Results 14,761-14,780 of 26,293 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

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

Darragh O'Brien: We will not do this again, will we, a Cheann Comhairle? Deputy Ó Broin, as he behaved last week, is consistently interrupting.

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

Darragh O'Brien: Sinn Féin's plan is there as well. It does not address any capacity issues. We must be realistic in what can be delivered. It is important one is open, honest and realistic with people. What we have detailed for each local authority, and agreed with each of them, is their direct delivery and that does not include LDA delivery, Part 5 delivery and first home shared equity delivery.

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

Darragh O'Brien: What have we targeted? The real target, not the targets that have come out of the mouths of Sinn Féin, that we have set between this and then is 29,000 affordable homes between now and 2026. This is happening already. How do we do that? We need to increase supply and, to respond to Deputy Gould, it is a problem when people continually object to housing. That is just a reality.

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

Darragh O'Brien: Let us see what is really happening out there. Let us look at the figures with regards to increased housing supply. In the first quarter of this year, there were 5,669 new homes completed. There were 34,846 commencement notices received in the 12 months to February this year. It was the single biggest number of commencement notices in a 12-month period since figures were collated in 2011,...

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

Darragh O'Brien: Deputy Carthy was not here last week for the debate on rent-----

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

Darragh O'Brien: -----but the Deputy is carrying on as his colleagues did last week by continually interrupting me.

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

Darragh O'Brien: I respect this Chamber and always have. Deputy Carthy may not, and that is fine. What I would say to Deputy Carthy is that his own party's spokesperson, in an article recently, talked about negotiating with developers and flipping developments, but Deputy Ó Broin will put in place a strict price control. Then Deputy Ó Broin will move people out of commercial construction with...

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

Darragh O'Brien: One has got to build capacity. That is why the Housing for All plan has already brought back the capacity of the construction sector to pre-pandemic levels and will create at least 29,000 new jobs. Some 9,000 new apprenticeships, in the 12 months to date, have already been filled in that space. That is how one does it. One must be open and honest with people. One must realise, by the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Vacant Properties (10 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 325 and 349 together. 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. Meanwhile, my Department is focusing on the medium and long-term accommodation challenges and is leading...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Hare Coursing (10 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The total figure for the release of hares is provided by the Irish Coursing Club on the Hare Release Form that must be submitted to my Department after every coursing event. It is not the practice, nor is it practical, for Departmental officials to supervise the release of every hare captured under licence. Hares are released back to areas in which they were caught; this can involve...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Approved Housing Bodies (10 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The information sought in this question is not held by my Department. My Department operates a number of funding programmes that assist local authorities to work in partnership with Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) to construct and purchase new homes and make them available for social housing. One such programme that AHBs progress construction projects through is the Capital Advance...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (10 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Housing First recognises that a stable home provides the basis for recovery in other areas. With Housing First, the priority is to support a person who has experienced homelessness into permanent housing as quickly as possible, without any preconditions around addiction or mental health treatment. Then, intensive work continues on these issues once they are housed. Housing First has been a...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (10 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Under Housing for All, my Department was tasked with undertaking an analytical exercise to examine whether an increase in the level of the 20% discretion available to Local Authorities under HAP is required, in order to maintain adequate levels of HAP support. The Housing Agency undertook to carry out this analytical exercise on behalf of my Department. The review has been submitted and is...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Environmental Policy (10 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: There is currently no legislation in Ireland dealing specifically with light pollution, and my Department has no role in this regard.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (10 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 332 and 352 together. I refer to the reply to Question No. 75 of 5 May 2022 which sets out the position in the matter.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (10 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The oversight and practical management of housing waiting lists, including the allocation and transfer of tenancies, is solely a matter for the relevant local authority in accordance with the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, and associated regulations.  My Department publishes comprehensive programme level statistics on a quarterly basis on social housing delivery...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (10 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The information requested by the Deputy is not held in my Department. The assessment and management of social housing applications are matters for each local authority in accordance with the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and associated Social Housing Assessment Regulations. Detail on the number of households qualified for social housing support in each local authority...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (10 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Housing for All strategy is the Government’s plan to increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 per year over the next decade, including an average of 10,000 social homes per annum from 2022-2030. Housing for All is supported by an investment package of over €4b per annum, through an overall combination of €12bn in direct Exchequer funding, €3.5bn...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (10 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Local Authority Home Loan is a Government backed mortgage scheme for those on modest or low incomes who cannot get sufficient funding from commercial banks to purchase or build a home. The Local Authority Home Loan is the successor to the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan. It has been available nationwide from local authorities since 4 January 2022 for first-time buyers and fresh start...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (10 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 337, 339 and 340 and 341 together. The Housing for All strategy is the Government’s plan to increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 per year over the next decade.  Our targets include the delivery of 90,000 new social homes and 54,000 new affordable homes in the period 2022-2030. Housing for All is supported by an...