed significantly and the waterways themselves have been transformed over the past thirty years. The purpose of updating the Bye-laws is to make...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Approved Housing Bodies (26 Sep 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department provides a range of funding streams, through local authorities, to assist AHBs with the delivery of social housing, examples of which include the Capital Advance Leasing Facility (CALF) with a Payment and Availability Agreement, or the Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS). The Capital Loan Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) was closed to new applications in 2011. The terms and conditions,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Approved Housing Bodies (26 Sep 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: Where a vacancy arises in a dwelling owned by an AHB, the relevant local authority may nominate suitable households from its housing or transfer list to that body, having regard to the order of priority set out in its allocation scheme. If an AHB is in receipt of funding under a relevant Exchequer funding scheme, they must comply with the terms and conditions of that scheme. AHBs may also,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (26 Sep 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: Awaiting reply from Department.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Waterways Ireland (26 Sep 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The Shannon Flood Relief State Agencies Co-ordination Working Group which is chaired by the Office of Public Works (OPW), is the lead agency for the coordination and implementation of Government policy in relation to the management of flood risk in Ireland. This Group has the lead role in developing policy on national flood risk management and the lead role in co-ordinating the actions and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Regulatory and Poverty Impact Assessments (26 Sep 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: Awaiting reply from Department.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Special Areas of Conservation (26 Sep 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: My officials would be happy to engage with the Deputy or the landowner in relation to the question, once the precise location of the lands in question can be ascertained. Detailed information in relation to protected sites in Ireland can be found at the following link: www.npws.ie/protected-sites Landowners who wish to engage with my officials in relation to protected sites can email...

Affordable Housing: Motion [Private Members] (21 Sep 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The people whom I have visited in the constituency and estate right beside Oscar Traynor Road want homes for their sons and daughters. Deputies in that area who have made a virtue of finding any reason to oppose that development have to answer for themselves. I want to see progress and delivery. I want to see sites such as that on Oscar Traynor Road being developed for residents and young...

Affordable Housing: Motion [Private Members] (21 Sep 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: Every measure that has been brought forward to help in home ownership-----

Affordable Housing: Motion [Private Members] (21 Sep 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: That is happening. Some 400 first-time buyers a month are drawing down mortgages, 41,000 are people getting the help-to-buy grant and 2,500 households, with that number growing every day, are able to buy their home through the first home scheme. The Deputy opposes every single one of those measures.

Affordable Housing: Motion [Private Members] (21 Sep 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: Certainly not.

Affordable Housing: Motion [Private Members] (21 Sep 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I move amendment No. 1: To delete all the words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "notes that Housing for All: A New Housing Plan is firmly focussed on re-establishing a sustainable housing delivery system capable of delivering for current and emerging needs and the Government: — is actively working to improve Ireland's housing system and deliver more...

Affordable Housing: Motion [Private Members] (21 Sep 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The Affordable Housing Act 2021 established cost rental on a national footing and underpins the affordable housing fund that allows us to deliver affordable housing to local authorities and to make that subvention on behalf of the State to make the homes affordable. The Social Democrats voted against that legislation as well. It opposed the first home scheme, which so far has helped, in...

Affordable Housing: Motion [Private Members] (21 Sep 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I did not interrupt Deputy Shortall once. The Social Democrats also opposed that. Another real assistance that helps first-time buyers is the help to buy grant, which is a rebate of a tax people paid to them to help-----

Affordable Housing: Motion [Private Members] (21 Sep 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: -----with their deposit. Some 41,000 households have been helped with that so far. Again, the Social Democrats opposed it. Every single measure brought forward-----