Results 8,781-8,800 of 25,732 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Land Issues (2 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: Under the Property Registration Authority (PRA) Digital Mapping Project (2005-2010), Land Registry plans and boundaries were transferred from the paper maps to the digital map. This digitisation was carried out in accordance with the guidelines as set out in the PRA Digitisation Protocol Document. All matters relevant to the transfer of mapping data during the Digital Mapping Project are...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Energy Policy (2 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: In accordance with section 58 of the Housing Act 1966, local authorities are responsible for the management and maintenance of their housing stock including carrying out pre-letting repairs to vacant properties, the implementation of a planned maintenance programme and carrying out responsive repairs. Local authorities also have a legal obligation to ensure that all of their tenanted...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (2 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme (SHCEP) supports the delivery of social housing by providing financial support to local authorities for the leasing of houses and apartments.  Long term lease arrangements, including the enhanced lease, of privately owned dwellings can be entered into by either local authorities or Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs). Under these arrangements...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Fire Service (2 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The fire service is operated at local authority level by 27 Fire Services. There are 218 fire stations throughout the country and as of November 2022 there were 3,245 serving fire service personnel, of whom 1,206 are full-time and 2,039 are retained (on a 24 hour basis).  As the Local Authority/Fire Service is the direct employer, detail as to specific numbers of fire fighters in...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Advertising (1 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The information requested is being compiled and will be forwarded to the Deputy in accordance with Standing Orders.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Advertising (1 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I am aware of no such instances within my Department.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: State Bodies (1 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) was established as a quasi-judicial independent statutory body under the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004-2022 (RTA) to regulate the rental sector; provide information to tenants and landlords; maintain a national register of tenancies; resolve disputes between tenants and landlords; and conduct research and provide information to inform policy). The remit...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Vacant Properties (1 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: Addressing vacancy and maximising the use of existing housing stock is a primary objective of this Government, as demonstrated by the focus given to this priority area in Pathway 4 of the Government’s Housing for All plan. In this regard, Action 19.10 of Housing for All provides that local authorities will work with the appropriate stakeholders to resolve issues within estates still...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (1 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: Housing for All is the Government’s plan to increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 per year over the next decade. This includes the delivery of 90,000 social homes, 36,000 affordable purchase homes and 18,000 cost rental homes. The delivery of the affordable home interventions will be facilitated by local authorities, Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs), the Land...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Budgets (1 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 110 and 111 together. My Department's Appropriation Accounts which are published by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) set out the full details of expenditure for the relevant years and can be found at www.audit.gov.ie/en/ by clicking on "Appropriation Accounts".   Summary details of the Allocations and Final outturn of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (1 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The Programme for Government sets out a number of commitments in respect of the important policy area of addressing building defects. These include a commitment to examine defects in housing, having regard to the recommendations of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing’s report Safe as Houses? Housing for All, the Government’s national plan on housing to 2030,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Domestic Violence (1 Feb 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: In 2017, my Department issued policy and procedural guidance to housing authorities relating to the role they can play to assist victims of domestic violence. The issuing of this 2017 policy and guidance was a significant action in the second national strategy on Domestic, Sexual & Gender-Based Violence (DSGBV) 2016-2021, and has since played an important role in addressing the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (31 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The Galway Housing Task Force is continuing to provide a strong focus to social and affordable housing delivery and related areas across the two Galway Local Authorities. At the meeting of the Galway Social Housing Taskforce on 15 February 2022, it was proposed that a subgroup on Homelessness, with a particular focus on Traveller Homelessness, be established and report back to the Taskforce....

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Schemes (31 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 313 to 315, inclusive, together. The Mortgage to Rent (MTR) scheme was introduced in 2012 for borrowers of commercial lending institutions and is targeted at those households in mortgage arrears who have had their mortgage position deemed unsustainable by their lender under the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP), who agree to the voluntary surrender of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (31 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The Residential Construction Cost Study, as committed to under Housing for All, is a shared initiative between the Construction Sector Group and Government, with agreed Terms of Reference, which my Department is now facilitating. A public procurement process was carried out by my Department to appoint consultants to carry out the study and a Steering Group, comprising stakeholders from...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (31 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 317 and 325 together. In January 2022, the Government announced a Covid-19 recognition payment for frontline healthcare workers to recognise their unique role during the pandemic. This once-off payment is ring fenced to staff who were ordinarily onsite in Covid-19-exposed healthcare environments within the period from 1 March 2020 to 30 June 2021. It...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: State Bodies (31 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The current membership of the Board of An Bord Pleanála (as at 25 January 2023) is set out in the table below. Three temporary ordinary members were appointed to the Board of An Bord Pleanála in early January 2023, and I intend to make further temporary appointments in the near future. In addition, there is an ongoing competition in the Public Appointments Service (PAS) to recruit...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Emergency Accommodation (31 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: Housing for All is the Government’s plan to increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 new homes per year over the next decade. This includes an average of 10,000 new build social homes each year in the period to 2030.  Housing for All is supported by an investment package of over €4bn per annum, through an overall combination of €12bn in direct Exchequer...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Data (31 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The Local Authority Home Loan has been available nationwide from local authorities since 4 January 2022. The Housing Agency provides a central support service that assesses applications for the Local Authority Home Loan, on behalf of local authorities and makes recommendations to local authorities to approve or refuse applications. The final decision on loan approval is a matter for the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Schemes (31 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The Mortgage to Rent (MTR) scheme allows an Approved Housing Body (AHB) or since 2018 a private company, Home for Life, acquire ownership of a property with an unsustainable private mortgage from a lender and enables the household to remain in their home as a social housing tenant. The scheme is an established part of the overall suite of social housing options and an important part of...