Results 7,881-7,900 of 8,153 for speaker:James Browne
- Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (1 Jul 2025)
James Browne: Local Authorities (LA's) and Approved Housing Bodies (AHB's) are supported by my Department to purchase and renovate vacant/derelict properties to be upgraded as new, value-for-money social homes. The Buy & Renew Scheme allows LA's and AHB's to acquire and refurbish such properties and since it was introduced in 2016, in excess of 950 properties have been delivered under this...
- Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Schemes (1 Jul 2025)
James Browne: The Energy Efficiency Retrofit Programme (EERP) aims to retrofit a local authority home to a minimum BER rating of B2. It is expected that 36,500 local authority owned homes will be retrofitted under this programme over the period 2021 to 2030 inclusive. The programme has been devised so as to give local authorities a level of flexibility when selecting properties to retrofit, ranging...
- Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Issues (1 Jul 2025)
James Browne: My Department established the Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR) in April 2019. In accordance with the provisions of Section 31Q(1) of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (the Act), as amended, the OPR conducts education and training programmes for members of planning authorities and regional assemblies in respect of the role of such members under the Act in relation to matters...
- Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Land Development Agency (1 Jul 2025)
James Browne: The Land Development Agency (LDA) was established under the Land Development Agency Act 2021 with the immediate focus of managing the State’s own lands to develop new homes, and regenerate under-utilised sites. The Agency is also tasked with unlocking stalled private planning-consented developments via its market engagement and partnership initiative, Project Tosaigh. Government...
- Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Contracts (1 Jul 2025)
James Browne: A list of contracts awarded by my Department in the past five years whose value equals or exceeds €10 million is set out in the table below. Neither of these contracts was discontinued during its term. My Department does not maintain the requested information in respect of the state bodies under its aegis. Arrangements have been put in place by all bodies under the aegis of my...
- Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (1 Jul 2025)
James Browne: I propose to take Questions Nos. 461 and 483 together. 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 grants include the Housing Adaptation Grant for Disabled People, the Mobility Aids Grant and...
- Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rental Sector (1 Jul 2025)
James Browne: I refer to my reply to Question No. 257 (composite reply) of 26 June 2025, which clarifies the interaction between the operation of Rent Pressure Zones and the regulation of short term letting.
- Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Special Areas of Conservation (1 Jul 2025)
James Browne: The Water Action Plan 2024 published by my Department sets out a roadmap to restore Ireland’s water bodies to ‘good status’ or better and to protect water from any further deterioration. In some instances, water bodies have been physically modified in the past to serve a beneficial specified use to society. In the process of modifying a water body, the natural flow,...
- Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Functions (1 Jul 2025)
James Browne: At present, the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration and his Department continue to have responsibility under the Multi Unit Development Act 2011, for the oversight of Owner Management Companies (OMCs) and related regulations. Under Housing for All, so as to ensure that OMCs are financially sustainable, the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, in collaboration...
- Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Issues (1 Jul 2025)
James Browne: The Planning and Development Act 2024 (Act of 2024) was enacted in October 2024 and is in the process of being commenced. The provisions of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended (Act of 2000), and associated Planning and Development Regulations 2001 (Regulations of 2001) remain in force until the relevant sections of the Act of 2024 are commenced and the corresponding sections of...
- Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Public Procurement Contracts (1 Jul 2025)
James Browne: My Department operates a decentralised procurement model, where procurement and contract management is the responsibility of the budget holder, who is usually the head of the business unit. The heads of those eighty-one business units are responsible for ensuring compliance with my Department's Procurement Policy and all applicable national and EU rules and regulations and Office of...
- Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Land Issues (1 Jul 2025)
James Browne: As part of the process for identifying land liable to Residential Zoned Land Tax, all Local authorities published annual draft maps on 1 February 2024 that identified lands considered to fall within the scope of the tax, as well as lands which they propose to exclude from the annual final maps for 2025. Landowners and other interested parties had until 1 April 2024 to make a submission to...
- Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (1 Jul 2025)
James Browne: The Government is providing continuing and substantial financial support to local authorities to acquire second-hand properties for priority categories of need, including tenants-in-situ who have been in receipt of supports under HAP or RAS and who had received a Notice of Termination. For 2025, Government has increased the funding available for second hand social housing acquisitions...
- Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Homeless Persons Supports (1 Jul 2025)
James Browne: My Department does not fund any homeless service directly but provides funding to housing authorities towards these costs. Section 10 of the Housing Act, 1988 sets out the purposes for which costs may be incurred by local authorities in respect of the provision of homeless accommodation and related services. Under the funding arrangements, my Department recoups up to 90% of the costs of...
- Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: State Bodies (1 Jul 2025)
James Browne: Uisce Éireann has a statutory borrowing limit of €2 billion as per section 35 of the Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013. In June 2020, the Minister for Finance provided a term loan facility to Uisce Éireann to the end of 2024. Uisce Éireann Debt Draw Down by Year 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Total ...
- Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Waterways Ireland (1 Jul 2025)
James Browne: Waterways Ireland is a North South Implementation Body established under the British Irish Agreement 1998 and operates under the overall policy direction of the North South Ministerial Council. It is funded by my Department and the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland. As a North South Body, Waterways Ireland is audited jointly by the Comptroller and Auditor General and the...
- Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Vacant Properties (1 Jul 2025)
James Browne: I propose to take Questions Nos. 474 and 476 together. Addressing vacancy and making efficient use of existing housing stock is a key priority for Government, as set out in Pathway 4 of Housing for All. The Vacant Homes Action Plan, published in January 2023, built on Pathway 4 and set out the various actions that were being pursued to return vacant properties back into use as homes....
- Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Wastewater Treatment (1 Jul 2025)
James Browne: This Government is committed to continued and ongoing sustained and strategic investment in rural water services across Ireland. As part of this commitment my Department is investing in rural water infrastructure to deliver improvements to water services in areas of rural Ireland where Uisce Éireann services are not currently available. More than €243 million is provided...
- Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rental Sector (1 Jul 2025)
James Browne: In 2019, my Department brought in Regulations, (SI 235/2019), to provide for new arrangements for Short Term Lets within Rent Pressure Zones (RPZ). The regulations provided for the following:Short term letting is defined as the letting of a house or apartment, or part of a house or apartment, for any period not exceeding 14 days.Homesharing (the letting of a room or rooms in a person’s...
- Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rental Sector (1 Jul 2025)
James Browne: The Tenant Purchase Schemes provide for the purchase by eligible tenants of local authority properties which are available for sale under the terms of the particular scheme. All applications for the schemes must satisfy the requirements outlined in the relevant legislation. The regulations provide for a number of specified classes of houses to be excluded from sale, including those provided...