Results 12,721-12,740 of 15,555 for speaker:Eoghan Murphy

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Issues (4 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I assume the Deputy is referring to the Joint Communication from the Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council dated 22 March 2019, which has been received by my Department. A response to this communication is currently being prepared in my Department in coordination with the Department of Finance and the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rent Pressure Zones (4 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: On 2 April 2019, Government approved committee stage amendments to the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No 2) Bill 2018,  which will, among other measures, see the designation of Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) extended to the end of 2021. This Bill is scheduled for Dáil Committee Stage on 11 April 2019 and I will be working to have it complete its passage through both Houses as...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Homeless Accommodation Funding (4 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: My Department does not provide funding for services directly but provides funding to housing authorities towards operational costs for homeless accommodation and related services.  Under funding arrangements, housing authorities must provide at least 10% of the cost of services from their own resources.  Housing authorities may also incur additional expenditure on homeless related...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Homeless Persons Data (4 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: My Department publishes a monthly report on homelessness. The monthly report is based on data provided by housing authorities and produced through the Pathway Accommodation & Support System (PASS).  The report captures details of individuals utilising State-funded emergency accommodation arrangements that are overseen by housing authorities. The most recent report is...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Funding (4 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: My Department provides funding under the Disabled Persons Grants (DPG) scheme to local authorities for adaptations and extensions to their existing social housing stock to meet the needs of local authority tenants. The scheme applies to adaptations that are necessary to address the needs of older people or people with a disability who may require stair-lifts, grab-rails, showers, wet-rooms,...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Loans (9 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy for the question. The Rebuilding Ireland home loan scheme was launched on 1 February of last year to replace the existing house purchase and home choice loan schemes. It provides a new line of mortgage finance that includes fixed rates over 25 to 30 years to creditworthy first-time buyers who cannot access sufficient mortgage finance from a commercial lender. The Housing...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Loans (9 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy for the follow-up question. First, as I confirmed to Deputy O'Brien at a recent meeting of the joint committee, all approvals given to date by credit committees and local authorities will be honoured. There should be no hesitation or pause in facilitating the drawdown of those loans where an approval has been made by the credit committee. Of the €200 million...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Loans (9 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: Like Deputy O'Brien or any other Deputy in the House, it makes me angry when I hear of a couple or individual who are trying to buy a home and who have been given approval for a mortgage but who are then unable to draw down the mortgage and thus potentially unable to complete the transaction they have entered into where they have gone sale agreed with someone who is selling a home. This is...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Loans (9 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: Discussions are under way between me and the Minister for Finance. These are ongoing but a decision is imminent. I hope to be in a position to make an allocation for 2019 shortly.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Water Services Infrastructure (9 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: Since 1 January 2014, Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels, including responsibility for Irish Water’s eastern and midlands water supply project. This project has been in development since the mid-1990s, originally under Dublin City Council and under Irish Water since January...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Water Services Infrastructure (9 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I was not clear from the Deputy's follow-up question whether he supports the project or whether he thinks it is necessary.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Water Services Infrastructure (9 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: That is an important thing to know because it absolutely is necessary-----

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Water Services Infrastructure (9 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: -----and perhaps attempts by the Deputy to undermine the project now that we have the motivation can be viewed in that light. Of course the CRU has a central role here and I have asked it to do a verification process to give further comfort to the different elements that are involved as part of the financial consents that will be given. I have already given consent for more than €40...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Water Services Infrastructure (9 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The Deputy should please not use what has happened with the children's hospital to try to undermine a very important capital project. Based on the Deputy's logic, we would not make any more capital investments.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Water Services Infrastructure (9 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: This project is not just for Dublin, but if it was, given the leakages that we know we have in Dublin, even if they were fixed, it would not give us the redundancy and contingency supply that we need. A total of 40% of the Liffey flow is taken into the water system. We need to reduce that. Of course we need to fix the leaks as well, but we need to think of the planned projections for...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Water Services Infrastructure (9 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: At the moment we have less than 1% headroom. In conjunction with the money that is being provided to fix the leaks in Dublin, which will happen and will take time----

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Water Services Infrastructure (9 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: -----we also need to have a new project for water supply and water security-----

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Water Services Infrastructure (9 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: -----for the east and midlands.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Provision (9 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The Government's Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness is underpinned by more than €6 billion in funding to support the delivery of 50,000 new social housing homes and 87,000 other housing supports by 2021 while also making the best use of the existing housing stock and laying the foundations for a more vibrant housing sector. A significant number of initiatives...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Provision (9 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: What we are seeing in 2019 is the most amount of money that a government in Ireland has ever spent on housing in a single year, some €2.4 billion. We are seeing a dramatic shift in construction as new homes are built. Last year, one in four of those new homes built were built for social housing purposes, so it is not true to say that we are relying solely on the market or on the...