Results 14,741-14,760 of 26,293 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rental Sector (5 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Residential Tenancies (No. 2) Act 2021 introduced measures in July 2021 to extend the operation of Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) until the end of 2024. The designation of all existing RPZs has also been extended until 31 December 2024. The Act provides that rent reviews outside of RPZs can, until 2025, occur no more frequently than bi-annually. This provides rent certainty for tenants...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: House Prices (5 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Central Statistics Office (CSO) is responsible for the Residential Property Price Index (RPPI) and the data is freely available at: www.cso.ie/en/statistics/prices/residentialpropertypriceinde x/. Similarly, the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) publishes the quarterly Rent Index report which is based on data from RTB tenancy registration records and is independently...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (5 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Delivery of affordable housing, in accordance with the schemes set out in the Affordable Housing Act, 2021 and the funding being made available, will be underpinned by local authorities' Housing Delivery Action Plans. Local authorities submitted their Plans to me in December 2021.  Preparation of the Plans allowed each local authority to assess the level of demand...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Ukraine War (5 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) is responsible for meeting the immediate and short-term accommodation needs of persons arriving in Ireland from the conflict in Ukraine. As part of a whole-of-government response, DCEDIY, in close cooperation with local government, is securing accommodation for arrivals through: - hotels, guest houses and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (5 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Land Development Agency’s (LDA) Project Tosaigh is a market engagement initiative to unlock land with full planning permission that is not being developed by private sector owners due to financing and other constraints and use it to accelerate the supply of affordable housing.  It allows the LDA to supplement the State lands it is already working on and accelerate the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (5 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Affordable Housing Act 2021 established a basis for four new affordable housing measures. These measures 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 purchase homes on Local Authority lands, (2) the introduction of a new form of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (5 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Local Authority Home Loan is a Government backed mortgage for those on modest or low incomes who cannot get sufficient funding from commercial banks to purchase or build a home. It has been available nationwide from local authorities since 4 January 2022. The loan can be used both for new and second-hand properties, or to self-build. It is the successor to the Rebuilding Ireland Home...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (5 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Mortgage to Rent (MTR) scheme was introduced in 2012 for borrowers of commercial lending institutions and is targeted at those households in mortgage arrears who have had their mortgage position deemed unsustainable by their lender under the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP), who agree to the voluntary surrender of their home and who have very limited options, if any, to meet...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (5 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Affordable Housing Act 2021 established a basis for four new affordable housing measures. These measures 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 purchase homes on Local Authority lands, (2) the introduction of a new form of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (5 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The planned development on the lands at Killinarden will deliver a total of 620 units in a mixed tenure scheme, comprising 372 affordable, 123 private and 125 social housing units.  Following a competitive tender process, The Arden Team DAC, a consortium made up of Sisk Living, O' Cualann Cohousing Alliance and Kelland Homes, was selected as the preferred economic...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (5 May 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 been provided through my Department's Voids Programme to...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Functions (5 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Vacant Homes Unit, established in my Department, was responsible for the preparation of the National Vacant Housing Reuse Strategy published in 2018. This set out the high level objectives of the Vacant Homes Unit including the establishment and provision of funding to local authorities in order to establish a vacant homes office in each local authority area and also for Vacant...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: State Bodies (5 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The authorised staff sanction for the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) is currently 106.4 Whole Time Equivalents.  The RTB is carrying 17 vacancies at present as outlined in the table below, for which a number of recruitment campaigns are currently being planned.  Grade Vacancy Salary Band for Grade (Ordinary Scale – Post 95) ...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (5 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take questions Nos. 166 and 168 together. The Programme for Government sets out a number of commitments in respect of the important policy area of addressing building defects. These include a commitment to to examine defects in housing, having regard to the recommendations of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing’s report "Safe as Houses?" and to assist...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (5 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Government agreed an enhanced €2.2bn Defective Concrete Block 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 from €247,500. -...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rental Sector (5 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: 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. Where a landlord fails to carry out any of their obligations under the Act, a dispute may be referred to the RTB for resolution. Due...

Affordable Housing: Motion [Private Members] (10 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "That Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "notes that: — as recognised in the Government's Housing for All - a New Housing Plan for Ireland (Housing for All) strategy, there is a housing crisis in Ireland affecting ordinary working people who aspire to the security of home ownership, which demands a response from...

Affordable Housing: Motion [Private Members] (10 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: This is Sinn Féin's policies. Sinn Féin states it will deliver "the largest public housing building programme in the history of the State." We are actually doing it. How Deputy Ó Broin was saying Sinn Féin will do it is by bringing total capital spend to €2.8 billion per year. We are putting in €4 billion per year, €1.2 billion more than Sinn Féin.

Affordable Housing: Motion [Private Members] (10 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Now let us talk about affordability. The Affordable Housing Act 2021 is in place. We have published the affordable purchase regulations. It is open. There will be people in affordable purchase homes this year. Deputy Ó Broin has neglected to mention Project Tosaigh and the delivery through the LDA. We will have hundreds of affordable purchase homes this year and hundreds more cost...

Affordable Housing: Motion [Private Members] (10 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: They will not be eligible.