Results 4,321-4,340 of 26,565 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (14 May 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011, as amended, set down a standard procedure for assessing applicants for social housing support. Under this procedure, a household may apply for support to one housing authority only, which may be the authority for the area in which the household normally resides or with which it...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (14 May 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). Social Housing is delivered through a range of local authority and Approved Housing...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Vacant Properties (14 May 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) are the lead Department with responsibility for the provision of accommodation for both BoTP’s from Ukraine and International Protection (IP) applicants. My Department is fully committed to supporting the whole of Government humanitarian response to the invasion of Ukraine and is specifically supporting...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (14 May 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 366 and 367 together. The moratorium on recruitment in the public service, introduced in 2009 following a Government decision to implement savings measures across the wider public service as a response to the financial crisis facing the State, was ended with effect from 2015. Since then, a delegated sanction from the Department of Finance and later on from...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (14 May 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Housing for All, the Government’s housing plan to 2030 is a multi-annual, multi-billion euro plan which will improve Ireland’s housing system and deliver more homes of all types for people with different housing needs. The Plan will increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 per year to 2030. Over 300,000 new homes will be built by the end of 2030, including a...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (14 May 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Applications for social housing support are assessed by local authorities in accordance with the eligibility and need criteria set down in section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the associated Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011, as amended. It is a matter for each local authority, as part of its housing management functions, to determine the conditions...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Energy Policy (14 May 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The provision of a fire service in its functional area, including the establishment and maintenance of a fire brigade, the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of fire station premises, is a statutory function of individual fire authorities under the Fire Services Acts, 1981 and 2003. My Department supports the fire authorities through setting general policy, providing a central...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: National Parks and Wildlife Service (14 May 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Given the enforcement roles discharged by certain staff in the National Parks and Wildlife Service, for reasons of operational security, my Department does not provide details of staffing in the manner requested. Currently there are in excess of 100 Conservation Rangers stationed right across the country, and it is my intention to further increase this number, up to 120 Rangers. A...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Staff (14 May 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department does not generally keep a record of qualifications held by staff members, and accordingly there may be staff working in various roles who have a qualification in Archaeology but applied for different positions. However, at the end of March 2024 we had 41.73 WTE staff employed in my Department in roles where a qualification in archaeology is a requirement. There were 38.33 and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (14 May 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The Cost Rental Tenant In-Situ (CRTiS) scheme was introduced on 1 April 2023 for tenants in private rental homes who are at risk of homelessness because a landlord has served a valid Notice of Termination due to an intention to sell the property. The Local Authority conducts the initial assessment for eligibility of the tenant for this scheme and refers potential cases to the Housing Agency,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (14 May 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) Scheme is deemed to be a social housing support under the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014. As a long term housing support, an assessment of housing need must be completed in order for a household to qualify for HAP. Any household with an identified housing need is eligible for HAP. In order for housing assistance to be provided under the Act...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (14 May 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: A review mechanism is provided within the 2022 Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022, which allows me, as Minister, to increase the overall grant scheme cap of €420,000 a year after the Act has been commenced by no more than 10%, in accordance with the conditions of Section 11 of the Act. Following a request from my Department, the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI)...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (14 May 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: 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 properties for occupation as a principal private residence and for...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Electoral Process (14 May 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The appointment of Presiding Officers at electoral events is a matter for Local Returning Officers. Returning Officers are independent in the discharge of their duties. Section 95 of the Electoral Act 1992 provides for the appointment of Presiding Officers and Poll Clerks at polling stations at Dáil elections. Similar provisions apply in respect of all other legislative codes...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Septic Tanks (14 May 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 381 and 395 together. 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...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Employment Rights (14 May 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The information requested pertains to operational matters within individual State bodies and, as such, it is not available in my Department. However, in line with the ‘Protocol for the Provision of Information to Members of the Oireachtas by State Bodies under the aegis of Government Departments/Offices’, my Department ensures that all relevant State bodies are aware of the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Schemes (14 May 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department is currently preparing legislation to put in place a statutory remediation scheme for owners of certain apartments affected by fire safety, water ingress and structural defects. This legislation will establish supports for the remediation of these defects in purpose-built apartment buildings, including duplexes, constructed between 1991 and 2013. It is expected the draft...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Protected Disclosures (14 May 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department takes its obligations under the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act 2022 very seriously and is strongly committed to supporting people to speak up about their concerns of wrongdoing, as defined in the legislation. At all times, it is central to my Department’s protected disclosures policy that the reporting person’s identity will be treated confidentially in...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (14 May 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 385 and 386 together. My Department publishes comprehensive programme-level statistics on a quarterly basis on social and affordable housing delivery activity by local authorities and AHBs in each local authority area. This data is available to the end of 2023 and is published on the statistics' page of my Department’s website at the following link:...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (14 May 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 388 and 387 together. Under Housing for All, the Government will deliver 54,000 affordable homes, including 36,000 affordable purchase and 18,000 cost rental homes, by 2030, to be facilitated by local authorities, Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs), the Land Development Agency (LDA) and through a strategic partnership between the State and retail banks. ...