Results 1,321-1,340 of 15,555 for speaker:Eoghan Murphy

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

Eoghan Murphy: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1186 and 1187 together. My Department publishes a monthly report on homelessness. The monthly report is based on data provided by housing authorities and produced through the Pathway Accommodation & Support System (PASS). The most recently published report, in respect of September 2019, shows that there were a total of 10,397 individuals in emergency...

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

Eoghan Murphy: In March of this year, I wrote to all local authorities setting out their social housing targets for 2019 across all delivery streams. These social housing targets are publicly available on the Rebuilding Ireland website at the following link: . Progress against targets is tracked on a quarterly basis. The most recent report sets out the position at the end of Quarter 2 of 2019 and is...

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

Eoghan Murphy: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1190, 1197 and 1198 together. The implementation of Rebuilding Ireland is a key Government priority supported by significant annual investment. For 2019 alone, funding of €2.4 billion is being provided for all housing programmes with a further €2.63 billion available in 2020. This investment will see the housing needs of almost 27,400 households...

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

Eoghan Murphy: Like all publicly-funded construction projects, the construction of new social housing must comply with the Government’s Capital Works Management Framework (CWMF), the objectives of which are to ensure cost certainty, value for money and financial accountability. There are nine stages of review in the CWMF, which my Department has streamlined to just four, for social housing...

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

Eoghan Murphy: The management and maintenance of local authority housing stock, including pre-letting repairs to vacant properties, the implementation of planned maintenance programmes and carrying out of responsive repairs, are matters for each individual local authority under the Housing Acts. My Department is supportive of local authorities in bringing vacant social homes back to productive use and...

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

Eoghan Murphy: Social housing projects funded by this Department, like all publicly-funded construction projects, must comply with the Government’s Capital Works Management Framework, the objectives of which are to ensure greater cost certainty, better value for money and financial accountability. Also for such projects, the procurement procedures used need to be in line with EU and national...

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

Eoghan Murphy: My Department receives social housing proposals from local authorities on a continuous basis, in the context of the delivery targets each authority is working towards under Rebuilding Ireland and in the context of the significant funding that is available to support this activity. For 2019 alone, funding of €2.4 billion is being provided for all housing programmes, with a further...

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

Eoghan Murphy: EPA audits of public drinking water supplies are an important way of checking how Irish Water and local authorities are performing in compliance with Drinking Water Regulations. These regulations provide the EPA with supervisory powers in relation to public water supplies. I am aware of the EPA recommendation in its recent audit report in relation to the incident at the Leixlip...

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

Eoghan Murphy: Leixlip water treatment plant is publicly operated by Fingal County Council through a Service Level Agreement with Irish Water. The EPA report of the audit of the recent incident at the plant, published on 30 October, found that the recommendations of the EPA's previous audit of the plant in March 2019 were not implemented. The audit noted that, in particular, the failure to install...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Water Supply Contamination (24 Oct 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: Unfortunately, the ongoing boil water notice continues to cause serious disruption, worry and major inconvenience for more than 600,000 people and for many businesses in the areas affected in Dublin, Meath and Kildare. It important to note however, that the problem at the water treatment plant was identified and the fault is now resolved. The water treatment plant is now, I am informed,...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Water Supply Contamination (24 Oct 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The Deputy is correct that more information is needed, and that is why we are carrying out an investigation. When it has been completed we will be able to talk in detail about exactly what happened. I want to stress that this is a precautionary boil water notice. The water that went into the system was not dirty; it had been treated. The cleaning and purification process had commenced,...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Water Supply Contamination (24 Oct 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: It is. Minor incidents happen in operating plants, be they water or production plants, all the time and are corrected very quickly. Once what happened was noticed and the plant was shut down, the EPA and HSE had to be brought in in order to carry out the testing needed to determine whether there was an issue, the scale of the likely public health concern and whether things needed to be...

Report of the Committee on Procedure on Dáil Divisions: Statements (24 Oct 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: Address the issue.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund (24 Oct 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I propose to take Questions Nos. 350 and 351 together. The Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund (LIHAF) was designed to activate housing supply by putting in place the enabling public infrastructure necessary to ensure that large scale development could take place on key sites in urban areas of high housing demand. Approval was given for 30 projects under LIHAF in 2017 and these...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Funding (24 Oct 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The Programme for a Partnership Government recognises the potential role that credit unions can play in housing finance and supported the efforts of the Registrar of Credit Unions at the Central Bank to gradually lift current lending restrictions as appropriate, including for housing. Credit Union bodies have set out proposed means by which funding could be provided by Credit Unions to...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Approved Housing Bodies (24 Oct 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: My Department is currently engaging with Approved Housing Body (AHB) sector representatives and examining, in detail, proposals which were put forward as a possible means to achieve reclassification.  In this regard, my Department met with the Irish Council for Social Housing (ICSH) on 16 October and is scheduled to meet with the Housing Alliance on 7...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Expenditure (24 Oct 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The overall capital provision for my Department next year as set out in Budget 2020 is €2.226 billion, an increase of €102 million on the 2019 provision.  The capital provision for the Housing Programme will increase to €1.529 billion in 2020 (including Local Property Tax receipts of €76 million), an increase of €118 million on the comparable...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Legislative Programme (24 Oct 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The General Scheme of the Bill to establish the Land Development Agency (LDA) on a primary legislative basis was approved by Government and has now been published. It was referred to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government for Pre-Legislative Scrutiny which has been ongoing since the beginning of October.  I will consider the Pre-Legislative Scrutiny...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payment (24 Oct 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) Scheme is deemed to be a social housing support under the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014. As a long term housing support, an assessment of housing need must be completed in order for a household to qualify for HAP. Any household with an identified housing need is eligible for HAP. In order for housing assistance to be provided under the Act...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Legal Cases Data (24 Oct 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: In the past five years a financial settlement was reached in one case involving my Department.  That case included a confidentiality agreement. Information in relation to financial settlements reached by agencies under the aegis of my Department is an operational matter for each agency.  Arrangements have been put in place by each agency to facilitate the provision of...