Results 20,501-20,520 of 26,350 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Amendment No. 320 seeks to delete “and range” from the sentence on the type and range of services in section 41(4)(c) as the term “range” is superfluous alongside type in this context.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: There are a lot of other very technical amendments here which are effectively corrections. I can go through them now such the committee wish.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: If I am going too quickly, members can stop me. Amendments Nos. 473 and 474 seek to replace three months with 12 weeks for consistency with other time periods in the Bill. Amendments Nos. 510 and 564 seek to replace "simultaneously" with "on the same day". That is to avoid any confusion that may arise from a literal interpretation of the word "simultaneously". These amendments all seek to...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Amendment No. 651 improves ease of reading of the sentence by inserting "that the public are entitled' in place of 'the public are entitled". Again, it is a correction. Amendments Nos. 654 and 655 substitute "UDZ or SDZ scheme" for "any planning scheme under Part IX of the Act of 2000" simply for completeness.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Yes. Amendment No. 659 to section 96 clarifies the resolution of members referenced means "passed by not less than three-quarters of the total number of the members of the planning authority". This is the case already but provides clarity to the reader of this section without him or her having to refer to elsewhere in the Bill. Amendment No. 662 deletes section 96(6), which contains a...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: It is in the group, but it is a more substantive one. There are a few other very minor amendments. Amendment No. 708 clarifies for certainty that section 122(1)(b)(ii) refers to both the national maritime framework or the relevant maritime spatial plan. Amendment No. 717 corrects the positioning of apostrophes when referencing the CRU. Amendment No. 755 does the same with reference...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Deputy O'Callaghan will want to come back on one.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I have only a few more to outline. Amendment No. 912 reorders the definitions outlined in Part 7 (Housing Supply) into alphabetical order. That is all it does. It does not change any of the definitions at all. Amendment No. 964 seeks to replace the word "issued" with "brought" for clarity. Similarly, amendments Nos. 272 and 273 improve the syntax of sections 270 and 271 without...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water Services (27 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Customers may complain to Uisce Éireann through their complaints process in a number of ways, which are outlined and available to the public on their website. Please see link (Make a Complaint | Contact | Uisce Éireann (formerly Irish Water)). If a customer is not happy with a response received from Uisce Éireann they have the right to appeal and can escalate this and make a...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (27 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The First Home Scheme, which launched in July 2022, is a shared equity scheme, designed to help bridge the gap for eligible first-time buyers, eligible homebuyers, and self-builders, between their deposit and mortgage, and the price of their new home (within price ceilings established across the country). Full details are available on the First Home Scheme website, www.firsthomescheme.ie. ...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (27 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I refer to the reply to Question No. 322 of 30 January 2024 which sets out the average costs for units delivered via CALF Construction, CALF Turnkey, CALF Part V, CAS Construction, CAS Turnkey, CAS Part V, SHIP Construction, SHIP Turnkey and SHIP Part V. The average cost per unit for Cost Rental Equity Loan from Q1 to Q3 2023 is €127,341. To note that this average cost represents...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Tax Code (27 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Corporation tax policy is determined by the Minister for Finance and administered by Revenue. The Directorate General for Competition of the European Commission was informed about the Land Development Agency in August 2018. Detailed information was provided to the Commission in April 2021 prior to the enactment of the Land Development Agency Act 2021 outlining the nature and role and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (27 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Part 2 of the Affordable Housing Act 2021 provides for the Local Authority Affordable Purchase Scheme, whereby new homes are made available by local authorities to approved affordable housing applicants at an affordable price on a shared equity basis. Under the scheme, an approved affordable housing applicant pays an affordable purchase price which represents a discount of between 5% and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Fire Service (27 Feb 2024)

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 local 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: Planning Issues (27 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: An Bord Pleanála (the Board) is the national independent statutory body with responsibility for the determination of planning appeals and direct applications for strategic infrastructure and other developments under the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, and certain other Acts. There are now more people working at the Board than at any time previously. Since October 2021,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Vacant Properties (27 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Pathway 4 of Housing for All sets out a blueprint to address vacancy and make efficient use of our existing housing stock. The Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant supports bringing vacant and derelict properties back into use. A grant of up to a maximum of €50,000 is available for the refurbishment of vacant properties for occupation as a principal private residence and for...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Issues (27 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: All development proposals require planning permission unless they are specifically exempted under the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended (the Act) or the supplementary Planning and Development Regulations, 2001, as amended. In addition, national planning policy, guidelines and legislation do not dictate the types of materials that must be used for housing, and accordingly there is...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rental Sector (27 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The standards for rental accommodation are prescribed in the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019 and responsibility for the enforcement of the Regulations in the private rental sector rests with the relevant local authority. If a property has been found to be non-compliant with the Regulations, it is a matter for the local authority to determine what action is necessary and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water Services (27 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Uisce Éireann has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels. The scope, prioritisation and progression of individual projects is a matter for Uisce Éireann and is approved through its own internal governance structures. Therefore, my Department does not hold the information as requested....

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (27 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The Cost Rental Tenant In-Situ (CRTiS) Scheme was introduced, on an administrative basis, to address the immediate circumstances of the ending of the 'Winter Emergency Period' on 31 March 2023. This scheme is available where a tenant faces the termination of a tenancy due to the landlord’s intention to sell the property. My Department issued Acquisition Cost Guidelines (ACGs) last...