Results 10,081-10,100 of 26,787 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Legislative Process (18 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 506 and 542 together. The Government approved the General Scheme of a Bill providing for a directly elected mayor for Limerick at its meeting of 20 April 2021. The Government also approved the publication of the General Scheme and its referral both to the Oireachtas for pre-legislative scrutiny and to the Office of the Attorney General for priority...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Issues (18 Jan 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: Housing Provision (18 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: 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: Housing Schemes (18 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 509 and 583 together. 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 by 2030. Housing for All is supported by an investment package of over €4bn per annum, through an overall combination of €12bn in direct...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (18 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 per year over the next decade. Under Housing for All, the Government aims to deliver 54,000 affordable homes between now and 2030, to be facilitated by local authorities, Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs), the Land Development Agency (LDA) and through a strategic partnership between the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Vacant Properties (18 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 511 and 582 together. Pathway 4 of Housing for All sets out a blueprint to address vacancy and make efficient use of our existing housing stock. Many areas of cities, towns and villages of all sizes face the blight of vacant properties, which, if brought back into use, could add real vibrancy and provide new accommodation in those areas. The Croí...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Vacant Properties (18 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The Croí Cónaithe (Cities) Scheme supports the building of apartments for sale to owner-occupiers. The Scheme aims to bridge the current “viability gap” between the cost of building apartments and the market sale price (where the cost of building is greater). The scheme is targeted principally at activating planning permissions already in place for such homes. The...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (18 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: Housing First recognises that a stable home provides the basis for recovery in other areas. With Housing First, the priority is to support a person who has experienced homelessness into permanent housing as quickly as possible, without any preconditions around addiction or mental health treatment. Then, intensive work continues on these issues once they are housed. Housing First has been a...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Traveller Accommodation (18 Jan 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...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Public Private Partnerships (18 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 515 and 516 together. The Social Housing Public Private Partnership (PPP) Programme represents an additional strand of delivery to increase the supply of social housing. The current programme has to date delivered 1,000 new homes with a further 2,700 units in the pipeline. In terms of progress to date, in 2021 construction was completed on Bundles 1...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (18 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: 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: Housing Schemes (18 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: The majority of tenants in local authority and Approved Housing Body (AHB) dwellings pay a differential rent in accordance with the relevant local authority's differential rent scheme. However, in some circumstances, including in AHB dwellings funded through my Department's Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS), tenants will pay an economic rent rather than a differential rent. CAS provides...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (18 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: On 19 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 applies to eligible staff in the public health service and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (18 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department undertook a Review of Delivery Costs and Viability for Affordability for Affordable Residential Developments in 2018. While the Review highlighted some of the factors that can impact the cost of land, it did not specifically consider the proportion that land costs contribute to overall cost of developing houses or apartments. A copy of the Review can be accessed on my...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Charitable and Voluntary Organisations (18 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: I have no statutory function in relation to the management of the organisation in question nor in relation to the work of the Charities Regulator. It would not be appropriate for me to comment further on the matter.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Construction Industry (18 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: Following receipt of the report of the Working Group I established to examine defects in housing, I brought a Memorandum for Information to the Government meeting on 27 September 2022. In this context, I committed to the establishment of an inter-departmental and agency group to develop an options paper with a view to providing support to homeowners who find themselves in a difficult...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (18 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: A key principle of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme is that eligible households source their own accommodation in the private rented sector, which best suits their needs, in their area of choice The minimum standards for rental accommodation are prescribed in the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019 and apply to all dwellings that are let or available to let,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (18 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: Section 279 of the Maritime Area Planning (MAP) Act 2021 extends the functional area of the coastal planning authorities to include the nearshore, that is the area between the high water mark and 3 nautical miles. Applications for development, excluding development listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Planning and Development Act, will be submitted to the coastal planning authorities. ...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (18 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: 2022 represented the commencement of a very ambitious programme of delivery of affordable housing. This momentum will continue with delivery significantly increasing in 2023. A pipeline of housing delivery is in place and being developed by local authorities, by Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) and by the LDA. Local authorities have been begun collating information on delivery of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Reports (18 Jan 2023)

Darragh O'Brien: In October 2021, I requested the National Building Control and Market Surveillance Office, in partnership with Donegal County Council and Geological Survey Ireland, to carry out an audit of quarries in Donegal to evaluate relevant economic operators’ compliance with the Construction Products Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 when placing relevant construction products (aggregate concrete...