Results 14,621-14,640 of 26,886 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Affordable Housing Bill 2021 [Seanad]: Second Stage (24 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I said it.

Affordable Housing Bill 2021 [Seanad]: Second Stage (24 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am very pleased to be here today to speak on Second Stage of the Affordable Housing Bill 2021. This has been the culmination of nearly a year's work by me and my departmental officials, along with members of the Oireachtas committee, who did much work to get us to this stage. The Bill has been passed through the Seanad, as Members...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Homeless Accommodation (24 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Anyone who is aware of a specific instance of a breach should bring it directly to my attention. I want to make sure that those who are in emergency accommodation are only in it in the short term. It is not a permanent solution for them or their families. The use by families of emergency accommodation, particularly in hotels, has, thankfully, reduced by 80% year on year. I do not mind...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Homeless Accommodation (24 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I reiterate that the responsibility for the provision of homeless services is with the housing authority in each of the local authorities. We provide the policy framework and funding for them to do it. That is important because each local authority and its staff know an area better than a central authority would. The issue is acute in Dublin because that is where the majority of homeless...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Homeless Accommodation (24 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I thank the Deputy for the question for his interest in this matter. As the Deputy will know, statutory responsibility for the provision of homeless services rests with each individual housing authority. My Department's role in homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and, importantly, the funding to underpin the role of the housing authorities in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Provision (24 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: We have very strong representation from the banner county this morning. It is good to see the Deputies working together to deliver homes for our people. My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, is doing Trojan work in the area of Traveller accommodation, with a budget of €15.5 million that will be and is being spent, all of it being used on the capital side. We...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Provision (24 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: There is lots of good news. To answer the Deputy's question, there is also good news for County Clare because we have a housing plan backed with real resources and the largest housing budget in the history of the State, which the Deputy supported, underpinned by investment of €3.3 billion in housing programmes in budget 2021. We have a national target of 12,750 social homes, 9,500 of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Provision (24 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I thank Deputy Crowe. There is a committed and dedicated housing team in Clare County Council. I intend to visit in July to look at some of the schemes myself. I look forward to meeting the Deputy there. We need to increase new stock. We have outlined that and will be ambitious. We also need to look at existing stock. Clare County Council, through the work of its housing director,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Provision (24 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: We will have annual targets. I hope the Deputy's party and other parties opposite will recognise that, to reach those targets, they need to support development. They need to support building and stop voting against housing developments and proposals brought forward at local authorities across the country. I referenced to Deputy Cian O'Callaghan probably the most significant scheme in...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Provision (24 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: There will be a number of measures to help us deliver the affordable homes we need. One will be the Affordable Housing Bill, which I hope the Deputy's party and others will support, and another is the Land Development Agency, which will enable us to use our State land productively. I was taken aback when Deputy Ó Broin and his party admitted they wanted a Land Development Agency but do...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: House Prices (24 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The April 2021 price index released by the CSO shows in general a rising trend in house prices with some variations across areas and property type. These increases must be viewed in the context of the proceeding year, which included national lockdowns and restrictions on movement, which impacted severely on the construction sector and our supply. Obviously, there has been a lot of pressure...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: House Prices (24 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The measures I have brought forward in the Affordable Housing Bill and housing for all are supply side measures because we need to get supply up to at least an average of 33,000 per year. Last year, there were just over 20,000 completions. This year, on the best projections we have so far, there will probably be up to 18,000. The reality is that when the market, production and capacity are...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: House Prices (24 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: This Government believes in home ownership. In his earlier contribution, the Deputy bemoaned the fact that the average age of someone buying his or her first home has increased to 38. I have been raising this issue for a number of years but the difference is that we are doing something about it. A shared equity scheme is part of the Affordable Housing Bill, which will come to the House...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Provision (24 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I know the Deputy has a close relationship with that particular publication. I cannot say I read the article. My Department engaged the ESRI to undertake independent research into structural housing demand in Ireland right up to 2040. The findings of the ESRI on structural housing demand at county level were published last December so I am familiar with that. Based on that research and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Policy (24 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I thank Deputy Ó Broin for his question. Since 1 August 2020, the Residential Tenancies and Valuation Act 2020, and its successor, the Planning and Development, and Residential Tenancies, Act 2020, enhance tenancy protections where a tenant is in rent arrears due to Covid-19 and at risk of losing his or her home and make the necessary declaration. Indeed, coincidentally, we were...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Policy (24 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Homelessness is an absolute priority issue for me and the Government. Thankfully, in the last year, year-on-year, we have seen a significant reduction in homelessness, both in child and family homelessness and overall. There are issues with single person homelessness, rates of which remain stubbornly high. The overall number of people who are homeless is still far too high. All of us...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Housing Policy (24 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Yesterday evening we brought forward the fifth piece of tenancy and rental legislation since I was appointed Minister. We have been to the fore in the areas of rent and protection for tenants. Last August, when exited out of the blanket ban on evictions that was in place, we did so on the basis of very strong legal advice that we had received, that any measures that we take must be...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (24 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: There are approximately 140,000 local authority social housing properties in the State. it is important that local authorities ensure the optimum management and maintenance of this valuable State asset, that the homes comply with relevant standards and that vacancy and letting turnaround times are kept to a minimum. My Department is committed to...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (24 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I am acutely aware of the distress that the issue of defective concrete blocks has caused to people and families affected. What happened was wrong and I want to assure everyone affected that I am committed to having an effective Grant scheme to support them.   After working with the affected households and local authorities I am putting in...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (24 Jun 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Increasing the supply of public, social and affordable homes is a priority for this Government.  The Programme for Government includes a commitment to deliver 50,000 new social homes with a focus on new build homes. The Government is also committed to increasing the supply of affordable housing and almost €690m will be put into affordability measures in 2021 including a new...