Results 13,701-13,720 of 25,999 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 195 and 197 together. The income limits and maximum grant amounts payable under the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability Scheme were reviewed in 2013. This review, co-ordinated by the Housing Agency with the involvement of local authorities and relevant stakeholder organisations, sought to spread the benefits as widely as...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Local authorities are responsible for the detailed administration of the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability scheme for private houses, including the assessment, approval and payment of grants to applicants under the various measures. Guidance issued by my Department recommends that local authorities assemble a schedule of standard costs for each...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: This is a matter between the developer and his lending institution to resolve. It is not one in which my Department has any involvement.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Approved Housing Bodies (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Payment and Availability Agreements (P&As) are funded under the Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme (SHCEP), which funds the ongoing current costs of homes delivered by Approved Housing Bodies through build and acquisition, in addition to homes delivered through the various leasing programmes. The total SHCEP spend in 2020 was €197m, of which €142m related to...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Social Housing Public Private Partnership (PPP) Programme consists of 3 Bundles of sites that will deliver in the region of 1,500 social homes and there are robust governance arrangements in place to oversee implementation. Securing value for money (VfM) is an overarching consideration throughout the PPP procurement process and the Central PPP Unit in the Department of Public Expenditure...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: In relation to the concrete blocks, the relevant suite of harmonised standard facilitating specification of masonry units is the EN 771 (series). ‘I.S. EN 771-3:2011+A1:2015’deals with aggregate concrete masonry units. In this regard, the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI), has published additional guidance in the form of ‘S.R. 325:2013+A2:2018/AC:2019...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I understand that such schemes are non-statutory and are therefore a matter for the individual local authorities and information in relation to them should be sought directly from each local authority.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Emergency Accommodation (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 208 to 210, inclusive, together. 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 housing authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of emergency accommodation and related services for...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 219, 221, 223 and 225 together. Details on the number of households qualified for social housing support in each local authority administrative area are provided in the annual statutory Summary of Social Housing Assessments (SSHA). The most recent summary, conducted in November 2020, shows that 61,880 households were...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 218 and 220 together. The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme plays a vital role in housing eligible families and individuals. At the end of 2020, over 86,900 HAP tenancies had been set-up since the scheme commenced, of which there were nearly 60,000 households actively in receipt of HAP support, including 1,668 households in Wicklow. Local authorities...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: When first introduced in 2018, the single stage approval process applied to social housing projects up to the value of €2m but I increased this to €6m in September 2020, to give further options to local authorities. 77 projects delivering 216 homes have availed of the single stage option to date, of which 43 projects delivering 130 homes are either onsite or completed....

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The ‘Call for Housing 2020’ was launched on 21 July 2020 as a short-term intervention to examine opportunities in the property market to secure additional properties for social housing. The campaign was run on behalf of my Department by the Housing Agency, in consultation with the local authorities. To 28 June 2021, 311 properties were offered for sale to the Housing Agency...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department publishes a Social Housing Construction Status Report each quarter, which contains details of all social housing developments completed, under construction or at the planning and design stage in each local authority area. The most recent report, published on 28 May 2021, covers the period up to the end of Quarter 1 2021 and is available at the following link:...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Schemes (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Shared Water Enhanced & Loughs Legacy (SWELL) project is a cross border initiative which aims to improve the quality of water in Carlingford Lough and Lough Foyle through the upgrade of wastewater assets on both sides of the border. The SWELL project is funded under the European Regional Development Fund through the allocation of €35m under INTERREG VA Programme, managed by...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Fire Service (29 Jun 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 Act, 1981. My Department supports fire authorities through setting general policy, providing a central training...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water Services (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Under the European Union (Drinking Water) Regulations 2014 a water supplier shall ensure that the water is wholesome and clean and meets the requirements of these Regulations. In addition, the owner of a premises where water is supplied for human consumption as part of a commercial or public activity is required to maintain the domestic distribution system of the premises in compliance with...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 235 to 263, inclusive, together. The status of social housing construction projects including those approved as part of targets issued in 2015-2017 and those approved subsequently, is updated and published on a quarterly basis by my Department. The quarterly publication is a comprehensive status report of social housing construction schemes for all local...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Policies (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: All public bodies in Ireland have responsibility, under the Irish Human Rights and Equality Act 2014 to eliminate discrimination, promote equality of opportunity, and protect the human rights of their employees, customers, service users and everyone affected by their policies and plans. In 2017, my Department's Statement of Strategy, in accordance with section 42 of the Act, first identified...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Disabilities Assessments (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department is guided by central guidelines, namely "How to Conduct a Disability Impact Assessment: Guidelines for Government Departments", issued by the Department of Justice in 2012, which set out a step by step process for conducting a disability impact assessment, including the need for consideration for actions in relation to monitoring. This process also fits within the broader...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Properties (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I am informed that the title to the property at Clogheen Strand was first registered in the name of the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht in 1997. By virtue of the various Heritage Transfer of FunctionsStatutory Instruments the property has since transferred to the Minister of Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. I have asked my officials to update the folio in...