Results 2,061-2,080 of 25,713 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rental Sector (22 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Under Housing for All, the Government will deliver 47,600 new build social homes and 3,500 social homes through long-term leasing in the period 2022-2026. Our clear focus is to increase the stock of social housing through new build projects delivered by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs). Under Housing for All there was provision for 200 social housing acquisitions per...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Legislative Programme (22 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The Private Members' Bill regarding Dublin Bay proposes the establishment of a new statutory authority to take on responsibility for co-ordinating the work of the many agencies and bodies currently engaged in planning and development of the Bay Area. As the Deputy is aware, there is already in existence a non-statutory Dublin Bay Bathing Water Task Force. It was established in 2019 and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Staff (22 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The grade of Fire Advisor has not been used in my Department for some considerable time, while the grade of Senior Fire Advisor does not exist. The following table sets out the number of FTE staff serving in the senior manager grades (i.e. Principal Officer equivalent) of my department's National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management at the end of December 2023 and September 2024. ...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Funding (22 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Established under the National Development Plan 2018 – 2027, the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) programme was launched in 2018 to primarily support the National Planning Framework’s (NPF) growth enablers for the five cities and other large urban centres. The URDF is providing up to 75% funding for applicant led projects that will support more compact and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Property Registration (22 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Tailte Éireann is an independent Government agency under the aegis of my Department. Tailte Éireann provide a property registration system, property valuation service, and national mapping and surveying infrastructure for the State. Under Section 8(6) of the Tailte Éireann Act 2022, Tailte Éireann is independent in the performance of its functions. The Land Register is...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Disability Services (22 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: 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 allocation of local authority dwellings, including the prioritisation of certain households, is a...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (22 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Affordability and the chance to own a home is at the heart of this Government’s housing policy. Since 2021 over 8,500 affordable housing supports have now been delivered through the various measures we have established and are currently implementing through our delivery partners. Since the launch of Housing for All, close to 1,000 local authority affordable purchase homes at...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (22 Oct 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 housing authorities in addressing homelessness at a local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of homeless services rests with individual housing authorities. While responsibility for the provision of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water Supply (22 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department’s Rural Water Programme provides capital and operational funding to Group Water Schemes (GWS). The responsibility for the implementation of the Programme is devolved to individual local authorities. In each local authority there is a Rural Water Liaison Officer who is responsible for its the day to day administration including providing information on GWS. The officer...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Capital Expenditure Programme (22 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 447 to 450, inclusive, together. My Department has a wide and diverse business agenda, covering a broad range of functions, including local authority housing, voluntary housing, homeless services, estate regeneration, energy efficiency retrofitting, housing grants, rural water schemes, urban regeneration, peatlands conservation, national parks and wildlife...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (22 Oct 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 they are responsible. Local authorities are entirely independent corporate entities having full responsibility under law for the performance of their functions. The Department...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (22 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Data on new dwelling completions are published on a quarterly basis by the CSO on its website at the following link: data.cso.ie/table/NDQ06. The data are disaggregated by local authority and dwelling type i.e. single houses, scheme houses and apartments. A breakdown of the number of these homes likely to be available for sale or rent is not provided. Separately, my department publishes...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (22 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department is currently working on a number of measures to increase staffing levels in the local government planning sector. In this regard, my Department is working in conjunction with the Local Government Management Agency on a programme of support to provide planning authorities, on a phased basis, with the requisite level of staffing resources and expertise to perform efficiently and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (22 Oct 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, introduced in July 2022 under the Croí Cónaithe Towns Fund, supports bringing vacant and derelict properties back into use as homes. A grant of up to €50,000 is available for the refurbishment of vacant...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Horticulture Sector (22 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I have neither statutory nor Ministerial responsibility for the harvesting of peat for use in horticulture. However, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications and my Department have worked together to address matters relating to horticultural peat extraction, in particularly for use in the horticultural sector in Ireland. ...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (22 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 465 and 471 together. The Local Authority Home Loan is a Government-backed mortgage for creditworthy applicants who cannot get sufficient funding from commercial banks to purchase or build a home. It has been available nationwide from local authorities since 4 January 2022 for first-time buyers and fresh start applicants. The loan can be used both for new...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (22 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I am satisfied investment funds are not impeding the provision of affordable housing by the State. Indeed, the latest data suggest we are on target to meet this year's target of 6,400 affordable housing supports. Almost 2,700 affordable housing supports have been delivered in the first six months to end-June 2024, more than double the quantum delivered in the same period in 2023, with a...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Wastewater Treatment (22 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Group Water Schemes (GWS) are community-owned and community-run organisations supplying drinking water to their local members. My Department provides capital and operational support to GWS through funding under the Rural Water Programme Group. The responsibility for the implementation of the Programme is devolved to individual local authorities. Each local authority has a Rural Water...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: House Prices (22 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: My department monitors house price inflation on an on-going basis and will continue to do so. Prices are down from a peak of 15% for the year to end-March 2022 and the medium-term outlook vis-à-vis house price growth is positive. Prices are expected to moderate in the latter half of the year and into 2025, with mid-single digit growth forecast for next year. The latest data...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: House Prices (22 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Data on new home commencements are published monthly on my department's website at the following link: . Data are not availability on a tenure-by-tenure basis i.e. affordable, social, private rental, etc. Planning permission data, which are probably the best indicator of future new home starts, are published quarterly by the CSO at the following link: . The recent data suggest the...