Results 2,921-2,940 of 26,565 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

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...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (17 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department currently supports an agreed programme of new Domestic Violence Refuges via the Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS). CAS also supports the acquisition of individual properties as 'Safe Houses'. Operational costs for Refuges are a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Justice. Domestic Violence Refuge units and Safe Houses can also be provided through other sources outside of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (17 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department currently supports an agreed programme of new Domestic Violence Refuges via the Capital Assistance Scheme/CAS. Operational costs for such Refuges are a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Justice. New Domestic Violence Refuges currently under development as part of this programme, or recently completed via CAS, as part of the 3rd National DSGBV Strategy, are averaging...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (17 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I commenced the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 ('the 2022 Act') on 22 June 2023, which contains the enhanced grant scheme and adopted the related Regulations on 29 June 2023. A review mechanism is provided within the 2022 Act, which provides for an increase or decrease in the overall grant scheme cap (currently €420,000) a year...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Fire Safety (17 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The Interim Remediation Scheme for the funding of eligible emergency fire safety defect works in apartments and duplexes has been in place since December 2023. The Scheme, which is being administered by the Housing Agency on a nationwide basis, is open to applications from apartment Owners’ Management Companies (OMC) via the Housing Agency’s website. In the period since the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (17 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The response to Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (DSGBV) is a cross-Departmental and multi-agency issue, with overall policy coordinated by the Department of Justice. Responsibility for the development and provision of services to support victims rests with my colleague the Minister for Justice working in conjunction with Cuan, the statutory DSGVB agency under the remit of the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (17 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 219 to 221, inclusive, together. The standards for rental accommodation are prescribed in the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019 and specify requirements in relation to a range of matters, such as structural repair, sanitary facilities, heating, ventilation, natural light, fire safety and the safety of gas, oil and electrical supplies....

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Approved Housing Bodies (17 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: As provided for in the Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Act 2019, the Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority (AHBRA) was formally established on 1 February 2021. AHBRA is an independent body tasked with providing the regulation of Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) for the purposes of protecting housing assets provided or managed by such bodies. The register of AHBs...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Data (17 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The minimum standards for rental accommodation are prescribed in the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019 and specify requirements in relation to a range of matters, such as structural repair, sanitary facilities, heating, ventilation, natural light, fire safety and the safety of gas, oil and electrical supplies. These Regulations apply to all properties let or available for...