Results 12,621-12,640 of 26,864 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (3 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Programme for Government contained a commitment to establishing a Commission on Housing to examine issues such as tenure, standards, sustainability and quality-of-life issues in the provision of housing. This should include the efficient functioning of the markets for housing construction and provision. As further set out in Housing for All – A New Housing Plan for Ireland, the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Vacant Properties (3 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 267 and 268 together. The management and maintenance of local authority housing stock, including pre-letting repairs to vacant properties, the implementation of a planned maintenance programme and carrying out of responsive repairs, are matters for each individual local authority under Section 58 of the Housing Act 1966. Since 2014, Exchequer funding has also...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water Services (3 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Housing estates which are not taken in charge by Planning Authorities and do not have their water services connected to the public network rely instead on treatment infrastructure - called Developer Provided Water Services Infrastructure (DPI) - which was provided by the estate developers. Housing estates with DPI are a small subset of estates nationally awaiting taking in charge by Planning...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (3 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 174, 275, 276 and 279 together. The Affordable Housing Act 2021, the first ever standalone affordable housing legislation, established a basis for four new affordable housing measures. These measures will deliver on the Programme for Government commitment to put affordability at the heart of the housing system and prioritise the increased supply of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (3 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 277, 280 and 285 together. 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 47,600 new build social homes in the period 2022-2026. Housing for All is supported by an investment package of over €4bn per annum, through an overall...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (3 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The introduction of the Local Authority Home Loan was announced as part of Housing For All. This is the successor to the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loans Scheme. It has been available nationwide from local authorities since 4 January 2022 for for people on modest or low incomes who cannot get sufficient funding from commercial banks to purchase or build a home. The loan can be used both for new...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (3 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 281, 286, 287 and 288 together. Housing for All, the Government's housing plan for Ireland is a radical one that sets out four pathways to a sustainable housing system. Affordability and the chance to own a home are at the heart of this Government’s housing policy. It recognises that significant new supports are needed so that those who want to own...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (3 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 282 to 284, inclusive, together. The Housing for All strategy is the Government’s plan to increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 per year over the next decade. Our annual targets include the delivery of 90,000 new social homes and 54,000 new affordable homes in the period 2022-2030. Housing for All is supported by an investment package...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (3 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 289 and 290 together. Housing for Allis the Government’s plan to increase the supply of housing over the next decade. Greater supply will be key to meeting demand, helping moderate property price increases, and addressing affordability pressures facing renters, homeowners and potential buyers in the coming years. Housing for All includes unprecedented...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (2 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department received a submission from Clare County Council, dated 23 July 2021, requesting the extension of the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant scheme to County Clare. A response issued to the Council on 3 August 2021 indicating that my Department would review the submission and it also sought a detailed breakdown of costs associated with the Report. A breakdown of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (2 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Increasing the supply of social and affordable homes is a priority for this Government as shown clearly in the Housing for All strategy. Following the launch of the strategy last September we issued social housing targets to all local authority Chief Executives for the 5 years 2022 to 2026. Of the national target of over 50,000 new social homes, I’m asking Clare County Council to...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (2 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Under the Housing for All targets, approximately 18,000 Cost Rental homes are to be delivered by Local Authorities, Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) and the Land Development Agency (LDA) by 2030. Although the COVID-19 pandemic and construction restrictions impacted on delivery timelines in 2021, a scale up in Cost Rental delivery will occur in the near-term. Under Budget 2022, €70...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (2 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Housing for All Strategy delivers on the Programme for Government commitment to step up housing supply and put affordability at the heart of the housing system, with an ambitious target of 300,000 homes over the next decade for social, affordable and cost rental, private rental and private ownership housing. Measures to deliver this housing are supported by over €4 billion in...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (2 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Land Development Agency (LDA) has advised my Department that they are expecting to lodge a revised planning application in April 2022 for a development on the 10.08 acre site at Devoy Barracks in Naas. Subject to a successful grant of planning permission, it is envisaged that construction will commence in 2023, with an estimated development programme of approximately 3 years. It is...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (2 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Land Development Agency’s (LDA) Project Tosaigh is a market engagement initiative to unlock land with full planning permission that is not being developed by private sector owners due to financing and other constraints and use it to accelerate the supply of affordable housing. It allows the LDA to supplement the State lands it is already working on and accelerate the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (2 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: A key action of Housing for All is that local authorities will develop and submit Housing Delivery Action Plans to include details of social and affordable housing delivery. The Plans set out details of both social and affordable housing delivery as appropriate over the period 2022 - 2026, in line with targets set under Housing for All.  All local authorities submitted their Housing...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (2 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: For the purpose of tracking social housing delivery, a Social Housing Construction Status Report (CSR) is published each quarter by my Department. This provides details of the individual social housing build projects in the programme of each local authority, including Galway City and County local authority areas. The report provides details of locations of the schemes, the number of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Climate Change Policy (2 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department had responsibility for the initial stage of coordinating the identification of decarbonising zones by Local Authorities under the Climate Action Plan 2019.  Responsibility for coordinating the subsequent development of Decarbonising Zone plans rests with the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications.  Development of the plans is subject to the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (2 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Programme for Government sets out a number of commitments in respect of the important policy area of addressing building defects. It commits to an examination of defects in housing, having regard to the recommendations of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing’s report, "Safe as Houses?". Housing for All, the Government’s national plan on housing to 2030, reiterates this...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (2 Mar 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department has advised the Public Appointments Service (PAS) of the requirement to hold a recruitment competition for a replacement permanent Chief Executive in Galway County Council and it is now a matter for PAS to put the necessary recruitment arrangements in place. There is a requirement for all Chief Executive posts for Local Authorities to be advertised openly on...