Results 16,041-16,060 of 26,290 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Supplementary) (12 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: I neglected to answer Deputy Ó Broin on the affordable housing legislation. That is well advanced and will be introduced in this session. I did not get round to answering that. I will say a couple of things to Deputy McAuliffe. There is a change of direction on housing with a clear focus on public homes on public land and the delivery of affordable housing for working people, both...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Supplementary) (12 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: I thank the Deputy. I have couple of points on Housing First. There is a firm commitment in this regard in the programme for Government. We have now moved that on to another level with the budget for next year, or the additional moneys to expand Housing First across the country. Regarding the most recent data that I have, the national implementation plan, issued in September 2018,...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Supplementary) (12 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: We are inspecting them for quality. If they are getting State money, there are standards set that they must meet. This is an area we are examining.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Supplementary) (12 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: Regarding the Deputy's last point, on the need for quick victories, with which I agree, one of the first steps I took was to improve the single-stage approval process, raising the value to €6 million, to give more autonomy to local authorities to build themselves. I really want that. Next year, local authorities throughout the country are fully funded to deliver 12,750 new public...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Supplementary) (12 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: My thanks to both Deputies. Deputy McAuliffe mentioned the local property tax review. The review was paused. It actually sits under the Department of Finance but it has a direct input in our area and what we are discussing. Many properties have been built since 2013 that do not actually pay any property tax. This is significant. The loss to the Exchequer is in the millions each year....

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Supplementary) (12 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: I am aware that Carlow has made an application, as have many others.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Supplementary) (12 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: I am sure it is a very good one. I am sure all of them are.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Supplementary) (12 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: The urban regeneration and development fund is significant. The reason I want to make announcements on the second call this side of the year is to open up the fund again next year. It is an important vehicle. It is one of many Government initiatives that will help our regions to thrive and prosper. It is really important.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Supplementary) (12 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: I would be delighted to. The budget contains are measures on affordability ranging up to €468 million in value. It is significant. It is in the housing for all section of the programme for Government. Affordability and associated measures are at the centre of it. The serviced sites fund is part of it. I am working on measures that I believe can improve the delivery on that. As I...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Game Hunting (11 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: I can confirm that there has been no change to the open season order in question.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (11 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: In Budget 2021, the total funding being made available for the delivery of housing programmes was €3.3 billion. From this sum, €468 million will be specifically provided to support housing affordability measures. This includes the Serviced Sites Fund, the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund, the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan and the Land Development Agency (LDA)....

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Home Loan Scheme (11 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: Local authorities offer fixed-rate annuity finance to eligible Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan (RIHL) borrowers at rates of 2.745% and 2.995% per annum, for twenty five and thirty years respectively. There is an additional mortgage protection insurance premium of 0.555%. The 2.745% (2.995%) interest charged to RIHL borrowers can be broken down as follows: - Local authorities borrow from...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Home Loan Scheme (11 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department publishes quarterly statistics on local authority mortgage arrears on its website on the following link: , which shows data up to 30 June 2020. This dataset provides information on arrears on all local authority mortgage lending, including the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan (RIHL). Separately, the Department collects information on arrears on the RIHL. Provisional data for 31...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (11 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 97 and 98 together. In Budget 2021, the total funding being made available for the delivery of housing programmes was €3.3 billion. From this sum, €468 million will be specifically provided to support housing affordability measures. This includes the Serviced Sites Fund, the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund, the Rebuilding Ireland...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (11 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: National Policy Objective 37 of the National Planning Framework requires that each local authority should undertake a "Housing Need and Demand Assessment" for their area. This will be important in estimating likely future housing need across tenures, including social housing need. Work on the development of the HNDA process is ongoing in my Department. Research on population projections...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (11 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: The 2005 Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines are framed in the context of the National Spatial Strategy (NSS) 2002. Given the superseding of the NSS by the National Planning Framework in 2018, together with the need to address the potential implications of the 2013 European Court of Justice ruling in the "Flemish Decree" case, there is now merit in updating the Sustainable Rural Housing...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (11 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: Further to finalisation of three three Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies between June 2019 and January 2020, review of City and County Development Plans has commenced in many local authorities, overseen for the first time by the Office of the Planning Regulator. The process of alignment between plans will continue into 2021 and when complete, will be the first time that there is an...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Expenditure (11 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 102 and 108 together. The Office of Public Works provides accommodation for Government Services and manages a significant proportion of the State’s property portfolio. No part of my Department rents office accommodation from the company named. The information requested in relation to bodies under the aegis of my Department is a matter for the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Irish Water (11 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: Since 1 January 2014, Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels. The day-to-day operation of the public water system, including the leakage reduction programme, is therefore a matter for Irish Water and I have no function in relation to this matter. Additional capital funding...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: An Bord Pleanála (11 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department engages with An Bord Pleanála on an ongoing basis to ensure that it has the appropriate resources to perform its broad range of functions which includes planning appeals, strategic infrastructure and strategic housing development planning applications, vacant site levy appeals and other matters which are submitted for determination under Planning and Development, Water...