Results 17,321-17,340 of 26,320 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Provision (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The Deputy may not want to listen to the answer but I have given him the answer, very clearly. We have ramped up significantly additional accommodation through social housing new builds of more than 5,000 in the last quarter of last year and over 1,800 in the first two months of this year. More than 600 homes have been purchased since July and-----

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Provision (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: For many reasons. It is not as simple as that and the Deputy knows it-----

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Provision (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: -----but it does not suit his narrative.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Provision (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: We have made a responsible decision in the interests of the public.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Policy (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I thank Deputy Smith for the question. As he knows, the Residential Tenancies (Deferment of Termination Dates of Certain Tenancies) Act 2022 was a time-limited enactment which provided for a stay on eviction notices up to 31 March 2023, with deferred tenancy terminations taking effect over a staggered period from 1 April to 18 June 2023. In terms of the longer term, my Department has...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Policy (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: On the last question the Deputy asked, and looking at the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive, DRHE, data over the period of the eviction ban, homelessness stabilised. It did increase in some areas. The biggest single reason for that - about 25% of those presenting as homeless - was relationship breakdowns, and not due to other issues. The data are all published and are available.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Policy (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: Deputy Ó Broin might try to behave himself. I am answering Deputy Smith, who has put a very valid question here.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Policy (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: What we are doing is that we have acquired about 600 properties from July. There was a target of 200 for 2022. As Deputy Smith knows from dealing with constituents in our area, once the council enters into those negotiations there is a conveyancing period to close the sale. Some local authorities have been using figures of closed sales only, ignoring the fact that there are others in...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Policy (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: We do not have projections for the coming months, but if we look at when notices to quit are issued, they do not directly correlate into homelessness figures. The same number of notices to quit do not exactly match the numbers going into emergency homeless accommodation. There is movement within the market already. As I said earlier, we have a made a difficult decision, but it is the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defective Building Materials (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I thank the Deputy for raising this most important issue. As he will know, I received Government approval on 18 January to draft legislation to establish supports for the remediation of fire safety, structural safety and water ingress defects in purpose-built apartment buildings, including duplexes, constructed between 1991 and 2013. I know the Deputy agrees that the legislation we need...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defective Building Materials (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: As the Deputy will know, the Government decision is focused directly on multi-unit developments, apartments and duplexes initially, because that is where the predominance of the issue is. We have to focus, first and foremost, on fire safety because that is public safety. I can say, and I am happy to say it on the record of the Dáil again, that retrospective costs that deal with the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defective Building Materials (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: To be clear, based on the surveys and the work done by the working group, about 14% of properties have been remediated already. Where those remediation works fall under the objectives of the scheme relating to fire safety, water ingress and structural issues - to be very clear - those costs will be covered. It obviously has to be certified work carried out by professionals and certified on...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defective Building Materials (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: If the building is from between 1991 and 2013, it falls in the scheme. I have not set a backstop date as such. If the works were done before a certain date I want those to be included.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defective Building Materials (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: We have seen a significant increase in applications to that scheme for defective concrete blocks. Anyone who applies now for stage 1 or stage 2 approvals will get the uplift of the new defective concrete blocks scheme.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defective Building Materials (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: We need to pass the legislation. Co-operation across the House on this has been very good. Having legislation in place is a priority because we need bespoke legislation. People should not pause the works that they are doing or contracting because they are now safe in the knowledge that those costs will be covered

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Schemes (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: As the Deputy will be aware, a very ambitious programme of delivery of affordable housing - the first in at least 15 years - commenced in 2022. Under the schemes introduced via the Affordable Housing Act 2021, this saw significant delivery of cost-rental homes for the first time by approved housing bodies and also by one local authority that is expanding further. That was using the cost...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Schemes (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I agree with the Deputy. In the interests of co-operation, I will not highlight the fact that we have different views on affordable housing and how it is delivered. The first home scheme was the main deliverer last year. I can be quite specific on those approvals because I get that data on a weekly basis. Up to the Friday before last, there were approximately 1,100 first home...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Schemes (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I receive the first home data in real time. There is a good ICT system behind that. It is run by the First Home Scheme Ireland Designated Activity Company. We see the approvals nearly every week, which is why I can be very specific on that matter. I cannot be as specific in relation to the others because affordable purchase and cost rental, through the different delivery models, are...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Schemes (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I was saying the Deputy voted against the legislation.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Schemes (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: All the delivery mechanisms on affordable housing are facilitated by the Affordable Housing Act 2021----