Results 22,981-23,000 of 26,565 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Fire Stations (11 Jul 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 fire authorities under the Fire Services Acts, 1981 and 2003. My Department supports the fire authorities through setting general policy, providing a...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (11 Jul 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. ...

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Jul 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: As of 22 July.

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Jul 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: That is why that is so important.

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Jul 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: My legs are gone. There is a lot to cover. I want to thank all Senators for their contributions. I did watch a lot of the contributions yesterday as well. Before I try to address some of the remarks, I want to bring to the attention of the House that I may bring further amendments on Report Stage and I want to detail them briefly. We will be coming back on Report Stage here in the Seanad...

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Jul 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: It was not only them, to be fair. Colleagues in the Labour Party, the Social Democrats -----

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Jul 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: They behaved that way. They formally withdrew Deputy Thomas Gould and told him not to go to the select committee so that the time was used up for voting purposes. That is a fact. It is what it is.We had the planning advisory forum, including the Minister, Deputy Peter Burke, and the Ministers of State, Deputies Kieran O'Donnell, Alan Dillon and Malcolm Noonan, with all stakeholders. The...

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Jul 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I know this is the Seanad. I had the honour of serving here for five years. I have great regard for this Chamber. I have commenced legislation in this Chamber and come here as often as I can. Senators Moynihan, McDowell and others raised the CPO issue. The Law Reform Commission's long-awaited report is published. We had already been at an advanced stage of preparing the Bill. I took a...

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Jul 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: It should not be the norm. It should not be just a go-to. There are reasons some of that happened. I got rid of the strategic housing developments, SHDs. I understood the principle of them. The application of them was different because communities felt they did not have their say. If they went to the board and it decided against them, their only recourse was to the courts. We made that...

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Jul 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I will conclude now. I will come back on that on Report Stage.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Environmental Policy (9 Sep 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Responsibility for the management of environmental pressures in the catchment area of Lough Neagh lies primarily with the authorities in Northern Ireland. Monaghan County Council, with the support of the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO) shared service, is the lead environmental authority in relation to catchment management in the small area of the Blackwater catchment that flows into...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (9 Sep 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: A cornerstone policy of both the existing and the proposed revised National Planning Framework (NPF) is the achievement of a greater regional balance in population and employment growth. The goal is to see a roughly 50:50 distribution of growth between the Eastern and Midland region, and the respective Southern, and Northern and Western Regions, with 75% of the growth to take place outside of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Budget 2025 (9 Sep 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The Mortgage Allowance scheme provides for an allowance of up to €11,450 payable over a 5 year period, to tenants or tenant purchasers of local authority housing, to assist them to purchase or have a private house built with a mortgage. The current rates are underpinned by the Housing (Mortgage Allowance) Regulations 2001 and have been in place since 1 January 2002. New applications...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (9 Sep 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 769 and 770 together. I commenced the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 ('the 2022 Act') on 22 June 2023, which contains the enhanced grant scheme and adopted the related Regulations on 29 June 2023. The Housing Agency acts as agent on behalf of the local authorities under the Enhanced Grant Scheme. Once a home...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Bodies (9 Sep 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Tailte Éireann is an independent Government agency under the aegis of my Department. Tailte Éireann provide a property registration system, property valuation service, and national mapping and surveying infrastructure for the State. Under Section 8(6) of the Tailte Éireann Act 2022, Tailte Éireann is independent in the performance of its functions. It is understood from...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (9 Sep 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The allocation of social housing, including newly constructed housing, is dealt with by individual local authorities. My Department doesn't have a role in such allocations. I understand from Carlow County Council that the new social homes at the development referred to encountered challenges with water supply services which they now inform us, have been resolved and will allow the allocations...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (9 Sep 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department operates a number of funding programmes that assist local authorities to work in partnership with Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) to construct and purchase homes and make them available for social housing. One such programme that local authorities and AHBs progress Social Housing projects through is the Capital Advance Leasing Facility (CALF). CALF funding is capital support...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Schemes (9 Sep 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The First Home Scheme, which launched in July 2022, is a shared equity scheme designed to help bridge the gap between a purchaser’s deposit and mortgage, and the price of their new home, for eligible first-time buyers, Fresh Start applicants and those who wish to build their first home. The Scheme was expanded on 17 April 2023 to include the Tenant Home Purchase Product, enabling...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Data (9 Sep 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The Local Authority Home Loan (LAHL) is a Government-backed mortgage for creditworthy applicants who cannot get sufficient funding from commercial banks to purchase or build a home. It has been available nationwide from local authorities since 4 January 2022 for first-time buyers and fresh start applicants. Applicants who meet the Fresh Start criteria may apply to the Local Authority Home...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Legal Cases (9 Sep 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: On foot of the Court of Appeal Order dated 19 January, 2024 and the Supreme Court Order dated 19 September, 2023 expenditure of some €630,000 was incurred by my Department to meet the applicant’s legal costs in this case. It should be noted that legal costs incurred by the State in defending proceedings instigated against my Department, are not met directly by my Department. In...