Results 7,481-7,500 of 15,555 for speaker:Eoghan Murphy

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (Resumed) (28 Sep 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I do not disagree with any of the Senator's remarks. Hubs are not an interim solution, they are the first response. They are meant to replace hotels and bed and breakfast accommodation. We do not see them as the second stage. We want people to go directly into hubs and that is why we currently have nine. We will have 15 hubs when the funding for the current programme is completed. It is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (Resumed) (28 Sep 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: Nobody doubts the importance of this issue. The Dáil has been back for two weeks and this is the third engagement I will have had on the issue. I will have my fourth later today in the Seanad. The Government was discussing this issue until the end of July while the Cabinet was still meeting. The Cabinet met again at the beginning of September. The Deputy knows that Deputies are not...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (Resumed) (28 Sep 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: The Deputy also said that happened while everyone was on their holidays, which gives the impression that politicians do not work over those months. That is not the case.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (Resumed) (28 Sep 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: If I had time for mindfulness, I would definitely take it. I have to be careful that people do not misrepresent me. I did not mean to get tetchy with the Senator, and perhaps there was some confusion over the language. The Deputy knows how people can jump on something and blow it up into something that is not correct. I have a duty of care here for the work that is being done in this...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (Resumed) (28 Sep 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy. I speak to the chief executive of Fingal County Council very frequently, so I will speak to him about it the next time we have an engagement, which will be shortly. I have not made a decision yet as to whether bedsits are coming back. On the issue of senior citizens complexes and conversions for disabilities and extensions for overcrowding, I have just announced...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (Resumed) (28 Sep 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: The funding is for both. On the issue of the recruitment embargo for local authorities, that has been lifted. Local authorities have to manage their own resources. I do not want to interfere in what they do. However, a large amount of work has been done on void conversions over the past number of years. That must have been done with the trained staff that they have.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (Resumed) (28 Sep 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: That is outside my direct responsibility, but I can certainly raise it with the CEO.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (Resumed) (28 Sep 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: The PPPs are to deliver 1,500 units in three phases. The first phase of 500 units is at procurement at the moment. The first units are scheduled for delivery in late 2018. The second phase will move to procurement shortly. The site for the third phase will be identified by the end of the year. We have to be very careful with how we proceed with PPPs because we do not want to be exposed...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (Resumed) (28 Sep 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I do not mean to play politics at all. I do not think I have ever done so in this brief. If I did so with regard to the site mentioned by the Deputy, I apologise. Deputy Cowen is right when he says this is not a space for politics. This is the biggest challenge the Government is currently facing, notwithstanding the challenge of Brexit and other difficulties we have in our society. We...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (Resumed) (28 Sep 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I will explain my approach. We are talking about 2021 because we tend to deal in five-year time horizons. It is meant to be the parliamentary cycle. It is probably part of the human condition. We can understand five-year periods. Of course we have ring-fenced the capital funding until 2021. We have to look beyond 2021. That is what we are doing at the moment. We have to approach this...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (Resumed) (28 Sep 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: Yes, I can.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (Resumed) (28 Sep 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Nitrates Usage (28 Sep 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I propose to take Questions Nos. 278 and 280 together. The Nitrates Directive and Ireland's National Nitrates Action Programme are given legal effect by the consolidated European Union (Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters) Regulations 2014, as amended. The objective of the Regulations is to protect ground and surface waters, including drinking water sources,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Waterways Issues (28 Sep 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: The Environmental Protection Agency, in its recently published report Water Quality in Ireland 2010 - 2015 (available at:  ),states that Ireland has more than 70,000 kilometres of river channel.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Tenant Purchase Scheme Review (28 Sep 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I propose to take Questions Nos. 281 and 286 together. The new Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme for existing local authority houses 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...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Legislative Measures (28 Sep 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: Section 74 of the Local Government Act 2001 provides that a local authority may confer a civic honour on a distinguished person in such a manner as it may determine and may establish and maintain a roll or record in which to enter the names of persons so honoured. The decision to convey a civic honour is a reserved function, the implementation of which is a matter for individual local...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Data (28 Sep 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I propose to take Questions Nos. 283 to 285, inclusive, together. There are currently more than 27,000 households supported by the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme across the State and it is anticipated that the Exchequer funding for 2017 of €152.7 million will be fully expended on the operation of the scheme at year's end. At the end of 2016 local authorities reported that...

Water Services Bill 2017: Order for Second Stage (27 Sep 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I move: "That Second Stage be taken now."

Water Services Bill 2017: Second Stage (27 Sep 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." Today I present the Water Services Bill 2017 before the Dáil. The Bill provides for the repealing of the 2014 domestic water charging regime and it introduces a new programme focused on the promotion of water conservation under which a levy will apply in certain circumstances for usage of water above a reasonable threshold. In...

Housing: Motion [Private Members] (27 Sep 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: We must also be careful in terms of what we say to the public as to what we believe is possible. Solidarity-People Before Profit Deputies want us to build 20,000 houses next year. How exactly do they think that will happen and where would it happen? Will it happen in the proper locations or will we return to bad planning? Deputies talk of the funding we spent in 2008 before we had an...