Results 81-100 of 7,615 for speaker:James Browne

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Data (10 Jun 2025)

James Browne: On 15 October 2024, my Department published a Ministerial Action Plan on Planning Resources to respond to capacity challenges in the planning sector. This Action Plan provides a detailed roadmap to increase the pool of planning and related expertise needed to ensure a planning system fit for future needs. Funding was secured in Budget 2025 to support delivery of the Action Plan and a...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Data (10 Jun 2025)

James Browne: Cost information on the delivery of social homes through the various construction streams, is collated by my Department at development/project level rather than at individual housing unit level. The cost of constructing new homes is dependent on a range of variables, such as the location, the scale of the development and the size and type of the homes involved. As such, the limitations of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Data (10 Jun 2025)

James Browne: Under Housing for All, the Government set out plans to deliver 54,000 affordable homes, including 36,000 affordable purchase and 18,000 cost rental homes, by 2030. A comprehensive implementation strategy is in place to support the various affordable housing schemes now being delivered by a range of delivery partners. The Exchequer cost of delivering new homes is dependent on a range...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Data (10 Jun 2025)

James Browne: I propose to take Questions Nos. 778 and 834 together. My Department provides funding under the suite of Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and Disabled People, to assist people in private houses to make their accommodation more suitable for their needs. The suite of grants, which include the Housing Adaptation Grant for Disabled People, the Mobility Aids Grant and the Housing Aid...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Data (10 Jun 2025)

James Browne: The Energy Efficiency Retrofit Programme (EERP) aims to retrofit a local authority home to a minimum BER rating of B2. It is expected that 36,500 local authority owned homes will be retrofitted under this programme out to 2030. €90m is available to the programme in 2025 to upgrade approximately 2,500 homes. The table below indicates the increase in funding required based on the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Data (10 Jun 2025)

James Browne: From 2014 to the end of 2024, local authorities were provided over €361m of Exchequer funding for the remediation of 25,672 dwellings. The funding was introduced originally to tackle long term vacant units and is now increasingly targeted to support authorities to ensure minimal turnaround and re-let times for vacant stock. Under the Planned Maintenance/Voids Programme, €31m...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Data (10 Jun 2025)

James Browne: My Department currently funds multi-year programmes of social housing regeneration projects. As set out in the Programme for Government my Department is working on updating the current regeneration strategy (circular N11/2007 Policy Framework for Regeneration of Local Authority Estates) to ensure that focus, resources and funding is available to Local Authorities for the acceleration of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Domestic Violence (10 Jun 2025)

James Browne: Total expenditure from the CAS budget on domestic violence refuges in 2024 was €3,770,611 with the expenditure on such refuges in 2025 estimated to be c€4.5 million. The additional cost of increasing this expenditure by 25%, 50% and 100% would be €1.125 million, €2.25 million and €4.5 million respectively. Currently there are eighteen priority areas...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Data (10 Jun 2025)

James Browne: There are currently three defects remediation schemes operating; namely, the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme, the Pyrite Remediation Scheme, and the Interim Remediation Scheme. The Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme applies to the owners of dwellings located in Donegal, Mayo, Clare, Limerick and Sligo which are damaged due to the use of defective concrete blocks containing...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Data (10 Jun 2025)

James Browne: I propose to take Questions Nos. 784, 785, 786, 787 and 788 together. The relevant details are being compiled and will be provided to the Deputy in accordance with Standing Orders.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Data (10 Jun 2025)

James Browne: I propose to take Questions Nos. 791 and 810 together. The Housing First approach to addressing homelessness places direct access to housing first and foremost for vulnerable individuals using homeless services consistently or intermittently over long periods of time, and those unable or resistant to accessing homeless services and who may then become habitual rough sleepers. These...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Inquiries (10 Jun 2025)

James Browne: Government is fully committed to working with all stakeholders to deliver social, affordable and cost rental homes at scale and to continue accelerating housing supply across all tenures. This is demonstrated by the record level of investment which is being provided for the delivery of Housing in 2025, with overall capital funding available of €6.8 billion. The capital provision is...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (10 Jun 2025)

James Browne: The Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 (the Act) was commenced on 22 June 2023 which contains the enhanced grant scheme and adopted the related Regulations on 29 June 2023. The scheme is now open to applications in five counties: Clare, Donegal, Limerick, Mayo and Sligo with comprehensive information of all aspects of the Scheme available on...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Budgets (10 Jun 2025)

James Browne: I propose to take Questions Nos. 794 and 795 together. The management and maintenance of local authority housing stock, including pre-letting repairs to vacant properties, the implementation of a planned maintenance programme and carrying out of responsive repairs, are matters for each individual local authority under Section 58 of the Housing Act 1966. In 2022, 2023 and 2024, funding...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Data (10 Jun 2025)

James Browne: I propose to take Questions Nos. 796 and 821 together. A flagship element of Project Ireland 2040, the €2 billion Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) is supporting a programme of significant transformational capital projects that will contribute to the regeneration and rejuvenation of Ireland’s cities and other large towns, in line with the objectives of the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Staff (10 Jun 2025)

James Browne: There are currently 8 (7.5 WTE) staff serving in my Department's Vacant Homes Unit.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Schemes (10 Jun 2025)

James Browne: The Government is providing continuing and substantial financial support to local authorities to acquire second-hand properties for priority categories of need, including tenants-in-situ who have been in receipt of supports under HAP or RAS and who had received a Notice of Termination. For 2025, Government has increased the funding available for second hand social housing acquisitions...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Inquiries (10 Jun 2025)

James Browne: The Remediation of Dwellings Damage by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 (the Act) commenced on 22 June 2023 which contains the current grant scheme and related Regulations were adopted on 29 June 2023. The scheme facilitates the remediation of existing houses that have been damaged by the use of defective concrete blocks. The grant awarded to an applicant under the Scheme,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Emergency Accommodation (10 Jun 2025)

James Browne: I propose to take Questions Nos. 801 and 842 together. My Department’s role in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of local authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of accommodation and related services for homeless...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Inquiries (10 Jun 2025)

James Browne: The 2011 Social Housing Regulations, as amended, contain the statutory basis under which local connection is determined. Under regulation 5, a household may apply for support to one housing authority only (the “housing authority of application”), which may be the authority for the area in which the household normally resides or with which it has a local connection, or where the...