Results 8,781-8,800 of 15,555 for speaker:Eoghan Murphy

Other Questions: Local Authority Housing Eligibility (7 Dec 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: The social housing assessment regulations 2011 prescribe maximum net income limits for each housing authority in different bands according to area, with income defined and assessed according to a standard household means policy. The income bands and the authority area assigned to each band are based on an assessment of the income needed to provide for a household's basic needs plus a...

Other Questions: Local Authority Housing Eligibility (7 Dec 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I share the Deputy's concern and his desire to get the report completed as quickly as possible. When I said it would be delivered in the first half of 2018, I did not mean that it would be done in seven months' time. We want it to be done as quickly as possible. We have been engaging with the Housing Agency, which is doing this work, to get the report done as quickly as possible. I...

Other Questions: Local Authority Housing Eligibility (7 Dec 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I understand and respect the Deputy's commitment to the issue and to his constituents who are in this very difficult situation. It is difficult to know what assessments are being done in individual cases. I do not yet know what the review will conclude and it is not clear to me if it will recommend an increase in the bands or, if such increase is recommended, how much that might be. We...

Other Questions: Local Authority Housing Eligibility (7 Dec 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I am aware the Deputy raised that matter previously and I discussed it with my officials. It has been communicated to the Housing Agency, which is conducting the review.

Other Questions: Housing Provision (7 Dec 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: As announced in budget 2018, my colleague, the Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Donohoe, intends to establish Home Building Finance Ireland, HBFI, to provide funding on market terms to viable residential development projects whose owners are experiencing difficulty in obtaining debt funding. Officials from my Department have met with Department of...

Other Questions: Housing Provision (7 Dec 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I agree with the Deputy that builders in many parts of the country are experiencing difficulties in obtaining finance at an affordable rate to allow them to undertake projects that are viable and can deliver houses at prices people can afford. We have introduced a number of measures to help with construction and development costs in site development. For example, the An Bord Pleanála...

Other Questions: Housing Provision (7 Dec 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: As the Deputy will be aware, traditionally large developers would have had access to finance; therefore, I would not expect them to approach HBFI for it. Home Building Finance Ireland is a new entity that will provide finance for small builders and developers throughout the country at competitive commercial rates of interest to enable them to build more homes at affordable prices. We have a...

Other Questions: Housing Provision (7 Dec 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: LIHAF 2 will bring about the provision of affordable houses. Some 10,000 units have gone through the pre-consultation and the An Bord Pleanála fast-track process. All of these measures have been put in place to try to remove some of the last impediments to building more homes more quickly and at more affordable prices. They will start to come on stream towards the end of this year and...

Other Questions: Homelessness Strategy (7 Dec 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy for this question. One of the key commitments made in Rebuilding Ireland is that we will support homeless families and children to exit homelessness into independent tenancies. For homeless families residing in emergency accommodation, the long-term solution is to increase and accelerate the supply of homes. Rebuilding Ireland seeks to achieve this and in the period to...

Other Questions: Homelessness Strategy (7 Dec 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I should be held to account because it is my responsibility to get these families and children out of homelessness into permanent secure homes.

Other Questions: Homelessness Strategy (7 Dec 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I have visited a number of the family hubs where I met a number of families who were previously in hotel accommodation. Yesterday Focus Ireland launched two very important reports on the experiences of homeless families and families that had exited homelessness into family hubs and the impact it had had on them. I accept that the target of mid-July in taking families out of hotels was not...

Other Questions: Homelessness Strategy (7 Dec 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: Homes are being built, including new social housing homes. We have just published the quarter three status report-----

Other Questions: Homelessness Strategy (7 Dec 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: Just under 2,000 homes are about to go on site across 92 schemes, we have 3,660 homes on site across 191 schemes, and just over 1,400 homes have been completed across 147 schemes. Social housing homes are being built. We are rapidly increasing the number of social housing homes being built by local authorities and housing bodies over what was built last year and the year before last. This...

Other Questions: Homelessness Strategy (7 Dec 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: -----but also people who need affordable homes. We are putting in every care and support we can into families in hubs, looking after the children. These families' experiences were one of the very first things brought to my attention on my appointment as Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, perhaps on the first or second day in the job. I have met with care workers working...

Other Questions: Homelessness Strategy (7 Dec 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: -----moving into more suitable accommodation as a result.

Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (7 Dec 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: The Government recognises the housing affordability pressures faced by households, particularly those on low to moderate incomes, in parts of the country where housing costs and demand are highest. A number of measures have already been introduced to maximise and expedite housing supply and improve affordability. The latest housing activity reports indicate that the range of measures being...

Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (7 Dec 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: Obviously, when we talk about affordability and what is affordable to an individual, it depends on their means. The Central Bank has income limits in place when it comes to taking out a mortgage. When we talk about affordability, we look at two aspects. We look at what is affordable for the developer or builder to be able to be build a house that can then be sold at an affordable price,...

Questions on Promised Legislation (7 Dec 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: Report Stage of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016 has been ordered to take place in the Dáil this week. The Minister of State, Deputy Damien English, proposes to introduce an amendment in the Seanad that will include provision for data centres as part of the strategic infrastructure element of the Bill. We are working with the Whips office to see if we can get the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Data (7 Dec 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: The housing activity reports, which are available on my Department’s website, show that 19,246 new homes were granted planning permission in the 12 months to end-June 2017, an increase of 49% over the same period last year.  Commencement notices are up by 37%, with notices for 17,151 new homes nationwide submitted in the year to end-...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Tenant Purchase Scheme Review (7 Dec 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: The Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme came into operation on 1 January 2016.  The Scheme is open to eligible tenants, including joint tenants, of local authority houses that are available for sale under the Scheme. To be eligible, tenants must meet certain criteria, including having a minimum reckonable income of €15,000 per annum and having been in receipt of social housing...