Results 11,461-11,480 of 26,886 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Planning and Development (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2022: Second Stage (6 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am grateful for the opportunity to introduce this Bill and thank Members for facilitating the passage of this important substitute consent legislation through the Houses in advance of the summer recess. The purpose of the Bill is to amend the Planning and Development Act 2000, as relating to substitute consent procedures. Substitute...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Public Sector Staff (6 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: There are no former county managers Chief Executives of local authorities currently working within my Department either on a full time basis or in a contract or advisory capacity. My Department does not hold the requested information in respect of the State Bodies under its aegis. Arrangements have been made that these State Bodies may be contacted directly by e-mail by members of the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Data (6 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021 commits Ireland to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 51% by 2030, relative to 2018 levels, and achieving net zero emissions by no later than 2050. The Act also significantly strengthens the statutory framework for governance of the climate challenge, including the establishment of a system of carbon budgeting, with...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (6 Jul 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: Housing Schemes (6 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Mortgage to Rent (MTR) scheme was introduced in 2012 for borrowers of commercial lending institutions and is targeted at those households in mortgage arrears who have had their mortgage position deemed unsustainable by their lender under the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP), who agree to the voluntary surrender of their home and who have very limited options, if any, to meet...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Building Regulations (6 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Building Regulations 1997 to 2021 provide for the safety and welfare of people in and about buildings and apply to the design and construction of a new building (including a dwelling) or an extension to an existing building. The minimum performance requirements that a building must achieve are set out in the Second Schedule to the Building Regulations. They are subject to ongoing...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (6 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Housing for All (published in September 2021) provides a new housing plan for Ireland to 2030 with the overall objective that every citizen in the State should have access to good quality homes through a steady supply of housing in the right locations, with economic, social and environmental sustainability built into the system. The strategy sets out, over four pathways, a broad suite of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (6 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department commissioned independent research including, inter alia, the demand for owner-occupier apartments as part of the development process for the Croí Cónaithe (Cities) Scheme. The research, which suggested considerable interest in apartment living and apartment homeownership, helped inform the scheme criteria and how the scheme might work. It is hoped to make the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Staff (6 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The payroll cost of recruiting an additional 3 Architects would be €125,577.56.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (6 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 74 and 77 together. Applications for social housing support are assessed by the relevant local authority in accordance with eligibility and need criteria set down in the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and associated Social Housing Assessment Regulations. It is open to anyone to apply for social housing support, irrespective of their...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Constituency Commission (6 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 75 and 76 together. The last Constituency Commission to review Dáil and European Parliament constituencies was established on 14 July 2016 following the publication of the preliminary Census results at that time. The Electoral Reform Bill 2022, which is currently progressing through the Houses of the Oireachtas, provides for, among other matters,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (6 Jul 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 I intend to progress the legislation before the end of term in order to ensure that we can have the scheme ready for homeowners to...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Wind Energy Generation (6 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: In accordance with Section 30 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, I am specifically precluded from exercising any power or control in relation to any particular case with which a planning authority or An Bord Pleanála is or may be concerned. However, I can advise that a decision on the substitute consent application for the Derrybrien Wind Farm in County Galway was...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (5 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Construction Products Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 (CPR) sets out rules for the marketing of construction products in the EU, from 1 July 2013. Where a construction product, covered by a harmonised standard (includes concrete blocks, aggregates for concrete and cement), is being placed on the EU market, the CPR requires the manufacturer to draw up a ‘declaration of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Appointments to State Boards (5 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: In making appointments to State boards under my remit, my Department operates in accordance with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform guidelines on appointments to State Boards, published in November 2014.  The Public Appointments Service has responsibility for managing an open, accessible and transparent system to support Ministers in making state board appointments and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Vacant Properties (5 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The repair and leasing scheme provides support to owners of vacant properties to bring the units up to the standard for rental property. The local authority, or approved housing body, pays for the repairs upfront and the home is taken into social housing stock by way of lease for between 5 and 25 years. The cost of repairs is offset against reduced lease payments to the property owner and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (5 Jul 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, 36,000 affordable purchase homes and 18,000 cost rental homes. Housing for All is supported by an investment package of over €4bn per annum, through an overall combination of €12bn in...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (5 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 212 and 241 together. I refer to the reply to Question No. 230 of 23 June 2022, which sets out the position in the matter.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (5 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The working group convened in September 2020 to examine the issues relating to unsold affordable properties is continuing to consider a number of options. Any solutions put forward will consider all relevant parties including the tenants, the approved housing bodies, the local authorities and achieve good value for the Exchequer. These will be contained...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Funding (5 Jul 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Met Éireann, is a line division of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and, under its Weather and Climate Research Programme, funds full time Ph.D. positions through various instruments. Funding is in part given to cover the Ph.D. student’s stipend, which currently is at a flat rate of €18,500 per annum for up to four years, as per all Irish...