Results 14,321-14,340 of 25,979 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Staff (11 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department operates a rolling three-year workforce planning process in line with guidance from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. This process assists my Department in making critical decisions related to its workforce over the short to medium term, ensuring it has the capability and capacity required to deliver on its strategic goals and objectives in the coming years. It...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Funding (11 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department has provided a total of €3.4m to An Taisce between 2015 and 2020. Some €720,000 has been budgeted for 2021. This funding supports a range of environmental education, awareness raising and citizen activation programmes operated by An Taisce. These programmes include: - The Blue Flag programme, which aims to improve bathing water quality by encouraging compliance...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Records (11 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I refer the Deputy to the reply to Question No. 795 of 21 April 2021. It is my understanding that a file that had been delivered to the Minister's Office during September 2014 was misplaced within the Office. The file was searched for by members of the staff of the Office of the then Minister and was found after a period of time among other papers, where it had been inadvertently placed.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Communications (11 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I refer to the reply to Questions Nos. 794 and No. 796 of 21 April, 2021 provided by my colleague, Mr Peter Burke TD, Minister of State for Local Government and Planning. The reviews state that, during October 2011, concerns over the CPO and loan application were the subject of representations to the former Minister from three named Wicklow public representatives. Similar concerns had...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Schemes (11 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) and Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) continue to be effective and secure forms of social housing support, and remain a significant part of the suite of social housing options currently available to those who are assessed as being in need of housing support. While the Department does not hold information on the number of HAP or RAS tenancies that moved...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Funding (11 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The information requested is being compiled and will be forwarded to the Deputy in accordance with Standing Orders.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Programmes (11 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Since 1 January 2014, Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of public water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels. As part of Budget 2021, I secured funding of over €1.4 billion to support water services. This includes €1.3 billion in respect of domestic water services provision by Irish Water. This overall investment...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Direct Provision System (11 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (D/CEDIY) recently published a White Paper on International Protection and policy in this area is a matter for that Department. The authorities and agencies under my Department's remit will support D/CEDIY as appropriate in implementation.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Homeless Persons Supports (11 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department's role in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of housing authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of homeless services rests with individual housing authorities. Section 10 of the Housing Act 1988 sets out the purposes...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (11 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Management and maintenance of the local authority housing stock is very important and local authorities have a legal obligation to ensure that all of their tenanted properties are compliant with the provisions of the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations, 2019. Local authority officials and elected members have a very important role to play in this regard by making adequate...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Staff (11 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: There were 1,255 staff serving in my Department at the end of December 2020. Their total gross salary for the year was €69.976m.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Contracts (11 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department does not employ persons or firms to deal with public relations. A number of Departmental staff work on external communications to ensure my Department's work is communicated to the public, media, stakeholders and others. My Department did not incur any expenditure on third party public relations advice or communications advice since January 2020 to date. Procurement of external...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Real Estate Investment Trusts (11 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department does not collect data in relation to the ownership of individual housing units purchased and sold in the housing market. I understand that data published by market commentators indicates that approximately 15,500 units were owned by investment trusts at the end of 2020. The Property Registration Authority, which was established as an independent statutory body under the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Real Estate Investment Trusts (11 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 355 and 356 together. The Social Housing Leasing Programme supports the delivery of social housing by providing financial support to local authorities for the long term leasing of houses and apartments. Details of the owner involved in each social housing leasing project are not held by my Department. These details, and details of the total funding paid to...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (11 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Social housing construction projects (as with all publicly funded construction projects), must be competitively tendered, in accordance with the public procurement guidelines, to ensure transparency as well as value for money for the tax-payer and must comply with the Government’s Capital Works Management Framework (CWMF). The CWMF is for use by contracting authorities involved in the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (11 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Residential developments consisting of two or more dwellings that have been granted planning permission under the Planning and Development Act, 2000, as amended, are normally eligible for taking-in-charge. The taking-in-charge of residential estates by local authorities, is provided for under section 180 of the Act. The taking-in-charge of estates is a reserved function of the elected members...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (11 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The minimum standards for rental accommodation are prescribed in the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019. All landlords have a legal obligation to ensure that their rented properties comply with these Regulations. Responsibility for enforcement of the Regulations rests with the relevant local authority. Local authorities report to my Department on numbers of overall...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Projects (11 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The current membership of the Bathing Water Expert Group (BWEG) includes representatives of the following organisations: - Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Chair) - Health Service Executive - Environmental Protection Agency - Coastwatch - An Taisce - Irish Water - Water Safety Ireland - Local Authorities (represented by Galway County Council and Dublin City Council) In...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Irish Water (11 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The information requested is not available in my Department. Irish Water is responsible for its own arrangements in relation to insurance cover and handling claims for damages relating to its functions and activities. Irish Water has established a dedicated team to deal with representations and queries from public representatives. The team can be contacted via email to...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Issues (11 May 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: As housing authorities, local authorities are responsible for the identification of the social housing need in their area. It is a matter for Dun-Laoghaire Rathdown County Council to determine the most appropriate response to the need for social housing supports in their area and to make the necessary application (which could include programmes involving approved housing bodies) to my...