Results 19,961-19,980 of 26,350 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Energy Conservation (13 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Since 2013, Exchequer funding has been provided through my Department's Energy Efficiency Retrofit Programme (EERP) to support local authorities with the retrofit of local authority owned homes requiring insulation and energy upgrade works. Over the period 2013 to the end of 2023, local authorities received over €308 million in funding to carry out energy upgrade works on over 79,000...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Vacant Properties (13 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Local authorities will always have a level of vacancy in their housing stock. This will fluctuate over time, as tenancy surrender and re-letting of stock is an ongoing process. Therefore, ongoing data in relation to vacant local authority owned homes are not routinely collated by my Department. However, statistics in relation to social housing stock, at a point in time, are published by...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rental Sector (13 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: On 7 December 2022 the Government approved the publication of the General Scheme of the Registration of Short-Term Tourist Letting Bill (STTL Bill) and the priority drafting of the Bill which provides for the establishment of a new registration system for short-term lettings to be operated by Fáilte Ireland in line with the commitment under Housing for All - A New Housing Plan for...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (13 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Housing for All targets the delivery of 18,000 new Cost Rental homes to 2030. A strong pipeline is in place and under continuous development by Local Authorities, by Approved Housing Bodies using the Cost Rental Equity Loan, and by the Land Development Agency. All Cost Rental providers are legally obliged to make Cost Rental homes available in line with the provisions of Part 3 of the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Homeless Persons Supports (13 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The Housing First approach to addressing homelessness places direct access to housing first and foremost for vulnerable individuals using homeless services consistently or intermittently over a long periods of time, and those unable or resistant to accessing homeless services and who may then become habitual rough sleepers. These individuals often have complex support needs such as mental or...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Issues (13 Feb 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. There are now more people working at the Board than at any time previously. Since October 2021,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Referendum Campaigns (13 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I refer to my reply to Question No. 81 of 31 January 2024, which sets out the position on the matter.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Fire Service (13 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department supports local authority fire and rescue services through setting general policy, providing a central training programme for fire service officers, issuing guidance on operational and other related matters and providing capital funding for vehicles, equipment and priority infrastructural projects. In Ireland, approximately three thousand two hundred highly trained...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (13 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The Government has developed the Cost Rental Tenant In-Situ (CRTiS) scheme for tenants in private rental homes who are at risk of homelessness because a landlord intends to sell the property, but who are not in receipt of social housing supports. The scheme was established on a temporary administrative basis from 1 April 2023 and is managed by the Housing Agency, pending further policy...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (13 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The Housing Agency administers the Housing Agency Acquisitions Fund (HAAF), which has moved to a dual role to support both the ‘Housing First’ Programme and the new, pilot ‘Cost Rental Tenant in-Situ’ Scheme (CRTiS). The 'Housing First' Programme offers permanent housing to homeless people and then provides other supportive services to improve their quality of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (13 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The Housing Agency is a non-commercial State agency under the aegis of my Department. The Housing Agency’s Projects, Procurement and Programmes (PPP) Team supports local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) in housing delivery through the provision of specialist advice in a range of areas, including design, regulatory compliance, project development and procurement. My...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (13 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: 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 per annum, through an overall combination of €12bn in direct...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (13 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Details on the number of households qualified for social housing support in each local authority administrative area is provided in the annual statutory Summary of Social Housing Assessments (SSHA). The most recently published summary for all local authority areas was conducted in November 2022 and is available on my Department’s website at the following link:...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (13 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme is a flexible and immediate housing support that is available to all eligible households with a long term housing need. Any household assessed as eligible for social housing is immediately eligible for HAP. At end Q3 2023, just under 115,000 HAP tenancies had been set-up since the scheme commenced, with 57,617 active tenancies being supported under...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Government Reform (13 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The Council of Europe's Congress of Local and Regional Authorities 2023 Report on the Application of the European Charter of Local Self-Government in Ireland made a number of recommendations, including to encourage Ireland's signature of the Additional Protocol to the European Charter of Local Self-Government on the right to participate in the affairs of a local authority (CETS No. 207). The...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (13 Feb 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: Development Contributions (13 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Development contribution charges to be applied on developers are set at the planning permission stage but are not collectable by the relevant local authority until after the development work commences. Commencement notices are issued by the developer to the local authority and these generally trigger the raising of the charge. The normal practice is for the developer to issue a commencement...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Reviews (13 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I have committed to undertake a review of the baseline allocation. The LPT revaluation process was completed with updated data available in terms of the revised yield and, in addition, Census 2022 data was available for consideration. These circumstances facilitated my Department to set up a Working Group in 2023, to complete the promised review of the allocation of baseline funding. The...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Projects (13 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The Narrow Water Bridge is a cross-border project led by Louth County Council and supported by the Shared Island Fund. The Bridge will link the Mourne Mountains in Co. Down with the Cooley Peninsula in Co. Louth, bringing tourism and economic benefits, and creating new opportunities and deepening connections between communities on both sides of the border. When complete, the bridge will...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (13 Feb 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Housing for All sets out the range of actions necessary to increase the supply of housing to the required 33,000 homes, on average, per year over the next decade. 54,000 affordable homes will be delivered between now and 2030 to be facilitated by local authorities, Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs), the Land Development Agency and through First Home, which is a strategic partnership between the...