Results 14,541-14,560 of 25,979 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Data (21 Apr 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: A range of work is ongoing to deliver Cost Rental housing, with State support, through a number of avenues. My Department is utilising the expertise of Local Authorities, the Land Development Agency (LDA), and the Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) to deliver projects in a variety of ways, in order to prove the concept of this new sector. This is in conjunction with the policy development for the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Covid-19 Pandemic (21 Apr 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Government announced that additional public health restrictions would apply under Level 5 of the Plan for Living with COVID-19 on 6 January 2021. The additional restrictions required all construction activity to cease from 6pm on Friday 8 January, with a number of exceptions. These measures are set out in The Health Act 1947 (Section 31A - Temporary Restrictions) (Covid-19) (No. 10)...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (21 Apr 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: A number of measures can help address the housing needs of persons who have experienced a relationship breakdown, which I have detailed below. Under Section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and Regulation 22(1) of the Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011, a household shall be ineligible for social housing support if it has alternative accommodation that the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payment (21 Apr 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Since 1 January 2014, Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning and delivery. Irish Water's charging policies, including in relation to connection charges, are subject to approval by the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU), in its statutory role as the independent economic regulator of Irish Water. Part V of the Water Services (No. 2)...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Land Transfers (21 Apr 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: In relation to any specific cases with the Property Registration Authority (PRA), arrangements have been put in place to facilitate the provision of information directly to members of the Oireachtas. Further information in relation to the specific case referred to may be obtained by contacting the dedicated e-mail address in respect of the PRA at reps@prai.ie.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Data (21 Apr 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 694 and 743 together. Details on the number of households qualified for social housing support in each local authority administrative area are provided in the annual statutory Summary of Social Housing Assessments (SSHA). The most recent summary, conducted in November 2020, shows that 61,880 households were assessed as qualified for and being in need of social...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water and Sewerage Schemes (21 Apr 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: In 2019 Mayo County Council bid under the Multi-annual Rural Water Programme 2019-2021 for the proposed Community Water Connection (“the project”) in the details supplied. The bid was based on participation by 17 houses and at an estimated cost of €229,500 or €13,500 per house. The Expert Panel that examined the bids under the Programme did not recommend any...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: EU Directives (21 Apr 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 700, 701 and 702 together. The EU Water Framework Directive (Directive 2000/60/EC of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy) establishes a common framework for the protection of inland surface waters, transitional waters, coastal waters and groundwater. The overall aim of the Directive is to maintain high...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Data (21 Apr 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department provides Exchequer funding to local authorities to support the Housing Adaptation Grants for People with a Disability in private houses. These grants are available to assist in the carrying out of works which are reasonably necessary for the purposes of rendering a house more suitable for the accommodation of a person with a disability who has an enduring physical, sensory,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Employment Data (21 Apr 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: As the State bodies and other service providers, such as the local authorities, under the aegis of my Department are employing organisations in their own right, responsibility for their employment practices rests, in the first instance, with themselves, in accordance with employment law. This is supplemented by the State's industrial relations machinery, including the Workplace Relations...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Data (21 Apr 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I assume that the Deputy is referring to housing estates which are not taken-in-charge by local authorities and do not have their water services connected to the public (Irish Water) network but rely instead on infrastructure, often temporary in nature, which was provided by developers. These estates fall outside the scope of the memoranda of understanding between local authorities and Irish...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water Services (21 Apr 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 706 and 707 together. On 21 September 2020, I announced allocations under the new multiannual capital investment programme - the Multiannual Developer Provided Water Services Infrastructure Resolution Programme 2019-2021 - for the progressive resolution of housing estates with developer provided water services infrastructure, to enable the taking in charge of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Property Registration (21 Apr 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: In relation to any specific cases with the Property Registration Authority (PRA), arrangements have been put in place to facilitate the provision of information directly to members of the Oireachtas. Further information in relation to the specific case referred to may be obtained by contacting the dedicated e-mail address in respect of the PRA at reps@prai.ie.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Irish Water (21 Apr 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Since 1 January 2014, Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels. Irish Water is currently funded through a combination of government revenue subvention and capital contributions in respect of domestic water services, non-domestic revenue including new connection revenue and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Data (21 Apr 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Local authorities will always have a level of vacancy in their housing stock. This will fluctuate over time, as tenancy surrender and re-letting of stock is an ongoing process. Therefore, ongoing data in relation to the location and date of vacancy of local authority units are not collated by my Department. However, statistics in relation to social housing stock, at a point in time, are...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (21 Apr 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 714 and 715 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...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Data (21 Apr 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 716 to 719, inclusive, 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...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (21 Apr 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The primary focus of the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) is on supporting projects that will contribute to compact growth and that will improve the liveability of our cities and towns. All applications for URDF support are assessed in terms of their alignment with the intended purpose of the URDF and also their viability before being considered for approval. The second call...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Expenditure (21 Apr 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 722 and 731 together. My Department has provided a total of €3.9m to An Taisce between 2012 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...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Data (21 Apr 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Stage 1 and 2 approval was issued by my Department in January 2021 for the construction of 6 three-bedroom dwellings for older persons at Berryfield Drive, Finglas. In March 2021, Dublin City Council advised my Department that the design of this development has since changed to 10 units, made up of a combination of 1 and 2 bedroom units. The Approved Housing Bodies concerned will be seeking...