Results 9,781-9,800 of 15,555 for speaker:Eoghan Murphy

Questions on Promised Legislation (28 Mar 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: The Department has been doing a lot of work on this area because of its importance not only around flooding but also our responsibility regarding certain EU directives on river basin management plans and river catchment areas. Work is ongoing in the Department to progress that. I am in regular contact with the Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW on all these issues as we do...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Wind Energy Guidelines (28 Mar 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: My Department is currently undertaking a focused review of the 2006 Wind Energy Development Guidelines. As part of the overall review, a strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is being undertaken on the revised Guidelines before they come into effect, in accordance with the requirements of EU Directive 2001/24/EC on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payment (28 Mar 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: Rent Supplement is a means-tested payment for certain people living in private rented accommodation who cannot provide for the cost of their accommodation from their own resources. The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) is a form of social housing support for people who have a long-term housing need. It is available in all local authority areas and its introduction now ensures that all...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Staff Data (28 Mar 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: Part 5 of the Disability Act 2005 sets out the legal obligation of the public sector to meet a target of 3% of employees with disabilities.  This Act also provides for a statutory annual report on the employment of people with disabilities in the public sector. The latest available figures relate to 2016 when 4.7% of staff (32 staff) in my Department declared themselves as having a...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Nuclear Plants (28 Mar 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: My Department received correspondence from the UK authorities on 7 December 2017, informing it of the carrying out of a public consultation on the process and criteria for designating potentially suitable sites in a new National Policy Statement for nuclear power projects with over 1GW of single reactor capacity for the period 2026-2035, and stating that the Department could make a submission...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Regional Development Initiatives (28 Mar 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: Project Ireland 2040, which was launched by the Government last month, sets out the long-term planning and investment strategy for the country and contains a wide range of major investment projects and commitments within the 10-year National Development Plan. In addition, the 20-year National Planning Frameworkoutlines the broader policy principles and priorities to plan in a more strategic...

Questions on Promised Legislation (29 Mar 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy for the question. The initial response to the use of hotel accommodation was to move to rapid build as a solution for new social housing homes. As the technology has advanced, however, it is now the default position in the private sector to use rapid build. As such, we are telling the local authorities that rapid build should be the default position for every new scheme...

Questions on Promised Legislation (29 Mar 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: We do not have the fourth quarter construction report for last year yet. It will be published in the next two weeks. We will have more detail on that. Rapid is at the centre of what we are doing for the more than 30,000 units to be built by local authorities and housing bodies.

Questions on Promised Legislation (29 Mar 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy for the question. Thousands of new student places are being built at the moment. We have a very ambitious plan for that which will help students into affordable accommodation. On the particular issue the Deputy raises, if it is a case of traditional tenancy arrangements, it should be captured by the rent pressure zone and that kind of inflation should not be allowed....

Questions on Promised Legislation (29 Mar 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputies for raising those particular issues. One of the measures we introduced in the fourth quarter of last year was an obligation for landlords to notify the Residential Tenancies Board when they serve a notice to quit on at-risk tenants so that the local authority can then get involved with those tenants to put in place early solutions to prevent those individuals or...

Questions on Promised Legislation (29 Mar 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: If one looks at the numbers for January and February, almost 300 families were prevented from entering or exited out of emergency accommodation, in roughly a 50:50 split. Therefore, work is being done. Early intervention works where tenants are at risk of falling into emergency accommodation and we will continue to progress that. We are not relying on the private sector to build social...

Questions on Promised Legislation (29 Mar 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: On the private side though, it is important to note that planning permission was given last year for 20,000 new homes to be built in the State, a 27% increase on the previous year. We do have an affordable housing scheme. Local authorities have identified land and finance for 4,000 affordable homes under the affordable purchase scheme. Our ambition is for 10,000 homes. We are not...

Questions on Promised Legislation (29 Mar 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: -----and as those areas meet the criteria, they then come in to the rent pressure zones.

Residential Tenancies (Greater Security of Tenure and Rent Certainty) Bill 2018: First Stage (29 Mar 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: No.

Affordable Housing: Statements (29 Mar 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: Our Whips are doing a great job.

Affordable Housing: Statements (29 Mar 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: I can commence. I do not want to delay matters unnecessarily.

Affordable Housing: Statements (29 Mar 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: If it is appropriate, I congratulate Deputy Barry Cowen on his elevation within his party and thank him for the courtesy he has shown me while working together over the past ten months. At the outset, I wish to address the February homeless figures that I published yesterday. This latest report repeats what we saw in January and would seem to indicate a worrying trend since the beginning...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Issues (29 Mar 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: The National Planning Framework(NPF), published together with the National Development Plan(NDP) as part of Project Ireland 2040on 16 February 2018, sets out an ambitious high-level national vision for Ireland for 2040, and provides the framework and principles to manage future population and economic growth over the next 20 years, catering for around 1 million extra people, 660,000 extra...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Data (29 Mar 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: Dedicated funding for Housing Inclusion Support programmes is provided within my Department’s Housing Vote on an annual basis. This funding is provided to local authorities for the provision of programmes to support the delivery of Traveller specific accommodation and related services, the provision of homeless services and also supports to meet the housing needs of people with...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Home Loan Scheme (29 Mar 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: Following a review of the two existing local authority home loan schemes, the House Purchase Loan and the Home Choice Loan, a new loan offering, known as the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan, was introduced on 1 February 2018. As with the previous local authority home loan offerings, the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan is a local authority product and loan applications are made directly to the local...