Results 13,501-13,520 of 26,245 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

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

Darragh O'Brien: Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) are making an important contribution to social housing delivery, as envisaged under current Government policy. My Department operates a number of funding programmes that assist local authorities to work in partnership with AHBs to construct, purchase and lease new homes and make them available for social housing. One such programme that AHBs progress...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Vacant Properties (15 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Local authorities will always have a level of vacancy in their housing stock. This will fluctuate over time, as tenancy surrender and re-letting of stock is an ongoing process. Therefore, ongoing data in relation to vacant local authority owned homes is not collated by my Department. However, statistics in relation to social housing stock, at a point in...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Homeless Persons Supports (15 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department publishes a detailed monthly report on homelessness, based on data provided by housing authorities. The Report outlines details of individuals utilising State-funded emergency accommodation arrangements that are overseen by housing authorities. The Reports are available on my Department's website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/80ea8-homelessness-data/ and via...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Homeless Persons Supports (15 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 89 to 91, 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 the local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of accommodation and related services for...

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

Darragh O'Brien: My Department's website, www.gov.ie/en/organisation/department-of-housing-local-gover nment-and-heritage/ provides comprehensive information on our policy achievements and initiatives. Highlights during the course of 2021 would include: - Publication of Housing for All: A New Housing Plan for Ireland. This is a whole of Government plan and sets out a pathway to increase the supply of housing...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Homeless Accommodation (15 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department publishes data on a monthly basis on the number of homeless persons accommodated in all forms of emergency accommodation funded and overseen by housing authorities. These reports are based on data provided by housing authorities and are produced through the Pathway Accommodation & Support System (PASS), the single integrated national data information system on...

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

Darragh O'Brien: The Housing for All Strategy delivers on the Programme for Government commitment to step up housing supply and put affordability at the heart of the housing system, with an ambitious target of 300,000 homes over the next decade for social, affordable and cost rental, private rental and private ownership housing. Measures to deliver this housing are supported by over €4 billion in...

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

Darragh O'Brien: Housing First enables homeless individuals with high levels of complex needs to obtain permanent secure accommodation with the provision of intensive housing and health supports to help them maintain their tenancies. The National Implementation Plan for Housing First, published in September 2018, which puts the programme on a national footing, is designed to provide this response, by...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Homeless Persons Supports (15 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 97 to 99, 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 a local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of homeless services rests with individual...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (16 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Mortgage to Rent (MTR) scheme introduced in 2012 is targeted at supporting households in mortgage arrears who have had their mortgage position deemed unsustainable by their lender under the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP); agree to the voluntary surrender of their home and are deemed eligible for social housing support. The property in question must also meet certain...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Wastewater Treatment (16 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department funds Irish Water through the annual estimates and budgetary process and are published in the Revised Estimates each year. In turn, funding for Irish Water is set within the framework of the Programme for Government, the National Development Plan 2021-2030 under Project Ireland 2040, the Water Services Policy Statement 2018-2025 and funding determinations by its independent...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (16 Dec 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". These commitments are further supported by actions contained in Housing For All. In this context, I...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (16 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I brought a Memorandum on an enhanced Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme to Government on the 30 November 2021 and it included an unprecedented suite of improvements to the current scheme. Government approved the enchanced scheme which it is estimated will cost approximately €2.2Bn. The comprehensive changes include: - The current 90% maximum grant will be increased to a 100% grant...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (16 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I brought a Memorandum to Government on 30 November 2021, setting out proposals for improvements to the existing Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme. Included as part of these improvements, I, as Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, may, with Government approval, extend the scheme beyond the counties of Donegal and Mayo to additional counties, where the evidence supports...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Regeneration Projects (16 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) was launched in 2018 to support more compact and sustainable development. The Fund is providing part-funding for projects that will enable a greater proportion of residential and mixed-use development to be delivered within the existing built-up footprints of our cities and large towns, while also ensuring that more parts of our urban areas...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water Supply (16 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Deputy is referring to funding under the current Multi-Annual Rural Water Programme. The table at the following link sets out project progress status, amount of funding recouped by my Department and the projected completion date by year, as estimated by Mayo County Council, for schemes/projects within their functional area under the current 2019-2021 cycle of the Programme. GWS(Group...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water Supply (16 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The locations named in the details supplied are not included as part of any Community Water Connections project listed for funding in the current Multi-Annual Rural Water Programme 2019-2021. The Rural Water Working Group appointed by my Department is currently considering the scope of the upcoming Multi-Annual Rural Water Programme 2022-2024. I expect to receive a submission based on...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rental Sector (16 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The minimum standards for rental accommodation are prescribed in the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019 and specify requirements in relation to a range of matters, such as structural repair, sanitary facilities, heating, ventilation, natural light, fire safety and the safety of gas, oil and electrical installations. The regulations apply to all private rented...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (16 Dec 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 the end of Q3 2021 there were more than 62,000 households in receipt of HAP and over 33,600 separate landlords and agents providing accommodation to households supported by the scheme. In respect of the provision of HAP funding, Limerick City...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (16 Dec 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I understand the Deputy has submitted a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2014 in relation to the data requested to my Department. My Department is processing this request and a response will issue in acccordance with the legislation.