Results 8,361-8,380 of 25,732 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The Tenant (Incremental Purchase Scheme) provides for the purchase by eligible tenants, or joint tenants, of local authority homes available for sale under the scheme. It seeks to incentivise purchasers to remain in their homes and support sustainable communities. The scheme was reviewed in 2021, with a number of amendments coming into effect from 1 February 2022. The amendments...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Emergency Accommodation (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department's role in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the statutory role of housing authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of emergency accommodation and related services for homeless persons rests with individual housing authorities....

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: Following the publication of Housing for All, I asked local authorities to prepare Housing Delivery Action Plans. 18 local authorities, including Carlow, were set five-year Affordable Housing delivery targets and asked to include planned affordable housing delivery in those Plans. Carlow County Council published its final Plan last July. My Department has met with Carlow County Council...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: An Affordable Housing Fund application was submitted by Mayo County Council to my Department in September 2022 seeking funding to assist in the delivery of 13 affordable purchase homes in Springfield, Westport. I granted approval in principle to this application in November 2022 and scheduled delivery of these affordable homes will be in 2024. My Department, the Housing Agency and the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Schemes (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department provides funding to local authorities in respect of the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability, to assist eligible people in private houses to make their accommodation more suitable for their needs. Housing for All commits to reviewing the full suite of Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability. A report on the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Building Regulations (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: On 20 January 2023, I launched a three-month public consultation on proposed amendments to Building Regulations relating to fire safety (Part B) and the accompanying Technical Guidance Document B (TGD B). Fire safety regulations for dwelling houses were updated in 2017. The regulations currently out for public consultation relate to fire safety requirements in all other buildings. The...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department is working closely with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council (DLR) to accelerate the delivery of housing on the local authority-owned sites at Old Conna and Rathmichael. Two such sites (Ballyman and Old Connaught) are part of my Department's accelerated delivery programme. In December 2022 my Department funded the pay-off of Housing Finance Agency site debts for these...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: Housing for All sets out the range of actions intended to increase the overall supply of housing to 33,000 new homes on average per year over the next decade. Under the strategy, 54,000 affordable home interventions will be delivered between now and 2030 to be facilitated by local authorities, Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs), the Land Development Agency (LDA) and through a strategic...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department has not had any formal contact or discussions regarding the property referred to in the Question. Notwithstanding this, my Department is advised by Kerry County Council that the potential reuse of the former psychiatric hospital, St. Finan’s Killarney, for social and affordable housing purposes is under review by the Council in the context of its responsibility for...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Schemes (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: In line with the commitment in Housing for All, the expanded Local Authority Home Loan was launched in January 2022. It is a Government backed mortgage for those who cannot get sufficient funding from commercial banks to purchase or build a home. It is available to first-time buyers and "fresh start" applicants to purchase a new or second-hand property, or to self-build. Supporting home...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Fire Service (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 159 and 166 together. The provision of a fire service in its functional area, including the establishment and maintenance of a fire brigade, the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of fire station premises, is a statutory function of individual fire authorities under the Fire Services Acts 1981 and 2003. My Department supports fire authorities...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Traveller Accommodation (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998 provides that the role of my Department is to ensure that there are adequate structures and supports in place to assist housing authorities in providing accommodation for Travellers, including a national framework of policy, legislation and funding. The Act provides that housing authorities have statutory responsibility for the assessment of the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Issues (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I am considering the report, entitled 'A Review Into Certain Planning Matters in Respect of Donegal County Council', by Mr. Rory Mulcahy S.C., and will bring this matter to Government for consideration in due course. The review is a scoping report and as such it does not make findings as to the truth or otherwise of allegations that have been made by an individual against named persons....

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: Following on from the Government decision of the 30 November 2021 in respect of the enhanced Defective Concrete Blocks Grant scheme, the Government approved the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Bill 2022 on 21 June and the Bill passed through both Houses of the Oireachtas and was subsequently signed into law by the President on the 23 July, 2022. ...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department publishes comprehensive programme level statistics on a quarterly basis on social housing delivery activity in all local authorities. The published data is based on statistical returns submitted by each local authority to my Department. This data is available until the end of Quarter 3 2022 and is published on the statistics page of my Department’s website, at the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rental Sector (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: Introduced under the Affordable Housing Act 2021, Cost Rental is primarily targeted to deliver rents at least 25% below market levels for households with incomes above social housing limits and who have difficulty in affording to purchase or rent their own homes on the open market. Cost rental provides tenants with rent certainty and secure tenancies in long-term homes. Under the Cost Rental...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: Following on from the Government decision of the 30 November 2021 in respect of the enhanced Defective Concrete Blocks Grant scheme, the Government approved the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks (DCB) Bill 2022 on 21 June and the Bill passed through both Houses of the Oireachtas and was subsequently signed into law by the President on the 23 July, 2022....

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water Pollution (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: On 26 January 2023 my Department was notified of the decision of the European Commission to refer Ireland to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failure to correctly transpose the requirements of the Water Framework Directive (Directive 2000/60/EC). This decision was linked to the Commission Infringement case 2007/2238 against Ireland. The Water Environment (Abstractions and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: State Bodies (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The Land Development Agency (LDA) has an immediate focus on managing the State’s owned lands to develop new homes, and regenerate under-utilised sites. In the longer-term, it will assemble strategic land-banks from a mix of public and private lands making these available for housing in a controlled manner, which is expected to bring essential more long-term stability to the Irish...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Electoral Process (9 Mar 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 207 and 208 together. The Electoral Act 1997 (as amended) provides the statutory framework for dealing with political financing and sets out the regulatory regime covering a wide range of inter-related issues such as the funding of political parties; the reimbursement of election expenses; the establishment of election expenditure limits; the disclosure of...