Results 11,101-11,120 of 26,799 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

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

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 161 and 162 together. The locus of responsibility for local authority activities and functions is determined by the nature of the particular issue in question, in this instance the provision of accommodation for beneficiaries of temporary protection from Ukraine. While my Department is supporting the cross-Government response to the consequences of the...

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

Darragh O'Brien: Following on from the Government decision of the 30 November 2021 in respect of the enhanced Defective Concrete Blocks Grant scheme, the Government approved the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Bill 2022 on 21 June and the Bill passed through both Houses of the Oireachtas and was subsequently signed into law by the President. The purpose of this Act...

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

Darragh O'Brien: On the 14 July, I launched the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant as part of the Croí Cónaithe (Towns) Fund. This grant is focused on supporting refurbishment of vacant homes. It is being delivered by local authorities and will provide new choices for people to live in towns and villages in Ireland, with priority given to areas where the level of vacancy or dereliction is high. All...

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

Darragh O'Brien: My Department does not fund any homeless services directly but provides funding to housing authorities towards these costs. Under the funding arrangements, housing authorities must provide at least 10% of the cost of services from their own resources. Housing authorities may also incur additional expenditure on homeless related services outside of these funding arrangements with my...

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

Darragh O'Brien: My Department does not fund any homeless services directly but provides funding to housing authorities towards these costs. Under the funding arrangements, housing authorities must provide at least 10% of the cost of services from their own resources. Housing authorities may also incur additional expenditure on homeless related services outside of these funding arrangements with my...

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

Darragh O'Brien: Under the Household Means Policy, net income for social housing assessment is defined as gross household income less income tax, PRSI, Universal Social Charge and Additional Superannuation Contribution. All income from social insurance and social assistance payments, allowances and benefits, including Working Family Payment, are assessed. I have recently, approved proposals to scope and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: State Bodies (27 Sep 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 and as such, the implementation of the new tenancy management system is an operational matter for the RTB. Following the passing of legislation in...

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

Darragh O'Brien: The information requested is being compiled and will be forwarded to the Deputy in accordance with Standing Orders.

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...