Results 14,741-14,760 of 25,999 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (25 Mar 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: As capital funded construction projects by local authorities must, like all publicly-funded construction programmes, comply with the Public Spending Code and Capital Works Management Framework, my Department periodically issues Unit Cost Ceilings (UCCs) for each local authority area, for use as a key benchmark for the development and costing of social housing construction scheme designs at...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (25 Mar 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Programme for Government commits to increasing the social housing stock by more than 50,000, with an emphasis on new build home. In 2021, the total funding being made available for the delivery of housing programmes is €3.3bn. This includes funding to deliver 12,750 social homes through build, acquisition and leasing.  A major focus of this investment is the delivery of new...

Residential Tenancies Bill 2021: Order for Second Stage (24 Mar 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I move: "That Second Stage be taken now."

Residential Tenancies Bill 2021: Second Stage (24 Mar 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am grateful to all Deputies for facilitating debate on this urgent legislation in Dáil Éireann so that it can become law before the Easter recess. I also wish to record my appreciation to the Chief Whip and to members of both the Business Committee and the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage...

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

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 590, 591, 594, 653 and 665 together. 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...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Homeless Persons Supports (24 Mar 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 596 and 677 together. 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 emergency accommodation and related services for homeless...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Approved Housing Bodies (24 Mar 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 597 and 598 together. There are a range of funding and delivery mechanisms available to local authorities to deliver social housing supports in partnership with Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs). The funding is provided by my Department directly to local authorities, who in turn, advance the funding to the AHBs, as appropriate. The organisation detailed by the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Staff (24 Mar 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Louth County Council sought formal sanction from my Department for two additional staff at Senior Executive Officer grade level in early 2020, the posts to be filled by internal competition. Formal sanction was communicated by my Department to the Council on 31 January 2020 on a three year specific purpose contract basis with recruitment confined to the local government sector. The...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (24 Mar 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 602 and 610 together. The second call for proposals under the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund was launched in January 2020. A copy of the circular setting out the objectives of the Fund together with the application form and assessment criteria have been available on my Departments website since then, and can be found at the following link: A copy of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Wind Energy Guidelines (24 Mar 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 603 and 606 together. My Department is currently focused on updating the legislation underpinning marine planning decision making, giving cross-government priority to the drafting of the Marine Area Planning (MAP) Bill (formerly the Marine Planning and Development Bill). The MAP Bill seeks to establish in law a new regime for the maritime area which will...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rights of Way (24 Mar 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: There appears to be a misapprehension regarding the dates for registering rights of ways acquired by prescription on foot of amendments made by Parts 12 and 13 of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2011 to the provisions relating to acquisition of easements and profits by prescription contained in Part 8 of the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009. I understand from the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water Services (24 Mar 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 605, 726 to 729, inclusive, and 733 together. The Programme for Government provides that the Government will retain Irish Water in public ownership as a national, standalone, regulated utility. The realisation of this commitment will complete the broad policy and legislative reforms which have seen the public water system embark on a journey of transformation,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payment (24 Mar 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Under the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme, tenants source their own accommodation in the private rented market. The accommodation sourced by tenants should be within the prescribed maximum HAP rent limits, which are based on household size and the rental market within the area concerned. Guidelines on inter authority movement were issued to local authorities to facilitate the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Building Regulations Qualifications (24 Mar 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Building Control Act 2007 provides for the registration of quantity surveyors. Part 4 of the Act establishes the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) as the registration body for quantity surveyors. Assessment for registration is the responsibility of the SCSI and is a matter for that body. Section 29(2)(a) of the Building Control Act 2007 sets out the qualifications...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Home Loan Scheme (24 Mar 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan Scheme enables credit-worthy first-time buyers to access sustainable mortgage lending to purchase new or second-hand properties in a suitable price range, where they cannot obtain sufficient mortgage finance from a commercial lender. As with the previous local authority loan offerings, the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan is available to first-time buyers only....

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (24 Mar 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 611 to 613, inclusive, together. ‘Our Shared Future’, the Programme for Government, commits to putting affordability at the heart of the housing system. The €75 allocation in Budget 2021 for the Affordable Purchase Shared Equity Scheme is one measure to deliver on this commitment, with the three-fold objectives of (1) improving access...

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

Darragh O'Brien: To date, my Department has issued two formal Serviced Sites Fund (SSF) calls for proposals to local authorities. Funding of almost €188 million has been approved in principle in support of 38 infrastructure projects in 14 local authority areas, which will assist in the delivery of almost 4,000 more affordable homes. Under proposals as they stand, approximately 3,300 of these homes...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Private Rented Accommodation (24 Mar 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Programme for Government - 'Our Shared Future', commits to improve the security of tenure for tenants, through legislating for tenancies of indefinite duration, increasing Residential Tenancies Board enforcement and examining incentives for long-term leasing. Proposals for further amendments to the Residential Tenancies Acts are currently being developed, for inclusion in the General...

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

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 619 and 703 together. The Programme for Government commits to bringing forward a package of social housing reforms, which includes standardising the differential rents regime across the country to ensure fairness. Work on the review of the current rent schemes has been ongoing and I have asked my Department to prepare recommendations regarding the...

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

Darragh O'Brien: The right of local authorities to set and collect rents on their dwellings is laid down in section 58 of the Housing Act 1966. The making or amending of such schemes is an executive function and is subject to broad principles set out by the Department, including that rent levels should be based on income and reflect tenants’ ability to pay. Some local authorities retained the...