Results 401-420 of 7,010 for speaker:James Browne

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (19 Mar 2025)

James Browne: I propose to take Questions Nos. 901 and 903 together. My Department is supporting the acceleration of affordable housing delivery with funding and other practical measures, both for local authorities, and more widely, by other key partners such as Approved Housing Bodies, the Land Development Agency and via the First Home Scheme. Funding support is available to all local authorities...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (19 Mar 2025)

James Browne: Decisions made by planning authorities in relation to applications for rural housing are required to be in accordance with the provisions of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended), having regard to Ministerial guidelines issued under section 28 of the Act, and taking into account the relevant statutory development plan, which in itself is required to be consistent with national...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (19 Mar 2025)

James Browne: The Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 (the Act) commenced on 22 June 2023 which contains the current grant scheme and the related Regulations were adopted on 29 June 2023. Local authorities have responsibility for the administration of the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant scheme. This includes the initial validation of applications, notifying...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Business Supports (19 Mar 2025)

James Browne: Local authorities are under a statutory obligation to levy rates on any property used for commercial purposes in accordance with the details entered in the valuation lists prepared by Tailte Éireann under the Valuation Acts 2001 to 2020. The amount of rates liable on a property is determined by multiplying the valuation of the property set by Tailte Éireann by the Annual Rate on...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Heritage Schemes (19 Mar 2025)

James Browne: My Department oversees a number of schemes which assist owners of thatched buildings. A dedicated Thatching Grant is available for thatched buildings in use as housing. Applicants can avail of up to €3,810 or two thirds of the approved cost (whichever is less) towards necessary roof repair or renewal. A higher grant (up to €5,714) may be payable for houses on specified...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Wildlife Protection (19 Mar 2025)

James Browne: The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) of my Department occasionally purchases land for strategic and conservation purposes. Such acquisitions are considered on a case by case basis. In light of the commercial sensitivity of such considerations and the strategic implications of bringing these considerations into the public domain, I am not in a position to comment on individual sites...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Staff (19 Mar 2025)

James Browne: The information requested is outlined in the following table. Since 2020, Travel and Subsistence claims have been paid to five individual Special Advisors working in both the Minister and Minister of State offices in my Department. These claims are approved and processed in line with Civil Service Travel and Subsistence Regulations – Circular 11/82. Claims are categorised under the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Architects Register (19 Mar 2025)

James Browne: I propose to take Questions Nos. 910, 911 and 932 together. I am aware that Architectural Technologists are an essential profession working to high standards in the construction sector. In general, the regulation of professions is in the first instance a matter for industry representatives working in consultation with relevant industry stakeholders. My Department has been engaging with...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Waterways Ireland (19 Mar 2025)

James Browne: Waterways Ireland proposes to update the Shannon Bye-laws and Canal Bye-laws which are more than 30 years old. The needs of users have changed, environmental landscape and health and safety considerations have developed significantly and the waterways themselves have been transformed over the past thirty years. The purpose of updating the Bye-laws is to make the waterways safer for those...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: House Sales (19 Mar 2025)

James Browne: I propose to take Questions Nos. 913, 914, 925 and 926 together. My Department does not collect the data sought. The Central Statistics Office publishes data in respect of residential property transactions by non-households, including international investment funds. The latest data available are for 2023 and can be accessed on the CSO website (data.cso.ie/table/HPA10). The data are...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Court Judgments (19 Mar 2025)

James Browne: The Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) has primary responsibility for for environmental noise matters, to include the consideration of matters arising from the High Court judgement referred to. In this regard, my Department is working in conjunction with DECC, in the context of its environmental noise policy remit, to finalise the guidance on the noise...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Mortgage Interest Rates (19 Mar 2025)

James Browne: Local Authority Home Loans are not funded through borrowings from the European Central Bank (ECB). Local Authorities do not issue and have never issued what are termed 'tracker mortgages', therefore there are no Local Authority home loans that track the ECB rate changes directly. The current loan offerings available from Local Authorities are the Local Authority Home Loan and the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Data (19 Mar 2025)

James Browne: My Department currently gathers and publishes data on a monthly basis on the number of homeless persons accommodated in emergency accommodation funded and overseen by local authorities. These reports are based on data provided by local authorities, produced through the Pathway Accommodation & Support System (PASS). The monthly homelessness report includes details of individuals,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Fire Service (19 Mar 2025)

James Browne: In December 2022 Minister O’Brien published a review of the retained Fire Service that made thirteen recommendations to improve recruitment and retention in the Fire Service. The Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) is leading on the implementation of a new service delivery model aimed at increasing the work-life balance for retained firefighters, supporting more flexible working...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: EU Funding (19 Mar 2025)

James Browne: The Limerick Regeneration Framework Implementation Plan (LRFIP) was adopted by the then Limerick City Council in February 2014. This plan set out a programme of physical, social and economic interventions over a ten-year period from 2014 to 2023. One element of the LRFIP was the Economic and Social Intervention Fund, (ESIF), and over the ten year period of the LRFIP (2014 to 2023)...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Data (19 Mar 2025)

James Browne: A flagship element of Project Ireland 2040, the €2 billion Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) is supporting a programme of significant transformational capital projects that will contribute to the regeneration and rejuvenation of Ireland’s five cities and other large towns, in line with the objectives of the National Planning Framework and the National Development...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (19 Mar 2025)

James Browne: Ireland’s 4th National Biodiversity Action Plan (NBAP) was published in January 2024. The Plan strives for a “whole of government, whole of society” approach to the governance and conservation of biodiversity. The Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2023 places the NBAP on a statutory footing and prescribes an obligation for listed public bodies, including local authorities, to have...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: State Bodies (19 Mar 2025)

James Browne: The issues raised in the report on the examination of the Arts Council Business Transformation Programme that was commissioned by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport & Media, are a matter for that Department and I would draw attention to the action being taken by Minister O’Donovan who has recently announced an external review of the governance and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water Services (19 Mar 2025)

James Browne: My Department has done considerable work on all the recommendations of the Joint Committee on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services Report of April 2017. In relation to Chapter 5 dealing with issues related to water conservation, the work undertaken is set out in the table below. JOC Chapter 5 Recommendations Update 5.1 The Committee recommends...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Legislative Measures (19 Mar 2025)

James Browne: The Programme for Government 2025: Securing Ireland's Future commits to introducing a new, all-of-government national housing plan to follow Housing for All. Any proposals for new measures will be considered in this context.