Results 15,401-15,420 of 26,293 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Remediation of Dwellings Damaged By the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (6 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I am allowed to respond, Deputy Ó Broin. People can get their homes back on track and get their lives back on track. That is what we want. We want engagement from the Housing Agency as well, which will be there, and resourcing of the agency on the ground. There are independent appeals and independent assessments. This is a vast improvement on the previous scheme, and I thank the...

Remediation of Dwellings Damaged By the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (6 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: All I will say to the Deputy is that nobody is throwing around figures of €2.7 billion. That is not the purpose. The State needs to intervene in a market failure on behalf of its citizens, to help people to get their homes and their lives back together. I am not throwing around figures of €2.7 billion. That is the cost initially. That only takes in a certain amount of...

Remediation of Dwellings Damaged By the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (6 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: -----greatly improve the situation and provide 100% redress for people. I will not go over the other points raised. I have already put on the record many of the different changes. Voting against the legislation means there is no new scheme in place and it is further delaying the remediation and replacement of people's homes and enabling them to be able to see a future and some light at the...

Remediation of Dwellings Damaged By the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (6 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: We would have no legislation, because that scheme was set up under regulations only.

Remediation of Dwellings Damaged By the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (6 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: It will not be grounded in primary legislation as it needs to be. We will not have the Housing Agency involvement in it or the independent appeals. We will not have all the infrastructure that is set up to make this scheme work. It will all fall. That is what happens if this is voted down.

Remediation of Dwellings Damaged By the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (6 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I will make a couple of points and respond to Deputy McHugh. I thank him for all his engagement right the way through. I also thank Deputies Calleary, Carey, Cathal Crowe and many others who have engaged very positively and constructively, in what is a difficult situation, to improve this scheme and work it through. I have no doubt that, through the regulations, there will be other areas...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Public Sector Staff (6 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: There are no former county managers Chief Executives of local authorities currently working within my Department either on a full time basis or in a contract or advisory capacity. My Department does not hold the requested information in respect of the State Bodies under its aegis. Arrangements have been made that these State Bodies may be contacted directly by e-mail by members of the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Data (6 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021 commits Ireland to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 51% by 2030, relative to 2018 levels, and achieving net zero emissions by no later than 2050. The Act also significantly strengthens the statutory framework for governance of the climate challenge, including the establishment of a system of carbon budgeting, with...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (6 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Having regard to the manifest and grave risk to human life and public health posed by the spread of Covid-19 and in order to mitigate, where practicable, the effect of the spread of that disease, the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020 provided for a temporary moratorium on tenancy terminations, other than in exceptional and limited cases during the emergency period...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (6 Jul 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: Building Regulations (6 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Building Regulations 1997 to 2021 provide for the safety and welfare of people in and about buildings and apply to the design and construction of a new building (including a dwelling) or an extension to an existing building. The minimum performance requirements that a building must achieve are set out in the Second Schedule to the Building Regulations. They are subject to ongoing...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (6 Jul 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. The strategy sets out, over four pathways, a broad suite of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (6 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department commissioned independent research including, inter alia, the demand for owner-occupier apartments as part of the development process for the Croí Cónaithe (Cities) Scheme. The research, which suggested considerable interest in apartment living and apartment homeownership, helped inform the scheme criteria and how the scheme might work. It is hoped to make the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Staff (6 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The payroll cost of recruiting an additional 3 Architects would be €125,577.56.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (6 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 74 and 77 together. Applications for social housing support are assessed by the relevant local authority in accordance with eligibility and need criteria set down in the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and associated Social Housing Assessment Regulations. It is open to anyone to apply for social housing support, irrespective of their...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Constituency Commission (6 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 75 and 76 together. The last Constituency Commission to review Dáil and European Parliament constituencies was established on 14 July 2016 following the publication of the preliminary Census results at that time. The Electoral Reform Bill 2022, which is currently progressing through the Houses of the Oireachtas, provides for, among other matters,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (6 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Following on from the Government decision of the 30 November 2021 in respect of the enhanced defective concrete blocks grant scheme, the Government approved the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Bill 2022 on 21 June and I intend to progress the legislation before the end of term in order to ensure that we can have the scheme ready for homeowners to...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Wind Energy Generation (6 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: In accordance with Section 30 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, I am specifically precluded from exercising any power or control in relation to any particular case with which a planning authority or An Bord Pleanála is or may be concerned. However, I can advise that a decision on the substitute consent application for the Derrybrien Wind Farm in County Galway was...

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

Darragh O'Brien: The Construction Products Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 (CPR) sets out rules for the marketing of construction products in the EU, from 1 July 2013. Where a construction product, covered by a harmonised standard (includes concrete blocks, aggregates for concrete and cement), is being placed on the EU market, the CPR requires the manufacturer to draw up a ‘declaration of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Appointments to State Boards (5 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: In making appointments to State boards under my remit, my Department operates in accordance with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform guidelines on appointments to State Boards, published in November 2014.  The Public Appointments Service has responsibility for managing an open, accessible and transparent system to support Ministers in making state board appointments and...