Results 7,781-7,800 of 15,555 for speaker:Eoghan Murphy

Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Eligibility (13 Jul 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank Deputy Ó Broin. I will consider that in so far as flexibility has changed the situation for households that might find themselves just above a threshold. Even though it might only be €500 in a year, it is not an inconsequential amount and in the scheme of things it makes a difference. I am not against flexibility in Government programmes and schemes as long as they are...

Other Questions: Approved Housing Bodies (13 Jul 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I spoke at the recent annual general meeting in the Ashling Hotel about making sure that as we move forward with this new regulation we do so in a way that is mindful of the different sizes and capacities of the housing bodies. I absolutely want to see how we can get some of the large tier 3 housing bodies, with 300 units more, to increase their ambitions and scale. I am not sure whether...

Other Questions: Approved Housing Bodies (13 Jul 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I am aware of that risk and it is important that the Deputy recognises and raises it again because we will have to keep it in mind as we approach this in September. I hope we can move quickly with this legislation because it is very important. Getting off-balance sheet financing or finding other financing vehicles, for example, private money, pension funds, or credit union funding are...

Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Eligibility (13 Jul 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I propose to take Questions Nos. 15 and 21 together. The Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011 prescribe maximum net income limits for each housing authority, in different bands according to the area, with income being defined and assessed according to a standard household means policy. It should be noted that the income bands and the authority area assigned to each band are...

Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Eligibility (13 Jul 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I apologise that the review has not yet commenced but it will commence later this year and we will get that done as a priority for exactly the points the Deputy makes about the circumstances facing his constituents in respect of eligibility for social housing or other supports they might need. This review will be important but we are also reviewing other measures in place, for example, the...

Other Questions: Approved Housing Bodies (13 Jul 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: The Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness recognises the key contribution that approved housing bodies, AHBs, make to the delivery of social housing. It is estimated that AHBs have the capacity to contribute around a third of the new social housing units that are currently targeted over the period to 2021. The housing delivery capacity of AHBs will need to...

Other Questions: Local Authority Housing (13 Jul 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy for his good wishes. I do not disagree with anything he said. The history of how we have come to this crisis is that the Government of the time essentially outsourced its responsibility to the private sector for social housing and then, when the market and the sector crashed, people and their needs crashed with them. We are still dealing with the legacy of this and we...

Other Questions: Local Authority Housing (13 Jul 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: Eighty acres is a not insignificant amount of land, so I would like to hear more details of the matter after we have finished in the Dáil this evening. What I have seen so far since I began the review are ways in which the local authorities have been quite clever in using land, which is a very valuable asset and can be very expensive, to deliver things like co-operative housing models...

Other Questions: Homelessness Strategy (13 Jul 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: As part of the response to the commitment contained in Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness that, by mid-2017, hotels would only be used as emergency accommodation in exceptional circumstances, housing authorities are delivering a number of family-focused, supported temporary accommodation facilities, also called family hubs. While this was an ambitious target, at...

Other Questions: Homelessness Strategy (13 Jul 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: To clarify, the original target for moving homeless families out of hotels and bed and breakfast accommodation in Rebuilding Ireland always referred to exceptional circumstances. We must recognise that there are certain situations in which a family may have a particular need or difficulty that would require a tailored solution and we must be sensitive to those needs. Different families have...

Other Questions: Homelessness Strategy (13 Jul 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I am afraid that when we come into September, some families will still be in hotels or bed and breakfast accommodation because of exceptional circumstances, which was signalled when the target was first put in place last year. They may have particular needs of which we must be very mindful, and for which we must find a tailored solution. I wish it were not the case but that is a situation...

Other Questions: Homeless Accommodation Provision (13 Jul 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: A homeless place finder service is managed by the Dublin region homeless executive on behalf of all four Dublin local authorities. This specific and targeted service provides a housing assistance payment-based support service for homeless households and has been successfully operating in the Dublin region, including the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council...

Other Questions: Homeless Accommodation Provision (13 Jul 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I know that the Deputy is not a fan of the HAP scheme and says it is not working, but some 300 tenancies are being created every week. There were 24,000 people under the scheme, of whom 23,000 found accommodation without the need for a place finder service. The Dublin regional homeless executive operates the place finder service for people on the housing list in the Dún...

Other Questions: Homeless Accommodation Provision (13 Jul 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: That is not consistent with the facts.

Other Questions: Homeless Accommodation Provision (13 Jul 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: Did the Deputy rang the housing section in Dún Laoghaire and ask if it had a place finder service, or did he ask if people in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown were able to access the place finder service in the Dublin regional homeless executive? I am not sure what he has been doing, but I know that what is behind his frustration is the fact that he does not believe in the HAP scheme, even...

Other Questions: Homeless Accommodation Provision (13 Jul 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: Tenants on the lists in Dún Laoghaire can access the place finder service for the four Dublin local authorities.

Other Questions: Local Authority Housing (13 Jul 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: The Government's Rebuilding Ireland action plan for housing and homelessness is focused on increasing housing supply across all tenures. I believe this is the key to tackling the housing challenge in a sustainable way. The aim is to achieve total housing output of at least 25,000 homes per year by 2020 and all of the available indicators point to a...

Other Questions: Voluntary Housing Sector (13 Jul 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 and 46 together. The normal legislative provisions of the Residential Tenancies Acts governing rent setting, rent reviews and notices of changed rents for private rented tenancies do not apply to approved housing body tenancies. Instead, these matters are governed by the tenancy agreements, leases or financing arrangements that are in place. When a...

Other Questions: Voluntary Housing Sector (13 Jul 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: As I said in my initial reply, I will review and consider the matter the Deputy has raised. I will look at the differential rents under the national framework later this year. The housing bodies are playing a crucial role at the moment. They will continue to do so as we look to develop and supply more social housing to people in this country. We are seeking to provide 47,000 new social...

Other Questions: Voluntary Housing Sector (13 Jul 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I hope they would not be worse off after going into a voluntary housing body property then they would be if they went into a local authority property. That is not the intention at all. Depending on the type of funding that has been received from the housing body, there is an obligation for it to consult with the local authority on the setting of rents. As the Deputy has suggested, there is...