Results 14,281-14,300 of 26,293 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (3 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Social housing is a long-term support intended to support households that have continuing, long-term difficulty meeting their own accommodation needs. This is reflected in the underpinning legislation and the Household Means Policywhich provides for applicants’ eligibility to be assessed on their net average income over the previous 12 months from the date of their application. This...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (3 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Affordable Housing Act 2021, the first ever standalone affordable housing legislation, established a basis for four new affordable housing measures. These measures will deliver on the Programme for Government commitment to put affordability at the heart of the housing system and prioritise the increased supply of affordable homes through (1) delivering affordable homes on local...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (3 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Housing for Allis the Government’s plan to increase the supply of housing over the next decade. Greater supply will be key to meeting demand, helping moderate property price increases, and addressing affordability pressures facing renters, homeowners and potential buyers in the coming years. Housing for All includes unprecedented direct investment in social and affordable housing,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (3 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Tenant Purchase Scheme provides for the purchase by eligible tenants, or joint tenants, of local authority homes available for sale under the scheme. Applicants must meet certain criteria, including minimum reckonable income and minimum time in receipt of social housing supports, to be eligible. The Government has recently reduced the minimum reckonable income required under the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Domestic Violence (3 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department has not received an application for funding to date in respect of a Domestic Violence Refuge for the Cavan/Monaghan area. However, that area has been identified in the recently published Tusla 'Review of Accommodation Services for Victims of Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence' as one where new refuge places are needed as a priority. Accordingly, my Department looks...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (3 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The response to Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (DSGBV) is a cross-Departmental and multi-agency issue, with overall policy coordinated by the Department of Justice. Responsibility for developing and providing services to support victims rests with my colleague the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. Statutory responsibility for the care and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (3 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 167 and 204 together. The Affordable Housing Act 2021, the first ever standalone affordable housing legislation, established a basis for four new affordable housing measures. These measures will deliver on the Programme for Government commitment to put affordability at the heart of the housing system and prioritise the increased supply of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (3 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Housing for All published in September 2021 provides a new housing plan for Ireland to 2030 with the overall objective that every citizen in the State should have access to good quality homes through a steady supply of housing in the right locations, with economic, social and environmental sustainability built into the system. This strategy provides for a broad suite of measures and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (3 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I brought a Memorandum to Government on an enhanced Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme on the 30 November 2021. It included an unprecedented suite of improvements to the current scheme. Government approved the enhanced scheme which it is estimated will cost approximately €2.2Bn. Included in the Government decision was a commitment that a parallel programme for Exchequer funding of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (3 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme (SHCEP) supports the delivery of social housing by providing financial support to local authorities for the leasing of houses and apartments. Long term lease arrangements, including the enhanced lease of privately owned dwellings, can be entered into by either local authorities or approved housing bodies (AHBs) for periods of between 10 to...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (3 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Increasing the supply of social and affordable homes is a priority for this Government as shown clearly in our new Housing for All strategy. Following the launch of the strategy last September we issued social housing targets to all local authority Chief Executives for the 5 years 2022 to 2026. Of the national target of over 50,000 new social homes, I’m asking Carlow County Council...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (3 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Detail on the number of households qualified for social housing support in each local authority administrative area is provided in the annual statutory Summary of Social Housing Assessments (SSHA). The SSHA captures the total number of households whose social housing need has not yet been met and helps better inform policy and the delivery of the right types of social housing support. The...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (3 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Affordable Housing Act 2021, the first ever standalone affordable housing legislation, established a basis for four new affordable housing measures. These measures will deliver on the Programme for Government commitment to put affordability at the heart of the housing system and prioritise the increased supply of affordable homes through (1) delivering affordable homes on local authority...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (3 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Cork County Council has confirmed that the most economically advantageous tenderer for the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund (LIHAF) Infrastructure Project construction works has been identified following a two stage tender process. Pre-contract correspondence is ongoing between Cork County Council and the most economically advantageous tenderer. I am...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (3 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I brought a Memorandum to Government on an enhanced Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme on the 30 November 2021. It included an unprecedented suite of improvements to the current scheme. Government approved the enhanced scheme which it is estimated will cost approximately €2.2Bn. Full details in relation to the changes announced are available at the following link;...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Vacant Properties (3 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The management and maintenance of local authority housing stock, including pre-letting repairs to vacant properties, the implementation of a planned maintenance programme and carrying out of responsive repairs, are matters for each individual local authority under Section 58 of the Housing Act 1966. Since 2014, Exchequer funding has also been provided through my Department's Voids Programme...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (3 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: This Government has committed to the development of a new, more affordable, and more secure form of long-term rental housing in Ireland, through the introduction of Cost Rental. Rent levels for Cost Rental tenancies are based on the cost of the provision of homes, rather than being subject to the pressures of the open market. Once tenanted, rents will increase only in line with consumer...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (3 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I brought a Memorandum to Government on an enhanced Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme on the 30 November 2021. It included an unprecedented suite of improvements to the current scheme. Government approved the enhanced scheme which it is estimated will cost approximately €2.2Bn. Full details in relation to the changes announced are available at the following link;...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (3 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I brought a Memorandum to Government on an enhanced Defective Concrete Blocks Grant (DCB) Scheme on the 30 November 2021. It included an unprecedented suite of improvements to the current scheme. Government approved the enhanced scheme which it is estimated will cost approximately €2.2Bn. Full details in relation to the changes announced are available at the following link;...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (3 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department publishes comprehensive programme level statistics on social housing delivery for each local authority on a quarterly basis. The statistics are available to the end of Quarter 3 2021 and show that in the first nine months of 2021, 11 new build social homes were delivered in Mayo in 2021. A detailed Social Housing Construction Status Report (CSR) is published each quarter by my...