Results 12,281-12,300 of 26,025 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Affordable Homes in the Poolbeg Strategic Development Zone: Motion (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The intelligence unit is working very well. Impressive.

Affordable Homes in the Poolbeg Strategic Development Zone: Motion (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I thank Deputy Ó Broin and his colleagues for tabling the motion. It is timely and useful. I will not oppose it. I will not engage in a political back-and-forth with the three previous speakers because this is a very serious issue. I agree with Deputy Ó Broin that this is a very important strategic site. It is not the only important strategic site in Dublin but is probably...

Affordable Homes in the Poolbeg Strategic Development Zone: Motion (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I have been listening to the Member. She has made charges against me concerning things that I did not say, nor have I ever.

Affordable Homes in the Poolbeg Strategic Development Zone: Motion (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: She should withdraw them because they are just wrong and she knows it.

Affordable Homes in the Poolbeg Strategic Development Zone: Motion (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Deputy will not be let away with her propaganda this evening.

Affordable Homes in the Poolbeg Strategic Development Zone: Motion (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Go away out of that. You referred to me. I never said that.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rental Sector (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) was established as an independent statutory body under the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004-2021, to operate a national tenancy registration system and to facilitate the resolution of disputes between landlords and tenants. The Residential Tenancies and Valuation Act 2020 set out new protections for tenants who fall into rent arrears, and as a...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Cork boundary alteration is the most significant of its kind undertaken in the State and represents a major reorganisation of local government in Cork. The main aim of the boundary extension was to allow the potential for further development within a new City Council area, while also incentivising higher density development and reducing the risk of sprawl. The extended City area now...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 195 and 197 together. The income limits and maximum grant amounts payable under the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability Scheme were reviewed in 2013. This review, co-ordinated by the Housing Agency with the involvement of local authorities and relevant stakeholder organisations, sought to spread the benefits as widely as...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Local authorities are responsible for the detailed administration of the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability scheme for private houses, including the assessment, approval and payment of grants to applicants under the various measures. Guidance issued by my Department recommends that local authorities assemble a schedule of standard costs for each...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: This is a matter between the developer and his lending institution to resolve. It is not one in which my Department has any involvement.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Approved Housing Bodies (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Payment and Availability Agreements (P&As) are funded under the Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme (SHCEP), which funds the ongoing current costs of homes delivered by Approved Housing Bodies through build and acquisition, in addition to homes delivered through the various leasing programmes. The total SHCEP spend in 2020 was €197m, of which €142m related to...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Social Housing Public Private Partnership (PPP) Programme consists of 3 Bundles of sites that will deliver in the region of 1,500 social homes and there are robust governance arrangements in place to oversee implementation. Securing value for money (VfM) is an overarching consideration throughout the PPP procurement process and the Central PPP Unit in the Department of Public Expenditure...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: In relation to the concrete blocks, the relevant suite of harmonised standard facilitating specification of masonry units is the EN 771 (series). ‘I.S. EN 771-3:2011+A1:2015’deals with aggregate concrete masonry units. In this regard, the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI), has published additional guidance in the form of ‘S.R. 325:2013+A2:2018/AC:2019...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I understand that such schemes are non-statutory and are therefore a matter for the individual local authorities and information in relation to them should be sought directly from each local authority.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Emergency Accommodation (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 208 to 210, inclusive, together. 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 emergency accommodation and related services for...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 219, 221, 223 and 225 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...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 218 and 220 together. The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme plays a vital role in housing eligible families and individuals. At the end of 2020, over 86,900 HAP tenancies had been set-up since the scheme commenced, of which there were nearly 60,000 households actively in receipt of HAP support, including 1,668 households in Wicklow. Local authorities...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: When first introduced in 2018, the single stage approval process applied to social housing projects up to the value of €2m but I increased this to €6m in September 2020, to give further options to local authorities. 77 projects delivering 216 homes have availed of the single stage option to date, of which 43 projects delivering 130 homes are either onsite or completed....

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (29 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The ‘Call for Housing 2020’ was launched on 21 July 2020 as a short-term intervention to examine opportunities in the property market to secure additional properties for social housing. The campaign was run on behalf of my Department by the Housing Agency, in consultation with the local authorities. To 28 June 2021, 311 properties were offered for sale to the Housing Agency...