Results 8,521-8,540 of 25,732 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: To answer the question directly, with the first home scheme in particular, we have had approvals in 29 of the 31 local authorities. There are only two counties in Ireland that have not had approvals yet. It helps to drive first-time buyer development and delivery and we are seeing that response on the ground. We were in Drogheda this morning and all those homes will be under the caps for...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I will make two quick points. Under the affordable housing fund for local authority-led affordable housing, we saw the first homes being built and sold last year. There were some issues with conveyancing that have been rectified. We have approved 42 schemes throughout the country and these will deliver more than 3,000 so far for affordable purchase, let by the local authorities. On cost...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The Deputy knows the CSO itself was strong in its defence of its figures and methodology, which have never been brought into question before. It is our independent statistics office we depend on for the collation of such data. I do not think anyone has ever called the office's expertise, knowledge or know-how into question before. The Deputy has raised a point on completion certificates...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: First, we must look at the context of where this discussion came from, which was the announcement by the Government that we had exceeded our targets under Housing for All of 5,000 units. In fairness, it was in that context that this debate happened; it was post that.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I will answer that.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: Deputy Ó Broin is putting up a commercial company’s data and data collection. Its methods-----

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I am not avoiding answering it. The Deputy has not allowed me to answer it. He interrupted me as I was endeavouring to answer it. He knows the CSO is independent of the Government and its work is independent of me. It is important that is the case. If the statistics that are published by the State’s own agency do not suit some other narratives, that is something that-----

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I am trying to answer the question.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I will again endeavour to answer it. I was going to make a suggestion that might be helpful to Deputy Ó Broin. As he is aware, the CSO is independent of me. It has been very strong it its defence of the statistics it has released, which have been accepted year on year. It would be open to the Deputy or the committee to call the CSO in before it.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: We are very confident about the housing completion figures we have.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: We do not reach into the methodology of the CSO data. It publishes those independently of me. Any further interrogation of that can be done by the committee.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: Deputy Ó Broin should not push it.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I am trying to answer the question.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: It is very obvious to those who look in on the committee that the Deputy has taken the data from a private commercial company because it suits his narrative.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The Government has exceeded its completion targets and its delivery within the first year. That might disappoint Deputy Ó Broin.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: That may disappoint him, but it is open to the Deputy and the committee to bring in the CSO and ask it specifically for its views. It issued a very strong statement in defence of its methodology and for the main Opposition party and others to call into question-----

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: That is a real stretch.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: We are very transparent in the numbers we publish. There is transparency in regard to our plan and our expenditure, unlike others. We put that forward very clearly. We exceeded our housing targets last year and we intend to exceed them again this year. I stand over the data from the CSO, which I fully trust. It has been the basis for tracking housing completions. If Deputy Ó Broin...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The rural water programme is a very important one. We are continuing to fund it. There are some legacy issues as well with poor infrastructure that was put in at a site level and we have a scheme to take those into charge and to rectify estates and wastewater treatment plants that are substandard. There are settlements that have grown which have wastewater infrastructure already in place....