Results 8,101-8,120 of 26,778 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien
- Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Sep 2023)
Darragh O'Brien: I cannot.
- Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Sep 2023)
Darragh O'Brien: I thank the Ceann Comhairle. I was going to say that for clarity's sake. Any Deputy in this House, except me, can do so. There is no compulsion either - the Deputy referred to others-----
- Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Sep 2023)
Darragh O'Brien: In any case the decision has been made and if the Deputy feels things have not been done correctly, there are other avenues he can go down. I have stated the facts about rural investment and investment in the regions. There has never been greater investment than since this Government came into office. If you look at local property tax, we have allocated an additional €75 million...
- Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Sep 2023)
Darragh O'Brien: We will double-check that. Let me address the cheap remark about the three leaders being away. In fairness, it is a UN General Assembly. There is a WHO summit on pandemic preparation.
- Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Sep 2023)
Darragh O'Brien: Anyone in government who travels and is away is working, and the Deputy knows that. Hers was a pretty cheap shot and one she should not repeat. I do take responsibility for the work this Government does. I agree with the Deputy on that. We have many more challenges. What I am saying to the Deputy concerns housing delivery across all forms of tenure. Even if she looks at what will...
- Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Sep 2023)
Darragh O'Brien: We will do everything we can to continue with the progress we are making.
- Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Sep 2023)
Darragh O'Brien: I thank Deputy Shanahan for his contribution. Of course these is a role for one-off rural housing. I am not opposed to it and never have been. Last year, 2022, over 5,500 one-off rural homes were built, 16% up on the year before. While building these, we need to make sure we are revitalising our towns and villages. That is why I have been very strong, particularly with the Croí...
- Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Sep 2023)
Darragh O'Brien: I understand what the Deputy is saying in that, in many instances, families or individuals talk to their Deputies or other public representatives about planning when there have been issues and when they have not been able to get planning permission. They seek advice from Deputies, and indeed councillors. I am just stating the fact that over 5,500 individual rural homes were delivered in...
- Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Sep 2023)
Darragh O'Brien: I note in Deputy Doherty's response that he did not answer any questions or put forward any alternatives.
- Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Sep 2023)
Darragh O'Brien: There is no Sinn Féin housing policy. It does not exist. There is no question that there remain very significant challenges. We have an overall target this year to deliver 29,000 new homes and we intend to do that. We delivered affordable homes in the first year of Housing for All for the first time in a generation. Speaking of photo opportunities, very recently in Deputy Louise...
- Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Sep 2023)
Darragh O'Brien: The delivery figures show that.
- Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Sep 2023)
Darragh O'Brien: Not everybody is feeling it. People watching will see that-----
- Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Sep 2023)
Darragh O'Brien: In fairness, people watching will see that all that Sinn Féin has called for, particularly for first-time buyers, is the removal of all the supports available, including the help to buy scheme, the first home scheme and the vacancy grant. Sinn Féin would get rid of them all.
- Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Sep 2023)
Darragh O'Brien: I thank the Deputy for her questions and the points she has made. I reject outright that Housing for All is failing. It is not. I have responded to some of the charges from the Deputy opposite, which, to be fair, were put in a less constructive way than those Deputy Bacik put. It is all I would expect from Deputy Doherty on most Thursdays in the House.
- Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Sep 2023)
Darragh O'Brien: Leaving that aside for the moment, there are very serious issues here, particularly around homelessness. The number one priority are the people who do not have a home. We need to make sure there is secure accommodation for them and we can have more people exit homelessness into permanent social homes. That is why the focus has been on delivering more new social homes. Last year, we built...
- Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Sep 2023)
Darragh O'Brien: The Labour Party voted against the Bill.
- Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Sep 2023)
Darragh O'Brien: I stand to be corrected.
- Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Sep 2023)
Darragh O'Brien: If we are to deal with the facts, we built just short of 30,000 new homes last year, the first full year of Housing for All. That was more than the Labour Party did in the five years that it was in government between 2011 and 2016.
- Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Sep 2023)
Darragh O'Brien: Sorry, Brendan, but if we look at the last time we had a Labour Party Minister for housing, investment in housing, for everything, was about €400 million. That was in 2015.
- Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Sep 2023)
Darragh O'Brien: It is 11 times that now. We are delivering investment of €4.5 billion this year.