Results 10,581-10,600 of 15,555 for speaker:Eoghan Murphy

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Homeless Persons Data (20 Jun 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: My Department’s role in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of housing authorities in addressing homelessness at local level.  Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of accommodation and related services for homeless persons rests with individual housing authorities. Monthly...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Provision (20 Jun 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: The Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016 amended section 179 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 relating to the arrangements for the approval by local authorities of their own development proposals, often referred to as the Part 8 process. This amendment required a supporting amendment to the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 which was...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Homeless Figures: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (20 Jun 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Chair and members for the opportunity to appear again before the committee, this time to discuss the very serious issue of homeless numbers and to update the committee on two important reports on homelessness which I published yesterday. These reports were prepared by the Dublin Region Homeless Executive and the inter-agency group on homelessness chaired by Mr. John Murphy,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Homeless Figures: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (20 Jun 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank Deputy Darragh O'Brien for his questions. His first point related to the response to the report from Focus Ireland. The response of Focus Ireland, in attacking the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive in this way, was disappointing. The DRHE is on the front line, helping thousands of people and doing an incredible amount of work. It works with Focus Ireland, Dublin Simon and the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Homeless Figures: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (20 Jun 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: I can assure the Deputy that the committee will meet again this year. It has been recommended by the inter-agency group that the NHCC meet on a bi-annual basis. It is very important that groups meet and share information. I can assure the Deputy that my Department is in constant contact with the NGO sector. We constantly meet NGOs in a round-table format and we will have another such...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Homeless Figures: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (20 Jun 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: No, we are not. In a way we became more proactive and, therefore, more regular meetings occurred but with different arrangements. The committee will meet again, which is one of the recommendations made by the inter-agency group. I believe that I have answered the first set of questions asked by the Deputy.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Homeless Figures: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (20 Jun 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: The purpose of this engagement is to hear the views of the committee members as to what they think, as a committee or individual representatives, is the best way forward based on the information in the reports. I wrote to local authority chief executives, in advance of the next housing summit, to inform them about the dual focus of the summit, one of which will be these reports. What I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Homeless Figures: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (20 Jun 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: I do not have the numbers in front of me. I believe that the majority of HAP tenancies have lasted well beyond 12 months. The way that HAP is structured allows flexibility, which people prefer and they believe the provision meets their housing needs in the longer term. The provision does not prevent them being on the transfer list and then getting into a permanent social housing home in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Homeless Figures: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (20 Jun 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: The publication of these two reports allows Members to scrutinise much of the work that has happened in this area because they contain a huge amount of new information.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Homeless Figures: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (20 Jun 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: I will come to the Deputy's question. The last point that he made is completely unacceptable in light of the fact that I sought the two reports, I have published them and I am here to discuss them, never mind the fact that he wanted us to meet as a committee before the reports were published and accused of me of not making myself available to meet the committee. I was quite clear that we...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Homeless Figures: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (20 Jun 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: No. A survey is being carried on behalf of the executive committee.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Homeless Figures: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (20 Jun 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: I ask Deputy Ó Broin to allow me to finish my point.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Homeless Figures: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (20 Jun 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: I hoped that this piece work would be finished in time to roll into the DRHE report but it was not. We had already agreed to the meeting, I did not want to delay same and so we are here to discuss two reports. The work on the recategorisation or the miscategorisation error that occurred is continuing. It will be completed, it will be made public and we can discuss it then. The Deputy has...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Homeless Figures: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (20 Jun 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: The Deputy is completely misconstruing my position and I have to wonder what his motivation is in doing so. Why is he continuing to turn his focus and attention on me? We are trying to solve a serious problem that our society is facing. I have been very clear on what we have been trying to do. I ask the Deputy not to pretend that if I had said to the committee that I was not ready, he...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Homeless Figures: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (20 Jun 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy for his questions. It is not true to say there is nothing new in the reports.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Homeless Figures: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (20 Jun 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: I disagree. There is important information in the reports. They do not focus exclusively on the HAP scheme, although there are some important things coming out of them on it. There is some very good and detailed information in them. Those involved spent a lot of time in putting them together to try to give the public a clear picture on some of the challenges we faced.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Homeless Figures: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (20 Jun 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: I did not write the reports. They were written by experts who work on the front line. If the Deputy wants to challenge their credibility, that is a completely separate conversation. It would be completely out of line to do so. The line in the inter-agency report that has been mentioned has been misinterpreted. I do not know why that has occurred. The report was produced independently of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Homeless Figures: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (20 Jun 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: I did not write the report. It is good that we are having this engagement because it allows the Deputy to put such suggestions on the table.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Homeless Figures: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (20 Jun 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: The reports contain various useful bits of information and a number of good recommendations. If the Deputy believes they do not cover everything, that is exactly why we are having this engagement. It is for the same reason I will be having an engagement with the local authorities at the next housing summit. When there was some talk about non-EU nationals a few months ago, some unhelpful...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Homeless Figures: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (20 Jun 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Senators for their questions. I absolutely agree with Senator Boyhan that the numbers in hotels are very disappointing. It is unacceptable. Putting a family in a hotel is not the appropriate first response and that is why we have moved to the hubs programme. It is important to have targets in order to drive policy but when it comes to families, the issues are far more complex...