Results 16,321-16,340 of 26,293 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: State Lands (1 Dec 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I thank the Deputy again for the question. I understand what she is saying. One of the priorities I had when I became a Minister was to legislate for the LDA, which we have done. The agency has capitalised and it is delivering its first homes. It has done extensive work on planning and mapping out relevant sites. It is important that people understand that the register of relevant...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: State Lands (1 Dec 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I know Galway city and county well. I have been out in Connemara on several occasions as well as in the city. There are lands in the county, such as the Dyke Road site, which the Deputy will be familiar with. There is also the Sandy Road site. There are sites there we can develop. The register will deal with State lands. The Deputy mentioned the example of lands owned by religious...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Policy (1 Dec 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: More than 400.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Policy (1 Dec 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: On the Croí Cónaithe initiative, for the record there are nearly 500 applicants in already and many of them are processed. I am not sure what date that question response went up to. I welcome the Deputy's question. As the Deputy will be aware, Deputy Bruton has asked a similar question. Housing for All, which is the Government's plan, has been debated in the House and people...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Policy (1 Dec 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I have been in all of the 31 local authority areas throughout the country. Let us not catastrophise this with regard to supply. The Deputy cannot just take one figure and say everything is going in a downward trajectory. It is not. We are aware of the challenges which, by the way, are not unique to Ireland. There are the rising cost of funding and inflationary pressures. We saw positive...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Policy (1 Dec 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: It was not a script.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Policy (1 Dec 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Not true.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Policy (1 Dec 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: My response to Deputy Tóibín was not scripted. It is not the same script over the past ten years.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Policy (1 Dec 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I am responding to what you said. I fully respect the Deputy's right have a point of view. There are issues in Ireland and throughout Europe and there is no question about this. In Deputy Tóibín's home town of Navan how many homes are being built at present and how many homes are being planned? Look at what is happening in Meath West and throughout the country. Of course there...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Policy (1 Dec 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Minister Deputy Harris has done an excellent job on apprenticeships. Thankfully we are seeing a substantial increase in the number of people registering for apprenticeships. We need to value trades and we need to value the work. We had changes last year whereby apprenticeships are now alongside the CAO and CAS offers. Deputy O'Dowd is right. We need to keep increasing the number of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Policies (1 Dec 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as an cheist, which is a very important one. We need to look at how we can utilise modern methods of construction, including off-site construction and modular builds, to ramp up the supply of housing. We clearly set out that objective in pathway 5 under the Government's Housing for All plan. The development of modern methods of construction, MMC, will...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Policies (1 Dec 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Hear, hear.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Policies (1 Dec 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: B'fhéidir nach raibh an Teachta ag éisteacht le mo fhreagra ar an gceist sin. I answered it very clearly. We have set targets. We are using modern methods of construction. I suggest the Deputy be careful not to blur the lines, if I may. The emergency response to provide safe harbour to our friends from Ukraine, as Deputy O'Dowd has eloquently said, is separate to what we are...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Policies (1 Dec 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Níl mé críochnaithe fós. Let us be very clear that the targets with regard to additional delivery on modern methods of construction are very clearly set out and we will manage that centrally. This is different. There is a real opportunity to further ramp up the delivery of social and affordable homes, which I know the Deputy is asking for, but that is a separate...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Policies (1 Dec 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: We will deliver more new-build social homes in 2022 than we have done in decades. Approximately 10,500 social homes will be delivered for people who are on the social housing list. Some of the sheltered response we have for our friends from Ukraine are not permanent homes, such as the refurbished properties. I know the Deputy is not suggesting we would use that same response for people on...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Policies (1 Dec 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: No, they have not.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Policies (1 Dec 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: What I am saying is that we very clearly set out under Housing for All what our social housing targets are. What I am looking to do next year is to further accelerate that delivery through the use of off-site and modular construction. I have already mentioned in my response to the Deputy that we have provided €100 million with regard to pay-down debt for local authorities, not just...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Policies (1 Dec 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: What part of my answer does the Deputy not understand? I have just said for the past few minutes that, of course, we are using modern methods of construction and modular construction. We are already doing that but we will be using additional good-quality, off-site construction builds under modern methods of construction, next year, in the programme we have set and has been debated in this...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Policies (1 Dec 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Let us not blur the lines.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Planning Issues (1 Dec 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Tá ár gcuid oibre beagnach críochnaithe.