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

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (11 Dec 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I propose to take Questions Nos. 48 and 76 together. The Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund (LIHAF) was designed to activate housing supply by putting in place the enabling public infrastructure necessary to ensure that large scale development could take place on key sites in urban areas of high housing demand. Funding of €200 million was originally made available under...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Vacant Properties (11 Dec 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I propose to take Questions Nos. 51 and 95 together. Rebuilding Ireland sets out a range of measures to assist in meeting Ireland’s housing needs by ensuring that our existing housing stock is used to the greatest extent possible. A central action within it is a commitment to develop a National Vacant Housing Reuse Strategy. This Strategy, which I published July 2018, strives to...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Land Development Agency (11 Dec 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The Land Development Agency (LDA) is currently working with Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council on a delivery plan for the site referred to. This site can yield approximately 600 homes, which are likely to be primarily social and affordable housing. Ultimately, any decision regarding the ownership and development of the site will be a matter for the local authority. As provided for...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water Quality (11 Dec 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: Fingal County Council, on behalf of Irish Water, operates the Leixlip water treatment plant. Following the recent incidents, water provided by the Leixlip plant is currently safe, and is not subject to a restriction. However, the plant remains in need of improvement works that will make it resilient and prevent future issues. I remain concerned about the vulnerability of this plant. My...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (11 Dec 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I propose to take Questions Nos. 59 and 84 together. Land utilisation and activation, including the development of land for the delivery of more affordable private housing, is, in the first instance, a matter for the relevant local authority and its elected members. Moreover, local authorities are required to frame the planning policies in their development plans in a balanced and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Data (11 Dec 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: Rebuilding Ireland will deliver over 50,000 new social homes by the end of 2021 through a combination of Build, Acquisition and Leasing. In 2019 alone, 10,000 new social homes will be delivered utilising these methods, including 6,545 build homes delivered by Local Authorities nationwide, in partnership with Approved Housing Bodies. My Department publishes comprehensive quarterly statistics...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Eligibility (11 Dec 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I propose to take Questions Nos. 62 and 94 together. Applications for social housing support are assessed by the relevant local authority, in accordance with the eligibility and need criteria set down in section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the associated Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011, as amended. The 2011 Regulations prescribe maximum net income...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Vacant Sites Levy (11 Dec 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: Under the vacant site levy provisions in the Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015, planning authorities are empowered to apply a vacant site levy of 3% of the market value of relevant vacant sites where a site exceeds 0.05 hectares in area, was in the planning authority’s opinion vacant or idle in 2018, and is in an area identified by the planning authority in its development plan...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water Abstraction Regulation (11 Dec 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The abstraction of water is governed by the Water Supplies Act 1942, which deals with the abstraction of water for public drinking water supply purposes only. Under this Act, there are no requirements to be met in respect of licensing or charging for abstractions for bottled water, or indeed for other purposes. However, the Water Framework Directive requires that abstractions of surface...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Guidelines (11 Dec 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I propose to take Questions Nos. 66 and 83 together. Following engagement between the European Commission and my Department regarding the European Court of Justice ruling in the "Flemish Decree" case, a working group was established to review and, where necessary, recommend changes to the 2005 Planning Guidelines on Sustainable Rural Housing, issued under section 28 of the Planning and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Offices (11 Dec 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I propose to take Questions Nos. 67 and 306 together. A dedicated Housing Delivery Office (HDO) was established within my Department to support the accelerated delivery of housing across the social and private sectors, in an integrated and timely manner. Working with the broader Housing and Planning Divisions in the Department, other key agencies, local authorities and the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Staff (11 Dec 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: Under section 159 of the Local Government Act 2001, each Chief Executive is responsible for the staffing and organisational arrangements necessary for carrying out the functions of the local authority for which he or she is responsible. My Department oversees workforce planning for the local government sector, including the monitoring of employment levels. To this end, my Department...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: An Bord Pleanála (11 Dec 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: Under the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, in general, the quorum of the Board of An Bord Pleanála is three persons, with an option for a two-member meeting, subject to Board approval, in circumstances where the Chairperson considers it necessary to ensure the efficient discharge of duties of the Board. Separate legislative provisions apply to the divisions of the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (11 Dec 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: Earlier this month, I received email correspondence from Social Justice Ireland which contained a link to the Videos and Papers from the 32nd Social Policy Conference - The Challenges of Success. I note the papers included the Challenges of Success conference booklet, which contains a 'Review of the Government's Housing Strategy from the perspective of young and old'. My Department keeps...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rent Pressure Zones (11 Dec 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The Government’s Strategy for the Rental Sector recognises that rapidly increasing rental inflation is the most significant challenge to security of tenure in the rental sector and that there was a need for a targeted, time-bound and transparent policy response to the issue of rising rents. To address this, the Government introduced the Rent Predictability Measure. This measure,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Waiting Lists (11 Dec 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I propose to take Questions Nos. 72 and 89 together. Details on the number of households qualified for social housing support in each local authority area are set out in the statutory Summary of Social Housing Assessments (SSHA). The most recently conducted SSHA details the number of households on all local authority waiting lists as at 24 June 2019 (the count date). Since the count date,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Waiting Lists (11 Dec 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: Consistent with the provisions in the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014, the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme is considered to be a social housing support and consequently households in receipt of a payment under the scheme are not eligible to remain on the main housing waiting list. However, acknowledging that some households on the waiting list, who avail of HAP, have...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Home Loan Scheme (11 Dec 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The Housing Agency provides a central support service which assesses applications for the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan on behalf of local authorities and makes recommendations to the authorities to approve or refuse applications. Each local authority must have in place a Credit Committee and it is a matter for the Committee to make the final decision on applications for loans, in accordance...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Estates (11 Dec 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The most recent amendments to the taking in charge provisions of the planning code were made in the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2018 with a view to further strengthening and streamlining the taking-in-charge process. Residential developments consisting of two or more dwellings that have been granted planning permission under section 34 of the Planning and Development Act 2000...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (11 Dec 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) is a flagship element of Project Ireland 2040. Under the stewardship of my Department, the Fund was established in 2018 to support more compact and sustainable development, through the regeneration and rejuvenation of Ireland’s five cities and other large towns, in line with the objectives of the National Planning Framework and...