Results 12,461-12,480 of 26,184 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (14 Jul 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) is a flexible and immediate housing support that is available to all eligible households throughout the State. At end Q1 2021 there were nearly 61,300 households in receipt of HAP and over 33,900 separate landlords and agents providing accommodation to households supported by the scheme. In respect of the provision of HAP funding, Limerick City and County...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (14 Jul 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Under the Voids Programme funded by my Department, over €65 million was provided to the four local authorities encompassing the geographic area of the county and city of Dublin in the period 2016-2020. This figure is in addition to the funding provided by the local authorities through their own resources to prepare vacant units for re-letting. The table below provides a breakdown of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (14 Jul 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 133 and 134 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. The grants include the Housing Adaptation Grant for People with a Disability, the Mobility Aids Grant and the Housing...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (14 Jul 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: A number of measures are currently in place for first-time homeowners seeking to build their own home on private land. The Help to Buy Scheme may return tax paid in the previous four years (up to a maximum amount of €30,000) to eligible first-time homeowners purchasing or self-building a new home. Further information on this support is available online at:...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Correspondence (14 Jul 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Programme for Government sets out a number of commitments in respect of the important policy area of building defects and provides for an examination of defects in housing, having regard to the recommendations of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing report, "Safe as Houses". In this context, I established a working group to examine defects in housing. The group’s terms of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Strategies (14 Jul 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 139 and 140 together. My Department has significantly increased activities in recent years to comply with the range of disability statutes, conventions and codes of practice. My Department has appointed an Access Team, with terms of reference and official policy to deliver a targeted Action Plan over 3 years. The objective is to greatly enhance access to my...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (14 Jul 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department regularly publishes information on the number and value of (i) local authority loan approvals and (ii) local authority loan drawdowns. Local authority approval means that an official letter of offer has been sent to a borrower (and therefore relates to a specific property and loan amount). The requested figures for 2019 and 2020 are available at the below link -...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Septic Tanks (14 Jul 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Following on from the recommendations contained in the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services report in April 2017, the Rural Water Working Group was established to conduct a review of the wider resources and investment needs relating to the rural water sector. As part of its work, the Working Group recommended a number of revisions to the existing...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (14 Jul 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Choice Based Letting (CBL) is a method whereby available social housing stock is let by being openly advertised by local authorities to persons on the social housing waiting list. This allows qualified applicants to 'register an interest' in available homes. Applicants can act on their own initiative to respond to adverts and express an interest in dwellings that they would like to live...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (14 Jul 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 146 and 147 together. The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) is a form of social housing support for people who have a long-term housing need. In order to qualify for HAP, a household must first be assessed as eligible for social housing support. Applications for social housing support are assessed by the relevant local authority, in accordance with the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (14 Jul 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Details on the number of households qualified for social housing support in each local authority area is 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, social housing support. This represents a decrease of 6,813 households or...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (14 Jul 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Housing Agency provides a central support service which assesses applications for the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan on behalf of local authorities and makes recommendations to the authorities to approve or refuse applications. Each local authority must have in place a credit committee and it is a matter for the committee to make the decision on applications for loans, in accordance with...

Seanad: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (15 Jul 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Leas-Chathaoirleach. I thank all or most Senators for their contributions this afternoon. I thank Senator Boyhan for his amendment. It is well-researched and he has put forward an argument. He has gone through it and it is based on fact unlike a couple of the other contributions that supported his amendment. I know from the Senator and from the work he has...

Seanad: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (15 Jul 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I must leave the debate to attend a Cabinet sub-committee meeting.

Seanad: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (15 Jul 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, is coming in.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Animal Welfare (15 Jul 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The control of live hare coursing, including the operation of individual coursing meetings and managing the use of hares for that activity, is carried out under the Greyhound Industry Act 1958, which is the responsibility of my colleague, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. My responsibility relates to the conservation status of the hare. While the regulation of hare...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (15 Jul 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department is committed to ensuring that tenants in social housing are provided with adequate housing that meets the standards most recently laid down in the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019. My Department is actively engaging with the local authority sector to promote the preventative maintenance of local authority housing stock and provides significant funding...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Funding (15 Jul 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Details of the funding provided by my Department to each local authority in respect of the Disabled Persons Grants Scheme/Improvement Works in Lieu (DPG/IWIL) for local authority tenants in 2020 is available at the following link. www.housing.gov.ie/housing/grantsfinancial-assistance/disabl ed-persons-grants-and-improvement-works-lieu-schemes The 2021 DPG allocations issued to local...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Funding (15 Jul 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 187 and 188 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. The grants include the Housing Adaptation Grant for People with a Disability, the Mobility Aids Grant and the Housing Aid...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (15 Jul 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 189, 195, 208 and 209 together. 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. My Department does not collect the data sought, however...