Results 16,901-16,920 of 26,293 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (26 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: Housing for All commits to increasing the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 new homes per year. It has secured and sustained levels of State investment of over €4bn a year, giving the construction sector the certainty it needs to help ensure the ambition of the Plan is realised and 300,000 new homes are built by 2030. Supply is increasing. The 2022 target of 24,600 homes will...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (26 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: Details on the number of households qualified for social housing support in each local authority area is provided in the annual Summary of Social Housing Assessments (SSHA). The most recently published summary for all counties, conducted in November 2021, is available at: www.gov.ie/en/publication/f6119-summary-of-social-housing-as sessments-2021-key-findings/ . While the average waiting...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (26 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 235, 237, 238, 239 and 242 together. Housing for All is the Government’s plan to increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 per year over the next decade. This includes the delivery of 90,000 social homes, 36,000 affordable purchase homes and 18,000 cost rental homes. Housing for All is supported by an investment package of over €4bn...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Issues (26 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: In November 2022, following an updated assessment by An Bord Pleanála of resourcing issues likely to emerge as a result of planning applications in respect of proposed developments under the National Development Plan and other infrastructure projects, of the Board’s new marine functions, as well as a number of new senior positions approved under the Action Plan for An Bord...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (26 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: Social housing construction is funded through a range of delivery streams such as local authority direct construction, Part V, turnkey developments, regeneration programmes and through direct construction and turnkey developments delivered by Approved Housing Bodies. The funding provided by my Department to Kildare County Council in respect of social housing construction programmes in each...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (26 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: Statistics are published by my Department on a quarterly basis on social housing delivery by all local authorities across the range of programmes, including local authority build. This data, including that in respect of Kildare County Council, is available to the end of Quarter 3 of 2022 at the following link: . Data up to Q4 of 2022 will be published as soon as it is assembled. In addition,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (26 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 243 and 244 together. My Department has oversight of a number of supports under Pathway 1 of the Government's Housing For Allstrategy, “Pathways to Home Ownership and Increasing Affordability”. I have introduced the Local Authority Affordable Purchase Scheme (LAAPS) to assist first-time buyers purchasing Local Authority-delivered new homes. The...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (31 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The Galway Housing Task Force is continuing to provide a strong focus to social and affordable housing delivery and related areas across the two Galway Local Authorities. At the meeting of the Galway Social Housing Taskforce on 15 February 2022, it was proposed that a subgroup on Homelessness, with a particular focus on Traveller Homelessness, be established and report back to the Taskforce....

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Schemes (31 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 313 to 315, inclusive, together. 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...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (31 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The Residential Construction Cost Study, as committed to under Housing for All, is a shared initiative between the Construction Sector Group and Government, with agreed Terms of Reference, which my Department is now facilitating. A public procurement process was carried out by my Department to appoint consultants to carry out the study and a Steering Group, comprising stakeholders from...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (31 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 317 and 325 together. In January 2022, the Government announced a Covid-19 recognition payment for frontline healthcare workers to recognise their unique role during the pandemic. This once-off payment is ring fenced to staff who were ordinarily onsite in Covid-19-exposed healthcare environments within the period from 1 March 2020 to 30 June 2021. It...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: State Bodies (31 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The current membership of the Board of An Bord Pleanála (as at 25 January 2023) is set out in the table below. Three temporary ordinary members were appointed to the Board of An Bord Pleanála in early January 2023, and I intend to make further temporary appointments in the near future. In addition, there is an ongoing competition in the Public Appointments Service (PAS) to recruit...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Emergency Accommodation (31 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: Housing for All is the Government’s plan to increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 new homes per year over the next decade. This includes an average of 10,000 new build social homes each year in the period to 2030.  Housing for All is supported by an investment package of over €4bn per annum, through an overall combination of €12bn in direct Exchequer...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Data (31 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The Local Authority Home Loan has been available nationwide from local authorities since 4 January 2022. The Housing Agency provides a central support service that assesses applications for the Local Authority Home Loan, on behalf of local authorities and makes recommendations to local authorities to approve or refuse applications. The final decision on loan approval is a matter for the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Schemes (31 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The Mortgage to Rent (MTR) scheme allows an Approved Housing Body (AHB) or since 2018 a private company, Home for Life, acquire ownership of a property with an unsustainable private mortgage from a lender and enables the household to remain in their home as a social housing tenant. The scheme is an established part of the overall suite of social housing options and an important part of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Wastewater Treatment (31 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I understand the Question is referring to the new funding measure which I announced on the 28 April 2022, as an advance stage of the new Multi-Annual Rural Water Programme, for the waste water collection and treatment needs of villages and settlements that do not have access to public waste water services.  I can confirm that €50 million has been allocated under the National...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Schemes (31 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 323 and 348 together. The funding provision for 2023 for the Private House Grants, which includes the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability and other schemes such as the Thatching grant, is €67 million, an increase of €2 million on the 2022 provision of €65 million, continuing the year on year increases...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (31 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 324 and 344 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 examine defects in housing, having regard to the recommendations of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing’s report Safe as Houses?  Housing for All,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Ukraine War (31 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The launch of the unoccupied homes call 'Offer a Home', which is being led by local authorities with oversight from my Department, took place on 24 November 2022. Property owners can offer homes at offerahome.ie or by contacting the local authority in which their property is located. Properties offered need to be habitable and must meet certain health and safety standards, developed...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (31 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The Affordable Housing Fund is available to assist all local authorities in bringing forward affordable housing schemes. Following the publication of Housing for All in September 2021, I asked local authorities to prepare Housing Delivery Action Plans. Each local authority was asked to assess the level of housing demand with affordability constraint projected for their area based on...