Results 221-240 of 6,997 for speaker:James Browne

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Water Charges (20 Mar 2025)

James Browne: On Lismore, I do not have the information to hand. I will certainly raise the matter with Uisce Éireann, however. If the Deputy sends me the details, we will follow up on that. Of course, I am sure the situation in Cork is always kept under review by Uisce Éireann. However, I will again raise that matter with Uisce Éireann.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Policy (20 Mar 2025)

James Browne: I thank the Deputy for raising this important question on the role of accessibility officers in Dublin City Council and the oversight mechanisms that are place to ensure future housing developments meet universal design standards. These are issues in respect of which he has long campaigned, even before he came to the Dáil. Under the Disability Act 2005, each local authority is...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Provision (20 Mar 2025)

James Browne: I thank Deputy Ardagh for raising this very important question regarding St. Michael's Estate in Inchicore. She has been pursuing a campaign and working extremely hard on the matter for some time. Under Housing for All, the Government set out plans to deliver 54,000 affordable homes, including 36,000 affordable purchase and 18,000 cost rental homes, by 2030. To deliver on this...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Provision (20 Mar 2025)

James Browne: I again thank Deputy Ardagh for raising this matter. I know how hard she has pursued it. I do not foresee any further delays. There should not be any further delays. As stated, €66.15 million has been approved for allocation from the fund. This is an exceptionally large amount of money that is needed. Such a large amount deserves to be granted in respect of a project of this...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Provision (20 Mar 2025)

James Browne: I thank the Deputies for their questions. Unfortunately, I cannot comment on the management situation. In the context of Deputy Ó Broin's question, I will get an answer for that. I do not have the information to hand.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rental Sector (20 Mar 2025)

James Browne: The tenant in situ acquisitions programme has been a key measure in the prevention of homelessness since its introduction in 2023. Therefore, Government has agreed funding to continue the programme for 2025. My Department has notified local authorities on the extension of the programme, and a circular setting out the arrangements will issue shortly. In 2023, Fingal County Council...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rental Sector (20 Mar 2025)

James Browne: I thank the Deputy for this important question. I am very much aware of the housing crisis right across this country that causes very serious pain and suffering for individual families as a result. That is why I am determined to get our housing deliveries increased at a significant level. The tenant in situ scheme is a programme to ensure that people do not become homeless. That is why...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rental Sector (20 Mar 2025)

James Browne: I can assure the Deputies that this is an absolute priority for me. It is not ideal that it was not resolved before the general election. The funding is now in place. I will be acting with absolute speed to get this circular out. The very same people who are in that very distressing situation come to me. It might surprise Deputy O'Reilly but they do come to Fianna Fáil TDs as well-----

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rental Sector (20 Mar 2025)

James Browne: -----and they come to my office and my clinics.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rental Sector (20 Mar 2025)

James Browne: The Deputy does not have a monopoly on sympathy in these situations. We are doing everything we can to address the housing crisis.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Schemes (20 Mar 2025)

James Browne: Rents for cost-rental homes are set to cover the cost of delivery, financing and managing and maintaining the homes modelled over at least 40 years. Cost rents paid will vary between households and schemes and is dependent on the size of the home and the location but cost rental is a more affordable option compared with the pressures of the private market and will always be made available at...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Planning Issues (20 Mar 2025)

James Browne: The planning permission data released by the CSO last week is concerning. It can be seen within the data that the overall dip is driven mainly by a fall in the permissions for apartments. This illustrates the enormous challenge of meeting our revised housing targets, the critical role of apartment delivery in this regard, and the importance of securing private capital investment to fund...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Planning Issues (20 Mar 2025)

James Browne: This year the Government has already committed €6.5 billion towards delivering housing in this country. We need probably a minimum of €20 billion spent on housing to deliver the necessary housing. The rest of that money has to come from the private sector. Financial firms, whether national or international, are a key part of that because you need that private funding to...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Planning Issues (20 Mar 2025)

James Browne: It is private finance that will also want a profit. No matter what way you do it, private finance will always seek a profit - even those Irish savers if you tapped into them. I am not against that. We are going to examine that carefully to see if that can be done, but they will still want a profit for their funding. They are not going to put their money away if they do not think they are...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Schemes (20 Mar 2025)

James Browne: I thank the Deputy for his question. Under Housing for All, the Government set out plans to deliver 54,000 affordable homes, including 36,000 affordable purchase and 18,000 cost-rental homes, by 2030. The target for 2024 across all of the various delivery streams was 6,400. A comprehensive implementation strategy is in place to support the various affordable housing schemes now being...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Schemes (20 Mar 2025)

James Browne: As I say, I am awaiting the quarter 4 figures to be verified but I anticipate 2024 will be the best year to date for the delivery of affordable homes by our delivery partners. We will continue to work with all of our partners to increase the delivery of affordable homes in any shape or manner that they can be delivered in.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Provision (20 Mar 2025)

James Browne: The Department never makes projections of what housing delivery will be. We have heard in the past number of weeks everything from 30,000 to 40,000 through different sectors in terms of various projections for completions. The outcome will be what will be. My intention will be to maximise the delivery of housing over the next 12 months and, indeed, over the next number of years. As...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Provision (20 Mar 2025)

James Browne: I agree, in that apartment delivery has collapsed. That is very clear. We need to have radical thinking in terms of how we get that supply of apartments moving again. That is where the significant shortfall in reaching our targets has happened, particularly in Dublin city but also in our other cities, including Limerick. Apartments need to be delivered. I intend to take significant...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Provision (20 Mar 2025)

James Browne: The Government is fully committed to working with all stakeholders to deliver social, affordable and cost rental homes at scale, with a record level of investment being provided for the delivery of housing in 2025 - capital funding of €6.5 billion supplemented by current funding of €1.65 billion. The number of new-build social homes in the pipeline for delivery in the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Provision (20 Mar 2025)

James Browne: I thank the Deputy for his question. We received an additional €450 million a couple of weeks ago to release up to 3,000 new properties to be delivered. We are working our way through those approvals as quickly as possible. As the Deputy will know, they need to be assessed before final approval. The majority of those have now been done. It is something that is in flux at any...