Results 9,301-9,320 of 25,999 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Regional Assemblies (21 Jul 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: The National Planning Framework (NPF) identified the five cities and five other large towns in Ireland as regional/cross-border drivers, in order to ensure that each Regional Assembly area could further develop the overall NPF framework on a regional basis, by identifying a more detailed growth strategy for each region to be determined taking into account regional conditions. Within this...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (21 Jul 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: I have no function in this matter. Funding and policy responsibility at a local level rests with the local authorities and at national level with the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport. Local authorities derive their income from a variety of sources including commercial rates, charges for goods and services and funding from Central Government. Central Government funding of local...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Commercial Rates (21 Jul 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: The Programme for Government - Our Shared Future, commits to reviewing the treatment of commercial rates for the remainder of the year, as a priority action. This process is underway in my Department in the context of the forthcoming July stimulus. The previously announced waiver forms part of this consideration, with a view to a single communication with local authorities and ratepayers in...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Housing (21 Jul 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 322 and 323 together. Details on the number of households qualified for social housing support in each local authority area are set out in the statutory Summary of Social Housing Assessments (SSHA). The most recent summary, conducted in June 2019, shows that 68,693 households were assessed as qualified for and being in need of social housing support. This...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payment (21 Jul 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 324 and 325 together. The table below provides details of the number of active HAP tenancies in Longford and Westmeath at the end of Q4 2019 and details of those households receiving HAP where the main applicant is over 65 years of age. Local Authority Active HAP tenancies at end 2019 Persons above 65 years of age that are...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Housing (21 Jul 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: Section 63(3) of the Local Government Act 2001 provides that, subject to law, a local authority is independent in the performance of its functions of which the provision and allocation of social housing support is one. My Department does not collect data from local authorities on their allocations to individual categories of applicant. The housing needs of people with disabilities are...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (21 Jul 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: I note that the Deputy raised this matter recently during a debate in the Dáil. Ireland ratified the Revised European Social Charter on 4 November 2000. At that time, Ireland accepted 92 of the 98 paragraphs of the Revised Charter. Three of those paragraphs not accepted by Ireland make up Article 31, which relates to the right to housing. The issue of the right to housing was...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (21 Jul 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: Social housing is built to the design standards set out in the guidelines 'Quality Housing for Sustainable Communities' which are available at . In preparing the Guidelines, particular account was taken of the objectives of government policy on sustainability, including access for people with disabilities and meeting varied needs of occupants through their lifetime. The design approach to...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (21 Jul 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: Question number 427 of 14 July 2020, provided the ranges of Unit Cost Ceilings (UCCs) as issued to each local authority as a benchmark for the development and costing of new build social housing. These UCCs were based on returned data from tendered social housing schemes over an extended period, updated from published tender index information, with the most recent set of UCCs being produced...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Fire Service (21 Jul 2020)

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, primarily through the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Fire Service (21 Jul 2020)

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 central...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Fire Service (21 Jul 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: Persons from all strands of society, including staff of local authority fire services, are eligible to be nominated for an award under the National Bravery Awards. Under this scheme, Deeds of Bravery Awards are given to people who have saved a human life involving personal risk to themselves. Comhairle na Míre Gaile - the Council for the Recognition of Deeds of Bravery - is under...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Data (21 Jul 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: At end Q4 2019, in County Tipperary, there were 1,266 approved housing applicants, 1,778 households were actively in receipt of HAP support and there were 1,088 tenancies supported by RAS.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Emergency Accommodation (21 Jul 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: The role of my Department in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of local authorities in addressing homelessness at local or regional level. Responsibility for the provision of emergency accommodation and related services for homeless persons is a matter for the local authorities. Therefore, the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Tenant Purchase Scheme (21 Jul 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: 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. The Housing (Sale of Local Authority Houses) Regulations 2015 governing the Scheme provides for a number of specified classes of houses to be excluded from sale, including...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rental Sector (22 Jul 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: With effect from 27 March 2020, under new emergency measures introduced into law to protect tenants during the COVID-19 emergency period, tenants cannot be forced to leave their rental accommodation, other than in exceptional circumstances. The measures also prohibit any increase to rent for the duration of the emergency period. These emergency laws initially applied for a period of 3 months...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Issues (22 Jul 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: Under the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended (the Act), all development, unless specifically exempted under the Act or associated Regulations, requires planning permission. Section 4 of the Act and Schedule 2 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, as amended, set out various exemptions from the requirement to obtain planning permission. Any such exemptions are subject...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Issues (22 Jul 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: Under the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended (the Act), all development, unless specifically exempted under the Act or associated Regulations, requires planning permission. Section 4 of the Act and Article 6 and Schedule 2 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, as amended (the Regulations) set out in more detail the various exemptions from the requirement to obtain...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Wastewater Treatment (22 Jul 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: The projects currently planned or underway by Irish Water to ensure compliance with the Directive referred to by the Deputy are Shannon Town, Cobh, Mallow, Ringsend, Fermoy, Enfield, Middleton, Cork City, Roscommon Town, Arklow, Athlone and Enniscorthy. As Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: River Basin Management Plans (22 Jul 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department is currently preparing the third River Basin Management Plan (RBMP) for Ireland to cover the period 2021-2027. Building on work during the second cycle, this plan will describe the main pressures and activities affecting water status, set out the environmental objectives to be achieved up to 2027 and identify the measures needed to achieve these objectives. My Department is...