Results 10,241-10,260 of 25,799 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Seanad: Remediation of Dwellings Damaged By the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Bill 2022: Committee Stage (13 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I do not want to go back and forth because there has been a pretty constructive debate but that is incorrect. It is totally and utterly incorrect. It might suit to make the charge to create an issue. There is not an issue. The rates have been set independently. Dealing with inflation is built in by way of the review. I have already quoted the specific rates that are there. They are set...

Seanad: Remediation of Dwellings Damaged By the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Bill 2022: Committee Stage (13 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Is there an intervention from the Public Gallery?

Seanad: Remediation of Dwellings Damaged By the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Bill 2022: Committee Stage (13 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Deputy Mac Lochlainn has not been allowed to speak all week for other reasons. We have a responsibility to people to be very honest with them and get behind the scheme to make it work for them. Anyone who looks at this in a fair and clear way will see the financial commitment behind the scheme is extremely robust. I said to Senators earlier, and I said to Deputies in the other House, that...

Seanad: Remediation of Dwellings Damaged By the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Bill 2022: Committee Stage (13 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I have made my point. I have tried to address the amendment tabled. The debate heretofore has been very constructive and respectful. The most recent intervention moved away from that. Our job is to get a new scheme in place that will fix people's homes and get their lives back on track. This is absolutely the basis to do this. I will not accept the amendment.

Seanad: Remediation of Dwellings Damaged By the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Bill 2022: Committee Stage (13 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: There are a lot of dates and so on specified in the legislation but the situation is exactly as Senator Cummins outlined. Once an applicant is approved, he or she has 78 weeks from the date of approval to commence the work. We should not forget these are urgent works. Should an applicant need another 24 weeks on top of that to commence the work, he or she will get it. That basically gives...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Heritage Schemes (13 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 229 and 230 together. Under my Department’s renewal or repair of thatched roof grant scheme, in general a grant of up to €3,810, or two thirds of the approved cost, whichever is the lesser, may be payable in respect of necessary works to renew or repair the thatched roofs of houses. In the case of medical card holders, a grant of up to...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Homeless Accommodation (13 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: As provided for in Housing for All, the National Homeless Action Committee (NHAC) was established in Q4 2021. The overarching objective of NHAC is to ensure that a renewed emphasis is brought to collaborating across Government to implement actions in Housing for All, along with bringing better coherence and coordination of homeless-related services in delivering policy measures...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (13 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme is open to eligible tenants, including joint tenants, of local authority houses that are available for sale under the Scheme. The scheme is governed by the Housing (Sale of Local Authority Houses) Regulations 2015. These regulations provide for specified classes of houses to be excluded from sale, including those provided to local authorities under...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Staff (13 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Following the application of the 1 July 2022 FEMPI pay restoration for certain civil service grades, the salary of the Secretary General of my Department is €235,294. The pay scales for the Assistant Secretaries in my Department, effective from 1 February 2022, are set out in Circular 4-2022, a copy of which is available on the Gov.ie website...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (13 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Housing for All strategy 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 47,600 new build social homes and 28,500 new affordable homes in the period 2022-2026. Targets for social housing new build homes and acquisitions are set out in the table below. - 2022 ...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (13 Jul 2022)

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 in the period 2022-2030. Housing for All is supported by an investment package of over €4bn per annum, through an overall combination of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (13 Jul 2022)

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 by 2030. Housing for All is supported by an investment package of over €4bn per annum, through an overall combination of €12bn in direct Exchequer funding, €3.5bn in funding through the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (13 Jul 2022)

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 can be entered into by either local authorities or approved housing bodies (AHBs) for periods of between 10 and 25 years. The number of social homes delivered under long term...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (13 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Construction Products Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 (CPR) sets out rules for the marketing of construction products in the EU. Where a construction product covered by a harmonised standard (includes concrete blocks, aggregates for concrete, hardcore etc.), is being placed on the EU market, the CPR requires the manufacturer to draw up a ‘declaration of performance’ and affix a...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Hare Coursing (13 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The activity shown in the video supplied appears to show illegal coursing of hares in the wider countryside and not in our National Parks. This practice, along with being unlawful under the Wildlife Acts, has also been linked to other criminal activity. Staff in my Department along with An Garda Síochána have carried out a number of joint operations in order to combat this practice...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Staff (13 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: In line with broader Government policy my Department continues its work to become an employer of choice. Accordingly diversity is encouraged and facilitated in my Department to ensure its composition is reflective of Irish society as a whole. The vast majority of recruitment for my Department is carried out by the Public Appointments Service. However, my Department is strongly committed to...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (13 Jul 2022)

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?" and to assist owners of latent defect properties, by identifying options for those...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (13 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The First Home Scheme, launched on 7 July, supports first-time buyers in purchasing new houses and apartments in the private market through the use of an equity share model, similar to that employed in the Local Authority Affordable Purchase Scheme. The Scheme aims to support in the region of 8,000 households in acquiring new homes in the private market in the years 2022 to 2026 with an...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (13 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The First Home Scheme, launched on 7 July, supports first-time buyers in purchasing new houses and apartments in the private market through the use of an equity share model. The Scheme uses regional price ceilings based on the median prices of new build first time buyer homes. This is to temper any inflationary pressures and to target support at the lower part of the price distribution in...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (13 Jul 2022)

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. Housing for All is supported by an investment package of over €4bn per annum, through an overall combination of €12bn in direct Exchequer funding, €3.5bn in funding through the Land Development Agency and €5bn funding through the...