Results 11,061-11,080 of 25,999 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (24 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Land Development Agency’s (LDA) Project Tosaigh is a market engagement initiative to unlock land with full planning permission that is not being developed by private sector owners due to financing and other constraints and use it to accelerate the supply of affordable housing. Itallows the LDA to supplement the State lands it is already working on and accelerate the delivery of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (24 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Delivery of affordable housing, in accordance with the schemes set out in the Affordable Housing Act, 2021 and the funding being made available, will be underpinned by local authorities' Housing Delivery Action Plans. Local authorities submitted their initial Plans to me in December 2021. Preparation of the Plans allowed each local authority to assess the level of demand with affordability...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Circulars (24 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The objective of the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund (LIHAF) is to provide public off-site infrastructure to relieve critical infrastructure blockages. This enables the accelerated delivery of housing on key development sites in Dublin and in urban areas of high demand. LIHAF is designed to specifically address the issue of housing supply, a crucial factor in terms of moderating...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Public Sector Staff (24 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The application of the flexi-time scheme for local authority staff who have resumed full office attendance following restricted attendance during the pandemic remains unchanged.  Following on from the issuing by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform of their Blended Working Policy Framework document as it relates to the Civil and Public sector, the local authority sector...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Government Communications (24 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Contact details for myself and Ministers of State Burke and Noonan can be found on my Department's website at the following link - www.gov.ie/en/organisation/department-of-housing-local-gover nment-and-heritage/.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Homeless Persons Supports (24 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The increase in homelessness seen nationally in recent months is a serious concern for Government. We are acting to address this, and while significant work has been done there is still more to do. My Department publishes a detailed monthly report on homelessness, based on data provided by housing authorities. The Report outlines details of individuals utilising...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (24 May 2022)

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 a local level.  Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of homeless accommodation and related services rests with individual local authorities.  Under the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Schemes (24 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Since 2013, Exchequer funding has been provided through my Department's Energy Efficiency Retrofit Programme (EERP) to support local authorities with the retrofit of local authority owned homes requiring insulation and energy upgrade works. Since the programme commenced in 2013 over 75,000 homes have been retrofitted with a total exchequer spend of €184 million under the scheme. In...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Schemes (24 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 229 to 232, inclusive, together. Addressing the current housing shortage requires short, medium and long-term action to stimulate housing supply. Housing for All set out four pathways to achieve its vision of a sustainable housing system.  Under Pathway 3, the Croí Cónaithe (Cities) Scheme will help to kick-start urban apartment...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Investigations (24 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department has not commissioned any formal investigations, internal or external, regarding information leaked to the media in the period under question.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (24 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Housing for All strategy delivers on the Programme for Government commitment to step up housing supply and put affordability at the heart of the housing system, with an ambitious target of 300,000 homes over the next decade for social, affordable and cost rental, private rental and private ownership housing. It will see 54,000 affordable home interventions which includes 36,000...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (24 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Under the Government's Housing for All strategy, 10,000 Cost Rental homes will be delivered from 2021 to 2026 by Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs), Local Authorities and the Land Development Agency (LDA). AHBs will be supported by Cost Rental Equity Loan (CREL) funding and Local Authorities will be able to avail of funding for Cost Rental delivery through the Affordable Housing Fund. The LDA...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Referendum Campaigns (24 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Government published a Policy Paper entitled Irish Water - Towards a National, Publicly-Owned, Regulated Water Services Utility in February 2021 setting out our views and expectations on the next phase of transformation in the water sector, to involve the integration of water services operations within Irish Water's organisation structure. The matter of a referendum on...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (24 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The funding system that applies to local authorities in Ireland is a complex one, as authorities derive their income from a variety of sources including commercial rates, charges for goods and services and funding from Central Government including my Department, but also other from government Departments and state agencies. My Department has a significant business agenda, covering a...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (24 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The management and maintenance of local authority housing stock, including pre-letting repairs to vacant properties, the implementation of a planned maintenance programme and carrying out of responsive repairs, are matters for each individual local authority under Section 58 of the Housing Act 1966. Local authorities also have a legal obligation to ensure that all of their tenanted properties...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water Quality (19 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The EU Water Framework Directive (Directive 2000/60/EC of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy), which establishes a common framework for the protection of inland surface waters, transitional waters, coastal waters and groundwater, has been transposed into Irish law primarily through the following Regulations: - European Union (Water...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (19 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I brought a Memorandum to Government on an enhanced Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme on the 30 November 2021. It included an unprecedented suite of improvements to the current scheme. Government approved the enhanced scheme which it was estimated would cost approximately €2.2Bn. I aim to bring the required primary legislation to give effect to the enhanced scheme before the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rental Sector (19 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Section 24A of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, as amended, provides that the Housing Agency, in consultation with housing authorities, may make a proposal to the Minister that an area should be considered as a Rent Pressure Zone. Following receipt of such a proposal, the Minister requests the Director of the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) to conduct an assessment of the area to...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (19 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme was reviewed in 2021 in line with Programme for Government and Housing for All commitments. The amendments, which came into effect on 1st February 2022, include a reduction in the minimum reckonable income required to be eligible under the scheme from €15,000 to €12,500. The time an applicant is required to be in receipt of social housing...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (19 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Public Sector Benchmark (PSB) is an essential part of any PPP project. It contains commercially sensitive information in relation to the methodology used for costing public sector projects and for the pricing of risks by public sector bodies. In accordance with Department of Public Expenditure and Reform guidelines (Guidelines for the use of Public Private Partnerships), the final PSB, or...