Results 10,901-10,920 of 25,844 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (24 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Local Authority Home Loan is a Government backed mortgage for those on modest or low incomes who cannot get sufficient funding from commercial banks to purchase or build a home. It has been available nationwide from local authorities since 4 January 2022 for first-time buyers and fresh start applicants. The loan can be used for new and second-hand properties, or to self-build. To...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Data (24 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) are important partners for local authorities in the delivery of social housing. My Department and local authorities administer a number of funding programmes to assist AHBs with the cost of building, acquiring and leasing new social housing homes under a Payment and Availability (P&A) Agreement with the local authority. For each property or group...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Grant Payments (24 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 216 and 218 together. My Department provides funding under the suite of Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability, to assist people in private houses to make their accommodation more suitable for their needs. The grants include the Housing Adaptation Grant for People with a Disability, the Mobility Aids Grant...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Grant Payments (24 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department provides funding to local authorities under the Disabled Persons Grants scheme to carry out works on social housing stock to address the needs of older people, people with a disability or overcrowded situations. The detailed administration of this scheme including assessment, approval and prioritisation is the responsibility of local authorities.  ...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (24 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department issued Stage 3 Pre-tender Approval for this project on 6 August 2021 to the Council. It is a matter for the relevant Approved Housing Body (AHB) and Limerick City and County Council to advance the project. Cost plans associated with this project are not available due to commercial sensitivity as this project is out to tender. Under the 75 week timeline for projects under...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (24 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Land Development Agency’s (LDA) Project Tosaigh is a market engagement initiative to unlock land with full planning permission that is not being developed by private sector owners due to financing and other constraints and use it to accelerate the supply of affordable housing. Itallows the LDA to supplement the State lands it is already working on and accelerate the delivery of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (24 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Delivery of affordable housing, in accordance with the schemes set out in the Affordable Housing Act, 2021 and the funding being made available, will be underpinned by local authorities' Housing Delivery Action Plans. Local authorities submitted their initial Plans to me in December 2021. Preparation of the Plans allowed each local authority to assess the level of demand with affordability...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Circulars (24 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The objective of the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund (LIHAF) is to provide public off-site infrastructure to relieve critical infrastructure blockages. This enables the accelerated delivery of housing on key development sites in Dublin and in urban areas of high demand. LIHAF is designed to specifically address the issue of housing supply, a crucial factor in terms of moderating...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Public Sector Staff (24 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The application of the flexi-time scheme for local authority staff who have resumed full office attendance following restricted attendance during the pandemic remains unchanged.  Following on from the issuing by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform of their Blended Working Policy Framework document as it relates to the Civil and Public sector, the local authority sector...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Government Communications (24 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Contact details for myself and Ministers of State Burke and Noonan can be found on my Department's website at the following link - www.gov.ie/en/organisation/department-of-housing-local-gover nment-and-heritage/.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Homeless Persons Supports (24 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The increase in homelessness seen nationally in recent months is a serious concern for Government. We are acting to address this, and while significant work has been done there is still more to do. My Department publishes a detailed monthly report on homelessness, based on data provided by housing authorities. The Report outlines details of individuals utilising...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (24 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: 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 a local level.  Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of homeless accommodation and related services rests with individual local authorities.  Under the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Schemes (24 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Since 2013, Exchequer funding has been provided through my Department's Energy Efficiency Retrofit Programme (EERP) to support local authorities with the retrofit of local authority owned homes requiring insulation and energy upgrade works. Since the programme commenced in 2013 over 75,000 homes have been retrofitted with a total exchequer spend of €184 million under the scheme. In...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Schemes (24 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 229 to 232, inclusive, together. Addressing the current housing shortage requires short, medium and long-term action to stimulate housing supply. Housing for All set out four pathways to achieve its vision of a sustainable housing system.  Under Pathway 3, the Croí Cónaithe (Cities) Scheme will help to kick-start urban apartment...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Investigations (24 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department has not commissioned any formal investigations, internal or external, regarding information leaked to the media in the period under question.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (24 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Housing for All strategy delivers on the Programme for Government commitment to step up housing supply and put affordability at the heart of the housing system, with an ambitious target of 300,000 homes over the next decade for social, affordable and cost rental, private rental and private ownership housing. It will see 54,000 affordable home interventions which includes 36,000...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (24 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Under the Government's Housing for All strategy, 10,000 Cost Rental homes will be delivered from 2021 to 2026 by Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs), Local Authorities and the Land Development Agency (LDA). AHBs will be supported by Cost Rental Equity Loan (CREL) funding and Local Authorities will be able to avail of funding for Cost Rental delivery through the Affordable Housing Fund. The LDA...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Referendum Campaigns (24 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Government published a Policy Paper entitled Irish Water - Towards a National, Publicly-Owned, Regulated Water Services Utility in February 2021 setting out our views and expectations on the next phase of transformation in the water sector, to involve the integration of water services operations within Irish Water's organisation structure. The matter of a referendum on...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (24 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The funding system that applies to local authorities in Ireland is a complex one, as authorities derive their income from a variety of sources including commercial rates, charges for goods and services and funding from Central Government including my Department, but also other from government Departments and state agencies. My Department has a significant business agenda, covering a...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (24 May 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: 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. Local authorities also have a legal obligation to ensure that all of their tenanted properties...