Results 12,301-12,320 of 15,555 for speaker:Eoghan Murphy

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Water Services (20 Feb 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The Government is firmly committed to public water services remaining in public ownership, as reflected in the Water Services Acts and in the Water Services Policy Statement 2018-2025. There is widespread support for this view, and the report of the Joint Committee on Future Funding of Domestic Water Services in April 2017 supported the concept of a referendum. The committee recommended...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Water Services (20 Feb 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The Government is committed to public water services remaining in public ownership. There is no doubt about that. I accept people might be frustrated with the time that this is taking but there are risks here, as the Deputy has identified. There are risks to private wells, risks to group water schemes and risks to the operation of Irish Water itself. For a number of months, I have been...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Water Services (20 Feb 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: This is very important to the Government. Commitments were made and I intend to honour them. It is not, however, as urgent as other things because there is not currently a risk to the public ownership of our water supplies. We are committed to bringing forward a referendum to ensure our water services remain in public ownership. The difficulty has been in finding language that mitigates...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Water Services (20 Feb 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: At the moment, I cannot----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Water Services (20 Feb 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: This issue is, of course, important to me. My engagement with the Attorney General at the moment focuses on Brexit and rent legislation and the Attorney General is also dealing with a number of other issues. That is not to say this matter is not important. It has, however, taken some time for us to bring the wording to the Attorney General. His team is now working on that wording. As...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (20 Feb 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I propose to take Questions Nos. 21 and 22 together. Part 5 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 provides a new statutory basis for the delivery of affordable housing for purchase. The Act itself contains significant detail on the new arrangements, reducing the extent to which regulations are required. Insofar as regulations are necessary, the most immediate requirement...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (20 Feb 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: On the first part of Deputy Ó Broin's question, if we examine the different schemes in place now, we are talking about delivering about 29,000 affordable homes. That is growing and work is happening in the Department to build that pipeline out. I refer to a pipeline similar to what is in place for social housing targets under the Rebuilding Ireland programme. We are going to do that....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (20 Feb 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy for the follow-up questions. The affordability schemes were already there but I very much appreciate Fianna Fáil's support for additional funding for the existing affordability scheme and the recognition that it is a good scheme that will work to delivery affordable housing. Fianna Fáil's support for Rebuilding Ireland is very welcome in that regard. As for the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (20 Feb 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: -----several schemes already were functioning very well. The Rebuilding Ireland home loan is more successful than anyone anticipated.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (20 Feb 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: Just under 10,000 people have been able to purchase their first home through the help-to-buy scheme, which is fantastic. Other things are also happening, as I referenced in my first reply. On the regulations for priority of access to affordable homes or schemes, it is unfair to suggest the fact that the regulations have not been finalised is delaying anything because we already have...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (20 Feb 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: Do people have time to contribute again?

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (20 Feb 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The Fianna Fáil affordable housing scheme?

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (20 Feb 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank both Deputies for their follow-up questions. Again, I thank Deputy Darragh O'Brien for his support for Rebuilding Ireland and the Rebuilding Ireland home loan. It is really welcome to hear that.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (20 Feb 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I also thank him for supporting the serviced sites fund for affordable housing, which was in existence before the budget. The idea of using local authority land was not Fianna Fáil's idea, because it was not Fianna Fáil's practice in the past.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (20 Feb 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: It was our way of ensuring security for the provision of affordable housing. That is a fact on the record. I was in the meetings too.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (20 Feb 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: Deputy Ó Broin's questions concerned the cost-rental model and financial modelling. A lot of work has been done with the EIB and the National Development Finance Agency, NDFA. Some of it is site specific and some of it is more general. This is absolutely not going to work if the rents are not affordable. We understand that. At the moment we are doing a lot of financial modelling...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (20 Feb 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The limit is €75,000 for a couple and €50,000 for an individual. That has not changed.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rental Sector (20 Feb 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The February 2019 report on institutional investment in the housing market prepared by the economics division of the Department of Finance examines the role of institutional investors and large-scale landlords in the Irish residential property market. The report finds that the combined purchasing activity of property funds, real estate firms and real estate investment trusts accounted for a...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rental Sector (20 Feb 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy for the follow-up question. He talked about a trend; it is not a trend. Some 1% of transactions in 2017 is not a trend. A proportion of 4.6% of the stock is not a trend. The Deputy said 70% of landlords own one or two properties and that everyone knows that. Everyone does not know that because the Deputy is wrong. Some 86% of landlords own one or two properties, while...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rental Sector (20 Feb 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy. I did not give him a lecture about statistics; I pointed out where he was wrong and how that lack of knowledge or ignorance is, unfortunately, leading to the statements he is making against landlords in this country, the vast majority of whom-----