Results 2,621-2,640 of 26,565 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: State Bodies (22 Jan 2025)

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. Recruitment of all staff is a matter for the Board. However, the workforce plan of the Board is...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Insurance Industry (22 Jan 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: Uisce Éireann has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels. The scope, prioritisation and progression of individual projects is a matter for Uisce Éireann and is approved through its own internal governance structures. Uisce Éireann is responsible for its own arrangements in relation...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Fire Service (22 Jan 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The provision of a fire service in its functional area, including the establishment and maintenance of a fire brigade, the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of fire station premises, is a statutory function of individual fire authorities under the Fire Services Act 1981. My Department supports the fire authorities through setting general policy, providing a central training...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Interest Rates (22 Jan 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The interest rate policy of the Housing Finance Agency (HFA) is a matter for the management and board of that organisation. However, the HFA has advised my Department that the HFA approach to amending variable interest rates depends on the contractual arrangements with each individual customer. The HFA advises that for some customers, the rate is linked to six-month Euribor and therefore...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (22 Jan 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The Local Government Reform Act 2014 dissolved 80 town councils which represented just 14% of the population. The previous town council system also led to duplication both in administrative and electoral terms. Instead, the Act saw the introduction of 95 municipal districts in 25 of the 31 local authorities at sub-county level, including in Kerry County Council, while area committees would...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (22 Jan 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: All local authorities, including Kerry County Council, have developed and published their Housing Delivery Action Plans setting out their plans to deliver social and affordable housing during the peiod from 2022-2022. This follows a comprehensive Housing Needs and Demand Assessment. A copy of Kerry County Council’s Housing Delivery Action Plan is available on its website at the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Commercial Rates (22 Jan 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: Local authorities are under a statutory obligation to levy rates on any property used for commercial purposes in accordance with the details entered in the valuation lists prepared by Tailte Éireann under the Valuation Acts 2001 to 2020. The amount of rates liable on a property is determined by multiplying the valuation of the property set by Tailte Éireann by the Annual Rate...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (22 Jan 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: Work on providing supports for Owners’ Management Companies (OMCs) who are unable to meet eligible remediation costs in relevant multi-unit developments or may seek refunds for eligible works completed is being advanced. Legislation is currently being drafted to establish the Apartment and Duplex Defects Remediation Scheme on a statutory basis, which, subject to the legislative...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (22 Jan 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: On 18 January 2023 Government approved the principle of allowing remediation costs already incurred or levied to be covered under a Legacy Defects Scheme. On 18 September 2024 the Minister received government approval for the priority drafting of the Apartment and Duplex Defects Remediation Bill 2024. This legislation will underpin the forthcoming statutory scheme which will establish...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Postal Voting (22 Jan 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: Under electoral law, postal voting is available for a number of different categories of people including the following:whole-time members of the Defence Forcesmembers of An Garda SíochánaIrish diplomats serving abroad and their spouses/civil partnerselectors living at home who are unable to vote because of an illness or a disabilityelectors whose occupation, service or employment...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Funding (22 Jan 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: Last November, I approved Uisce Éireann's Strategic Funding Plan (SFP) for the years 2025 - 2029. The SFP specifies the arrangements Uisce Éireann proposes to make and measures it proposes to take to meet the policy objectives of the Water Services Policy Statement, incorporating its estimated funding requirements for investment and operating costs together with sources of funding....

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Data (22 Jan 2025)

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 local authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of accommodation and related services for homeless persons rests with individual local authorities. My Department...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Derelict Sites (22 Jan 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The Derelict Sites Act 1990 (the Act) imposes a general duty on every owner and occupier of land to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the land does not become, or continue to be, a derelict site. The Act also imposes a duty on local authorities to take all reasonable steps, including the exercise of appropriate statutory powers, to ensure that any land within their functional area does...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Derelict Sites (22 Jan 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The Derelict Sites Act 1990 (the Act) imposes a general duty on every owner and occupier of land to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the land does not become, or continue to be, a derelict site. The Act also imposes a duty on local authorities to take all reasonable steps, including the exercise of appropriate statutory powers, to ensure that any land within their functional area does...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Homeless Persons Supports (22 Jan 2025)

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 local authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of accommodation and related services for homeless persons rests with individual local authorities. While...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (22 Jan 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: Data on 'New Dwelling Completions' by local authority are published quarterly on the Central Statistics Office website at the following link: data.cso.ie/table/NDQ06 The data show a substantial uplift in new homes delivered since Housing for All was launched in 2021, with 29,662 and 32,548 completed in 2022 and 2023 respectively. Indeed, new home delivery in 2023 was at its highest level in...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (22 Jan 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) are not-for-profit housing organisations that provide both social and cost rental housing on behalf of the State. As independent organisations, AHBs are required to adopt the standards for AHBs provided for by the Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority (AHBRA). The regulatory standards, which include financial management and reporting, property and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rental Sector (22 Jan 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The Tenant in Situ Acquisitions Programme was introduced by way of Government decision in 2023. It was originally intended 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...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Homeless Accommodation (22 Jan 2025)

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 local authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of accommodation and related services for homeless persons rests with individual local authorities. My Department...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Data (22 Jan 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department does not collate information relating to deaths of homeless individuals in emergency accommodation, funded and overseen by local authorities, or individuals rough sleeping. On 16 January 2024, the Health Research Board published its report on deaths among people who were homeless based on 2020 data. The research applied the methodology used to compile the National Drug...