Results 21-40 of 1,434 for long speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (27 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department provides annual funding support to local authorities in preparing vacant units for re-let under the Voids Programme. This funding was introduced originally to tackle long term vacant units and is now increasingly targeted to support authorities to ensure minimal turnaround and re-let times for vacant stock. An annualised breakdown by local authority, including Carlow County...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (25 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: ...arrears who have had their mortgage position deemed unsustainable by their lender under the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP), and who have very limited options, if any, to meet their long-term housing needs. To date, my Department is aware of 11 properties which have progressed, or are progressing through, the buy-back process within the MTR scheme. It is not anticipated...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Urban Development (25 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: ...Town Centre Project to provide support for a number of key infrastructure, services, civic, residential and amenity projects in Tallaght town centre. The Project will act as a catalyst for the wider and long term growth of Tallaght, as a living town and the thriving heart of South Dublin County. The following table shows each of the sub-projects within the overall proposal: Table 1:...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (20 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Under Housing for All, the Government will deliver 47,600 new build social homes and 3,500 social homes through long-term leasing in the period 2022-2026. Our clear focus is to increase the stock of social housing through new build projects delivered by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs). For 2023 and 2024, the Government agreed that there would be increased provision for...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rental Sector (18 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: ...under the Secure Tenancy Affordable Rental (STAR) scheme. The core principle of Cost Rental is that the rents cover the development, management, and maintenance costs of the homes, so that the long-term future of the homes is financially secure, but that rents are not subject to the pressures of the profit-driven open market. Rents will increase only in line with general consumer...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rental Sector (18 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: ...arrears who have had their mortgage position deemed unsustainable by their lender under the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP), and who have very limited options, if any, to meet their long-term housing needs themselves. The MARP is a framework that sets out rules for how lenders must deal with borrowers when they fall into mortgage arrears or are in pre-arrears. It forms a major...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Revised)
Vote 23 - An Coimisiún Toghcháin (Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (13 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: ...the REV. That was the information the Deputy got. The table provided by the Department of public expenditure was an internal informal working document. That said, I have no difficulty with people being able to see what our output is, as long as it does not add incredible additional work. We bring to the Cabinet quarterly expenditure reports, too. What happened was never the...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Revised)
Vote 23 - An Coimisiún Toghcháin (Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (13 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: ...mentioned the underspends that were there. There was a reality in previous years when we could not build, effectively, and we had supply chain issues, so we rightly reallocated moneys. All day long, I will stand over the land acquisition fund, which means that local authorities and AHBs can apply to us to purchase lands. That will build our pipeline into the future. It is not...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: ...meetings to work through the backlog of cases. I will give an example of the progress that has been made. Further progress is absolutely needed because we all know of cases that have been stuck there for far too long. If one was to talk to the man or the woman on the street about planning, probably the first word that would come into his or her mind would be "delays". Delays lead to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: ...maintenance. We have brought voids back into use, but I accept that work in this regard is sporadic and is not consistent across the board. I also see properties that have been vacant far too long. In 2023, we brought 2,481 voids back into use. The year before, the number was 2,273. In 2021, it was 2,425. I have seen local authorities - I will not mention which ones - where the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Just so the Senator is aware, €46 million is being recouped to local authorities for the voids programme. They make submissions to us on what voids they can get through. Some are long-term voids and some are relets. We do keep a really close eye on it. The Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, might want come in here.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: ...are exiting into permanent, secure tenancies and into HAP, AHB and LA tenancies. Another thing we are doing, and there has been some criticism by the way and I want to mention it, is around the long-term leasing targets. I am certainly phasing out long-term leasing because we are delivering more homes but the long-term leasing initiative I brought forward is for 1,200 homes...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: ...grant. People have been responding to that because they see older property and they can get the cost of purchasing those properties defrayed either to live in them or to let them into the private rental market long-term. We have received 8,194 applications to date, with 5,049 approved, so these-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing for All: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: But I understand. Many people have not sold apartments individually in a long time.

Planning and Development Bill 2023: Report Stage (Resumed) (12 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: ...the Government for a decision. No other policy area goes to the Government in this way for approval. It is very important that the national planning framework align with the national development plan and such plans and that it be decided upon by the Government. We had a long discussion on national planning statements. We try to streamline policy delivery. There are some opposite who...

Planning and Development Bill 2023: Report Stage (11 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: ...to the unprecedented scale of the Bill before the House, a careful and considered phased commencement of it will take place over a period of at least 18 months. This is to allow for the planning system, which is central to all types of development from commercial to educational to renewable energy, to remain in steady operation as we migrate smoothly to the new legislation. This will...

Planning and Development Bill 2023: Report Stage (11 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: ...the terminology used in the Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2000. That will strengthen it. The sustainable development piece raised by Deputy Ó Cathasaigh, which was discussed, is included in the Long Title, but I cannot accept the amendment in this instance. Although a broad definition is given, it is not and cannot be drafted in a manner that would encompass all possibilities. The...

Planning and Development Bill 2023: Report Stage (11 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I cannot accept the two proposed amendments to amendment No. 1 tabled by Deputies Boyd Barrett, Ó Broin, Ó Snodaigh, Gould and Cian O'Callaghan with the aim of adding references in the Long Title to give effect to international conventions and directives of the European Parliament and of the Council and to a number of other enactments that are referred to in the Bill but not...

Planning and Development Bill 2023: Report Stage (11 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: ...of them are incorporated into the Bill in some form. I thank the Chair of the committee in particular. On amendment No. 1, the amendments in this group are all linked to the proposed amendment of the Long Title of the Bill. This is an outline description for the purposes of the Bill. Amendment No. 1 provides for consequential alteration to the Long Title of the Bill to allow...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rental Sector (11 Jun 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: ..., the Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme was introduced in 2016 and is based on an incremental purchase model. This scheme strikes a balance between increasing the scope for those in receipt of long-term housing support to purchase their local authority home, and ensuring the continued sustainability of the Scheme by not unduly diminishing local authority housing stock. A breakdown of...