Results 61-80 of 9,077 for speaker:James Browne

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rental Sector (8 Oct 2025)

James Browne: All of the details around the various tax breaks, which Minister Donohoe worked on with the Department of housing to ensure we can increase the viability of apartments and get them and housing in general delivered, will be worked out over the coming weeks and then announced. The purpose of the tax cuts is to bring about that viability so that we can get apartments that people need built....

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Schemes (8 Oct 2025)

James Browne: I thank the Deputy for his question. I confirm that there are no approval lags for CREL funding. There is an approval process for funding applications to ensure compliance with the scheme conditions and value for money for the Exchequer. This is, as it should be, a requirement under public financial procedures. A necessary process should not be misrepresented as a delay. Since July...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Homeless Accommodation (8 Oct 2025)

James Browne: As the Deputy rightly points out, there is significant additional funding for homelessness in yesterday’s budget. As the Deputy knows, budgets are always broad strokes. You are dealing with multiple Departments and within those Departments there are multiple areas. I will, through the Revised Estimates Volume, work out exactly how we will allocate this funding and how we will use...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Land Development Agency (8 Oct 2025)

James Browne: The Land Development Agency is a key part of the Government’s housing strategy in delivering affordable homes for rent and sale in communities right across Ireland. The Department of Finance’s report on the sustainable funding options for the Land Development Agency considered the financing needs of the LDA and the implications of this need on the business model and operational...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Land Development Agency (8 Oct 2025)

James Browne: That is exactly what the Department of Finance did, working with the Department of housing. It looked at how the LDA is financed and how it can be financed into the future and examining the remit of the LDA. We have agreed to expand its role. The LDA will be absolutely critical. It will very soon be the largest housing delivery body in this country. We are fully committed to expanding...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Land Development Agency (8 Oct 2025)

James Browne: I have been heavily engaged with the LDA. I meet it regularly. It is anxious to have that direct delivery model, which is what it has been moving towards as quickly as possible. The key is that we get properties delivered. As I say, I much prefer the direct delivery model and to get the private market delivering on the private sector side of things. That is where we are heading and where...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Homeless Accommodation (8 Oct 2025)

James Browne: I thank the Deputy. Addressing homelessness and in particular homeless families and children is a priority for me, the Department and the Government. Ireland signed the Lisbon declaration in June 2021 which committed all signatories to work towards ending homelessness by 2030. I will continue to work with the National Homeless Action Committee to ensure an all-of-government approach to...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Homeless Accommodation (8 Oct 2025)

James Browne: With our new housing plan, we are developing the homelessness prevention framework. Significant work has been ongoing in relation to that, working with all the NGOs. I acknowledge the good work by Focus Ireland and the Simon Communities of Ireland. When I became Minister for housing, the first thing I did was visit all of the homeless organisations at their sites to get the necessary...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (8 Oct 2025)

James Browne: Housing for All included 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...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (8 Oct 2025)

James Browne: The Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 commenced on 22 June 2023 which contains the enhanced Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme and adopted the related Regulations on 29 June 2023. The Act also provides for the Defective Concrete Blocks Social Homes Scheme. This is a scheme for the purpose of enabling a designated local authority or an...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (8 Oct 2025)

James Browne: Supporting individuals and families at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness is a priority for Government. Critical to addressing homelessness is increasing the supply of housing. I have just agreed the largest ever Housing budget for 2026 with over €9bn in capital, including €5.2bn in Exchequer funding and €3.9bn in LDA and HFA investment. This record level of funding...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (8 Oct 2025)

James Browne: I visited Donegal earlier this year and understand the flood issue pertaining to Elm Park in Buncrana. Most of impacted homeowners have the option of availing of the Defective Concrete Block Scheme and the OPW intends to undertake flood relief works. The residents however are concerned about the length of time before those flood work would be completed and have asked that consideration be...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (8 Oct 2025)

James Browne: My Department has recently written to local authorities advising them of additional funding capacity and flexibility under the 2025 Second Hand Acquisitions Programme. This includes an additional €50 million secured on foot of the recently concluded National Development Plan discussions, bringing the funding available this year to €375 million. The additional funding is...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (8 Oct 2025)

James Browne: The Revised National Planning Framework (NPF) was finalised and approved by Government and the Oireachtas in April 2025. The Revised NPF strategy sets out the need to plan for a projected population of at least 6.1m people in Ireland by 2040. Taking into account ‘pent-up’ demand, the strategy sets out a need to plan for the delivery of approximately 50,000 additional housing...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (8 Oct 2025)

James Browne: The Programme for Government commits to building on the successes of Housing for All and ramping up supply to deliver over 300,000 homes between 2025 and 2030. Supply has increased significantly in recent years, with 140,000 new homes delivered since July 2020. Some 92,400 of these were delivered between 2022 and 2024 inclusive, exceeding the combined target for the period by 5,400 or so....

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water Services (8 Oct 2025)

James Browne: I propose to take Questions Nos. 28 and 100 together. The Programme for Government commits to establishing a new procedure for large developments where Developers can meet with local authority planners and Uisce Éireann on site to iron out issues at preplanning stage. My Department has commenced discussions with Uisce Éireann in the first instance on the implementation of this...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (8 Oct 2025)

James Browne: I propose to take Questions Nos. 29, 72 and 101 together. Affordability and the chance to own a home is at the heart of the Government’s housing policy. As detailed under Housing for All, the Government is fully committed to working with all stakeholders to deliver affordable housing at scale and to continue accelerating housing supply across all tenures. The Government’s...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (8 Oct 2025)

James Browne: Continuing to increase supply is key to meeting need and addressing many of the challenges currently facing the housing market. Increasing supply will help moderate house price growth and ease affordability challenges. Supply has increased significantly in recent years, with 92,400 new homes delivered between 2022 and 2024 inclusive, exceeding the combined target for the period by 5,400...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Building Energy Rating (8 Oct 2025)

James Browne: I propose to take Questions Nos. 31 and 47 together. In 2021 a new holistic approach was applied to the Energy Efficiency Retrofit Programme (EERP). Designed around the Programme for Government's commitment, led by the Department for the Environment, Climate and Communications, it calls for the 'retrofit' of 500,000 homes to a minimum B2 BER Rating standard by 2030, of which approximately...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (8 Oct 2025)

James Browne: The National Planning Framework (NPF) fully supports the sustainable development of rural areas and the need to ensure that they continue to be viable places in which to live. Statutory county development plans currently provide planning policies for the development of new housing in rural areas including, as appropriate, housing within villages and smaller rural settlements. In this regard,...