Results 8,561-8,580 of 15,555 for speaker:Eoghan Murphy

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payment Data (14 Nov 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I propose to take Questions Nos. 517 and 518 together. There are currently some 50,000 households nationally having their housing needs met via the Housing Assistance Payment and Rental Accommodation Scheme, and some 40,000 landlords or agents in receipt of HAP and RAS payments. These schemes provide social housing support for households already living in the private rental sector and for...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Waiting Lists (14 Nov 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: My Department does not hold precise detailed statistical information of the type requested by the Deputy. However, the Summary of Social Housing Assessments (SSHA) does provide information on the length of time spent by those qualified and seeking social housing support on local authority waiting lists.   The most recent statutory SSHA for which results are available was carried out...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Legislative Measures (14 Nov 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I refer to the reply to Question No. 743 of 10 October 2017, which set out the position in relation to Section 239 of the Planning and Development Act 2000. This Section places a statutory duty on organisers of funfairs and owners of fairground equipment to take such care as is reasonable for ensuring that persons at a funfair do not suffer injury or damage by reason of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Tenant Purchase Scheme Administration (14 Nov 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: Under Section 3(A)(9) of the Water Services Act 2014 (inserted by Section 48 of the Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2015) a person who is a tenant of a dwelling let to him under the Housing Acts 1966 to 2014 and who proposes to purchase the dwelling must, before completion of the sale, provide the local authority concerned with a certificate of discharge from Irish Water...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Maintenance (14 Nov 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: The management and maintenance of local authority housing stock, including heating systems and the achievement of energy efficiency, is a matter for each relevant local authority, and it is open to each authority to address maintenance or improvements to their housing stock from within their own resources. My Department operates certain funding programmes to support local authorities in...

Seanad: Housing and Rental Market: Statements (14 Nov 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I want to thank Members of the Seanad for providing the opportunity this evening to discuss the report of the Joint Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government on the impact of short-term lettings on Ireland’s housing and rental market and our plans in Government to address this. I want to thank the committee for its work in preparing the report on the sector. I am pleased...

Housing (Homeless Families) Bill 2017: Second Stage [Private Members] (15 Nov 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank Deputy Jan O'Sullivan for providing this opportunity for the House to discuss the various actions on homelessness that are being implemented, and the various challenges and difficulties that remain. Significant work is being carried out across the sector by housing authorities, approved housing bodies and homeless service providers to tackle and address the housing crisis and the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Provision (15 Nov 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: Under Rebuilding Ireland, funding is available to all local authorities, to deliver additional social housing stock through both new construction projects, through the acquisition of new and previously owned houses/apartments and through working with AHBs (approved housing bodies) who also deliver important elements of social housing. I will shortly be issuing new targets for social...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Data (15 Nov 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: My Department does not hold information on the number of unoccupied houses awaiting acceptance of offer in each county council area. The allocation of social housing supports to qualified households is a matter for the local authority concerned, in accordance with its allocation scheme made in accordance with section 22 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and associated Regulations.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Provision (15 Nov 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: My Department provides 100% funding to all local authorities to progress turnkey projects. There are consistent approaches to funding of turnkey projects to minimise the risk to public funding. In the case of Cork County Council I understand that it has identified an approach to allow some advance funding to secure the public investment against the land. My...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Data (15 Nov 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: My Department introduced the Voids Programme to provide additional support to assist local authorities in remediating vacant local authority housing. Between 2014 and 2016 this programme remediated approximately 7,100 units. A key priority of this scheme is to rehouse homeless families to the fullest extent possible in homes that have been restored to an energy efficient condition. The...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Review of Estimates for Public Services 2017: Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (15 Nov 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I very much welcome this opportunity to discuss with the committee the progress to date in 2017 on expenditure and outputs in respect of my Department’s programme and also the prospects for next year in light of budget 2018. I am accompanied by the Minister of State, Deputy Damien English, who will take questions on the programmes related to planning and Met Éireann, and Minister...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Review of Estimates for Public Services 2017: Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (15 Nov 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: In terms of our own figures on the capital side for housing, we are at 74% spend for the year, which is dramatically up on where we might have been this time last year. This is because we are ramping up our programmes in terms of delivery for build, acquisition and everything else that we are hoping to do in respect of social housing. Traditionally, capital spend drawdown can be lumpy in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Review of Estimates for Public Services 2017: Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (15 Nov 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: My apologies. I will revert to the Deputy on current expenditure in the housing programme in a moment.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Review of Estimates for Public Services 2017: Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (15 Nov 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: More people would have applied or subscribed to the fund than the level of funding that was available. We would have tiered programmes based on various criteria. We allocated €224 million as a priority, even though €200 million was the allocation given. We did that to make sure that if there was a delay in one area, we could quickly move to another programme to ensure that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Review of Estimates for Public Services 2017: Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (15 Nov 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy for his question. I will make a number of points, taking into account the context in which the question is framed and the Daft.ie report. It is important to note that the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, has its own rent index. This is based on a much larger data set, with more aggregate. It is based on actual registered tenancies and rents paid, not rents advertised....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Review of Estimates for Public Services 2017: Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (15 Nov 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: -----to help people. I ask Deputy O'Dowd to make contact with-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Review of Estimates for Public Services 2017: Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (15 Nov 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: There are exceptional HAP cases that have been brought to my attention. We have been able to help in those situations because we are obliged to meet the needs of people in difficult circumstances. There should never be an occasion where a person would have to sleep in his or her car on any night of the week because we have the resources in place to deal with such situations.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Review of Estimates for Public Services 2017: Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (15 Nov 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank Deputy Barry. On the statistics outlined in The Irish Timesthis morning, I have not seen either the data or the analysis. However, they do not stand up to our data in terms of what we know is happening and what we published in the second quarter of the year regarding the social housing programme. If we are looking at the social housing programme in the context of what is happening,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Review of Estimates for Public Services 2017: Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (15 Nov 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I would really love to know how Deputy Barry thinks I am trying to minimise this.