Results 13,421-13,440 of 26,245 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (7 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Housing for All strategy prioritises an increase in social and affordable homes committing to the delivery of 90,000 social homes, 36,000 affordable purchase homes and 18,000 cost rental homes by 2030. Full details of the strategy can be found at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/publication/ef5ec-housing-for-all-a-new-housin g-plan-for-ireland/. Pathway 1 of the strategy refers to...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Protected Disclosures (7 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Section 22 of the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 requires each public body to publish an annual report setting out the number of protected disclosures received in the preceding year and the action taken. The annual reports for my Department for the years in question are available on gov.ie at the following link:www.gov.ie/en/collection/20f06-protected-disclosures-an nual-reports/ In summary,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Social Enterprise Sector (7 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department does not operate any programmes with the objective of promoting the social enterprise sector.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Energy Conservation (7 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The newly revised ten year Energy Efficiency Retrofit Programme launched in 2021 is designed around the Programme for Government commitment to retrofit 500,000 homes to a B2/Cost Optimal BER standard by 2030, of which approximately 36,500 of those homes are expected to be local authority homes. A target of 2,400 social homes for upgrade works has been set for 2021, 750 of which relate to the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (7 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department received a submission from Sligo County Council, dated 25 October, 2021 which outlined how they proposed to go about putting together a submission requesting the extension of the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant scheme to County Sligo. In order to progress matters I and officials from my Department attended a virtual meeting held on the 2nd November 2021 with Oireachtas...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (7 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: In September 2020 I convened a working group to examine the issues around unsold affordable properties (USAs). The working group comprises members of the Local Government Sector, Housing Finance Agency, Housing Agency, Approved Housing Bodies through the Irish Council of Social Housing and the Social Housing Leasing Section of my Department. In progressing this examination, the working group...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (7 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Under section 159 of the Local Government Act 2001, the Chief Executive is responsible for staffing and organisational arrangements necessary for carrying out the functions of the local authority. The staffing resources of Greystones Municipal District is therefore a matter for the Chief Executive of Wicklow County Council.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Fire Service (7 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The provision of a fire service in its functional area, including the establishment and maintenance of a fire brigade, the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of fire station premises, is a statutory function of individual fire authorities under the Fire Services Acts, 1981 and 2003. My Department supports the fire authorities through setting general policy, providing a central...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (7 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 250 and 251 together. The Government agreed an enhanced €2.2bn Defective Concrete Block (DCB) scheme on 30 November 2021. The comprehensive changes include the current 90% maximum grant will be increased to a 100% grant for all remediation options 1-5. The maximum grant cap for option 1 (demolition and rebuild) will be increased to €420,000...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (7 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Defective Concrete Blocks Grant scheme was informed by the report of an Expert Panel which was published in 2017 which involved extensive research, investigations and analysis. Any consideration of extension to the Defective Concrete Blocks Grants Scheme would, in the first instance, require the relevant local authority to conduct the same rigorous analysis as that carried out in Donegal...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (7 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Under the Government’s Housing for All plan it is intended to increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 per year over the next decade. Over 300,000 new homes will be built by the end of 2030, including a projected 90,000 social homes, 36,000 affordable purchase homes and 18,000 cost rental homes. Part 3 of the Affordable Housing Act 2021 provides for the establishment...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Flood Risk Management (7 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Funding maintenance and repair of weirs is not a matter that falls within the remit of my Department, which has no specific funding line for such projects. Notwithstanding that, in view of the strategic importance of this project from an economic, social and environmental perspective, a once off allocation of €175,000 from the Local Government Fund was approved in 2019 so that...

Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (8 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I thank Deputies Boyd Barrett, Gino Kenny, Paul Murphy and Bríd Smith for tabling these amendments. We discussed this at some length on Committee Stage and we had a good engagement where I was able to explain the rationale behind this. I agree with Deputy Healy-Rae. I know he is not a member of the Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage so he did not take part in that...

Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (8 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: We cannot do everything at once. We are bringing that back to our councils, where it should be. In a compliment to Deputy Boyd Barrett, Deputy Healy-Rae said no one would know the housing needs in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown better than him. I put it to him that maybe the only people who would are the planners in that area and that is the purpose of this. We cannot be, nor should we be,...

Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (8 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I do not mind. I have no objection but is that permitted under Standing Orders?

Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (8 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I will be guided by the Leas-Cheann Comhairle on this but I have no objection.

Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (8 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: We do not always have to divide. Sometimes there is unanimity.

Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (8 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I thank Deputy Pringle and all the other Deputies who have contributed. I will deal with a couple of matters relating to the process. To follow on from Deputy O'Callaghan's point, no one would state, and I certainly have not, that this Bill is the silver bullet to solve our issues in the planning process. It is not. Likewise, I agree with Deputy Ó Broin that the return to the...

Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (8 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Great. If Deputy Ó Broin has applied for a 25-storey apartment block and the local authority has said it is highly inappropriate and should not happen, people will be able to see that and point to that in their observations. If that goes to An Bord Pleanála, there are other issues there which we will deal with. That is all part of the process. That is transparency. The passing...

Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (8 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: There were many comments on this.