Results 19,781-19,800 of 26,350 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (17 Jan 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 806 and 839 together. Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) has been identified as a key measure to address the different housing needs in Ireland and methods to support the development of MMC in Ireland are set out in Housing for All. MMC is the term used to describe a range of manufacturing and innovative construction alternatives to traditional construction,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Allotments Provision (17 Jan 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 807, 808, 809 and 810 together. Sustainable Residential Development and Compact Settlements Guidelines, issued as Ministerial Guidance under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act (as amended) refer to Community Gardens and Allotments as ‘plots of land which are made available (usually by a local authority) to community groups or individuals...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (17 Jan 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The Report on Relevant Public Lands published by the LDA in March 2023, identified land at the former Cork Prison as a site which could potentially be repurposed and utilised to develop affordable and social housing. My Department undertook a series of stakeholder engagements with site owners identified within that report, including officials from the Department of Justice, in relation...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (17 Jan 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: This Government is acutely aware of the housing accommodation and affordability challenges faced by many sectors of society including the health sector. 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 and 54,000 affordable homes by 2030. The Government...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (17 Jan 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Any household assessed as eligible for social housing is immediately eligible for housing support through the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme. Once a household has been deemed eligible for social housing support, it is a matter for the local authority to examine the suite of social housing supports available, including the HAP scheme, to determine the most appropriate form of social...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Community Development Projects (17 Jan 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department supports an ambitious National Regeneration Programme delivered by local authorities in Limerick, Cork City and Dublin City that seeks to address the causes of disadvantage in social housing estates through a holistic programme of physical, social and economic regeneration. The aim for national regeneration programme is to create sustainable communities through a combination of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (17 Jan 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The Cork Events Centre was included as a Government commitment under the revised National Development Plan in 2021. This underlines the Government’s support for urban regeneration, enhanced amenity and heritage, associated quality of life standards, balanced regional development, and the regeneration and development of Cork City Centre. It was agreed by Government in the context...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (17 Jan 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department doesn't track the purchase of houses by individual or institutional purchasers, whether domestic or from overseas. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) captures and publishes data on house purchases by household and non-household buyers, including by institutional investors. The data can be accessed via tables HPA02 and HPA12 on the CSO website www.data.cso.ie/.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (17 Jan 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department operates a number of funding programmes that assist local authorities to work in partnership with Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) to construct and purchase homes and make them available for social housing. One such programme that local authorities and AHBs progress Social Housing projects through is the Capital Advance Leasing Facility (CALF). CALF funding is capital support...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (17 Jan 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The Gerald Griffin Street project is part of the Cork City Council’s social housing delivery programme under Housing for All. My Department welcomes all submissions from Cork City Council and we will endeavour to support them in any manner that we can. My Department issued Stage 2 Approval-in-Principle for this project in July 2023. Cork City Council are working on a design for...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (17 Jan 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 829, 843 and 844 together. Under Housing Policy Objective 1.10 of 'Housing for All', the Government committed to introducing an ‘owner-occupier' guarantee to enable local authorities specify the proportion of houses and duplexes in a development for owner-occupiers. To this end, measures were introduced by Government in May 2021 to disincentivise...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (17 Jan 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I understand that St. Finan's Hospital site in Killarney, Co Kerry is in HSE ownership. It is open to the HSE to engage with the Local Authority or the Land Development Agency (LDA) to deliver on the housing potential of any vacant or underutilised state land. I am informed that, to date, the site has not been offered to the LDA by the HSE for consideration as a potential site to...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (17 Jan 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Pathway 4 of Housing for All sets out a blueprint to address vacancy and make efficient use of our existing housing stock. The Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant was launched under the Croí Cónaithe Towns Fund to support bringing vacant and derelict properties back into use. A grant of up to a maximum of €50,000 is available for the refurbishment of vacant properties...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (17 Jan 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 832 and 833 together. Applications for social housing support are assessed by the relevant local authority, in accordance with the eligibility and need criteria set down in section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the associated Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011, as amended. The regulations prescribe maximum net income...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Electoral Process (17 Jan 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Under electoral law, a nomination paper must state the name, address and occupation (if any) of a candidate at an election. A ballot paper must contain the name and description of the candidate standing nominated, as shown in the nomination paper. This requirement is intended as a means of identifying a candidate and ensuring the transparency of elections. In ruling on the validity of a...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Fire Stations (17 Jan 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The provision of a fire service in its functional area, including the establishment and maintenance of a fire brigade, the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of fire station premises, is a statutory function of individual fire authorities under the Fire Services Acts, 1981 and 2003. My Department supports the fire authorities through setting general policy, providing a...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (17 Jan 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Climate Action Plan 2023 commits to installing heat pumps in 45,000 existing dwellings and in 170,000 new dwellings by 2025, increasing to 400,000 and 280,000 respectively by 2030 This rapid transition to low-carbon heating systems has effectively phased out fossil fuel boilers in new homes. It will significantly improve air quality in the areas where these new homes are built relative to...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Homeless Accommodation (17 Jan 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The increase in the numbers accessing emergency accommodation is a serious concern for me and for the Government. Supporting individuals and families facing homelessness is a key Government priority. Increasing the supply of housing is critical to address homelessness and record levels of investment are being provided under Housing for All to support the delivery of housing. In 2024, over...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (17 Jan 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Under Housing for All, the Government has targeted the delivery of 28,500 new affordable homes from 2022 to 2026, to be facilitated by local authorities, Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs), the Land Development Agency (LDA) and through a strategic partnership between the State and retail banks. Each local authority has prepared and published its own 5-year Housing Delivery Action Plan setting...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Homeless Accommodation (17 Jan 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department’s role in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of local authorities in addressing homelessness at a local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of homeless accommodation and related services rests with individual local authorities. To assist in ensuring...