Results 11,101-11,120 of 26,791 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (27 Sep 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I issued individual targets to each local authority in September 2021, in respect of the delivery required under the Housing for All target of 47,600 built social homes, from 2022 to 2026. The targets in respect of Tipperary County Council are as follows - 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 230 155 158 170 ...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Reports (27 Sep 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I received the report of the working group I established to examine defects in housing at the end of July. The group’s terms of reference were focused on fire safety, structural safety and water ingress defects in purpose-built apartment buildings, including duplexes, constructed between 1991 and 2013 and the report is available on my Department’s website at...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (27 Sep 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme was reviewed in 2021 in line with Programme for Government and Housing for All commitments, with a number of changes subsequently coming into effect from 1 February 2022. The changes include a reduction in the minimum reckonable income required to be eligible under the scheme from €15,000 to €12,500. The time an applicant is required...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: National Parks and Wildlife Service (27 Sep 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department has responsibility for implementation of the European Communities (Licensing and Inspection of Zoos) Regulations 2003 which deal with the inspection, licensing and regulation of zoos. These Regulations give effect in the national context to the EU Zoo Directive. Furthermore, my Department's Irish Standards for Modern Zoo Practice (ISMZP) serve as guidelines on a range of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (27 Sep 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Housing for All was published in September 2021 and, as part of a broad suite of social housing reforms, committed to reviewing income eligibility for social housing. The review, which examined inter aliathe efficiency of the current banding model and income limits applicable to local authorities, has been completed and I have recently approved implementation of its recommendations. This...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Urban Development (27 Sep 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) was launched in 2018 to support more compact and sustainable development. The Fund is providing part-funding for applicant-led projects that will enable a greater proportion of residential and mixed-use development to be delivered within the existing built-up footprints of our cities and large towns, while also ensuring that more parts of our...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (27 Sep 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Under Housing for All, my Department was tasked with undertaking an analytical exercise to examine whether the level of discretion available to Local Authorities under the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) was adequate. The Housing Agency undertook to carry out this analytical exercise on behalf of my Department to better understand what level of discretion should be made available to Local...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rental Sector (27 Sep 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Having regard to the manifest and grave risk to human life and public health posed by the spread of Covid-19 and in order to mitigate, where practicable, the effect of the spread of that disease, the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020 provided for a temporary moratorium on tenancy terminations, other than in exceptional and limited cases during the emergency period...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rental Sector (27 Sep 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019 specify requirements in relation to a range of matters, such as structural repair, sanitary facilities, heating, ventilation, natural light, fire safety and the safety of gas, oil and electrical installations. They apply to all dwellings let or available to let, not just those with a Housing Assistance Payment assisted tenancy. All...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Housing Policy (22 Sep 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...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Housing Schemes (22 Sep 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Housing Agency provides a central support service that assesses applications for the Local Authority Home Loan on behalf of local authorities and makes recommendations to the authorities to approve or refuse applications. The final decision on loan approval is a matter for the relevant local authority and its credit committee on a case-by-case basis. Decisions on all housing loan...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Housing Policy (22 Sep 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) has been identified as a key measure to address the different housing needs in Ireland and methods to support the development of MMC in Ireland are set out in the Government's Housing Policy - Housing for All. The Construction Industry Federation report developed to support the Construction Sector Group outlines that MMC is used to describe a range of...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Housing Provision (22 Sep 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Labour Demand Estimates for Ireland’s National Housing targets, 2021 – 2030 Report estimated that total labour demand from housing construction will need to rise from approximately 40,000 full time equivalent workers at present, to 67,500 workers by the middle of the decade, to achieve an annual average of 33,000 homes over the decade. As the backlog of housing output has...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Housing Schemes (22 Sep 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. 18,000 Cost Rental homes will be delivered between now and 2030, to be...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Housing Schemes (22 Sep 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The current cost guidelines for the acquisition of houses and apartments for social housing use were updated and issued to local authorities in May 2022. A copy of these, in tabular format for each local authority will be provided to the Deputy in accordance with Standing Orders.

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Housing Schemes (22 Sep 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Affordable homes made available through the Local Authority Affordable Purchase Scheme are covered by the Affordable Housing Act 2021 and associated Regulations. Delivery of these homes is primarily a matter for each Local Authority, though the Department supports delivery through grants from the Affordable Housing Fund (AHF). The Department does not set price ceilings for homes the AHF will...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (22 Sep 2022)

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

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Housing Policy (22 Sep 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Housing Finance Agency (HFA) plc is a non-commercial semi-State company under the aegis of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, limited by shares under the terms of the Housing Finance Agency Act 1981. The setting of interest rates is an operational matter for the HFA. The dedicated email address set up by the Agency to respond to queries and requests for information...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Housing Schemes (22 Sep 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The income thresholds for the Housing Adaptation Grant for Older People and People with a Disability scheme are set by secondary legislation, namely, S.I. 670 of 2007 which was updated by S.I. 104 of 2014. The scheme is means tested and operates on a sliding scale with the highest percentage grants available to those with the lowest incomes and vice versa. Grant assistance is not available...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Housing Provision (22 Sep 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department publishes comprehensive programme level statistics on a quarterly basis on social housing delivery activity. This data is available to the end of Quarter 1 2022, and is published on the statistics page of my Department’s website, at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/6060e-overall-social-housing-provis ion/ My Department also publishes the Social Housing...