Results 4,461-4,480 of 15,555 for speaker:Eoghan Murphy

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Land Development Agency (27 Sep 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: Just because we refer to an affordable scheme does not imply that the other houses sold on a site will not be affordable. It is probably more correct to say that they are subsidised housing. It depends on the location of the land brought forward for development. It is possible that none of this land would be developed for housing if we had not brought in the Land Development Agency and a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Funding (27 Sep 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: He is delaying it now.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Funding (27 Sep 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 and 12 together. I thank the Deputy for the question. Acknowledging that renters in Dublin and other urban centres are currently facing significant affordability challenges, this Government is committed to the introduction of an affordable, not-for-profit cost rental sector in Ireland. Together with delivering more affordable and predictable...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Funding (27 Sep 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: No changes have been made in terms of our ambitions for St. Michael's Estate. I can be quite clear on that. What I am not clear on is Fianna Fáil's position in the constituency in terms of supporting this project. When I launched the plan in June, the Deputy's party's representative turned up. It was the first time I ever heard her speak about it and it was in negative terms. The...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Funding (27 Sep 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: On the timeline for St. Michael's Estate, we are talking about the project team being fully in place, Part 8 planning in November 2018, project funding to go to the European Investment Bank, EIB, which has said the project is eligible, for December of this year, and construction procurement in quarter 1 of next year. We then go to expressions of interest, also in quarter 1 of 2019, with...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Agency (27 Sep 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy for his question. Under Rebuilding Ireland, the Housing Agency is actively engaged with banks and investment companies on its acquisitions programme. An acquisitions fund of €70 million, which is a revolving fund, has been established with the objective of acquiring some 1,600 units over the period to 2020 for social housing use. The agency also acquires units...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Agency (27 Sep 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy for his follow-up question. I do not inspect the properties myself. I have engaged with the Housing Agency and with my officials who have been in constant engagement on this issue and am satisfied, as Minister, that everything that can be done is being done. We must recognise that this is an acquisition programme over a three year period with the aim of securing 1,600...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Agency (27 Sep 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: We are going to meet the target of 1,600 by 2020. I am satisfied with the work that the local authorities have done in terms of making sure that these are properties that they actually want and need and that we can use, bearing in mind the criteria that must be met for social housing. If one looks at the actual offers made, the rate is almost 50%. In terms of the bids that were made by the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Land Availability (27 Sep 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy. One can just about build a home for €200,000. We need to be reasonable in terms of what we are trying to deliver and in terms of people's expectations. If the Deputy looks at the Ó Cualann model, which we support and which the local authority delivered, and which we want to do to scale using the serviced sites fund, each of those houses got between...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Provision (27 Sep 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy for his question. As I said in my initial reply, I called into 11 local authorities, nine came back to me on foot of that call and two did not come back to me. That was a judgment they made. I will publish information on that shortly when I can, once we have fully assessed the different proposals that have come in. The 11 local authorities we targeted are those that we...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Provision (27 Sep 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy for his supplementary question. He has put affordability at the centre of his budget request and I have put it at the centre of my work since I came into office. We all know in this House how important it is not only to deliver social housing homes and more homes but to make sure they are homes people can afford to buy. One thing we are doing to ensure that is putting in...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Provision (27 Sep 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: Will I have another opportunity to come back in?

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Provision (27 Sep 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: I will quickly give the figures for the coming year, for which the Deputy asked. The figure is €20 million this year - this is Exchequer-local authority money - rising to €26.7 million next year and then continuing until we reach a total of €100 million. That is spread over the period between now and end of the timeframe for Rebuilding Ireland.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Land Availability (27 Sep 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy for his question. My Department, in conjunction with local authority planning departments, published a residential land availability survey in February 2015 covering all lands zoned for residential development in statutory local authority development plans and local area plans across the country. The survey showed the location and quantity of lands, whether owned...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Land Availability (27 Sep 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy for his further answer. To throw NAMA land into this issue confuses the matter because, as the Deputy knows, NAMA has security on the loans and not the land itself. That agency has been doing what it can to deliver housing on those portfolios of lands, working with the lenders and the debtors. Also, it has been offering properties for social housing where it has been in...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Provision (27 Sep 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy for the question. On 29 June, I invited applications under the serviced sites fund from 11 local authorities to support the provision of key enabling infrastructure on their land, to get their sites ready for the delivery of affordable housing. The call and funding is being targeted initially at these 11 local authority areas where it has been identified that there is a...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (27 Sep 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: If we do not build more homes and approve the massive projects that we have before local authorities, such as the one for almost 1,000 homes, then talking about affordability and prices is a complete waste of time. We need new homes to be built. The Deputy's comparisons on price do not stand up from the data I have seen from the local authority area. I am a very reasonable Deputy. I...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rental Sector (27 Sep 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: Under action 18 of the strategy for the rental sector, my Department established a working group involving representatives of all major public stakeholders with a policy interest in short-term lettings to develop guidance in respect of planning applications and changes of use relating to short-term lettings and to examine the need for new regulatory arrangements. The proposals under...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rental Sector (27 Sep 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: The Deputy is right; we cannot wait any longer. I am a fan of home sharing. It is a very interesting new development that we have in the shared economy. However, it cannot happen in an unfettered way. Certainly when we have a housing crisis it cannot happen in an unregulated way. The Deputy has me in a difficult position because I am about to finalise proposals on this. Had this...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rental Sector (27 Sep 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: I think when we talk about the Oireachtas joint committee's recommendations, it will be very close to the committee's intentions but the manner in which we actually achieve it might be a bit different because it could be quicker the way I am proposing and that is what I have been trying to do.