Results 3,541-3,560 of 15,555 for speaker:Eoghan Murphy

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Water and Sewerage Schemes (15 Jan 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter with me as a Topical Issue. As the Deputy knows well, group water schemes are independent community-owned enterprises and are an important means of providing piped water to rural areas where no such supply exists. While I as Minister am responsible for overall policy direction and prioritisation of rural water services and for funding for the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rent Pressure Zones (15 Jan 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: We have to be very careful about our approach in this regard. One of my predecessors gave a signal to the market that he was going to do something about rents. It did not happen but during, I suppose, what one might call the period of dithering, rents increased quite dramatically to the detriment of tenants. What we have are rent pressure zones that were brought in under legislation. We...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rent Pressure Zones (15 Jan 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: We have to be careful how we consider matters. We have to ensure that everything we do is based on sufficient data in order that we might be sure our actions are in the best interests of all those experiencing housing pressures at the moment.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (15 Jan 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The implementation of the Government's Rebuilding Ireland plan is well under way and significant progress is being made. In particular, the social housing construction programme has expanded significantly, comprising over 17,500 homes at the end of the third quarter of 2018, over 40% up on the position at the end of the third quarter of 2017. While final 2018 delivery data are not yet...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (15 Jan 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The Deputy is absolutely correct in terms of that approach. Under Rebuilding Ireland, the Government has taken the view that the State needs to be directly involved in the building of houses. In the context of social housing units, the first priority was to get that stream under development. Then we want to see things like cost rental and we have the affordable schemes under way as well....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (15 Jan 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The Deputy is absolutely right to raise the prospect of future shocks to the economy or what might happen to the construction of social housing units during a downturn. One of the things we have tried to do and have done successfully in Rebuilding Ireland is to ensure that, regardless of what happens to the economy in the future - for example, if there is a slowdown in growth or if something...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rent Pressure Zones (15 Jan 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: Section 24A of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, as amended, provides that the Housing Agency, in consultation with housing authorities, may make a proposal to the Minister that an area should be considered as a rent pressure zone. Following receipt of such a proposal, the Minister requests the director of the RTB to conduct an assessment of the area to establish whether or not it meets...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rent Pressure Zones (15 Jan 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I note the positive, which is an acknowledgment by the Deputy that rent pressure zones are working, hence the request that additional areas be included in them.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rent Pressure Zones (15 Jan 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: Why would the Deputy want them to be in rent pressure zones if she did not think rent pressure zones were working? That is the logic of the request. In quarter three we saw a difference between existing tenancies and new tenancies which showed that further work may be required on rent pressure zones. The picture is not necessarily consistent within rent pressure zones. The Deputy is right...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (15 Jan 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputies for those questions. It is important to note that while the Government supports subsidised housing schemes or affordable schemes, this does not mean that there are not affordable houses currently available in the market separate from those schemes. If we note the number of transactions in housing up to the end of October 2018, including first-hand and second-hand homes,...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Data (15 Jan 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy for her question. Over the course of Rebuilding Ireland, the Government is committed to meeting the housing needs of more than 137,000 households. With funding of more than €6 billion in place, significant progress on implementation of the plan has already been made. The most recent data available, which are published on my Department’s website, show...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Data (15 Jan 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy for her question. Every delivery mechanism that increases the stock of social housing is important. That is why we have a number of such mechanisms. In the event that a particular mechanism is not successful in a given period or year, we can then make up the shortfall using other delivery streams. It is important to have that kind of redundancy in place. If there are...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Data (15 Jan 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy for that question. She is absolutely right regarding what I can control. That is why I wanted to bring transparency in terms of what local authorities are doing when it comes to social housing delivery. We secure funding and put the policy in place and then the local authorities are given the resources. Ultimately, it is the local authorities that are responsible for...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (15 Jan 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The report mentioned by the Deputy in his first question represents a snapshot in time, rather than a trend over a 12-month period. There was a reduction in the statistic in question because completions were up, which is a very welcome development. As I said in my initial reply, over 25,000 new homes were made available to live in over the 12-month period up to the end of September 2018....

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (15 Jan 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The Deputy asked about the 2018 output. At the moment, we have an indicative idea of returns from some local authorities. We are compiling those returns with a view to publishing them before the end of the month. I can give that commitment today. I expect we will see in those returns that some local authorities have exceeded their targets for the year across the different streams, and...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (15 Jan 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The first few sites have been awarded in those local authorities. The second sites are now going through a process. Other local authorities are doing economic analyses of the affordability requirements in their own areas. As they come through, the Department will be able to work with local authorities on individual schemes.

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (15 Jan 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank Deputies Ó Broin and Darragh O'Brien for Questions Nos. 41 and 42 which I propose to answer together. In the first nine months of 2018, some 18,781 additional social housing solutions were provided across all local authorities, representing 74% of the overall 2018 annual target of 25,469. Within these overall numbers, the 2018 build target was for the delivery of 4,969...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Jan 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy for the question. We are awaiting wording from the Office of the Attorney General, but we have agreement to try to find the appropriate wording. I updated the committee and advised it that we, in the Department, believe we know the right wording for an amendment to the Deputy's Bill to be put to the people in a referendum. However, we now need the Attorney General to...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Urban Development (15 Jan 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The €2 billion Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) was launched as part of Project Ireland 2040, to support the compact growth and sustainable development of Ireland’s five cities, regional drivers and other large urban centres. A total of 189 applications were submitted to my Department under the first call for proposals. All submissions were assessed following...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Data (15 Jan 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: Since 2016, some 40 rapid delivery projects have been added to the social housing construction pipeline and these are expected to yield in the region of 1,100 homes over the period to 2021. While data in relation to Q4 2018 outputs is currently being compiled, data up to Q3 2018 shows that 325 homes had been delivered under the programme. The allocation and tenanting of these and all social...