Results 14,941-14,960 of 25,999 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Vacant Properties (24 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: While my Department is focused on ensuring that existing housing stock is utilised to its fullest extent, the management and maintenance including the re-letting of newly vacated homes of local authority housing stock is a matter for each local authority under Section 58 of the Housing Act 1966. Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council (DLR) has advised my Department they receive approx....

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Reviews (24 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Details of the studies, reviews and research undertaken or commissioned by my Department and currently underway, are set out in the following table, together with the scheduled completion date. Title of live Study/Review/Research Scheduled for Completion Mortgage to Rent Review Q1 2021 Unlawful Termination of Tenancies Report ...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Homelessness Strategy (24 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 299 and 301 together. My Department publishes a detailed monthly report on homelessness, based on data provided by housing authorities. The Report outlines details of individuals utilising State-funded emergency accommodation arrangements that are overseen by housing authorities. Data relating to homeless adults are presented at a county level. Where...

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

Darragh O'Brien: The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) and the 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 across the country. Data in relation to active tenancies in HAP and RAS for the period 2018 to Quarter 3, 2020, in County Donegal, is set-out in the table...

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

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 302 and 316 together. Details on the number of households qualified for social housing support in each local authority area is provided in the annual statutory Summary of Social Housing Assessments (SSHA). The most recently published summary, conducted in June 2019, shows that 68,693 households were assessed as qualified for and being in need of social housing...

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

Darragh O'Brien: My Department provides funding for a wide range of programmes and supports to assist households with their housing needs, including the delivery of new social homes, targeted supports to meet the housing needs of specific groups and programmes to maintain households within their existing housing through improvement, upgrading and adaptation works. The funding provided to Donegal County...

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

Darragh O'Brien: My Department launched the Energy Efficiency Retrofitting Programme in 2013, with the aim of funding retrofit of social homes requiring insulation and energy upgrade works. Since the programme commenced in 2013 over 73,500 units of social housing stock have been 'shallow' retrofitted with a total exchequer spend of €161 million under the scheme. A key objective of the Programme for...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Mortgage to Rent Scheme (24 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Mortgage to Rent (MTR) scheme introduced in 2012 is targeted at supporting households in mortgage arrears who have had their mortgage position deemed unsustainable by their lender under the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP), agree to the voluntary surrender of their home and are deemed eligible for social housing support. The property in question must also meet certain...

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

Darragh O'Brien: The Programme for Government provides for a package of social housing reforms, including the introduction of a social housing passport to allow households move from one local authority list to another. It should be noted that the four Dublin local authorities already co-operate in arrangements that enable social housing applicants to apply for housing in one or two of the other Dublin...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: National Parks and Wildlife Service (24 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Based on current pay levels, the estimated cost of recruiting seven additional Ecologists and Wildlife Inspectors Grade 3 and four District Conservation Officers would be €439,888 per annum. Ecologist/Wildlife Inspector Grade 3 - (x7) €251,244 District Conservation Officer - (x4) €188,644 €439,888

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Tenant Purchase Scheme (24 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme came into operation on 1 January 2016. The Scheme is open to eligible tenants, including joint tenants, of local authority houses that are available for sale under the Scheme. To be eligible, tenants must meet certain criteria, including having a minimum reckonable income of €15,000 per annum and having been in receipt of social housing support...

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

Darragh O'Brien: Details of the approvals and allocations under the Multi-annual Rural Water Programme 2019-2021 were announced by my Department in 2019. Where approved schemes/projects have not been completed or commenced by the end of 2021, they will be considered as commitments for funding under the next multi-annual programme 2022-2024. This is subject to such schemes/projects being completed within...

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

Darragh O'Brien: I will be examining the report, entitled 'A Review Into Certain Planning Matters in Respect of Donegal County Council', by Mr. Rory Mulcahy S.C., and will bring this matter to Government for consideration in due course. In this regard, the decisions of the Commissioner for Environmental Information (CEI/18/0019) of 13 February 2019 and the Information Commissioner (OIC-59426-Q8D7T8) of...

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

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 314 and 315 together. The Housing Agency provides a central support service which assesses applications for the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan on behalf of local authorities and makes recommendations to the authorities to approve or refuse applications. Each local authority must have in place a credit committee and it is a matter for the committee to make the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Coastal Erosion (24 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The National Coastal Change Management Strategy Steering Group is jointly chaired by my Department and the Office of Public Works (OPW). The Group is comprised of senior officials from the Department of Communications, Climate Action and the Environment, the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Fire Service (24 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The provision of a fire service in its functional area, including the establishment and maintenance of a fire brigade, the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of fire station premises, is a statutory function of individual fire authorities under the Fire Services Acts, 1981 and 2003. My Department supports the fire authorities through setting general policy, providing a central...

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

Darragh O'Brien: My Department is committed to a transition from the current funding programmes for stock improvement works to a planned maintenance funding approach driven by strategic and targeted local authority work programmes, informed by stock condition surveys. My Department is therefore working with the local authority sector, through the City and County Management Association, to drive a planned...

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

Darragh O'Brien: The management and maintenance of local authority housing stock, including the cost of pre-letting repairs to vacant properties and the carrying out of responsive repairs, are matters for each individual local authority under Section 58 of the Housing Act 1966. However since 2014, Exchequer funding has also been provided through my Departments Voids programme to support local authorities in...

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

Darragh O'Brien: Since 2014, Exchequer funding has been provided through my Department's Voids Programme to support local authorities in preparing vacant units for re-letting. This funding is increasingly targeted to support local authority's to ensure minimal turnaround and re-let times for vacant stock. In relation to the Standard Void and Homeless Void options, these were introduced in 2020 based on...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Tenant Purchase Scheme (24 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme came into operation on 1 January 2016. The Scheme is open to eligible tenants, including joint tenants, of local authority houses that are available for sale under the Scheme. To be eligible, tenants must meet certain criteria, including having a minimum reckonable income of €15,000 per annum and having been in receipt of social housing support...