Results 6,521-6,540 of 15,555 for speaker:Eoghan Murphy

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water Charges Refunds (23 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: Since 1 January 2014, Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels. Provision was made in my Department’s Vote in 2017 as part of the Further Revised Estimates 2017, as approved by Dáil Éireann, for the costs of the refund process. My Department issued total...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water and Sewerage Schemes Grants (23 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: In late 2017, my Department conducted a review of group water schemes' subsidies. The review involved discussions with the National Federation of Group Water Schemes, the representative body of the group water sector.  Discussions concluded in December, when I approved the revised subsidy levels.  The new subsidy arrangements, endorsed by a special delegate...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water and Sewerage Schemes Grants (23 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: Funding is available under my Department's Rural Water Programme towards the provision or necessary improvement of private wells. Local authorities were informed of the grant scheme and the criteria to be met by way of Circular Letter L8/97 of April 1997.  The terms and conditions of the scheme are set out in an Explanatory Memorandum which is available from the local authorities and on...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Tenant Purchase Scheme Review (23 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: I propose to take Questions Nos. 645 and 674 together. The Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme came into operation on 1 January 2016. The Scheme is open to eligible tenants, including joint tenants, of local authority houses that are available for sale under the Scheme. To be eligible, tenants must meet certain criteria, including having a minimum reckonable income of €15,000 per...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Tenant Purchase Scheme Data (23 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: The current Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme came into operation on 1 January 2016.  The Scheme is open to eligible tenants, including joint tenants, of local authority houses that are available for sale under the Scheme. To be eligible, tenants must meet certain criteria, including having a minimum reckonable income of €15,000 per annum and having been in receipt of social...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Data (23 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: The information provided in response to Parliamentary Question Number 45 of 26 October 2017 included the figure of 3,200 as the target for 2017 delivery of social housing via build activity. As set out in Rebuilding Ireland, build activity includes local authority and AHB new build projects, properties constructed for social housing through Part V and refurbished...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Approved Housing Bodies (23 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: As part of a review commissioned by Eurostat, the EU Statistical Office, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) were asked in October 2016 to review the classification of Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) for Government accounting purposes. The classification was last reviewed in 2014, with a recommendation from the CSO to Eurostat at the time that these Bodies would remain outside of the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Contracts Data (23 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: My Department has not awarded any contracts to the company in question.  Information in relation to contracts awarded by agencies under the aegis of my Department is an operational matter for each Agency. Arrangements have been put in place by each Agency to facilitate the provision of information by State Bodies directly to members of the Oireachtas. The contact email address for...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Staff (23 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the following table. In August 2017, I requested all local authorities to designate vacant home officers to co-ordinate local actions to address vacancy in their functional areas and also to undertake local vacancy surveys in order to identify - through their Vacant Homes Action Plans - priority "vacancy hot-spot areas" and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Vacant Properties (23 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: Preparatory work on the vacant home strategy was undertaken by a working group chaired by the Housing Agency which also comprised senior representatives from my Department, local authorities, the Irish Council for Social Housing and from the Housing Agency itself. My Department received the output of the working group in June 2017 and is presently further developing the strategy with a view...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Vacant Properties (23 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: A dedicated website, www.vacanthomes.ie, was established by Mayo County Council in July 2017 on behalf of the local government sector to serve as a central portal for individuals to anonymously log possible vacant homes and to alert local authorities so that they can then follow up with the registered owners, with a view to ascertaining the potential for bringing these homes into productive...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Metropolitan Area Networks Programme (23 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: I propose to take Questions Nos. 653 to 655, inclusive, together. The three regional assemblies, co-ordinating the work and detailed technical input from the relevant local authorities, will enable the preparation of initial metropolitan area strategic plan components of the forthcoming Regional, Spatial and Economic Strategies (RSES) being drafted to succeed the current Regional Planning...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Repair and Leasing Scheme (23 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: The Repair and Leasing Scheme, RLS, has been developed to assist private property owners and local authorities or approved housing bodies (AHBs) to harness the accommodation potential that exists in certain vacant dwellings across Ireland. The scheme is targeted at owners of vacant dwellings who cannot afford or access the funding needed to bring their dwellings up to the required standard...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Vacant Sites Data (23 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: The Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015 introduced a new measure, the vacant site levy, which is aimed at incentivising the development of vacant, under-utilised sites in urban areas.Under the Act, planning authorities are required to establish a register of vacant sites in their areas, beginning on 1 January 2017, and to issue notices to owners of vacant sites by 1 June 2018 in respect...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Statutory Retirement Age (23 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: International research indicates that the retirement age of 55 is the optimum age to ensure that fire-fighters are capable of satisfactorily performing the tasks expected of them. The retirement age of 55 years of age was introduced because of health and safety considerations related to the job. Since the enactment of the Health, Safety and Welfare at Work Act 1989, underpinned by...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Adaptation Grant Applications (23 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: The detailed administration of the housing adaptation grants for older people and people with a disability, including the assessment, approval and payment of individual grants to applicants, is the responsibility of the relevant local authority.  The framework for the operation of the scheme is laid down in statutory regulations, namely the Housing (Adaptation Grants for Older...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payment Eligibility (23 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: The Housing Assistance Payment, HAP, is a flexible form of social housing support available to households throughout the State who have a long-term housing need. To qualify for HAP a household must first be deemed eligible for social housing support. Eligibility for social housing support is based primarily on a household's income. The Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011 prescribe...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payment Data (23 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: Indicative social housing outputs for 2017 were published on Monday 15 January 2018 and are available on my Department’s website at the following link: My Department is currently finalising and verifying HAP and RAS data relating to 2017 and this data will be published on my Department’s website in due course. At the end of 2016 local authorities reported that there...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Funding (23 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: I assume the Question refers to the payment of General Purpose Grants (GPGs) and Local Property Tax (LPT) from the Local Government Fund to local authorities. Before the introduction of local retention of LPT in 2015, GPGs were my Department’s contribution towards meeting the cost to local authorities of providing a reasonable level of services to their customers. The...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Personal Injury Claims (23 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: I have no function in relation to the matters raised in the question and the information requested is not available in my Department. Local authorities are independent in the execution of their powers and the directly elected members are democratically accountable for all expenditure of the authority. Personal injury claims involving local authorities are matters for each authority and...