Results 3,001-3,020 of 25,713 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I am sorry - I should have said we are going to put out the next call on Croí Cónaithe cities in the summer, so it is literally weeks away. We have reviewed and we are revising it. We have reviewed that with stakeholders as well, because I want people to be able to buy apartments in their cities, as the Senator does.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: We are planning to do about four a year, so this will not be just a one-and-done. The first one was very much for that, to see what the interest is. There is interest. We have five approved with seven under consideration with the Housing Agency. The next one will be open in the summer. We expect to put a call out every quarter.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I do not want to talk about a specific development.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: There will be a lot of interest in the next call. We will want to assess the interest that is there. It will be well publicised and people will be able to apply to it. We will be looking at having a number of calls each year.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Generally speaking, they would have to have planning.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Yes, but what I am saying to the Senator is I do not want to talk about a specific one because it is in planning at the moment. The Croí Cónaithe cities fund and offering there has been reviewed, is being revised and we will put it out in another call over the summer, in the next few weeks.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I thank the Deputy. First of all, we have the Housing Commission report and I thank its members for that. They have given a view and have obviously put significant work into the report. We will take their projections as well, because there was unmet demand, unquestionably. I said that from the day I took over as Minister we were dealing with ten very significant years of undersupply, so...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: No, we are going to do that. It does not really matter what the ESRI has been asked in that regard because we are going to include it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The Deputy should finish and then I will come in. Go on.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I know that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: It is fully understood that if one were to reach 20% of national housing stock, which is one of the recommendations the Housing Commission made, it would mean a serious acceleration of that delivery. We are assessing and examining each of the commission's recommendations. I was putting on the record what we are currently doing. I have recognised that previous unmet demand, particularly...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I and the Government will ensure that previous unmet demand will be taken into account when we are setting the targets. It will not be the ESRI or the Housing Commission that will set the targets. That will be a Government decision around the revisions and we will include, and make more than reference to, previous unmet demand, as I have done since the day I took over as Minister in 2020.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I have not accepted any of the recommendations. We have not examined them in full.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: What I have always said I would do with the Housing Commission analysis, particularly around the important matter of housing targets over ten years, is that we would look at that report in conjunction with the ESRI report. When the latter comes in, both reports will be looked at in conjunction and we will then make an assessment ourselves. I am not disputing anything that has been said, nor...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: We have told the housing authorities that there is sufficient emergency accommodation available. If the Deputy has a case where an individual-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I would like to see that letter. I am trying to be helpful here. This has never been flagged. I have met with the urban local authorities and the National Homeless Action Committee, on which the local authorities also sit. We regularly discuss and review the provision of emergency accommodation. It has never been brought to my attention, particularly of late, that there is any shortage...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I was about to answer the Deputy's question on acquisitions, if that is useful to him. We are looking at a total of 109 acquisitions in the Cork city area alone in 2023. We are going to continue with this. Cork county had 74 acquisitions, giving a total of 183 in 2023.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Yes. As the Deputy knows, we will discuss the Estimates shortly. We have provided €242 million for the provision of emergency accommodation and services. As I have said, if we require more funding, we will get more for this year. Our big focus is on additional supply, as I mentioned earlier to the colleagues seated beside Deputy Gould, and we brought in additional supply,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Every case is different. I chaired the North Dublin Regional Drug and Alcohol Task Force for ten years, and I have dealt with people who are in addiction. There are difficulties that addiction can pose to people's own lives, their housing situation and so on. There is no question that anyone who is suffering from addiction or going through addiction services and support should never be...