Results 9,841-9,860 of 27,055 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I will keep my statement as brief as possible. For the information of members and the Cathaoirleach, I am joined by my officials, Mr. Brían Munnelly, Mr. David Kelly, Ms. Sinead Kehoe and Ms. Janet Jacobs, along with the Ministers of State. As the Cathaoirleach has said, we have provided briefing material in advance so I will keep my remarks brief. The Further Revised Estimate...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: There was very strong delivery in quarter 4. It was a matter of a debate that we had in the Dáil Chamber and, indeed, at committee. Last year, the outturn was 29,851 new homes across all tenures. That figure has been verified by the Central Statistics Office, the independent agency the State depends on and respects. If others want to call the CSO figures into question, they must...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The first home scheme is one of the affordability measures we have in place and it is working very well. We have just short of 1,000 approvals already. The scheme only launched on 7 July last year. We wanted to ensure we had the IT system in place to back it up. There has been strong interest in it. The State is taken an equity stake and not a second mortgage. It helps bridge the...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: To answer the question directly, with the first home scheme in particular, we have had approvals in 29 of the 31 local authorities. There are only two counties in Ireland that have not had approvals yet. It helps to drive first-time buyer development and delivery and we are seeing that response on the ground. We were in Drogheda this morning and all those homes will be under the caps for...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I will make two quick points. Under the affordable housing fund for local authority-led affordable housing, we saw the first homes being built and sold last year. There were some issues with conveyancing that have been rectified. We have approved 42 schemes throughout the country and these will deliver more than 3,000 so far for affordable purchase, let by the local authorities. On cost...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The Deputy knows the CSO itself was strong in its defence of its figures and methodology, which have never been brought into question before. It is our independent statistics office we depend on for the collation of such data. I do not think anyone has ever called the office's expertise, knowledge or know-how into question before. The Deputy has raised a point on completion certificates...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: First, we must look at the context of where this discussion came from, which was the announcement by the Government that we had exceeded our targets under Housing for All of 5,000 units. In fairness, it was in that context that this debate happened; it was post that.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I will answer that.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: Deputy Ó Broin is putting up a commercial company’s data and data collection. Its methods-----

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I am not avoiding answering it. The Deputy has not allowed me to answer it. He interrupted me as I was endeavouring to answer it. He knows the CSO is independent of the Government and its work is independent of me. It is important that is the case. If the statistics that are published by the State’s own agency do not suit some other narratives, that is something that-----

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I am trying to answer the question.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I will again endeavour to answer it. I was going to make a suggestion that might be helpful to Deputy Ó Broin. As he is aware, the CSO is independent of me. It has been very strong it its defence of the statistics it has released, which have been accepted year on year. It would be open to the Deputy or the committee to call the CSO in before it.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: We are very confident about the housing completion figures we have.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: We do not reach into the methodology of the CSO data. It publishes those independently of me. Any further interrogation of that can be done by the committee.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: Deputy Ó Broin should not push it.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I am trying to answer the question.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: It is very obvious to those who look in on the committee that the Deputy has taken the data from a private commercial company because it suits his narrative.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The Government has exceeded its completion targets and its delivery within the first year. That might disappoint Deputy Ó Broin.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: That may disappoint him, but it is open to the Deputy and the committee to bring in the CSO and ask it specifically for its views. It issued a very strong statement in defence of its methodology and for the main Opposition party and others to call into question-----