Results 3,821-3,840 of 26,565 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)
Darragh O'Brien: It will be one or the other and not both. The Deputy is correct. The AHF has up to €150,000 per unit for apartments only. I get that. Fingal County Council is bringing forward a very significant cost-rental scheme at the moment. I also mentioned south Dublin, Waterford and there are others. We are working through the affordable housing fund review to see. We changed CREL and the...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)
Darragh O'Brien: -----and that has actually worked. The local authorities can borrow at a lesser rate as well.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)
Darragh O'Brien: I understand that but we recognise that. We want to see more delivery through the local authorities too and thankfully we are seeing a number of significant schemes. It is something we are looking at through the affordable housing fund review to find anywhere we have been able to make changes that make sense. Obviously, we need approval from other Departments, and one in particular. We...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)
Darragh O'Brien: There are issues for one or two of the AHBs.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)
Darragh O'Brien: We are working through that. We have done a lot of work with them. There were meetings on it as recently as the week before last. We are nearing a resolution. The AHBs recognise that we have made some significant changes. These have been received positively by the sector and have made a difference for the AHBs. The gearing ratio raises particular issues for one or two AHBs and we are...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)
Darragh O'Brien: As with the other affordable schemes, we have worked on that issue with the Law Society of Ireland and the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland and that work will continue.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)
Darragh O'Brien: There is no embargo on local authority recruitment. There are more staff being recruited into local authorities and there is more funding to local authorities than ever. In Deputy Gould's constituency, there is the Knocknaheeny regeneration scheme, which is really significant and which he has not mentioned. In fairness to the Deputy, he has been consistently raising issues around social...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)
Darragh O'Brien: I know the Deputy does, and fair play, but a local authority such as Cork City Council needs to play its part too in that. It has a responsibility.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)
Darragh O'Brien: Good.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)
Darragh O'Brien: There are, one could argue, inconsistencies across the country as to how derelict sites registers operate. We want local authorities to do their job. We have never had a better focus on vacancy. Every local authority has at least one vacant homes officer. We have a vacant homes team as well. There is the urban regeneration and development fund. In fairness, I assume the Deputy was in...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)
Darragh O'Brien: There have been 375 grants drawn down. Does Deputy Gould want us to pay the money up front before people do the work?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)
Darragh O'Brien: Come on. Again-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)
Darragh O'Brien: I am just saying, we discussed this at length earlier. Obviously, the Deputy had other meetings-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)
Darragh O'Brien: That is fine. I know that. I am not having a pop, but we discussed this at length earlier. We have said we are looking at the completion time. The Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, answered that in detail earlier as well. Staged payments, by the way, if we brought them in, would require additional inspections. If you are going to pay €20,000 at the start for €20,000...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)
Darragh O'Brien: No, it is not just Waterford. Anyway, I know the Deputy is out of time.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)
Darragh O'Brien: No, that is not correct.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)
Darragh O'Brien: It does.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)
Darragh O'Brien: They are not really saying that. That is what Deputy Gould is saying.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)
Darragh O'Brien: Fair play to him.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)
Darragh O'Brien: Sitting on empty profits is an odd way to do it.