Results 14,941-14,960 of 26,293 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Stop shouting. Calm down, Pearse, please, would you? Just calm a bit.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. I know from working with him in my constituency, Dublin Fingal, that it is a very important issue to him and, indeed, all Members so that we make sure we provide special education places and supports for those kids who need it. That is why the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, has been so vociferous in her work to ensure we increase...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I genuinely thank the Deputy. It is important that we are able to raise matters as important as this here today. The EPSEN Act review group met yesterday evening. The group will commence its work on this and will report to the Minister within a matter of months. The Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, will keep the House advised on that. On the specific numbers, the number of children...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. I can assure the Deputy that protecting farm family incomes is a priority of Government. Close to €10 billion in total, between EU and Exchequer funding, will support around 120,000 farm families over the next CAP period between 2023 and 2027. We have a farming and food sector that we should be proud of. It is an indigenous...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The point is well made by Deputy Canney and is well understood on the side of the House. I wish to give the Deputy the comfort that the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, is meeting and continues to meet regularly with stakeholders to discuss the impacts, particularly of the Ukraine crisis and the increases in costs associated with that. He has tasked a national fodder and food security...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I thank the Deputy for raising the matter of housing. First, I state that no county is excluded from the affordability measures and I wish to be very clear with the Deputy on that.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Éist liom, right. No county is excluded. I will be in-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: You are beginning to sound like Sinn Féin there, Danny. Relax. The-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Nílim cinnte faoi sin, a Phádraig. Ar aon nós, the affordable housing fund is open to every local authority. I am actually in Tipperary tomorrow, and I hope I will see Deputy McGrath there. I will be meeting with the chief executive and the housing team of-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Go raibh míle. I want to tell the Deputy now-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: -----that the affordable housing fund is open for every local authority to provide schemes to us where we can deliver affordable homes.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: That is a fact.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I look forward to this and I will assess myself in a positive way any application that comes forward that makes sense. That is one aspect of how we deal with affordability. The second one, which is open to all 31 local authorities in the Republic of Ireland, is the First Home shared equity scheme. I referred to this earlier and I will launch this scheme on 1 July of this year. This...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: We are very serious about tackling the housing crisis. We acknowledge it is there and that a big aspect of it is vacancy. That is why we are bringing forward very targeted measures to deal with it. I have been all across the country, including to Waterford with the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, where 72 apartments have been built in St. Joseph's House, a converted old school and...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I thank the Deputy for raising this really important issue. I have met with homeowners from Donegal, Mayo and other affected counties on a regular basis and my team continues to engage with them. The Bill to address this issue is in its final stage of preparation and I intend to bring it to the Government very shortly. I asked all parties in the Dáil, including the Deputy's party, to...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: As a constituency colleague of the Deputy, I know Swords very well, as does he. The town has now grown to the size of a city and it is a fantastic community. In both Swords and Balbriggan, there are two very strong campaigns in place for municipal pools. My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, recently launched a new initiative in the Donabate area providing for a temporary...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: To reiterate, the supports under this proposed scheme go directly to the homeowner or purchaser, not to the builder. It is about activating dormant, inactivated planning permissions. We want to see good, compact urban growth in our five major cities. The difference is we are doing something about it. What I want to see in this space is that we target the delivery of 5,000 apartments for...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: We had a debate on this last week and I went through the number of things the Social Democrats are against, which is pretty much everything.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: There have been expressions of interest for the scheme, which is about activating dormant planning permissions, of which there are 80,000 in this country and the majority of which are built to sell. The purpose of the scheme is to support people into home ownership. That support goes directly to the homeowner and can be used in conjunction with the affordability measures, which, by the way,...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: You oppose anything we bring forward, Deputy. That is just the way it is.