Results 12,261-12,280 of 26,025 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (24 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Strategy for the Rental Sector identifies high and rapidly rising rents as the key driver of accommodation insecurity for tenants and a factor in the termination of tenancies. To address this situation, a Rent Predictability Measure was introduced to moderate rent increases in those parts of the country where the imbalance between demand and supply of rental accommodation was driving rent...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (24 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: In terms of the evaluation of housing needs, National Policy Objective 37 of the National Planning Framework (NPF) provides for a Housing Need and Demand Assessment (HNDA) to be undertaken in each local authority area. The objective is to ensure long-term strategic housing needs are met. The purpose of the HNDA is to: (1) assist local authorities to develop long-term strategic views of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (24 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 247, 250 and 253 together. Details on the number of households qualified for social housing support in each local authority administrative area are provided in the annual statutory Summary of Social Housing Assessments (SSHA). The most recent summary, conducted in November 2020, shows that 61,880 households were assessed as qualified for and being in need of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (24 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Land Development Agency (LDA) is currently developing a register of all relevant public lands, which is lands owned by public bodies in population areas greater than 10,000. An initial prototype mapping tool has already been completed and is available on the LDA website. The Land Development Agency Bill 2021 will put the register on a statutory basis. When completed, it will contain...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I cannot accept amendment No. 190 because its purpose is to delete subsection 57(3). As I have explained, this provision is necessary for technical reasons because, without it, lands owned by the Land Development Agency, LDA, would be considered relevant public lands and would confuse matters within this legislation. Basically, that means the LDA would be offering itself back the land it...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Ba mhaith liom fíorbhuíochas a ghabháil leis an gCathaoirleach agus le gach Teachta atá ar an gcoiste as an tsárobair a rinne siad. Ba dhíospóireacht úsáideach agus thábhachtach é. Táim ag súil go mór lenár n-obair bhreise a dhéanamh sa Dáil. I wish to thank the members of the committee for their work and...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I move amendment No. 161: In page 37, between lines 29 and 30, to insert the following: “(2) The Agency may give notice to a Schedule 1 public body specified in Column (2) of Schedule 3 of the Agency’s intention to acquire relevant public land specified in Column (1) of the schedule opposite the Schedule 1 public body so specified.”

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I thank the Deputy for the question. The absolute intention is that in the vast bulk of cases the Valuation Office would do it. There could be a very small number of instances where it would be a commercial State body for technical reasons and it is to give the option. It would certainly not be the norm and I would expect that valuations would be done through the Valuation Office. In the...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Instances where compensation would not be paid are where land is offered by other State bodies to the LDA. There would be no requirement to pay compensation in this respect. I did not get the Deputy's other question.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I move amendment No. 178: In page 38, line 12, to delete "sections 66and 67" and substitute "section 66".

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I move amendment No. 181: In page 38, line 25, to delete “or”.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I move amendment No. 182: In page 38, line 27, to delete “body.” and substitute the following: “body, or (c) where the transfer relates to relevant public land specified in Column (1) of Schedule 3*, the Schedule 1 public body specified in Column (2) of that Schedule opposite the relevant public land so specified.”.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I move amendment No. 184: In page 39, between lines 7 and 8, to insert the following: “Disposal of land by Agency or subsidiary DAC 55.(1)Subject to subsection (6), the Agency may, with the consent of the Minister having consulted with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, dispose of land owned by the Agency. (2) The power conferred on the Agency by subsection (1) may...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I thank colleagues for tabling the amendments. On a general point, it is important to remember that the vast majority of both social and affordable homes will continue to be delivered by local authorities. That is why we are tooling them up to do that. That is why we gave them the largest housing budget in the history of the State. We will continue to drive that on by giving them...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: A number of points have been made. We had a clear example there of some of the best in sound bite politics and misrepresentations of the real situation. That is just a fact. Throwing out phrases like "dirty little secret" and that type of stuff is not correct, at the end of the day. I reiterate that where local authorities have decided to dispose of land, they, like other bodies,...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I was just stating the facts.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: That is agreed.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I would need to be able to respond to it.

Planning and Development (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2021: Second Stage (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am grateful for the opportunity to introduce the Planning and Development (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2021 and I thank all colleagues for facilitating the urgent passage of this important legislation through the Houses of the Oireachtas. I am bringing forward the Bill as a matter of urgency in order to address the delays and disruption...

Planning and Development (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2021: Second Stage (Resumed) (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I appreciate Deputy Pringle raising those matters. It is not specifically referenced in this Bill but I have contacted Cork County Council over a number of months and been working with the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, on the question of historical burial sites. Everybody wants to be able to help and do what we can in helping survivors,...