Results 11,121-11,140 of 25,999 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Housing (4 Mar 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 87, 89, 90, 93, 95 and 99 together. Increasing the supply of social, affordable and private housing is a priority for this Government. The Programme for Government commits to the delivery of 50,000 new social homes with a focus on new build homes. In 2021, the Government has made available €3.3 billion for housing delivery programmes. Subject to...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Home Loan Scheme (4 Mar 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: €210 million has been secured to allow local authorities to lend through the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan (RIHL) scheme in 2021. Allocations for new lending approvals in 2021 have already been communicated to all 31 local authorities. The RIHL is a demand led scheme driven by the number of applications received by each local authority. Based on lending activity in recent years,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Housing (4 Mar 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 94 and 96 together. The delivery of housing supports is a key priority of Government and this is reflected in the Programme for Government commitment to increase the social housing stock nationally by more than 50,000, with a key emphasis on delivering new build homes. We are ambitious to ramp up the delivery at local authority level and we are committed to...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Housing (4 Mar 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: To date, my Department has issued two Serviced Sites Fund (SSF) calls for proposals to local authorities. Funding of almost €188 million has been approved in principle in support of 38 infrastructure projects in 14 local authority areas, which will assist in the delivery of almost 4,000 more affordable homes. Details of 35 SSF projects which received approval in principle under the two...

Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Second Stage (Resumed) (10 Mar 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Ar dtús, gabhaim míle buíochas le gach Teachta a ghlac páirt sa díospóireacht seo. Bhí sí an-úsáideach agus bhí na Teachtaí, den chuid is mó, an-dearfach freisin. D’éist mé leis na pointí a bhí á phlé ag mo chomhghleacaithe agus oibreoimid le chéile chun dul chun cinn a dhéanamh...

Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Second Stage (Resumed) (10 Mar 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Táim beagnach críochnaithe anois.

Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Second Stage (Resumed) (10 Mar 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: This agency and the legislation that underpins it will endure for some time. We need to get it right. As I said, I have listened to Members and I look forward to working with them on Committee Stage. There are reasonable and useful amendments that I will be open to considering. Let us remember why we are introducing this legislation. We need to ensure that State-owned land is used...

Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Second Stage (Resumed) (10 Mar 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Tá sé sin maith go leor. Fadhb ar bith.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Covid-19 Pandemic (10 Mar 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Government announced that additional public health restrictions would apply under Level 5 of the Plan for Living with COVID-19 on 6 January 2021. The additional restrictions required all construction activity to cease from 6pm on Friday 8 January, with a number of exceptions. These measures are set out in The Health Act 1947 (Section 31A - Temporary Restrictions) (Covid-19) (No. 10)...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rights of Way (10 Mar 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: There appears to be a misapprehension regarding the dates for registering rights of ways acquired by prescription on foot of amendments made by Parts 12 and 13 of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2011 to the provisions relating to acquisition of easements and profits by prescription contained in Part 8 of the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009. I understand from the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Investigations (10 Mar 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I will be examining the report, entitled 'A Review Into Certain Planning Matters in Respect of Donegal County Council', by Mr. Rory Mulcahy S.C., and will bring this matter to Government for consideration in due course. In this regard, the decisions of the Commissioner for Environmental Information (CEI/18/0019) of 13 February 2019 and the Information Commissioner (OIC-59426-Q8D7T8) of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Home Loan Scheme (10 Mar 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The local authority mortgage protection insurance (MPI) scheme applies to all house purchase loans approved by local authorities since 1 July 1986, including the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan introduced on 1 February 2018. It is an important safeguard for both applicants and lenders. One of the conditions of the MPI scheme, which is a group policy, is that it is obligatory for all local...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (10 Mar 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Housing First enables homeless individuals with high levels of complex needs to obtain permanent secure accommodation with the provision of intensive housing and health supports to help them maintain their tenancies. The National Implementation Plan for Housing First, published in September 2018, which puts the programme on a national footing, is designed to provide this response, by...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (10 Mar 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Applications for social housing support are assessed by the relevant local authority, in accordance with the eligibility and need criteria set down in section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the associated Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011, as amended. The 2011 Regulations prescribe maximum net income limits for each local authority, in different bands...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Covid-19 Pandemic (10 Mar 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Government announced that additional public health restrictions would apply under Level 5 of the Plan for Living with COVID-19 on 6 January 2021. The additional restrictions required all construction activity to cease from 6pm on Friday 8 January, with a number of exceptions. These measures are set out in The Health Act 1947 (Section 31A - Temporary Restrictions) (Covid-19) (No. 10)...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payment (10 Mar 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Under the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme, tenants source their own accommodation in the private rented market. The accommodation sourced by tenants should be within the prescribed maximum HAP rent limits, which are based on household size and the rental market within the area concerned. Guidelines on inter authority movement were issued to local authorities to facilitate the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Functions (10 Mar 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: As part of its successful multifaceted North Inner City Concept Area 1 proposal under Call 2 of the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF), Dublin City Council sought funding support for the development of a White Water Rafting Facility in George's Dock. While significant URDF funding was provisionally approved for a number of elements of the wider proposal the White Water Rafting...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Irish Water (10 Mar 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 374 and 415 together. The Programme for Government provides that the Government will retain Irish Water in public ownership as a national, standalone, regulated utility. The realisation of this commitment will complete the broad policy and legislative reforms which have seen the public water system embark on a journey of transformation, from a structure based...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (10 Mar 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) are making an important contribution to social housing delivery, as envisaged under current Government policy. My Department operates a number of funding programmes that assist local authorities to work in partnership with AHBs to construct, purchase and lease new homes and make them available for social housing. One such programme, that AHBs progress...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (10 Mar 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department operates a number of funding programmes that assist local authorities to work in partnership with Approved Housing Bodies to construct, purchase or lease new homes and make them available for social housing. This funding is underpinned by either mortgage agreements, capital advance agreements, leases or Payment & Availability agreements, which set out the terms and...