Results 181-200 of 7,010 for speaker:James Browne

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Cybersecurity Policy (27 Mar 2025)

James Browne: The Department has recorded the following spends in cyber security measures in the given years. 2022 : €123,588.74 2023 : €484,344.75 2024: €765,210.80 While this outlines spend directly related to cyber security all aspects of ICT expenditure have a cyber-security requirement and therefore the actual investment in cyber-security is greater than the specific spend.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (27 Mar 2025)

James Browne: I propose to take Questions Nos. 288 and 289 together. 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/she is responsible. Local authorities are entirely independent corporate entities having full responsibility under law for...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (27 Mar 2025)

James Browne: Information on planning permissions granted is published quarterly by the Central Statistics Office. This includes data for planning permissions granted which can be broken down by type of dwelling, including for private flats and apartments and is available by local authority area. This data can be found at Dataset BHQ17 at the following link on CSO website: data.cso.ie/table/BHQ17....

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Vacant Properties (27 Mar 2025)

James Browne: Addressing vacancy and making efficient use of existing housing stock is a key priority for Government, as set out in Pathway 4 of Housing for All. The Vacant Homes Action Plan, published in January 2023, built on Pathway 4 and set out the various actions that were being pursued to return vacant properties back into use as homes. My Department publishes annual progress reports on the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (27 Mar 2025)

James Browne: Affordability and the chance to own a home is at the heart of the Government’s housing policy. As detailed under Housing for All, the Government plans to deliver 54,000 affordable homes, including 36,000 affordable purchase and 18,000 cost rental homes, by 2030. A comprehensive implementation strategy is in place to support the various affordable housing schemes now being delivered by...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (27 Mar 2025)

James Browne: New dwelling completions data are published by the CSO on a quarterly basis and are available on its website at www.cso.ie. Completions disaggregated by dwelling type (scheme house, single house, apartment) are available at local authority level at data.cso.ie/table/NDQ06. My Department does not forecast new home completions in any year. Sectoral commentators are forecasting a wide...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (27 Mar 2025)

James Browne: The zoning of land for particular purposes, including housing, is an exercise undertaken by planning authorities as part of their overall statutory plan function generally as part of a development plan under sections 9 to 13 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000 (as amended), but can at present also be carried out as part of a local area plan (LAP) process. The making of a development...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (27 Mar 2025)

James Browne: The zoning of land for particular purposes, including housing, is an exercise undertaken by planning authorities as part of their overall statutory plan function generally as part of a development plan under sections 9 to 13 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000 (as amended), but can at present also be carried out as part of a local area plan (LAP) process. The making of a development...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (27 Mar 2025)

James Browne: Since the publication of the current Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines in 2005 (which continue to have effect in addition to subsequent clarifications and national policy changes in the NPF published in 2018) there have been important changes to our planning system. Most notably, obligations under European Directives and international agreements relating to the management and protection of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (27 Mar 2025)

James Browne: I propose to take Questions Nos. 297, 300, 301, 302, 303, 307 and 308 together. 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 introduced in July 2022, provides a grant of up to €50,000 for the refurbishment of vacant properties for occupation as a principal...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (27 Mar 2025)

James Browne: Tenant in Situ Acquisitions were introduced by way of Government decision in 2023 as a short term response to the reported uplift in sales by landlords of homes which were within the HAP and RAS schemes in order to prevent potential homelessness where other solutions could not be found for the affected tenants. A further Government decision extended such acquisitions into 2024 with...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Heritage Sites (27 Mar 2025)

James Browne: I can confirm that my Department received correspondence from Galway County Council wherein the matter of my Department’s support in respect of the Council’s proposed purchase of Dunguaire Castle was raised. My Department responded to the Council’s request confirming willingness to meet with the Council in order to discuss further the Council’s proposed...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Land Development Agency (27 Mar 2025)

James Browne: I propose to take Questions Nos. 305, 304 and 306 together. This Government retains a strong focus on the use of vacant and underutilised state owned and public land for housing. The Land Development Agency (LDA) was set up as a commercial semi-state body in 2018, and established on a statutory basis following the commencement of the Land Development Agency Act 2021 (the Act). ...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Invasive Species Policy (27 Mar 2025)

James Browne: The ARC process for granting Ministerial consents for certain activities as provided for under the Birds and Natural Habitats Directive, is managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) of my Department. The NPWS has confirmed that no Ministerial consents/ARCs for the stocking or restocking of fish have been issued to Inland Fisheries Ireland in relation to Lough Arrow SAC. It...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Data Protection (26 Mar 2025)

James Browne: My Department met with the Deputy Commissioner of the Data Protection Commission on 5 February 2025. This meeting did not extend to discussing data compliance within state bodies under my Department's aegis who are independent bodies with their own data protection responsibilities and reporting arrangements. My Department does not hold any information in relation to same. The state bodies...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Funding (26 Mar 2025)

James Browne: The funding system that applies to local authorities is a complex one, as authorities derive their income from a variety of local sources including commercial rates, Local Property Tax (LPT), charges for goods and services and funding from Central Government. My Department does not provide specific funding to local authorities for the purpose outlined in the question. My colleague, the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Emergency Accommodation (26 Mar 2025)

James Browne: My Department does not fund any homeless service directly but provides funding to housing authorities towards the operational costs of homeless accommodation and related services. Under the funding arrangements, housing authorities must provide at least 10% of the cost of any funded service from their own resources. Furthermore, housing authorities may also incur additional expenditure on...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water Services (26 Mar 2025)

James Browne: I can confirm that in November 2024 funding was approved under my Department’s Multi-annual Rural Water Programme 2024-2026 for the project mentioned in the details supplied. My Department confirmed this approval in writing directly to Sligo County Council and advised that the project should now commence and be delivered to completion as quickly as possible. For progress updates...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Weather Events (26 Mar 2025)

James Browne: My Department undertakes the Lead Government Department role, as set out in the Strategic Emergency Management (SEM) Framework (2017), in relation to the coordination of national level responses to severe weather and flooding emergencies, where warranted. My Department's National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management undertakes this role and works closely with local authority Severe...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Waterways Issues (25 Mar 2025)

James Browne: The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) of my Department has engaged locally with representatives of the relevant stakeholders and positive discussions about the issues have taken place. I am aware that the scale of the works will be significant and that the site being located within a designated Special Area of Conservation (SAC) will make this more complex. The NPWS is in the...