Results 2,741-2,760 of 15,555 for speaker:Eoghan Murphy

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (9 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: My responsibility is to provide an affordable housing sector, not for the benefit of any one public sector worker or any one worker in the economy, but to everyone in the country. We must have a functional housing sector that provides not just social housing or general housing but affordable housing as well. I am not responsible for the pay and conditions for anyone working in the public...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Planning Guidelines (9 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy for the question. Under section 30 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, it would be inappropriate for me to comment on individual planning cases. Under Project Ireland 2040, including the national planning framework, the Government has taken a broadly welcomed lead on moving away from sprawl to more compact urban growth as a key mechanism to support...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Planning Guidelines (9 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: It is true that Deputy Howlin engaged with me in respect of something that had been brought to his attention, as has the Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, in respect of concerns as to whether the densities are correct and to make sure we are not preventing developments from happening. The requirement of 35 to 50 dwellings per hectare for urban areas is the equivalent of 35 to 50 homes on a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Planning Guidelines (9 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: On foot of my engagement with Deputy Howlin, I did speak to my planners again about this issue around density. I spoke at the annual planning conference last week in Carrick-on-Shannon. The challenge of the right density was one of the key things that I spoke to. So often now, when we talk about the challenge we have in housing, it is actually a challenge around planning. We know more...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Provision (9 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: What we are seeing in 2019 is the most amount of money that a government in Ireland has ever spent on housing in a single year, some €2.4 billion. We are seeing a dramatic shift in construction as new homes are built. Last year, one in four of those new homes built were built for social housing purposes, so it is not true to say that we are relying solely on the market or on the...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Provision (9 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The Deputy has not told me one measure that he would take if an emergency was declared or what one new power that would give to abrogate constitutional rights.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Provision (9 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The challenges that we face today are very different to the challenges that we faced in housing eight years ago with 3,000 ghost housing estates and hundreds of thousands plunged into negative equity and mortgage distress. It is not true to say that property rights trump other rights in the Constitution. There is a balance of rights and that is why we were able to bring in the vacant site...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Provision (9 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: -----but even if it was constitutional, it would not be retrospective so it would not actually help people in tenancies today. We have to work to solutions that will help people without hurting them.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Water Services Infrastructure (9 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: Since 1 January 2014, Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels, including responsibility for Irish Water’s eastern and midlands water supply project. This project has been in development since the mid-1990s, originally under Dublin City Council and under Irish Water since January...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Water Services Infrastructure (9 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I was not clear from the Deputy's follow-up question whether he supports the project or whether he thinks it is necessary.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Water Services Infrastructure (9 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: That is an important thing to know because it absolutely is necessary-----

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Water Services Infrastructure (9 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: -----and perhaps attempts by the Deputy to undermine the project now that we have the motivation can be viewed in that light. Of course the CRU has a central role here and I have asked it to do a verification process to give further comfort to the different elements that are involved as part of the financial consents that will be given. I have already given consent for more than €40...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Water Services Infrastructure (9 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The Deputy should please not use what has happened with the children's hospital to try to undermine a very important capital project. Based on the Deputy's logic, we would not make any more capital investments.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Water Services Infrastructure (9 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: This project is not just for Dublin, but if it was, given the leakages that we know we have in Dublin, even if they were fixed, it would not give us the redundancy and contingency supply that we need. A total of 40% of the Liffey flow is taken into the water system. We need to reduce that. Of course we need to fix the leaks as well, but we need to think of the planned projections for...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Water Services Infrastructure (9 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: At the moment we have less than 1% headroom. In conjunction with the money that is being provided to fix the leaks in Dublin, which will happen and will take time----

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Water Services Infrastructure (9 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: -----we also need to have a new project for water supply and water security-----

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Water Services Infrastructure (9 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: -----for the east and midlands.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Provision (9 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The Government's Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness is underpinned by more than €6 billion in funding to support the delivery of 50,000 new social housing homes and 87,000 other housing supports by 2021 while also making the best use of the existing housing stock and laying the foundations for a more vibrant housing sector. A significant number of initiatives...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Loans (9 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy for the question. The Rebuilding Ireland home loan scheme was launched on 1 February of last year to replace the existing house purchase and home choice loan schemes. It provides a new line of mortgage finance that includes fixed rates over 25 to 30 years to creditworthy first-time buyers who cannot access sufficient mortgage finance from a commercial lender. The Housing...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Loans (9 Apr 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy for the follow-up question. First, as I confirmed to Deputy O'Brien at a recent meeting of the joint committee, all approvals given to date by credit committees and local authorities will be honoured. There should be no hesitation or pause in facilitating the drawdown of those loans where an approval has been made by the credit committee. Of the €200 million...