Results 13,541-13,560 of 27,055 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Dublin Fire Brigade: Motion [Private Members] (7 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Do not doubt my seriousness on this issue, please.

Dublin Fire Brigade: Motion [Private Members] (7 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I have been there too. Do not worry about it. I just wanted to give the Deputy a chance to list everywhere.

Dublin Fire Brigade: Motion [Private Members] (7 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta Paul Donnelly as ucht an t-ábhar seo. I accept the motion in the spirit in which it is tabled. Anybody who knows me knows that during all my time in the Dáil, I have been a strong and ardent supporter of the Dublin Fire Brigade since well before I took ministerial responsibility for fire and emergency services, a responsibility I have not...

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Second Stage (7 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I am grateful to have the opportunity to bring the Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021 before the Seanad. This Bill is the most significant legislative reform of maritime governance since the foundation of the State. It seeks to establish a coherent and comprehensive marine planning system to manage development and other activities in Ireland's seas, which is one of the largest maritime areas...

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Second Stage (7 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I thank all Senators for their very considered contributions. I welcome the support of all parties and none in the House. It is very important legislation. I will deal with some of the issues on Committee Stage. We might be able to deal with them in a little bit more detail then. I have taken notes of all comments made. Section 6 of the Bill has been amended to reflect public...

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Second Stage (7 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: We need to move on and do it. That is what this is about. I will deal with a couple of the issues that were raised. Public participation is really important. Section 6 of the Bill has been amended to reflect that. On the resourcing of MARA, I updated the Cabinet today on the establishment of the regulatory authority. An implementation committee will start in my Department in January. We...

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Second Stage (7 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: We will explain it in a bit more detail.

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Second Stage (7 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I take the Senator's point, absolutely. I have already dealt with the area of judicial reviews and public participation, and I will go through that in more detail.Applications that are currently within the system, under the current foreshore arrangement in my Department, will continue there and will conclude there. It will be for new applications coming through. It is important for our...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (7 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Housing for All strategy prioritises an increase in social and affordable homes committing to the delivery of 90,000 social homes, 36,000 affordable purchase homes and 18,000 cost rental homes by 2030. Full details of the strategy can be found at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/publication/ef5ec-housing-for-all-a-new-housin g-plan-for-ireland/. Pathway 1 of the strategy refers to...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Protected Disclosures (7 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Section 22 of the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 requires each public body to publish an annual report setting out the number of protected disclosures received in the preceding year and the action taken. The annual reports for my Department for the years in question are available on gov.ie at the following link:www.gov.ie/en/collection/20f06-protected-disclosures-an nual-reports/ In summary,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Social Enterprise Sector (7 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department does not operate any programmes with the objective of promoting the social enterprise sector.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Energy Conservation (7 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The newly revised ten year Energy Efficiency Retrofit Programme launched in 2021 is designed around the Programme for Government commitment to retrofit 500,000 homes to a B2/Cost Optimal BER standard by 2030, of which approximately 36,500 of those homes are expected to be local authority homes. A target of 2,400 social homes for upgrade works has been set for 2021, 750 of which relate to the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (7 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department received a submission from Sligo County Council, dated 25 October, 2021 which outlined how they proposed to go about putting together a submission requesting the extension of the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant scheme to County Sligo. In order to progress matters I and officials from my Department attended a virtual meeting held on the 2nd November 2021 with Oireachtas...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (7 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: In September 2020 I convened a working group to examine the issues around unsold affordable properties (USAs). The working group comprises members of the Local Government Sector, Housing Finance Agency, Housing Agency, Approved Housing Bodies through the Irish Council of Social Housing and the Social Housing Leasing Section of my Department. In progressing this examination, the working group...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (7 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Under section 159 of the Local Government Act 2001, the Chief Executive is responsible for staffing and organisational arrangements necessary for carrying out the functions of the local authority. The staffing resources of Greystones Municipal District is therefore a matter for the Chief Executive of Wicklow County Council.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Fire Service (7 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The provision of a fire service in its functional area, including the establishment and maintenance of a fire brigade, the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of fire station premises, is a statutory function of individual fire authorities under the Fire Services Acts, 1981 and 2003. My Department supports the fire authorities through setting general policy, providing a central...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (7 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 250 and 251 together. The Government agreed an enhanced €2.2bn Defective Concrete Block (DCB) scheme on 30 November 2021. The comprehensive changes include the current 90% maximum grant will be increased to a 100% grant for all remediation options 1-5. The maximum grant cap for option 1 (demolition and rebuild) will be increased to €420,000...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (7 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Defective Concrete Blocks Grant scheme was informed by the report of an Expert Panel which was published in 2017 which involved extensive research, investigations and analysis. Any consideration of extension to the Defective Concrete Blocks Grants Scheme would, in the first instance, require the relevant local authority to conduct the same rigorous analysis as that carried out in Donegal...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (7 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Under the Government’s Housing for All plan it is intended to increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 per year over the next decade. Over 300,000 new homes will be built by the end of 2030, including a projected 90,000 social homes, 36,000 affordable purchase homes and 18,000 cost rental homes. Part 3 of the Affordable Housing Act 2021 provides for the establishment...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Flood Risk Management (7 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Funding maintenance and repair of weirs is not a matter that falls within the remit of my Department, which has no specific funding line for such projects. Notwithstanding that, in view of the strategic importance of this project from an economic, social and environmental perspective, a once off allocation of €175,000 from the Local Government Fund was approved in 2019 so that...