Results 1,101-1,120 of 9,065 for speaker:James Browne

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (8 Jul 2025)

James Browne: Under section 159 of the Local Government Act 2001, each Chief Executive is responsible for the staffing and organisational arrangements necessary for carrying out the functions of the local authority for which he or she is responsible. My Department oversees workforce planning for the local government sector, including the monitoring of local government sector employment levels. Staffing...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (8 Jul 2025)

James Browne: The First Home Scheme, which launched in July 2022, is a shared equity scheme, designed to help bridge the gap for eligible first-time buyers, eligible homebuyers, and self-builders, between their deposit and mortgage, and the price of their new home (within price ceilings established across the country). Full details are available on the First Home Scheme website, www.firsthomescheme.ie/ ...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Vacant Properties (8 Jul 2025)

James Browne: Pathway 4 of Housing for All sets out a blueprint to address vacancy and make efficient use of our existing housing stock. The Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant introduced in July 2022, provides a grant of up to €50,000 for the refurbishment of vacant properties for occupation as a principal private residence and for properties which will be made available for rent. A top-up...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (8 Jul 2025)

James Browne: I propose to take Questions Nos. 547 and 548 together. My Department publishes comprehensive programme-level statistics on a quarterly basis for social housing delivery, including numbers of completed social housing acquisitions by local authorities. Those statistics show that 1,829 such acquisitions were completed in 2023 by the local authorities, with 1,081 of these being tenant in...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (8 Jul 2025)

James Browne: I propose to take Questions Nos. 549 and 550 together. The funding of local authority acquisitions, including tenant in situ, is in the main through my Department's Social Housing Investment Programme (SHIP). The table below set out the funding provided to local authorities under SHIP for their acquisitions activity, including those for tenant in situ which was introduced in 2023. The...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (8 Jul 2025)

James Browne: I propose to take Questions Nos. 551 and 552 together. The funding of local authority acquisitions, including tenant in situ, is in the main through my Department's Social Housing Investment Programme (SHIP). The table below sets out the average purchase price of a property purchased under the tenant-in-situ scheme from the initiation of the scheme in 2023. The delivery numbers for Q1...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (8 Jul 2025)

James Browne: I propose to take Questions Nos. 553 and 554 together. My Department undertakes the Lead Government Department role, as set out in the Strategic Emergency Management (SEM) Framework (2017), in relation to the coordination of national level responses to severe weather and flooding emergencies, where warranted. My Department's National Directorate for Fire & Emergency Management...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Waterways Ireland (3 Jul 2025)

James Browne: Waterways Ireland is a North South Implementation Body established under the British Irish Agreement of 10 April 1998. It is funded by my Department and the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland as Sponsor Departments. Delegated expenditure limits for the body have been agreed by the Sponsor Departments, the Department of Finance in Northern Ireland and the Department of Public...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (3 Jul 2025)

James Browne: On 25 April 2023, the Government approved additional measures under the Housing for All Action Plan to incentivise the activation of increased housing supply and help reduce housing construction costs, including the introduction of temporary time-limited arrangements for the waiving of local authority “section 48” development contributions and the refunding of Uisce Éireann...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Electoral Commission (3 Jul 2025)

James Browne: Section 23 of the Local Government Act 2001 empowers the Minister to divide a local authority area into local electoral areas and to amend those areas. However, in advance of deciding to make an order under section 23 of the 2001 Act, the Minister must, in accordance with section 32(2) of the Local Government Act 1991, request An Coimisiún Toghcháin to prepare a report having regard...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (3 Jul 2025)

James Browne: In line with a commitment under Housing for All, my Department undertook a review of the private rental market, published in July 2024. One of the key recommendations was that a comprehensive examination of the current Rent Pressure Zone (RPZ) system should be undertaken. This review, carried out by the Housing Agency and submitted to my Department at the end of April, assessed the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Architectural Heritage (3 Jul 2025)

James Browne: I propose to take Questions Nos. 248 and 250 together. As set out in Part IV of the Planning and Development Act (2000), the planning authority - in this case Dublin City Council - has primary responsibility for the protection of architectural heritage within its functional area. The mechanisms through which it can exercise this function include designating architectural conservation...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Architectural Heritage (3 Jul 2025)

James Browne: The Irish Georgian Society is a valued partner to my Department. In recent years they have submitted proposals annually to the Department and have received funding to support the preservation and upkeep of Georgian Dublin. This year they have received funding of €50,000. An example of some of the activities that are being supported are:The IGS Conservation Education...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (3 Jul 2025)

James Browne: Further to the responses to Question Nos. 111 of 25 June 2025 and 505 of 17 June 2025, information collected as part of the application process for the various homeownership support schemes, such as age of applicants, household composition, residency status etc., is processed and held by the relevant scheme provider, authority or delivery partner. The information requested is not...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Harbours and Piers (3 Jul 2025)

James Browne: A key measure in Project Ireland 2040, the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) programme is supporting significant transformational capital projects that will contribute to the regeneration and rejuvenation of Ireland’s five cities and other large towns, in line with the objectives of the National Planning Framework. In 2021, as one of the successful applications under the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (3 Jul 2025)

James Browne: In January 2025 my Department received a Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS) application from Wicklow County council on behalf of Tuath AHB for the development of 17 units at Parnell Court, Bray, Co. Wicklow. On 2 May 2025, my Department communicated with Wicklow County Council that they are unable to approve the proposed development due to the high costs of the proposed design and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Funding (3 Jul 2025)

James Browne: The development of Blueways in Ireland to date has been led by a range of organisations including Waterways Ireland. Waterways Ireland is a North South Implementation Body established under the British Irish Agreement of 10 April 1998. It is funded by my Department and the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland. The detailed information requested in relation to Blueways projects...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Wastewater Treatment (3 Jul 2025)

James Browne: My Department's current Multi-annual Rural Water Programme covers the period up to the end of 2026. Under this cycle of the Programme, funding of more than €45 million is approved in principle for seven projects under measure A8 as a funding contribution to local authorities for projects to address the wastewater collection and treatment needs for villages without access to public...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Valuation Office (3 Jul 2025)

James Browne: The Valuation Tribunal is the independent statutory body with responsibility for hearing appeals against decisions of Tailte Éireann on the valuation and revaluation of commercial and industrial properties for rating purposes. As the Valuation Tribunal is statutorily independent in the performance of its functions, my Department does not hold the information requested in respect of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Land Issues (3 Jul 2025)

James Browne: The Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) applies to land zoned for residential development, or for mixed use purposes including residential development and which is ‘vacant or idle’, which in both cases also has the necessary services in place to support the development of housing. The tax was introduced in the Finance Act 2021 and came into effect on 1 February 2025. The aim of...