Results 2,561-2,580 of 25,975 for speaker:Kieran O'Donnell

Eviction Ban: Motion [Private Members] (21 Mar 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: I commend the Government countermotion to the House.

Eviction Ban: Motion [Private Members] (21 Mar 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: I thank everybody who has contributed to the debate. In the limited time I have, I want to deal with facts and to address a number of points that have been raised by individual Deputies. Deputy Ó Broin led off the debate. The tenant in situ scheme has been expanded and it has been in place since last April. We would like to have seen a greater take-up. The senior Minister has...

Eviction Ban: Motion [Private Members] (21 Mar 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: It does, while at the same time, this also comes down to that balance between tenants’ rights and so forth. With regard to Deputy Verona Murphy's contribution, we agreed to the amendment tabled by the Regional Group. She spoke about the density guidelines, which are currently being finalised and will go out to public consultation. This is something we are very strong on. Deputy...

Eviction Ban: Motion [Private Members] (21 Mar 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: My apologies to Deputy Connolly as she is in the Chair.

Eviction Ban: Motion [Private Members] (21 Mar 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: The help-to-buy scheme provides a deposit on a home and that is totally overlooked. Yes, people are paying high rents but the scheme provides a deposit on a house and, furthermore, the mortgage-to-rent scheme allows people to stay in their homes and everything should be about keeping people in their homes. That is of great importance. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae spoke about nothing happening...

Eviction Ban: Motion [Private Members] (21 Mar 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: Furthermore, there are at the moment 6,300 emergency beds through all the local authorities for single people and beds are available for 1,500 families. We would like to see more. There are 2,000 coming onstream across all local authority areas which is something we very much want to bring onstream. Over the past year, more than 5,700 people were either taken out of homelessness or...

Eviction Ban: Motion [Private Members] (21 Mar 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: I am talking about the numbers being taken out of homelessness. We accept that homelessness went up but I believe it is overlooked that during that period, of 5,700 people, some 3,700 of whom were prevented from going into homelessness and some 2,000 were taken out of it.

Eviction Ban: Motion [Private Members] (21 Mar 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: The ban was always going to be temporary and we wanted to ensure that we had further policies to bring landlords back into the market and have them stay in the market. With due respect to Deputy McDonald, her party is seeking a three-year ban on rent increases. What will that do to the landlord market? Furthermore, her party is looking to levy €400 on a second home, so that cost...

Eviction Ban: Motion [Private Members] (21 Mar 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: There were 30,000 units built overall last year, which was a record. What might also be missed is that since this Government has come into being, 10,900 people have been taken off the social housing list. That has to be positive.

Eviction Ban: Motion [Private Members] (21 Mar 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: That is a net decrease. There were 68,000 people on the housing list back in 2019 and there is just short of 58,000 now.

Eviction Ban: Motion [Private Members] (21 Mar 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: Sinn Féin wants to do away with HAP and with due respect to the Deputy, he is selling something that is not based on reality. His party is scaring people in respect of evictions.

Eviction Ban: Motion [Private Members] (21 Mar 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: The Deputy needs to understand that we have 1,500 people-----

Eviction Ban: Motion [Private Members] (21 Mar 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: -----received extra HAP in the final quarter of the past year and, furthermore, 19,000 tenancies were created in January and February of this year. It is not all bad news. We understand that it is difficult for people but we want to ensure that we continue to have extra supply for people who are in social housing and on HAP; that councils will continue to purchase at pace under the tenantin...

Eviction Ban: Motion [Private Members] (21 Mar 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: They work for tenantsin situ. Their rents have gone up by just short of 4%-----

Eviction Ban: Motion [Private Members] (21 Mar 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: -----over the past number of years.

Eviction Ban: Motion [Private Members] (21 Mar 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: The problem is that there is not enough supply. For new rentals, the rents are too high. For existing tenants, however, it has worked. That is completely overlooked. When the Deputy speaks about rents becoming higher, they are. I accept that. He does not qualify that comment by saying that it is new tenancies.

Eviction Ban: Motion [Private Members] (21 Mar 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: The Deputy does not. He gives the impression that it applies-----

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Housing Schemes (21 Mar 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: I thank the Deputy, who has made practical points that I take wholeheartedly. If people in a property have young children who are in a local school, the property in question is their home. That is the logic of it. The Deputy referred to Dublin City Council and Fingal County Council. A body of work is under way there. Obviously, the Deputy will allow the councils to do that work and see...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Traveller Community (21 Mar 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: The Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998 provides that the role of my Department is to ensure that there are adequate structures and supports in place to assist housing authorities in providing accommodation for Travellers, including a national framework of policy, legislation and funding. The Act provides that housing authorities have statutory responsibility for the assessment of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Derelict Sites (21 Mar 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: Local Authorities are required to submit an annual return to my Department providing information on the operation of the Derelict Sites Act 1990 in their functional areas. The derelict sites returns have been collected in Q2 of the following year. My Department recently issued Circular Letter PL 02/2023 requesting the submission of returns on the operation of the Derelict Sites Act in 2022 by...