Results 5,821-5,840 of 26,666 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

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

Darragh O'Brien: Under the HAP scheme, tenants source their own accommodation in the private rented market. The accommodation sourced by tenants should be within the prescribed maximum HAP rent limits, which are based on household size and the rental market within the area concerned. While there is no legislative provision precluding HAP supported households contributing towards the monthly rent required...

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

Darragh O'Brien: In March 2023, the Government agreed to extend the Rent-a-Room Relief scheme disregard to social welfare recipients, extend the disregard into medical card criteria, and permit local authority tenancies access the scheme. My Department provided for the extension of the scheme to local authority tenancies by way of a supplementary action in Housing for All, and worked closely with the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Election Management System (20 Mar 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 617, 671 and 672 together. The primary role of my Department in electoral matters is to provide an appropriate policy and legislative framework for a modern and efficient electoral system. Within that framework, local Returning Officers are responsible for all matters in connection with the actual conduct of elections and referendums. This includes, in...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Correspondence (20 Mar 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The First Home Scheme, which launched in July 2022, supports first-time buyers and other eligible homebuyers in purchasing new houses and apartments in the private market, and now self-builders, through the use of an equity share model. Details are available on the First Home Scheme website, www.firsthomescheme.ie. The First Home Scheme Ireland DAC (Designated Activity Company) was...

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

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 619, 624, 643, 644, 662, 679, 680 and 700 together. On 25 April 2023, the Government approved additional measures under the Housing for All Action Plan to incentivise the activation of increased housing supply and help reduce housing construction costs, including the introduction of temporary time-limited arrangements for the waiving of local authority...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Vacant Properties (20 Mar 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Tackling vacancy is a key priority for this Government. The Vacant Homes Action Plan, which I launched in January 2023, outlines the significant progress that has been made in addressing vacancy, along with the actions that are being pursued to return vacant properties back into use as homes. The Action Plan outlines the various measures of vacancy, including Census data and...

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

Darragh O'Brien: Kildare County Council recently presented a proposal to my Department to support a new AHB/approved housing body to take responsibility for the housing development in question and last week, my Department confirmed funding approval for the necessary works to restore and re-tenant the housing. I look forward to these homes being brought back into productive use to provide secure and...

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

Darragh O'Brien: Kildare County Council made a proposal to my Department, in conjunction with an approved housing body (AHB), for the development of age-friendly homes on the site referred to in the question. Stage 2/Pre-Planning approval on this project was confirmed to the Council by my Department in April 2022 and I understand that planning permission was granted for the proposed development in August...

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

Darragh O'Brien: Under the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme, tenants source their own accommodation in the private rented market. The accommodation sourced by tenants should be within the prescribed maximum HAP rent limits, which are based on household size and the rental market within the area concerned. Each local authority has statutory discretion to agree to a HAP payment above the prescribed...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Emergency Accommodation (20 Mar 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) is the lead Department for the provision of accommodation for Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection. The role of my Department in this area is a supporting role, in the form of the Emergency Refurbishment (Ukraine) Programme (ERUP). Decisions on which properties are suitable for progression through the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Building Regulations (20 Mar 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The review of Part B of the Building Regulations dealing with fire safety is being finalised at present, with a view to the proposed Building Regulations (Part B Amendment) Regulations and associated Technical Guidance Document B – Fire Safety - Volume 1: Buildings other than dwelling houses and Regulatory Impact Analysis being published shortly. The proposed changes aim to improve...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Energy Conservation (20 Mar 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 627 and 628 together. Social Housing is delivered through a range of local authority and Approved Housing Body (AHB) delivery programmes. Capital expenditure on the delivery of new social homes is also supported by current funding provided through the Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme (SHCEP). In 2023, Exchequer expenditure on the...

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

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 629 and 633 together. Electoral law allows for the taking of a poll at an election or referendum on any day of the week. In deciding on a particular day, a wide range of considerations are taken into account and ultimately there are advantages and disadvantages attaching to any day chosen. The flexibility in the legislation allows all relevant factors to be...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (20 Mar 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: Defective Building Materials (20 Mar 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 (the Act) sets out the role of the Housing Agency who act as agents on behalf of the local authorities under the terms of the Scheme. Once a home has met the damage threshold for entry to the scheme, the Housing Agency engage its Framework Chartered Engineers to undertake the assessment, survey, sampling,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: State Bodies (20 Mar 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: The first Report on Relevant Public Lands published by the LDA in 2023 identified state owned land with potential for housing development in the five cities and five key growth centres. That potential identified is being assessed further in the light of ongoing developments on those sites. Suitable sites for housing development being recommended for transfer to the LDA will be considered by...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rental Sector (20 Mar 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Legislative reforms to regulate the short-term letting sector through the planning code, in areas designated as “rent pressure zones” (RPZs), were introduced under the Planning and Development Act 2000 (Exempted Development) (No. 2) Regulations 2019 ("the Regulations") - S.I. 235 of 2019 - which came into effect on 1 July 2019. In summary, the Regulations require...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Student Accommodation (20 Mar 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 637 to 639, inclusive, together. The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) was established as a quasi-judicial, independent statutory body under the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004-2022, to operate a national tenancy registration system and to facilitate the resolution of disputes between landlords and tenants. All RTB mediators, adjudicators and tribunal...

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

Darragh O'Brien: The First Home Scheme, launched on 7 July 2022, supports first-time buyers in purchasing new houses and apartments in the private market, or building their own home, through the use of an equity share model. Full details of the First Home Scheme are available at: www.firsthomescheme.ie. The Scheme is overseen and managed by the First Home Scheme Ireland Designated Activity Company (First Home...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Vacant Properties (20 Mar 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 641, 642 and 665 together. 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...