Results 3,281-3,300 of 26,565 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Homeless Accommodation (19 Sep 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Deputy Ó Broin and every Member of this House knows that the reasons people enter homelessness are very complex. People enter homeless emergency accommodation for a variety of reasons. One of the main preventive measures the Government introduced that is working is the purchase of homes for tenants in situ. So too is the increased supply of social housing stock. People are spending...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Homeless Accommodation (19 Sep 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Certainly not.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Homeless Accommodation (19 Sep 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: There is no restriction on the tenants in situ scheme. I wrote to the local authorities-----

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Homeless Accommodation (19 Sep 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Excuse me, do not interrupt me. On 5 July, I wrote to every chief executive across the country stating the targets set for them were the floor, not the ceiling. We exceeded our target last year. I expect us to do that again this year. The Deputy raised this last year as well. He said there were arbitrary targets and ceilings set regarding tenants in situ. There are not. It is a very...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Fire Safety (19 Sep 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The interim fire safety scheme is in place now. It is a complex arrangement. At the outset, I thank the stakeholders and the residents in particular, including the Construction Defects Alliance, the Apartment Owners Network and Not Our Fault, which have engaged in a really constructive manner. Yesterday, I received Government approval for the priority drafting of the main scheme...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Fire Safety (19 Sep 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: First, I reject any assertion there have been delays in bringing this forward. We want to make sure the interim fire defects scheme works for people and residents. That is why I have engaged personally with literally hundreds of residents and their representative groups on this issue. The legislation we agreed yesterday is very important too. It will go to the Oireachtas joint committee...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (19 Sep 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: First-time buyers are being supported under Housing for All and activity is continuing to strengthen, with the number of first-time buyers in the year to June 2024 some 28% higher than the same period in 2021 when Housing for All was introduced. A number of key measures have been put in place under the Plan, including, for example, the First Home Scheme which supports first time buyers...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rental Sector (19 Sep 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: For 2023 and 2024, the Government agreed that there would be increased provision for social housing acquisitions and my Department provided funding for local authorities to acquire at least 1,500 social homes per annum. The additional acquisitions have primarily focused on properties where a tenant is in receipt of social housing supports and has received a Notice of Termination due to the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (19 Sep 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The regeneration of Poolbeg West is an important step in the transformation of the Dublin Docklands area, with the potential to provide for 3,500 homes. A condition of the planning scheme for the Poolbeg West Strategic Development Zone, as modified by An Bord Pleanála in April 2019, is the provision of 15% social and affordable homes on this site in addition to the 10% statutory social...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (19 Sep 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I have engaged on a number of occasions with Insurance Ireland with regards to the insurance aspects of underwriting houses that have been subject to certified remediation works under the defective concrete blocks grant schemes. They have assured me such homes will be treated in the same manner as any other home. The Department of Finance has overall responsibility for policy matters in...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water Supply (19 Sep 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The Water Supply Project – East and Midlands Region (WSP-EMR) is a strategic national project, included in the National Development Plan, to help meet the long-term water supply requirements for the Eastern and Midlands region. The preferred scheme for the project involves the abstraction of water from the lower River Shannon at Parteen Basin in County Tipperary. The abstracted water...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rental Sector (19 Sep 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 74 and 96 together. The Cost Rental Tenant In-Situ (CRTiS) scheme was introduced on 1 April 2023 for tenants in private rental homes who are at risk of homelessness because a landlord has served a valid Notice of Termination due to an intention to sell the property. The Local Authority conducts the initial assessment for eligibility of the tenant for...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (19 Sep 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Housing for All is the Government’s plan to increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 per year over the next decade. This includes an average of 10,000 new build social homes each year in the period to 2030. Housing for All is supported by an investment package of over €4bn per annum, through an overall combination of €12bn in direct Exchequer funding,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (19 Sep 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 76 and 81 together. Housing for All, the most ambitious and comprehensive housing plan in the history of our State, was published in September 2021. The Plan contains a suite of actions that have and continue to increase the provision of housing through accelerating supply and increasing the affordability of homes for our citizens, including those in Carlow....

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (19 Sep 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The Government has targeted delivery of 54,000 affordable homes between now and 2030, to be facilitated by local authorities, Approved Housing Bodies, the Land Development Agency and via the First Home scheme, a strategic partnership between the State and retail banks. In the case of the Local Authority Affordable Purchase scheme, the Affordable Housing Fund is available to local...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (19 Sep 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The First Home Scheme, which launched in July 2022, is a shared equity scheme, designed to help bridge the gap for eligible first-time buyers, eligible homebuyers, and self-builders, between their deposit and mortgage, and the price of their new home (within price ceilings established across the country). Full details are available on the First Home Scheme website. The overall funding...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (19 Sep 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The Mortgage to Rent (MTR) scheme is targeted at those households in mortgage arrears who have had their mortgage position deemed unsustainable by their lender under the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP), and who have very limited options, if any, to meet their long-term housing needs themselves. One important eligibility criteria for the MTR scheme is that the household must be...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (19 Sep 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 80 and 112 together. Supporting individuals and families facing homelessness is a priority for Government. Critical to supporting households to exit homelessness is increasing the supply of housing. Almost 12,000 new social homes were delivered in 2023, through Build, Acquisition and Leasing, including 8,110 new build homes, the highest level of new build...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Vacant Properties (19 Sep 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The figures referred to relate to the notifications, received by local authorities, of planned changes of use of vacant commercial properties into residential units under The Planning and Development (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2018 and the number of new homes associated with those notifications, for the years 2018-2023. The Regulations were extended by way of the Planning and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (19 Sep 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 83, 100 and 111 together. Housing for All includes a commitment to review income eligibility for social housing. From this review, completed in November 2021, it was recommended moving five local authorities from Band 3 to Band 2, ensuring the income eligibility thresholds better reflect housing costs in those counties. Government also agreed to increase the...