Results 15,181-15,200 of 26,245 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Homeless Persons Data (24 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department publishes a detailed monthly report on homelessness, based on data provided by housing authorities. The Report outlines details of individuals utilising State-funded emergency accommodation arrangements that are overseen by housing authorities. Data relating to homeless families and their dependants are presented at a regional level. The Reports are available to access on my...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Covid-19 Pandemic (24 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 292 and 329 together. The Government announced that additional public health restrictions would apply under Level 5 of the Plan for Living with COVID-19 on 6 January 2021. The additional restrictions required all construction activity to cease from 6pm on Friday 8 January, with a number of exceptions. These measures are set out in The Health Act 1947...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Ministerial Advisers (24 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The information requested is set out in the table below. All special advisers are based in Custom House, Dublin 1. Minister Adviser Contact details Darragh O’Brien, TD, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Ciara Shaughnessy Tel - 01 8882000 Email - ciara.shaughnessy@housing.gov.ie Darragh...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Staff (24 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The minimum age of retirement in a local authority or other public service employment is dependent upon a range of factors, including but not limited to the commencement date of employment and the specific contract of employment. Without the full information, it is not possible to comment on individual cases. In any event, the aggrieved party should, in the first instance, raise his...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Home Loan Scheme (24 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department publishes information on the overall number and value of (i) local authority loan approvals and (ii) local authority loan drawdowns. Local authority approval means that an official letter of offer has been sent to a borrower and therefore relates to a specific property and loan amount. Figures for 2020 (up until Quarter 2) are available on the Gov.ie website...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Staff (24 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: There were 1,201.70 staff serving in my Department at the end of January 2021, as calculated on a fulltime equivalent basis. The information requested is set out in the table below. Grade Female Male Total ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER 16.00 9.75 25.75 ADVISORY COUNSEL GRADE 2 1.00 1.00 ...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Vacant Properties (24 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: While my Department is focused on ensuring that existing housing stock is utilised to its fullest extent, the management and maintenance including the re-letting of newly vacated homes of local authority housing stock is a matter for each local authority under Section 58 of the Housing Act 1966. Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council (DLR) has advised my Department they receive approx....

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Reviews (24 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Details of the studies, reviews and research undertaken or commissioned by my Department and currently underway, are set out in the following table, together with the scheduled completion date. Title of live Study/Review/Research Scheduled for Completion Mortgage to Rent Review Q1 2021 Unlawful Termination of Tenancies Report ...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Homelessness Strategy (24 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 299 and 301 together. My Department publishes a detailed monthly report on homelessness, based on data provided by housing authorities. The Report outlines details of individuals utilising State-funded emergency accommodation arrangements that are overseen by housing authorities. Data relating to homeless adults are presented at a county level. Where...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payment (24 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) and the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) continue to be effective and secure forms of social housing support, and remain a significant part of the suite of social housing options currently available across the country. Data in relation to active tenancies in HAP and RAS for the period 2018 to Quarter 3, 2020, in County Donegal, is set-out in the table...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (24 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 302 and 316 together. Details on the number of households qualified for social housing support in each local authority area is provided in the annual statutory Summary of Social Housing Assessments (SSHA). The most recently published summary, conducted in June 2019, shows that 68,693 households were assessed as qualified for and being in need of social housing...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (24 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department provides funding for a wide range of programmes and supports to assist households with their housing needs, including the delivery of new social homes, targeted supports to meet the housing needs of specific groups and programmes to maintain households within their existing housing through improvement, upgrading and adaptation works. The funding provided to Donegal County...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (24 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department launched the Energy Efficiency Retrofitting Programme in 2013, with the aim of funding retrofit of social homes requiring insulation and energy upgrade works. Since the programme commenced in 2013 over 73,500 units of social housing stock have been 'shallow' retrofitted with a total exchequer spend of €161 million under the scheme. A key objective of the Programme for...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Mortgage to Rent Scheme (24 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Mortgage to Rent (MTR) scheme introduced in 2012 is targeted at supporting households in mortgage arrears who have had their mortgage position deemed unsustainable by their lender under the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP), agree to the voluntary surrender of their home and are deemed eligible for social housing support. The property in question must also meet certain...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (24 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Programme for Government provides for a package of social housing reforms, including the introduction of a social housing passport to allow households move from one local authority list to another. It should be noted that the four Dublin local authorities already co-operate in arrangements that enable social housing applicants to apply for housing in one or two of the other Dublin...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: National Parks and Wildlife Service (24 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Based on current pay levels, the estimated cost of recruiting seven additional Ecologists and Wildlife Inspectors Grade 3 and four District Conservation Officers would be €439,888 per annum. Ecologist/Wildlife Inspector Grade 3 - (x7) €251,244 District Conservation Officer - (x4) €188,644 €439,888

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Tenant Purchase Scheme (24 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme came into operation on 1 January 2016. The Scheme is open to eligible tenants, including joint tenants, of local authority houses that are available for sale under the Scheme. To be eligible, tenants must meet certain criteria, including having a minimum reckonable income of €15,000 per annum and having been in receipt of social housing support...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water Services (24 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Details of the approvals and allocations under the Multi-annual Rural Water Programme 2019-2021 were announced by my Department in 2019. Where approved schemes/projects have not been completed or commenced by the end of 2021, they will be considered as commitments for funding under the next multi-annual programme 2022-2024. This is subject to such schemes/projects being completed within...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Investigations (24 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I will be examining the report, entitled 'A Review Into Certain Planning Matters in Respect of Donegal County Council', by Mr. Rory Mulcahy S.C., and will bring this matter to Government for consideration in due course. In this regard, the decisions of the Commissioner for Environmental Information (CEI/18/0019) of 13 February 2019 and the Information Commissioner (OIC-59426-Q8D7T8) of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Home Loan Scheme (24 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 314 and 315 together. The Housing Agency provides a central support service which assesses applications for the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan on behalf of local authorities and makes recommendations to the authorities to approve or refuse applications. Each local authority must have in place a credit committee and it is a matter for the committee to make the...