Results 3,561-3,580 of 26,565 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (23 Jul 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Housing for All seeks to deliver an average of 33,000 new homes for each year of the plan. The Department of Finance estimates the current cost of delivering these homes is around €13.6 billion per year. A recent update to these figures, by the Department of Finance, estimates the cost of delivering an increased average of 50,000 per year would be around €20.3 billion. Costings...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (23 Jul 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1188 and 1189 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 and is the first multi-annual fully funded housing plan in the history of the State. The annual targets include the delivery of 90,000 new social homes, 36,000 new affordable purchase homes and 18,000...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (23 Jul 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1191, 1192 and 1194 together. The management and maintenance of local authority housing stock, including pre-letting repairs to vacant properties, the implementation of a planned maintenance programme and carrying out of responsive repairs, are matters for each individual local authority under Section 58 of the Housing Act 1966. Therefore, ongoing data in...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (23 Jul 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Due to the post-2008 crisis, numerous residential developments were left in an unfinished state throughout the country. In 2010, a multi-annual action programme on unfinished developments was established and was focused on finding solutions through collaboration between government, local authorities, NAMA, developers, receivers, Irish Water (now Uisce éireann), residents, funders and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (23 Jul 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The Tenant Purchase Schemes provides for the purchase by eligible tenants of local authority properties which are available for sale under the terms of the particular scheme. All applications for the schemes must satisfy the requirements outlined in the relevant legislation. Statistical information regarding the number of homes sold under the Scheme, from 2020 until the end of 2023, broken...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Staff (23 Jul 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Archaeologists are recruited at the first point of the scale. The full year cost of an archaeologist, based on the first point of the scale at 1st June 2024, and including Employers' PRSI, is €41,736.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (23 Jul 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Details on the number of households qualified for social housing support in each local authority administrative area is provided in the annual statutory Summary of Social Housing Assessments (SSHA). The most recently published summary for all counties, conducted in November 2023, is available on my Department's website at: www.gov.ie/en/collection/62486-summary-of-social-housing-ass...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Programmes (23 Jul 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1206 and 1207 together. The Energy Efficiency Retrofit Programme (EERP) aims to retrofit a local authority home to a BER of B2/Cost Optimal Equivalent. It is expected that 36,500 local authority owned homes will be retrofitted under this programme out to 2030. The programme has been devised in a way to give local authorities a level of flexibility when...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Regeneration Projects (23 Jul 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Cork City Council has advised that they are assessing the potential for redevelopment and regeneration of social housing at Noonan's Road. Feasibility is at an early stage and is connected with the planned relocation of residents from their existing accommodation. The Council has also advised that in due course, when initial feasibility is concluded and a procurement and design route chosen,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Homeless Persons Supports (23 Jul 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department’s role in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of local authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of accommodation and related services for homeless persons rests with individual local authorities. A homelessness...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Regeneration Projects (23 Jul 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Through the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) public bodies are receiving targeted support for innovative and holistic solutions that support the regeneration and rejuvenation of our large towns and cities. To date, there have been three Calls for proposals under the URDF with in excess of €1.9 billion allocated to almost 400 projects, located right across the Country....

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Wastewater Treatment (23 Jul 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The Programme for Government supports the uptake of Uisce éireann's Small Towns and Villages Growth Programme (STVGP), which will provide growth capacity in smaller settlements that would otherwise not be provided for in Uisce éireann’s capital investment plan. An allocation of almost €100 million for this programme was approved by the Commission for Regulation of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water Supply (23 Jul 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Uisce éireann has statutory responsibility, under section 7 of the Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013, for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation. As Minister, I have no function in this matter. However, Uisce éireann is committed to timely delivery of housing connections under Housing for All. In 2023, Uisce éireann responded to 78% of pre-connection...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Disability Services (23 Jul 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Under 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 he or she is responsible and each local authority is an individual employer. The Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) provides support to local authority management in this regard. Section 63(3)...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (23 Jul 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Local authorities have responsibility for the administration of the Enhanced Defective Concrete Blocks Grant scheme. This includes the initial validation of applications, notifying homeowners of the Housing Agency's determinations on damage threshold, the appropriate remediation option and grant amount, determination of the grant payable for alternative accommodation and storage costs and...

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Jul 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: As of 22 July.

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Jul 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: That is why that is so important.

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Jul 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: My legs are gone. There is a lot to cover. I want to thank all Senators for their contributions. I did watch a lot of the contributions yesterday as well. Before I try to address some of the remarks, I want to bring to the attention of the House that I may bring further amendments on Report Stage and I want to detail them briefly. We will be coming back on Report Stage here in the Seanad...

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Jul 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: It was not only them, to be fair. Colleagues in the Labour Party, the Social Democrats -----

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Jul 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: They behaved that way. They formally withdrew Deputy Thomas Gould and told him not to go to the select committee so that the time was used up for voting purposes. That is a fact. It is what it is.We had the planning advisory forum, including the Minister, Deputy Peter Burke, and the Ministers of State, Deputies Kieran O'Donnell, Alan Dillon and Malcolm Noonan, with all stakeholders. The...