Results 1,241-1,260 of 15,555 for speaker:Eoghan Murphy

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rental Sector (5 Nov 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The strategy for the rental sector, developed under Rebuilding Ireland, was published in December 2016 and outlines a range of measures to develop further a viable and sustainable rental sector. Structured around the four key areas of security, supply, standards and services, the strategy sets out a number of targeted measures and initiatives with the aim of providing better security of...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rental Sector (5 Nov 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: We have to be careful regarding the language we use in this Chamber concerning a whole host of issues. We should not seek to demonise one part of our community. As Deputy Michael Healy-Rae rightly stated, many of the landlords in this country, some 70%, own only one property. Many of them are accidental landlords who did not mean to become landlords, but became such because of what has...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Water Supply Contamination (5 Nov 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy for the follow-on question. When we read the EPA audit of the October event, if we want to call it that, and the March event, and now we have a November event, I think we were all pretty shocked by what was not done between March and October. It was a very detailed report and I thank the EPA for the work it did very quickly as a result of this boil water notice being put...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Water Supply Contamination (5 Nov 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy for his follow-up question. If he has the opportunity to visit a water treatment plant and see a UV system in operation, he will see how it works and its benefit. My understanding is that even if a UV system had been put in place, it would not have prevented what has happened in this third incident, so it is important to separate that out. My immediate concern is to...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Compulsory Purchase Orders (5 Nov 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy for his question. Local authorities have a range of existing legislative powers available to them to deal with derelict and underutilised properties in their functional areas, for example, through the compulsory purchase powers and under derelict sites and housing legislation. This legislation is kept under constant review. There is a clear focus on increasing the...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rent Pressure Zones (5 Nov 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy for the question. On 4 June, my Department wrote to planning authorities with rent pressure zone, RPZ, designations seeking estimated resource funding requirements for the implementation and enforcement of the new short-term letting provisions, to cover the period to the end of 2021. My Department wrote again to planning authorities on 2 July and 26 September seeking new...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rent Pressure Zones (5 Nov 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy for the follow-up questions. There were a few parts and I will try to over all of them. Each planning authority already has a planning section, an enforcement section and everything else. Dublin City Council has more than 170 staff. It was quite clear in the first few months of implementation of these new laws that local authorities would be required to reallocate...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Rent Pressure Zones (5 Nov 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy. Each local authority came back with information on the number of additional staff they will require and the funding they will need out to 2021. We are now engaging with them in terms of the actual funding we have, and what that means in terms of how many new staff can be hired and how they may have to reallocate staff within their own planning authorities which are the...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Water Supply Contamination (5 Nov 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy for the question. Leixlip water treatment plant is publicly operated by Fingal County Council through a service level agreement with Irish Water and not a private operator. The EPA report of the audit of the recent incident at the Leixlip water treatment plant, published on 30 October, found that the recommendations of the EPA's previous audit of the plant in March 2019...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Land Development Agency (5 Nov 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The need for more active land management by the State has been articulated in many policy documents, including report No.145 of the National Economic and Social Council which stated that Project Ireland 2040: the National Planning Framework (NPF) and the National Development Plan (NDP) provided the perfect moment to transition to a new system of urban development and land management. This is...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Data (5 Nov 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: Over the course of the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan, the Government is committed to meeting the housing needs of over 138,000 households. This will be achieved through blended delivery, involving increasing the social housing stock by 50,000 homes, through build, acquisition and leasing programmes, and supporting some 88,000 further households through the Housing Assistance Payment and the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Building Regulations Amendments (5 Nov 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The Grenfell Tower tragedy took place on 14 June 2017 and I established a Fire Safety Task Force to examine fire safety in Ireland, and in particular the risk of a similar tragedy happening here, on 27 June. The Report of the Task Force which is available on my Department's website, was brought to Government in May 2018. Overall, the Report, which included a review of fire safety in 839...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Homeless Persons Data (5 Nov 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: My Department publishes a monthly report on homelessness. The monthly report is based on data provided by housing authorities on a regional basis and produced through the Pathway Accommodation & Support System. The report captures details of individuals utilising State-funded emergency accommodation arrangements that are overseen by housing authorities. The most recent report is for...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payment (5 Nov 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: HAP plays a vital role in housing eligible families and individuals. At the end of Q2 2019, there were more than 48,000 households in receipt of HAP support and over 28,000 separate landlords and agents providing accommodation to households supported by the scheme. Rebuilding Ireland sets annual national targets for additional HAP-supported tenancies. In 2018, this target was for an...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Land Development Agency (5 Nov 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: On enactment of the primary legislation, a permanent board and Chairperson for the Land Development Agency (LDA) will be appointed in accordance with the Guidelines on the Appointment to State Boards. The exact make up of the Board will be determined after an open recruitment process, having regard to the mix of skills required for the appropriate governance of the LDA. For the intervening...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (5 Nov 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I propose to take Questions Nos. 42 and 44 together. As part of the actions under the Government's Action Plan on Housing and Homelessness – Rebuilding Ireland, the Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016 (the Act) introduced new streamlined arrangements to enable planning applications for strategic housing developments (SHDs) of 100 housing units or...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Eligibility (5 Nov 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I propose to take Questions Nos. 43, 45 and 50 together. Applications for social housing support are assessed by the relevant local authority, in accordance with the eligibility and need criteria set down in section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the associated Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011, as amended. The 2011 Regulations prescribe maximum...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Homelessness Strategy (5 Nov 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: Housing First enables homeless individuals with high levels of complex needs to obtain permanent secure accommodation with the provision of intensive housing and health supports to help them maintain their tenancies. The National Implementation Plan for Housing First, published in September 2018, extends the delivery of Housing First nationally, with the introduction of targets for each...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Data (5 Nov 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: Increasing the supply of new homes is a central goal of the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan, not least because such increases will help to moderate price movements. Lead indicators for housing supply, such as planning permission and construction commencement activity, provide a strong basis for confidence that the number of new home completions will continue to increase. Aside from...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Data (5 Nov 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness undertakes to resolve both shorter term housing need and longer term structural capacity within the Irish housing market, through a range of blended delivery mechanisms, each tailored to address the complex range of challenges and needs before us. As set out in the Action Plan, this Government is committed to meeting the housing...