Results 1,141-1,160 of 9,174 for speaker:James Browne

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)

James Browne: When I became Minister for housing, there was €60 million available for the tenant in situ scheme.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)

James Browne: Hold on. I got a significant increase from the Minister, Deputy Chambers, to increase it to €320 million. That money was distributed to the local authorities. Any funding I have for the tenant in situ scheme has been distributed to the local authorities-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)

James Browne: Cork city was allocated €20 million and approximately 41% of that funding has been drawn down to date.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)

James Browne: I am answering the question. The Deputy just does not like the answer.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)

James Browne: Cork city has drawn down 41% of its tenant in situ funding.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)

James Browne: In fairness, it was never proposed that there would simply be a bottomless or open application, or that the State would support the purchase for anybody who came forward with a tenant in situ application. There are thousands of those types of properties. Sinn Féin's own policy proposes reducing the tenant in situ scheme down to 800 purchases per year. That is the Deputy's own policy,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)

James Browne: I thank the Senator for his questions. I fully agree with him that we have to get developer-led wastewater treatment. As someone who comes from rural Ireland, I know that houses cannot be built in many villages to allow people to live in their local communities where their families are, where they went to school and where their support networks are. They are moving to the nearest...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)

James Browne: I thank Deputy McAuliffe. I know this is an issue on which he has been in regular contact with the Department of housing and me. On the impact with regard to PPP, as the Deputy has already pointed out, I cannot comment at this point. The bundle is now the subject of legal proceedings but with regard to the delivery of those homes, PPP is obviously one. With regard to the further bundles,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)

James Browne: I know.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)

James Browne: I thank the Deputy. I agree; the retail landscape has changed dramatically over the last number of years. I think it is going to continue to do so and we are going to see less and less retail. Those guidelines were put in at a very different time when people had a very different vision of what that future would be. In fairness, it was probably with the good intention that where you are...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)

James Browne: I agree with the Deputy and under the Planning and Development Act, I would have much stronger powers with regard to being able to issue statements to local authorities. I will be doing so where we see and accept - and I do in this case - that we should not be continuing to mandate large numbers of ground floor retail units where there is no realism to them ever being filled.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)

James Browne: Not at all. I thank the Senator very much. I want to see people in homes as quickly as possible, whatever the case may be, whether they are social, affordable, cost rental or their own purchase. It is all about increasing supply. We are increasing the powers of the Land Development Agency, including that geographical piece where it can go out wider than is currently the case. We are also...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)

James Browne: Some local authorities are delivering a significant amount of affordable housing but others are finding it hard to meet the criteria, in a sense. Where houses are of a certain level, when they work out the cost of an affordable purchase the difference is not there to make a substantial difference to individual families. We will continue to keep those limits under review. What I have been...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)

James Browne: We recently got approval from the Cabinet to increase the Land Development Agency's role. Geography is one part of that. A second part of it relates to it helping local authorities to master-plan their delivery. When we combine the role of the LDA with the local authorities' plans, urban development zones, and the housing activation office, which is my team on the ground to help unlock...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)

James Browne: The Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, is doing a lot of good work on housing for the elderly. He has established his team and is engaging with older persons' organisations in developing a plan and building on the existing housing options for positive ageing and what we can do to help older people who want to rightsize. It is absolutely critical they do not in any way feel under pressure...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)

James Browne: Obviously I cannot comment on the legal proceedings that have been initiated over the PPP. I can say I was not personally aware of it and we will establish greater details in relation to it. Public-private partnership has a role to play, but it needs to be completely overhauled and re-examined with respect to the length of time it took to actually get to a position where it landed on my...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)

James Browne: It is important to say of the new apartment specifications that there is only one type of unit that is reduced in size and that is the studio. It is down from 37 sq. m to 32 sq. m, which is more in line with European norms. There is a new three-bedroom unit. Currently you can have a three-bedroom unit for five people and there will be a three-bedroom unit for four people, so that is giving...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)

James Browne: The costings will be published in the near future. We have that as raw data. Obviously to be published they have to be done in a presentable manner people will be able to analyse. The important thing we are doing today is ensuring we address viability because as I have said ideal designs that never leave the paper cannot house anybody.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)

James Browne: I agree with the Cathaoirleach regarding the treatment plants. We have to look at how we can facilitate that as much as possible while ensuring we stick to environmental rules and regulations and protect our water. I am very conscious of counties like Longford and a number of other counties that do not have a significant amount of private development. That impacts not only on the ability...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Priorities of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 Jul 2025)

James Browne: Where it is with the local authorities, it should all be single-stage processes. Where, for example, a private developer may have got his own planning permission and is therefore providing turnkeys that may be off design or not built yet - which is the ideal as I do not like the idea of turnkeys that are ready-built houses going to local authorities; these should be sold on the private...