Results 12,821-12,840 of 26,864 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 16 - Valuation Office (Revised)
Vote 23 - Property Registration Authority (Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (10 Feb 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I thank the Chair and members. I submitted a longer and more detailed written statement, which the members have already, so I will keep my remarks relatively short and present an overview. I also appreciate the Chair's kind remarks regarding the briefing provided by departmental officials to members. I welcome the opportunity to discuss my Department’s Estimate for 2022, as well as...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 16 - Valuation Office (Revised)
Vote 23 - Property Registration Authority (Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (10 Feb 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: We have underpinned the programme on a multi-annual basis to ensure that the LDA, now that it has been established on a statutory footing with the help of the committee and most Members, can be capitalised. The Minister of State mentioned that it would be capitalised imminently. It received its first capitalisation through the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, ISIF. The HFA is a source of...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 16 - Valuation Office (Revised)
Vote 23 - Property Registration Authority (Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (10 Feb 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: We have received housing delivery plans from every local authority in the country. In the Custom House, our housing delivery team, which deals with affordable and social housing, is working through those plans with each local authority. Next week and the week after, I will have housing summits with all 31 chief executives and their directors of services for housing and planning. The...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 16 - Valuation Office (Revised)
Vote 23 - Property Registration Authority (Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (10 Feb 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I expect all local authorities to be ambitious, and they are. We are asking them to take a lead role in the delivery of affordable homes. I visited many of the sites in Ballymun with the Deputy. There is a real opportunity there. I am asking our local authorities - and we are working with them - to bring forward sites and deliver affordable, cost-rental and social homes, but we also need...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 16 - Valuation Office (Revised)
Vote 23 - Property Registration Authority (Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (10 Feb 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: There will be a carryover from last year which, because of the construction shutdown, was not completed. On top of the 700, other cost rental will be delivered by the Land Development Agency.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 16 - Valuation Office (Revised)
Vote 23 - Property Registration Authority (Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (10 Feb 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The Deputy is correct.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 16 - Valuation Office (Revised)
Vote 23 - Property Registration Authority (Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (10 Feb 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: That is a good question. We are all hoping that we are going to have an unimpeded year this year. Last year, construction was closed up to Easter and the supply chains and capacity constrained. Thankfully, our capacity as a sector is now back to pre-pandemic levels and we need to build on that. Through project Tosaigh the Land Development Agency has opportunities to delivered cost rental...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 16 - Valuation Office (Revised)
Vote 23 - Property Registration Authority (Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (10 Feb 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I take the point the Deputy makes but he is not entirely correct. There are some projects that can be started quite quickly and on a joint venture basis through project Tosaigh. We will be able to deliver cost rental in that space. I have no doubt that will be challenging, but we have set ourselves a challenging target of 4,100 affordable units. There are capacity issues, particularly...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 16 - Valuation Office (Revised)
Vote 23 - Property Registration Authority (Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (10 Feb 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: We have detailed in the Vote the €44 million of Exchequer funding that is going into helping individuals to buy their own homes, to bridge the gap between the finance they have and the-----

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 16 - Valuation Office (Revised)
Vote 23 - Property Registration Authority (Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (10 Feb 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: That is okay, I will answer. The Deputy knows what shared equity is. I am for it and Deputy Ó Broin is against it. That is fine. On the question, I expect the €44 million to be matched by the financial institutions.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 16 - Valuation Office (Revised)
Vote 23 - Property Registration Authority (Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (10 Feb 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Yes. The DAC is established.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 16 - Valuation Office (Revised)
Vote 23 - Property Registration Authority (Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (10 Feb 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: It is the designated activity company, DAC, or special purpose vehicle, SPV, that will deliver the equity piece.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 16 - Valuation Office (Revised)
Vote 23 - Property Registration Authority (Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (10 Feb 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I am trying to answer the Deputy's questions. I know what questions he asked. I can remember them so he does not need to remind me.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 16 - Valuation Office (Revised)
Vote 23 - Property Registration Authority (Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (10 Feb 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: The regional caps are as they are right now. We will keep them under review. I am not reviewing them right now. I expect the first home shared equity to be effected from the end of quarter 2 this year. We have appointed the interim CEO and, as of now, the company has a staff of one. The affordable unit team within my Department is working very hard on this and other areas. There is a...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 16 - Valuation Office (Revised)
Vote 23 - Property Registration Authority (Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (10 Feb 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: I cannot say right now. It could be a combination of both. I am happy to keep the committee informed of progress.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 16 - Valuation Office (Revised)
Vote 23 - Property Registration Authority (Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (10 Feb 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: Is the Deputy asking about the Croí Cónaithe town and villages, the Croí Cónaithe cities or both? They are two different initiatives.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 16 - Valuation Office (Revised)
Vote 23 - Property Registration Authority (Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (10 Feb 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: We are still working through those mechanisms. It will be for owner occupiers. It is about bringing back to viability units that up to now were not viable and thus, getting people and families living in our cities on an owner-occupier basis. It could potentially be on an equity basis but there would be a reduction in cost. It would be done by way of a transparent, open call.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 16 - Valuation Office (Revised)
Vote 23 - Property Registration Authority (Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (10 Feb 2022)

Darragh O'Brien: We have not yet concluded the work on Croí Cónaithe cities. On the €50 million Croí Cónaithe towns and villages, I expect that to be in the form of a grant in the main to first-time buyers or fresh start buyers, who are people who may have owned a home but have been through a divorce, personal insolvency and so on. Again, we are working that through as well.