Results 19,881-19,900 of 26,350 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Register of Electors (30 Jan 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Local authorities, in their capacity as registration authorities, are responsible for the management and maintenance of the electoral register, and each one is now required to prepare and maintain a pending electors list. This enables the pre-registration of 16 and 17 year olds, who are then transferred to the electoral register automatically when they turn 18 A series of national and local...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (30 Jan 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The government has implemented several measures to ensure a balanced housing market across all tenures, including home ownership, social housing, and private rental. Under the 'Housing for All', the Government committed to an 'owner-occupier' guarantee, allowing local authorities to designate a percentage of houses and duplexes in a development for owner-occupiers. In May 2021, the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (30 Jan 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: An adequate supply and mix of housing across all tenures is critical to balancing supply and demand in the housing market, including for home ownership, social housing and private rental. Under Housing Policy Objective 1.10 of Housing for All, Government committed to introducing an ‘owner-occupier' guarantee to enable local authorities specify the proportion of houses and duplexes in...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Ministerial Staff (30 Jan 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I have two nominated Garda drivers assigned to me in my role as Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. These drivers operate on a week on/week off basis and details of their contracts are a matter for my colleague the Minister for Justice. The two Ministers of State in my Department have appointed two civilian drivers, each also on a week on/week off pattern. These drivers'...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water Supply (30 Jan 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: On 25 January 2024, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that Ireland failed to fully implement the Drinking Water Directive (98/83/EC). The Court’s findings refer to the historical position in September 2020. Considerable progress has been made since then to the water supplies concerned in this case. The ruling is in relation to breaches of the limit for Trihalomenthanes...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Student Accommodation (30 Jan 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: An Bord Pleanála (the Board) is the national independent statutory body with responsibility for the determination of planning appeals and direct applications for strategic infrastructure and other developments under the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, and certain other Acts. Details of cases to be determined by the Board are a matter for the Board. Under section 30 of the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (31 Jan 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 71 to 76, inclusive, and 87 to 90, inclusive, together. The regeneration of Oliver Bond House sits within the parameters of the National Regeneration Programme which targets the country’s most disadvantaged communities; those defined by the most extreme social exclusion, unemployment and anti-social behaviour in accordance with Housing Circular N11/2007...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (31 Jan 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The National Planning Framework (NPF) in Ireland includes National Policy Objective 37, which mandates a Housing Need and Demand Assessment (HNDA) in each local authority area. The HNDA aims to ensure long-term strategic housing needs are met across all tenures, providing a robust evidence base to support decisions about new housing supply, investment, and housing-related services. Several...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Reports (31 Jan 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: In line with Programme for Government commitments, I established the Commission on Housing in December 2021 as an independent body to examine and evaluate Ireland's housing system, including issues such as tenure, standards, sustainability, and quality-of-life issues in the provision of housing. At the same time, I also tasked the Commission to advise the Government on the critical factors to...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rental Sector (31 Jan 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The standards for rental accommodation are prescribed in the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019 and specify requirements in relation to a range of matters, such as structural repair, sanitary facilities, heating, ventilation, natural light, fire safety and the safety of gas, oil and electrical supplies. These Regulations apply to all properties let or available for let,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (31 Jan 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Under section 159 of the Local Government Act 2001, each Chief Executive is responsible for the staffing and organisational arrangements necessary for carrying out the functions of the local authority for which he or she is responsible. My Department oversees workforce planning for the local government sector, including the monitoring of local government sector employment levels. To this...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Vacant Properties (31 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 supports 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 for occupation as a principal private residence and for...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (31 Jan 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Section 45(5) of the Local Government Act 2001 (as amended) provides that a local authority may, by standing orders, regulate the right of members of the public and members of the media to be present at meetings of the local authority. This provision includes the making, by standing orders, of rules in relation to the recording or relaying of the proceedings as they take place or at a later...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Public Sector Pay (1 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform has responsibility for public pay policy including negotiating collective agreements. As is usually the case, the recent negotiations were led by his Department and facilitated by the Workplace Relations Commission. The Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform liaise with sectoral management in relation to specific...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water Services (1 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Public ownership is a core principle governing the development of water services and the Government has given its full commitment to holding a referendum on ownership of water services. As I have previously noted, the establishment of Uisce Éireann in public ownership is already firmly secured under the Water Services Acts 2007 to 2022. I have previously committed to bringing forward...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Issues (1 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: It is of the utmost importance in the first instance to point out that provision for the handling and consideration of appeals where considered vexatious is currently already legislated for under section 138 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended), under which An Bord Pleanála has powers to dismiss an appeal where it is of the opinion that is frivolous or vexatious, or has...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Issues (1 Feb 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 local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of accommodation and related services for homeless persons rests with individual local authorities. My Department...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (1 Feb 2024)

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: Homeless Persons Supports (1 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: In line with commitments made in both the Programme for Government and Housing for All, a national Youth Homelessness Strategy was published in November 2022. The Strategy aims to help young people aged 18-24 who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. It sets out 27 key actions to prevent youth homelessness; improve the experiences of young people accessing emergency accommodation; and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (1 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Local authorities derive their income from a variety of central and local sources including from Local Property Tax (LPT), commercial rates, charges for goods and services and Exchequer funding from Central Government. The Annual Financial Statement (AFS) of each local authority provides an analysis of their income; these financial statements are produced at the local authority level. The...