Results 3,561-3,580 of 25,713 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development (Street Furniture Fees) Regulations 2024: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (30 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Gabhaim buíochas, a Chathaoirligh. I am grateful to the Cathaoirleach and to the committee members to have the opportunity to present to them today these proposed planning regulations. The regulations consist of the Planning and Development (Street Furniture Fees) Regulations 2024 which waive the section 254 street furniture licence fees for the remainder of 2024 for tables and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development (Street Furniture Fees) Regulations 2024: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (30 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: To answer the question directly, people have been charged for the first three months of the year, or coming up to the first four. Once I sign the regulations into law, there will be no charge but there is no refund of what has been paid already. It is annualised and then divided so, effectively, it would be for one quarter of the year. That is what people have been levied for the first...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development (Street Furniture Fees) Regulations 2024: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (30 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development (Street Furniture Fees) Regulations 2024: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (30 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: To directly answer the question with regard to insurance, no issues at all have been raised by local authorities with us in our engagement on this. By the way, I should have mentioned at the start that the last full year for which we have figures for the waiver is 2021 and the cost to local authorities was €589,000 across all 31 local authorities. I do not believe it will change...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development (Street Furniture Fees) Regulations 2024: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (30 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: There is no specific Estimate. I have given the most up-to-date figure we have, at just short of €600,000. In the period since we brought in this waiver, local authority funding has been increased substantially. The 31 local authorities have effectively worn this waiver as a business-cost-reduction measure. In preparation for the regulations, we have to assess whether we should do...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development (Street Furniture Fees) Regulations 2024: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (30 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: That will be done.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Wind Energy Guidelines (30 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: 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 setback distance, noise, shadow flicker, community obligation, community dividend and grid connections. My Department, in conjunction with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC)...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Postal Voting (30 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Local authorities, in their capacity as registration authorities, are responsible for the management and maintenance of the electoral register. Under the provisions introduced under Part III of the Electoral Reform Act 2022, rolling or continuous electoral registration (in contrast to the former annual registration process) means that people can register or update their details, including...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (30 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 386 and 387 together. Under Section 159 of 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/she is responsible. My Department oversees workforce planning for the local government sector, including the monitoring...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (30 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme provides for the purchase by eligible 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 the associated Regulations. In order to be eligible, applicants must meet certain criteria, including...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (30 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department does not collate data on the numbers of social housing units owned by individual local authorities nor those disaggregated by electoral boundaries. This information may be available from Cork County Council. The National Oversight and Audit Commission (NOAC) produces an annual Performance Indicator Report for local authorities, which details a range of performance indicators...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (30 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 391, 409, 418 and 423 together. 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 supports bringing vacant and derelict properties back into use. A grant of up to a maximum of €50,000 is available for the refurbishment of vacant...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Broadband Infrastructure (30 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department has 216 ISDN lines and 62 PSTN lines in operation. As these are all copper based lines this equates to 494 copper lines (i.e. 2 copper lines per ISDN and 1 per PSTN)

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water Services (30 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I announced the Multi-annual Rural Water Programme 2024-2026 (MARWP 2024-2026) on 17 January 2024. The core purpose of the MARWP 2024-2026 is to provide the necessary funding to address infrastructure deficits that are having an impact on the provision of safe and secure drinking water supplies for rural dwellers, where public Uisce Éireann water services are not available. Significant...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Regeneration Projects (30 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The detailed advancement of housing and other works under the Cork City North West Quarter Regeneration (CNWQR) programme is a matter, in the first instance, for Cork City Council. The CNWQR Masterplan & Implementation Report was published in 2011. The strategy outlined a departure from previous policy, with a proposal to carry out wholesale demolition of the housing stock in...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Regeneration Projects (30 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The construction site on Kilmore Road, Knocknheeny forms part of the City Northwest Quarter Regeneration Programme, and part of Cork City Council’s wider social housing delivery programme. I have been advised by Cork City Council that Phase 2C is the subject of a complex contractual dispute. Cork City Council have advised that works have ceased on site pending the outcome of these...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Legislative Measures (30 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: In early 2019, legislative amendments to provisions relating to placename changes in Part 18 of the amended Local Government Act 2001 were commenced. At the same time, previous provisions under local government legislation for the changing of placenames were repealed, and replaced by provisions in the Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2011, amending Part 18 of the 2001 Act, which...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Septic Tanks (30 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The policy of providing grant funding to households for work on Domestic Waste Water Treatment Systems (DWWTS), including septic tanks, arises from the need to address damage being done to water quality in sensitive areas in particular. The grants are focused on the areas of greatest environmental priority and are available only in circumstances relating to risks to water quality and/or...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water Supply (30 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: As set out in Housing for All, Uisce Éireann is committed to supporting the delivery of housing through a number of actions including the timely delivery of new connections, publishing capacity registers, Self-Lay accreditation scheme and developing a first mover disadvantage scheme. Uisce Éireann publishes annual water supply and waste water treatment capacity registers,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Advertising (30 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 399 and 400 together. Uisce Éireann has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels. The scope, prioritisation and progression of individual schemes and projects is a matter for Uisce Éireann and is approved through its own internal governance structures. Uisce...