Results 10,681-10,700 of 26,787 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Issues (8 Nov 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 350 to 355, inclusive, together. An Bord Pleanála (the Board) is the national independent statutory body with responsibility for the determination of planning appeals and direct applications for strategic infrastructure and other developments under the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, and certain other Acts. Under section 30 of the Planning...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (8 Nov 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: Valuation Office (8 Nov 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The making of valuations for rating purposes is the sole responsibility of the Commissioner of Valuation and I, as Minister, have no function in decisions in this regard. The information requested in the question can therefore be best be provided directly by the Valuation Office. To facilitate rapid responses to queries from members of the Oireachtas, in accordance with Circular 25/2016,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Properties (8 Nov 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: One of the roles of the Office of Public Works (OPW) is to provide office accommodation to all Government Departments. The OPW owns or leases the buildings which my Department occupies. These buildings are generally occupied by numerous Government Departments. As such, my Department would not have the information which the Deputy is seeking. The information requested in relation to bodies...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Correspondence (8 Nov 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: While my Department has no record of receiving the request, the Ministerial Direction and 'Incremental Tenant Purchase Scheme 2016 Existing Local Authority Houses Guidance for Housing Authorities' (September 2022), issued by email to the Councillor on 28 October 2022.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rented Dwellings Register (8 Nov 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) was established as an independent statutory body under the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004-2022 (RTA) to operate a national tenancy registration system and to resolve disputes between landlords and tenants. Accordingly, the implementation of the new tenancy management system is an operational matter for the RTB. From 4 April 2022, landlords are...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rental Sector (8 Nov 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Residential Tenancies (Deferment of Termination Dates of Certain Tenancies) Act 2022 was signed into law on 29 October 2022. The Act makes emergency provision to defer the termination dates of certain residential tenancies that fall, or would fall, during the period beginning on 30 October 2022 and ending on 31 March 2023 in order to mitigate the risk that persons whose tenancies would...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Data (8 Nov 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Social Housing Investment Programme (SHIP) funded construction projects by local authorities must, like all publicly-funded construction programmes, comply with the Public Spending Code and Capital Works Management Framework and accordingly, my Department periodically issues Unit Cost Ceilings (UCCs) for each local authority area, for use as a key benchmark for the development and costing of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Vacant Properties (8 Nov 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department is working closely with local authorities and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) to identify, and bring into use, multi-unit vacant properties that may be suitable and available for accommodation purposes for beneficiaries of temporary protection from Ukraine. In cases where vacant buildings identified as part of the initial...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Staff (8 Nov 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 367 and 368 together. Section 9(3) of the Registration of Deeds and Title Act 2006 states that "Subject to this Act, the Authority is independent in the performance of its functions". The matter of appointment of staff to specific roles and locations is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Property Registration Authority. I have no function in this...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (8 Nov 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 369, 370, 415 and 423 together. The Programme for Government sets out 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 impacted by defects, to access low-cost,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Building Energy Rating (8 Nov 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: A new enhanced ten year energy efficiency programme was launched in 2021 in response to a commitment made under the Programme for Government, which called for the 'retrofit' of 500,000 homes to a B2/Cost Optimal Equivalent BER standard by 2030, of which approximately 36,500 are expected to be local authority owned homes. This new programme set a BER performance requirement of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (8 Nov 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 372 and 388 together. On 19 January 2022, the Government announced a Covid-19 recognition payment for front-line 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: Housing Schemes (8 Nov 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme plays a vital role in housing eligible families and individuals. At the end of Q2 2022, over 104,700 HAP tenancies had been set-up since the scheme commenced, of which there were over 60,700 households actively in receipt of HAP support. Administration of the HAP scheme is a matter for the relevant local authority. To support local authorities in...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (8 Nov 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Following receipt and consideration of the report of the working group I established to examine defects in housing, I have established an inter-Departmental and agency group to bring forward specific proposals to Government by the end of the year with a view to providing support to homeowners of purpose-built apartment buildings, including duplexes, constructed between 1991 and 2013 with...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (8 Nov 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: Departmental Schemes (8 Nov 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The First Home Scheme, launched on 7 July this year, supports first-time buyers in purchasing new houses and apartments in the private market through the use of an equity share model. Full details of the First Home Scheme, including details of the price ceilings, are available on the scheme website: www.firsthomescheme.ie. The First Home Scheme DAC is responsible for the operation, and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rental Sector (8 Nov 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Tenants in the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme are required to sign a rent contribution agreement to pay a weekly rental contribution to the relevant local authority, in line with the local authority’s differential rent scheme. As set out in the rent contribution agreement, this weekly rental contribution must be paid by them so that they remain eligible for the HAP scheme. ...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Inquiries (8 Nov 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The analysis by my Department of the complaints referred to by the Deputy, which were received by my Department in June 2016, has been completed. The matters that were the subject of the complaints mostly occurred over the period 2002 to 2004. My Department found that many of the complaints had previously been considered or reviewed by an appropriate statutory body. Some of the matters...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (8 Nov 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: There have not been any outright refusals since 2020 of Stage 1 proposals made by local authorities to my Department in respect of social housing construction projects. My Department adopts a consultative and supportive approach to the work by local authorities on such projects, including their work on areas such as site investigations, needs assessment, planning under Part 8 including...