Results 7,281-7,300 of 7,385 for speaker:James Browne

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Budgets (15 May 2025)

James Browne: The Uisce Éireann Strategic Funding Plan 2025-2029 was approved in November 2024 and sets out an ambitious capital investment plan to make necessary improvements to water and wastewater infrastructure including new capacity to facilitate growth. The Strategic Funding Plan 2025-2029 includes the capital and operational costs expected to be incurred by Uisce Éireann over a...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (15 May 2025)

James Browne: The Social Housing Investment Programme is a major capital funding programme under which all local authority led Social Housing delivery is funded. In that context, and when all Social Housing Investment Programme funding streams are included for the referenced years 2023, 2024 and 2025, over 5,000 funding applications have been submitted to my Department, therefore, the information...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (15 May 2025)

James Browne: Local authorities set and collect rents on their dwellings in accordance with section 58 of the Housing Act 1966. The making or amending of such rent schemes is generally a matter for local authorities within broad principles set out by my Department, including that rent levels should be based on income and reflect tenants’ ability to pay. Local discretion and flexibility are...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (15 May 2025)

James Browne: Increased supply is key to meeting need and addressing the challenges in the housing market. Government is fully committed to working with all stakeholders to deliver social, affordable and cost rental homes at scale and to continue accelerating housing supply across all tenures. Housing for All contains a suite of actions that have, and continue to, increase the provision of housing through...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Grant Payments (15 May 2025)

James Browne: My Department provides Exchequer funding to local authorities under the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and Disabled People scheme, to assist people in private houses to make their accommodation more suitable for their needs. The suite of grants include the Housing Adaptation Grant for Disabled People, the Mobility Aids Grant and the Housing Aid for Older People Grant, which are...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Issues (15 May 2025)

James Browne: 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. The Planning and Development Act 2024, includes a number of new provisions relating to An Bord...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (15 May 2025)

James Browne: In July 2016, my Department invited local authorities to apply for funding under the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund (LIHAF), the objective of which is to provide public off-site infrastructure to relieve critical infrastructure blockages. The types of infrastructure being provided include roads, bridges, diversion of power-lines, drainage works, as well as public amenities...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (15 May 2025)

James Browne: Increasing supply is key to addressing homelessness. Government is fully committed to working with all stakeholders to deliver social, affordable and cost rental homes at scale and to continue accelerating housing supply across all tenures. This is demonstrated by the record level of investment which is being provided for the delivery of Housing in 2025, with overall capital funding available...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (15 May 2025)

James Browne: Government is fully committed to working with all stakeholders to deliver social, affordable and cost rental homes at scale and to continue accelerating housing supply across all tenures. This is demonstrated by the record level of investment which is being provided for the delivery of Housing in 2025, with overall capital funding available of €6.8 billion. The capital provision is...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: National Planning Framework (15 May 2025)

James Browne: On 20 June 2023, Government gave approval to commence the process of undertaking the First Revision of the National Planning Framework. The National Planning Framework (NPF), is the whole-of-Government strategy for strategic planning and sustainable development of our urban and rural areas to 2040, with the core objectives of securing balanced regional development and a sustainable...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Harbours and Piers (15 May 2025)

James Browne: Waterways Ireland is the North South Body responsible for the management and maintenance of more than 1000km of Ireland's inland waterways including the river Shannon, the Shannon Erne Waterway, Erne System, the Barrow, the Royal and Grand Canals and the Lower Bann Navigation. Waterways Ireland is funded by my Department and the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland. Works...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (15 May 2025)

James Browne: My Department does not provide allocations to Local Authorities for social housing. Rather funding is provided in respect of the ongoing funding commitments arising on social housing projects such as new builds, turnkeys and regeneration. This means that the greater the level of social housing delivery the greater the level of funding my Department provides. In respect of refurbishments...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (15 May 2025)

James Browne: Government is fully committed to working with all stakeholders to deliver social, affordable and cost rental homes at scale and to continue accelerating housing supply across all tenures. Proposals for measures to help scale up delivery further are being considered in the context of the development of the new national housing plan, to follow Housing for All, as committed to in the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Building Energy Rating (15 May 2025)

James Browne: The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) published a research paper in February 2025, which explores the investment requirements for energy efficiency upgrades in the private rental sector. The research was funded by my Department, under a joint programme the Department operates with the ESRI. The ERSI’s research is a valuable contribution to our understanding of future...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (15 May 2025)

James Browne: The clear focus of Government is to increase the supply of new build social and affordable homes. This is key to addressing the housing challenge and in particular preventing and ultimately eliminating long term homelessness, and that unquestionably must be the priority for all local authorities including Fingal County Council. My Department is continuing to providing substantial...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: EU Regulations (15 May 2025)

James Browne: The EU Short Term Rental (STR) Regulation was adopted by the EU on 11 April 2024 and is applicable from 20 May 2026. This Regulation lays down harmonised rules on the collection and exchange of data on short-term rental services for member states, hosts providing short-term accommodation rental services, and online platforms that offer services to hosts providing short-term accommodation...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (15 May 2025)

James Browne: Under Housing for All, last year, Government approved new national housing targets up to the year 2030. 303,000 homes will aim to be delivered in the period from 2025 to 2030, equating to an annual average of 50,500 homes, building up to 60,000 in 2030. The revised targets were informed by research and modelling by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) on population projections...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (15 May 2025)

James Browne: The clear focus of Government is to increase the supply of new build social and affordable homes. This is key to addressing the housing challenge and in particular preventing and ultimately eliminating long term homelessness, and that unquestionably must be the priority for all local authorities including Dublin City Council. My Department is continuing to providing substantial financial...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (15 May 2025)

James Browne: The DCB Scheme is neither a redress nor a compensation scheme, rather it is a grant scheme of last resort to enable affected homeowners remediate their homes. The approach taken under the Pyrite Remediation Scheme (PRS) was considered in the development of the DCB Grant Scheme. However, due to the different scale of both schemes and the flexibility sought by DCB homeowners, the DCB Grant...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Wastewater Treatment (15 May 2025)

James Browne: In December 2023, Minister O'Brien approved more than €45 million of funding for pilot projects under my Department's Multi-annual Rural Water Programme for the waste water collection and treatment needs for villages without access to public waste water services. Following this approval my Department wrote directly to Clare County Council confirming a funding contribution of almost...