Results 3,361-3,380 of 26,778 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Financial Resolutions 2024 - Financial Resolution No. 5: General (Resumed) (2 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Níl mé cinnte faoi sin. Like the four budgets before it, this year's budget is unprecedented. It provides more than €6 billion in capital to help us to deliver social and affordable homes for our people. It is the most that any Government has ever invested in housing. It is made up of more than €3.1 billion in Exchequer funding, an additional €1.25 billion...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: State Bodies (2 Oct 2024)

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. The information requested is not held by my Department. Arrangements have been put in place by all...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Seanad Elections (2 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The Seanad Electoral (University Members) (Amendment) Bill 2024 was published on 27 September. The provisions in the Bill respond to the Supreme Court decisions last year which found that sections 6 and 7 of the Seanad Electoral (University Members) Act 1937 were unconstitutional because they were not consistent with Article 18.4.2 of the Constitution, as amended. The Court deemed that the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Electoral Process (2 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The Programme for Government – Our Shared Future contains a specific commitment to examine the Scottish experience of reducing the voting age in order to draw conclusions. The Programme for Government also committed to the establishment of a statutory, independent Electoral Commission. This was established on the 9 February 2023. An Coimisiún Toghcháin, Ireland’s...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Issues (2 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Under the Planning and Development Act 2000 (Act of 2000) if a person wishes to seek an alteration of a permission from the planning authority they submit an application under section 34 of the Act. Applications for permission under section 34 are subject to a 5 week period for public submissions or observations under Article 29 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001. Under section...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Issues (2 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, has responsibility for the overall development of national planning policy and legislation. Anaerobic digestors require an application for planning permission in accordance with section 34 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended. This ensures that planning authorities can give proper consideration to a range of factors,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Approved Housing Bodies (2 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department operates a number of funding programmes that assist local authorities to work in partnership with Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) to construct and purchase homes and make them available for social housing. One such programme that local authorities and AHBs progress Social Housing projects through is the Capital Advance Leasing Facility (CALF). CALF funding is capital support...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (2 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. The Housing Agency wrote to me and recommended that an order under Section 5(9) of the Act designating Sligo County Council in respect of the whole of its...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Wastewater Treatment (2 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: In December 2023, I approved funding for a number of projects under my Department's funding scheme for the Waste Water Collection and Treatment needs of Villages without access to public waste water services. I can confirm that Wexford County Council applied and were approved funding under the Programme for a project in the village of Ramsgrange. Each local authority has a Rural Water...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (2 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 139 and 140 together. 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 the delivery of 90,000 social homes, 36,000 affordable purchase homes and 18,000 cost rental homes. Housing for All is supported by an investment package of over €4bn per annum,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (1 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The Local Authority Affordable Purchase Scheme (LAAPS) was introduced under the Affordable Housing Act 2021. It assists first-time buyers purchasing Local Authority-delivered new homes. This scheme uses an equity share model to give eligible purchasers the opportunity of home ownership at a significant discount. Section 12(2) of the Act outlines that the purchase of an affordable...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (1 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 254 and 266 together. The Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme provides for the purchase by eligible tenants, including joint tenants, of local authority houses which are available for sale under the scheme. All applications for the Scheme must satisfy the requirements outlined in the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 and Housing (Sale of Local...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Policies (1 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I refer to my reply to Question No. 54 of 25 September 2024 which sets out the position in this matter.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Policies (1 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I refer to my reply to Question No. 242 of 24 September 2024 which sets out the position in this matter.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (1 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 the overall grant scheme cap (currently €420,000) a year after...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Budgets (1 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 259 and 269 together. The Gross Total allocations for my Department are set out in the Revised Estimates for Public Services (also known as the REV) which are published by the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform and are available at In 2024 an allocation of €90 million was provided to subhead A.16. There is no further breakdown...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Electoral Process (1 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 260 and 261 together. The Local Elections Regulations 1995 provide that a Local Authority Returning Officer, appointed by the Chief Executive of a local authority, is responsible for the conduct of a local election. This includes ascertaining and declaring the results of an election, and furnishing to the local authority a return of the persons elected to be...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (1 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: Local Authorities (1 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Section 160 of the Local Government Act 2001 provides the Minister with the power to declare qualifications of such classes and descriptions as he or she thinks fit for a specified employment under a local authority or for such of the employments as belong to a specified class, description or grade. The declared qualifications for engineering posts in the local government sector specify...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Wind Energy Guidelines (1 Oct 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 265 and 280 together. My Department is currently undertaking a focused review of the 2006 Wind Energy Development Guidelines. The review is addressing a number of key aspects of the Guidelines including noise, setback distance, shadow flicker, community obligation, community dividend and grid connections. My Department, in conjunction with the Department...