Results 421-440 of 9,065 for speaker:James Browne

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (8 Sep 2025)

James Browne: The management and maintenance of local authority housing stock, including pre-letting repairs to vacant properties, the implementation of a planned maintenance programme and carrying out of responsive repairs, are matters for each individual local authority under Section 58 of the Housing Act 1966. Local authorities also have a legal obligation to ensure that all of their tenanted properties...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (8 Sep 2025)

James Browne: The management and maintenance of local authority housing stock, including pre-letting repairs to vacant properties, the implementation of a planned maintenance programme and carrying out of responsive repairs, are matters for each individual local authority under Section 58 of the Housing Act 1966. Notwithstanding the legal obligation on local authorities to manage and maintain their...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (8 Sep 2025)

James Browne: Local authorities borrow from the Housing Finance Agency to finance their mortgage lending.  Where there is a change in the cost of borrowing for local authorities from the Housing Finance Agency my Department instructs local authorities to change the interest rates as appropriate for their borrowers.  Any change in the interest rate applying to variable rate mortgages will then be...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (8 Sep 2025)

James Browne: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1160, 1161, 1213 and 1214 together. The management and maintenance of local authority housing stock, including pre-letting repairs to vacant properties, the implementation of a planned maintenance programme and carrying out of responsive repairs, are matters for each individual local authority under Section 58 of the Housing Act 1966. Local authorities...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (8 Sep 2025)

James Browne: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1162 and 1233 together. The Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme 2016 is open to eligible tenants of local authority houses that are available for sale under the scheme. The scheme is underpinned by the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 and the Housing (Sale of Local Authority Houses) Regulations 2015 (as amended). The scheme allows for the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (8 Sep 2025)

James Browne: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1163, 1164 and 1165 together. Applications for social housing support are assessed by the relevant local authority, 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. The 2011 Regulations prescribe maximum...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Reviews (8 Sep 2025)

James Browne: The Room for a Student - Local Authority Scheme allows local authority tenants to rent out a room in their homes to eligible third level students, subject to certain conditions. This scheme is operated on an administrative basis by the local authorities. More information is available online here - www.gov.ie/en/department-of-further-and-higher-educat...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (8 Sep 2025)

James Browne: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1168, 1169, 1170, 1171, 1172, 1173, 1174 and 1175 together. My Department publishes comprehensive programme-level statistics on a quarterly basis on social and affordable housing delivery activity by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) in each local authority. This data is available to the end of Q1 2025, and is published on the statistics...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Bodies (8 Sep 2025)

James Browne: Tailte Éireann is an independent Government agency under the aegis of my Department. Tailte Éireann provide a property registration system, property valuation service, and national mapping and surveying infrastructure for the State. Under Section 8(6) of the Tailte Éireann Act 2022, Tailte Éireann is independent in the performance of its functions. In 2023, a request for...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (8 Sep 2025)

James Browne: Following the Government's decision to continue the Tenant in Situ scheme in 2025, funding of €325m was approved for 2nd hand social housing acquisitions, including Tenant in Situ acquisitions.  However, my Department's main emphasis remains on constructing new homes and that must be priority for all local authorities, including Fingal County Council which received...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (8 Sep 2025)

James Browne: Cost Rental tenancies were introduced as a new form of long-term sustainable home rental targeted at middle-income households. Under the Cost Rental model, rents for homes are set to cover only the cost of financing, building, managing and maintaining the homes. state subventions can be used in order to reduce the initial capital cost and make this starting cost rent more affordable. The Cost...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rental Sector (8 Sep 2025)

James Browne: On 10 June 2025, the Government approved policy measures to provide for the enhancement of rent controls and tenancy protections for new tenancies created (i.e. first time tenancy between parties) from 1 March 2026. Legislation is being prepared and will be published later this year to give effect to these policy measures. Further information is available here: . The new measures...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (8 Sep 2025)

James Browne: The Interim Remediation Scheme was opened in December 2023 for the funding of emergency fire safety defect works in apartments and duplexes constructed between 1991 and 2013. The Scheme provides for the full funding of eligible interim measures in order to provide an acceptable level of fire safety in buildings, pending completion of the full remedial works under the forthcoming Statutory...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (8 Sep 2025)

James Browne: The allocation of social housing support to qualified households, including the prioritisation of certain categories of households, is a matter for the local authority concerned, in accordance with its allocation scheme made in accordance with Section 22 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and associated Social...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (8 Sep 2025)

James Browne: Under ‘Housing For All’, Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs), working in close collaboration with Housing Authorities, play a large role in delivery across various blended delivery streams. One of those streams is the Capital Advance Leasing Facility (CALF). CALF is a loan facility, which is exclusively available to AHBs to assist them with access to private or Housing...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (8 Sep 2025)

James Browne: Access to Family Reunification arrangements will depend on the nature of an applicant's legal residence in the State. A non-EEA national who has permission to remain in the State may also be entitled to family reunification for particular family members. The Non-EEA Family Reunification Policy Guidelines administered by the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration outlines the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water Pollution (8 Sep 2025)

James Browne: I wish to clarify that the River Fane was not identified by the Environmental Protection Agency in its technical assessment of rivers, as being heavily modified. Therefore, it is not included in the current list of water bodies proposed to be designated as heavily modified. I also wish to clarify that the purpose of designating some water bodies as being heavily modified is to facilitate...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Regulatory Bodies (8 Sep 2025)

James Browne: This is a matter in the first instance for the PSRA under the provisions of the PSRA Act 2011 and I, as Minister, have no function. I understand that this claim is being dealt with in accordance with the appropriate procedures in such cases and that the PSRA will be in contact with the individuals concerned with a decision shortly.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Approved Housing Bodies (8 Sep 2025)

James Browne: My Department operates a number of funding programmes that assist Local Authorities to work in partnership with Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) to construct and purchase homes and make them available for Social Housing. The Capital Advance Leasing Facility (CALF) is a funding stream exclusively provided to AHBs by local authorities to facilitate the funding of construction or purchase of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (8 Sep 2025)

James Browne: The Local Authority Home Loan is a Government-backed mortgage for creditworthy applicants who cannot get sufficient funding from commercial banks to purchase or build a home. It is available nationwide from local authorities for first-time buyers and fresh start applicants. The loan can be used both for new and second-hand properties, or to self-build.  The Programme for Government...