Results 11,721-11,740 of 25,999 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (18 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Government’s public health response to COVID has involved restrictions on construction activity in both 2020 and 2021. In 2020, construction activity ceased for a seven-week period from 28 March to 18 May, although certain designated social housing projects were allowed to continue.  In 2021, public health restrictions required most residential construction to stop from 8...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (18 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department publishes comprehensive programme level statistics on social housing delivery activity. This data includes details on the number of social houses built between 2010 - 2020 and is published on the statistics page of my Department’s website, at the following link:  Since 2016, in addition to the statistical overview of activity in each local authority, the Social...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Sustainable Development Goals (18 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 379 and 380 together. The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a significant and ambitious policy agenda that concerns all Government Departments. Overall political oversight for national SDG implementation is provided through the Cabinet, with each Minister having specific responsibility for...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Social Media (18 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 381, 382 and 402 together. My Department has not engaged a third-party company to conduct online and/or social media monitoring or to provide reports on social media coverage. My Department's social media channels are managed by officials within the Communications Unit. Content posted on those channels is monitored in order to measure its efficacy in terms...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Investigations (18 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department has engaged one private investigation company in the past three years. In July 2019, a contract was put in place with a company for the provision of services related to the receipt and investigation of protected disclosures.  In the event, the services were not required and were never drawn down so no costs were incurred. My Department does not maintain the requested...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (18 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 385 and 386 together. The cracking of external walls of dwellings in Donegal and Mayo, due to the crumbling of concrete blockwork, came to light in 2013. An Expert Panel was established in 2016 to investigate the matter. It was chaired by Mr Denis McCarthy (formerly Waterford Co Co) and it included representatives nominated by the National Standards...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Grant Payments (18 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Energy Efficiency/Retrofitting Programme (EERP) was launched in 2013 with the aim of funding the retrofit of social homes requiring insulation and energy upgrade works. Since 2013, over 73,500 units of local authority housing stock have been retrofitted under the programme with a total exchequer spend of €161 million. The Programme for Government commits to retrofitting 500,000...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Data Protection (18 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force on 25 May 2018.  My Department appointed a Data Protection Officer (as is required under Article 37 of the GDPR) and set up a dedicated Data Protection Unit that year The table below sets out the number of data breaches identified by my Department since the introduction of the GDPR. All breaches were dealt with in line...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (18 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department operates a number of funding programmes that assist local authorities to work in partnership with Approved Housing Bodie's (AHBs) to construct, purchase and lease new homes and make them available for social housing. The Capital Advance Leasing Facility (CALF) funding is capital support provided to AHBs by local authorities to facilitate the funding of construction,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (18 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The design and construction of buildings is regulated under the Building Control Acts 1990 to 2020. The Act provides for the making of Building Regulations and Building Control Regulations. The Building Regulations set out the minimum legal performance requirements for the construction of new buildings and certain works to existing buildings. They do not prescribe...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (18 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The allocation of local authority dwellings, including for specific groups such as older people,  is, in accordance with relevant regulations, a matter for individual local authorities. As such I have no function relating to such allocations, nor does my Department collate information from local authorities in relation to their allocations.  Details on the number of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (18 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Limerick City and County Council provide a highly effective HAP transactional shared service on behalf of all local authorities. The HAP Shared Services Centre (HAP SSC) manages all HAP related rental transactions for the tenant, local authority and landlord but does not capture further details of closed tenancies that transfer to other forms of social housing. The management of individual...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (18 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme (SHCEP) supports the delivery of social housing by providing financial support to local authorities for the long term leasing of houses and apartments from private owners and Approved Housing Bodies. At end 2020, a total of 273 leased properties were supported under SHCEP across all leasing delivery programmes in Kildare County Council. A...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Bodies (18 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management (NDFEM) was established within my Department in 2009 to provide central direction and leadership for fire and emergency management services, to develop national policies and national standards and to support and oversee their implementation at local level.  It is widely recognised that the NDFEM Management Board...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Social Media (18 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department provides funding to local authorities in respect of the Housing Adapatation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability, to assist eligible people in private houses to make their accommodation more suitable to their needs. Separately, the Disabled Persons Grant Scheme (DPGs) is funded by my Department to carry out works on social housing stock to address...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Grant Payments (18 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 403, 404, 405, 406 and 407 together. My Department provides funding under the suite of Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability, to assist people in private houses to make their accommodation more suitable for their needs.  Details on the number of grants paid and the amount spent for the past five...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Grant Payments (18 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department provides funding under the suite of Housing Adaptation Grant Schemes for Older People and People with a Disability, in respect of adaptations to private houses. The detailed administration of the schemes, including the assessment, approval and payment of individual grants to applicants, is the responsibility of the relevant local authority. Local authorities, in...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Funding (18 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 409 to 411, inclusive, together. My Department has a wide and diverse business agenda, covering a broad range of functions, and in order to achieve its business objectives, the Department allocates significant resources across a number of sectors.  These include local authorities, State agencies and other bodies including a range of organisations...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water Quality (19 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I welcome the recent publication of the EPA’s Bathing Water Quality in Ireland 2020 report, and am pleased to see the continued improvements in the quality of our bathing waters highlighted in the report, especially those bathing waters that are meeting or exceeding the minimum water quality requirements. It is important to note that 96% of bathing waters met or exceeded the minimum...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (19 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Under section 159 of the Local Government Act 2001, each Chief Executive is responsible for the staffing and organisational arrangements necessary for carrying out the functions of the local authority for which he or she is responsible. My Department oversees workforce planning for the local government sector, including the monitoring of local government sector employment levels. To this...