Results 12,301-12,320 of 27,055 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Accommodation Needs of Those Fleeing Ukraine: Statements (5 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: That never happened.

Accommodation Needs of Those Fleeing Ukraine: Statements (5 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Deputy should tell her friends to stop objecting to housing all over the country.

Accommodation Needs of Those Fleeing Ukraine: Statements (5 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: That is not true. That was a bit of spin from the Deputy's colleague beside him.

Accommodation Needs of Those Fleeing Ukraine: Statements (5 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Russia’s illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine is a watershed moment for all democracies across the world. Putin’s war of devastation has thrown down the gauntlet to us to stand by our values and live by our best traditions of decency and fairness. Ireland is not a global military power but we are a humanitarian one and we can give badly-needed compassionate refuge to those...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I have been there.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Deputy is not interested in answers; never has been.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: You are not.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: You are interested in controversy; that is all.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: She is not interested in answers; she never has been.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Schemes (5 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Deputy Boyd Barrett mentioned social housing limits earlier. In response to other questions we said the work is nearing conclusion. I received a submission and sought further changes to it. It has gone back to the officials and we will have it very shortly. This is with regard to social housing limits throughout the country. A very important measure the Government has brought forward is...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Schemes (5 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: As Deputy Boyd Barrett knows, HAP supports approximately 61,900 households in this country. We had a debate last night about rents and one matter that I was not able to put on the record then was the fact that the Government provides nearly €1 billion in direct rental support to families, and rightly so. Approximately €585 million goes to HAP. Sometimes that is forgotten and...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Schemes (5 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I recognise the issue. I represent Dublin Fingal and I meet people and talk to tenants all the time. It is difficult. We are making progress in that regard by increasing the supply of permanent homes. That is very important because we need a supply-led and housing-led response to homelessness. To answer the Deputy's question specifically, I am treating this as a matter of urgency. I...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Schemes (5 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: We are very serious about engaging with all local authorities. As I said already, where schemes can be brought forward, we want them. We have also issued a call on advance purchase for schemes that are currently being built or being built out and we have received six or seven proposals on that already, which will see homes delivered this year. In urban centres the LDA, through Project...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Schemes (5 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: That is all on affordable purchase through the local authorities. The regulations on affordable rental through cost rental have been laid as well. The final piece of work or the other leg to the stool relates to the first home shared equity and that work will conclude in the next few weeks. We will be publishing that and will have an extensive public information campaign on it because this...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Schemes (5 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I thank Deputy O'Sullivan for his question and all Members for their interest in this issue. Deputy O'Sullivan has advocated for this very strongly and we all recognise the importance of the Government giving assistance to those who can bring vacant and empty homes in our towns and villages back into use. We are within weeks of launching that fund. It will be managed through our local...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Schemes (5 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I assure Deputy O'Sullivan that we will make sure all of the relevant information is available. There will be public information campaign on the scheme. There is a lot of interest among Government and Opposition Deputies in this fund. We will make sure all Deputies receive the relevant information. Local authorities will be managing the scheme. I am glad that Deputy O'Sullivan...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Schemes (5 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Croí Conaithe will very much focus on empty buildings and vacant homes that exist right now and such premises will be in different states of disrepair. The other very serious issue, which will very much help Croí Cónaithe, is above-shop living. That has not been cracked yet in respect of the regulations. We have a group working on that, particularly on fire regulations and...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Schemes (5 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: On Deputy Ó Broin’s supplementary question, we got Cabinet approval just this week in respect of proceeding with the fund. We are working through matters with the Directorate General for Competition in respect of state aid. There is a similar scheme in Sweden that was successful. What we have to do is notify that, which we are doing. I expect that we will launch it in the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Schemes (5 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Obviously, there are two funds here. There is a fund to which the Government has committed €500 million between cities and towns. The Deputy is 100% correct. There are approximately 80,000 planning permissions that have not been activated, many of which are for high-density development or in city areas. The Croí Cónaithe cities fund will be focused at five cities, namely,...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Schemes (5 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I thank the Deputy for his question. I am anxious that all counties can participate in the affordable housing fund. They can do so should relevant schemes be brought forward. I asked all local authorities, including Mayo County Council, to prepare housing delivery action plans, which they have done. Each authority was asked to assess the level of housing demand with affordability...