Results 7,281-7,300 of 25,732 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Provision (6 Jul 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I thank the Deputy. We have reached Question No. 42, given there have been so many others missing right the way through.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Provision (6 Jul 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: As regards modern methods of construction, MMC, I brought a cost-of-construction report to Cabinet a few weeks ago and published it. It is a comparative between costs in Ireland, those in five other EU countries and those in Britain. The report highlights the practice as well. We are looking at the MMC piece. I have a further report to bring to Cabinet. This year and next, 1,500 social...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Water Services (6 Jul 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: Understood. To respond to Deputy O'Sullivan, he is correct that for whatever reason, the local authority did not apply for Shannon Vale to enter into the scheme I brought forward. Post Question Time, however, and with regard to Drinagh, I will follow up particularly with Shannon Vale. I will reach out again to the local authority. We need to get Uisce Éireann and the local...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Wastewater Treatment (6 Jul 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I know that Deputy Crowe has been pushing this very hard and has been very supportive, as many others have, of this scheme. It is new. I announced €50 million for it in 2022. Effectively, we asked local authorities to apply to me in respect of schemes that would not have been brought forward under the Uisce Éireann capital programme. In April 2022 I announced a new funding...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Wastewater Treatment (6 Jul 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: A number of schemes came in right across the country. If we can get this scheme right, and I believe we can, this will evolve into a multi-annual programme. This is in addition to what we are investing already. The Deputy is 100% correct that our villages and towns across the country can play a major role in housing provision. That is why we have moved forward with the vacancy grants, for...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Wastewater Treatment (6 Jul 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The Deputy is looking for a pre-announcement, which we cannot do. All I will say is that if schemes are good, there is no restriction per county, like one or two per county. That is not the question. We received just over 20 applications across the country - not a lot, to be frank, but enough for us to be able, in my view, to start this pilot programme. Where the land is purchased, the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Homeless Accommodation (6 Jul 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I assure the Deputy that I am not ignoring anything. I did not get to some of the other measures we have brought in, including the tenant in situpurchase scheme, which we have rolled out and extended since January as a mitigation measure. I have set a target of a minimum of 1,500 homes. This involves converting housing assistance payment, HAP, and rental accommodation scheme, RAS,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Homeless Accommodation (6 Jul 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: There indeed is-----

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Homeless Accommodation (6 Jul 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: Some 60,000 households are supported through HAP tenancies right now in the private rental sector. The Deputy just said to the House that we do not need a private rental sector, which is an astonishing remark. The reality is that we are building more social houses than were built since 1975; we will do still more and will continue to do so. In my supplementary response, I will refer to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Homeless Accommodation (6 Jul 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: What criteria would the Deputy apply? No criteria?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Homeless Accommodation (6 Jul 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: People enter emergency accommodation for many reasons. Every month, we publish a report on it. They include people who received notices to quit, relationship break-ups and new entries to the State - there are many different reasons for that to be the case. It is important that people know that anyone who finds themselves homeless will be supported by the State in emergency accommodation....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Homeless Accommodation (6 Jul 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The Deputy is living in fantasy land. Homelessness is a very serious situation. I do not wish to belittle it in any way. We are doing everything we can to make sure we can drive those numbers down and exit people into permanent housing solutions.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Water Services (6 Jul 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The past decade has seen a significant reform of water services in Ireland. The policy paper on water sector transformation was published in February 2021, which set out our vision as a Government for water services based on the full integration of water services into Uisce Éireann as a single, publicly-owned national water services authority. The objective is to deliver a world-class...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Water Services (6 Jul 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I have brought forward the unserved villages. I expect to make announcements in the short term around that; it is the first €50 million outside of the capital programme for Irish Water. I visited Shannonvale with the Deputy. The situation there is intolerable. I have been back to Uisce Éireann. It will provide the stage 1 strategic assessment, which will move it on to stage...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Provision (6 Jul 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: It is a very pertinent question. The management and maintenance of the local authority housing stock, including pre-letting repairs to vacant properties, implementation of a planned maintenance programme - which will be important and on which I will expand - and carrying out responsive repairs, is a matter for each individual local authority, and in the main they do that job very well. The...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Provision (6 Jul 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The Deputy is right that estate management is really important. On Monday, I was in Galway city and county. We have approved in the housing Department alone 300 additional staff in our local authorities this year. Those posts are being filled. I was talking to the chief executive of the housing team in Galway city. Like any other sector, it is taking longer to find and employ people but...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Provision (6 Jul 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I agree. We see fantastic developments across the country, not least in the Deputy's county. We support the ongoing maintenance of those financially. Estate management is crucial. Some local authorities for a number of years effectively got out of that role and are now getting back into it. I have met estate management teams across the country. That engagement with householders in our...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Homeless Accommodation (6 Jul 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: That is not what I said but I might get an opportunity to come back on that in supplementaries. The Residential Tenancies (Deferment of Termination Dates of Certain Tenancies) Act 2022 was a time-limited intervention which provided for a stay on eviction notices up to 31 March 2023 and deferred tenancy terminations running to 18 June. It was on a phased basis. The purpose of it was to...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Fire Service (6 Jul 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I inform Deputy Brady that the matter is before the Labour Court. I am not going to go down the road Deputy Brady has blatantly gone, in trying to politicise what is a really important issue. We have seen the Deputy's theatrics here before. This Government has a focused, determined, and deliberative approach. I have met many firefighters all over the country. I commissioned the review....

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Fire Service (6 Jul 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: Let us allow the Labour Court do its work. As I said, there has been very good engagement from SIPTU and there is a way forward on this. I want this resolved. I have been very clear on that. Remuneration is key to that. No one is sitting on their hands and no one will be sitting on their hands. The unions have entered into the process and I welcome that. Let the Labour Court do its...