Results 15,481-15,500 of 25,999 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (10 Dec 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: Funding of €75 million in Budget 2021 has been be allocated to a new National Affordable Purchase Shared Equity Scheme, which will be introduced in 2021.  I intend to target this scheme at first time buyers including single persons, who are seeking to buy a new home but who cannot quite secure the full mortgage amount to do so at the present time. Subject to the final qualifying...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (10 Dec 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: Section 22 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, requires all local authorities to make an allocation scheme determining the order of priority to be accorded in the allocation of dwellings to households qualified for social housing support, the allocation of which would, in the opinion of the authority, meet the accommodation needs and requirements of the households. Under...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Expenditure (10 Dec 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: Housing First enables homeless individuals with high levels of complex needs to obtain permanent secure accommodation with the provision of intensive housing and health supports to help the individuals concerned maintain their tenancies. The National Implementation Plan for Housing First was published in September 2018. The Plan includes an overall target of 663 tenancies in the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payment (10 Dec 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: Increased rent limits for the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) and the Rent Supplement Scheme were introduced in 2016. These limits were agreed in conjunction with the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP).  In reviewing the rent limits, my Department worked closely with DEASP and monitored data gathered from the Residential Tenancies Board...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payment (10 Dec 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: Under the 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. Each local authority has statutory discretion to agree to a HAP payment up to 20% above the prescribed maximum rent limit...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Emergency Accommodation (10 Dec 2020)

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 local authorities in addressing homelessness at a local level.  Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of homeless accommodation and related services rests with individual local authorities.  Under the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Data (10 Dec 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: The Summary of Social Housing Assessments (SSHA) has been conducted on an annual basis since 2016, prior to which it was carried out once every three years. The last Summary under the triennial approach took place in  2013, and, as there was no assessment carried out in 2014 or 2015, my Department has no data available for those years. The link to the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (9 Dec 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: Applications for social housing support are assessed by the relevant local authority, in accordance with the eligibility and need criteria set down in section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the associated Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011, as amended. The 2011 Regulations prescribe maximum net income limits for each local authority, in different bands...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Illness Benefit (9 Dec 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: Applications for social housing support are assessed by the relevant local authority, in accordance with the eligibility and need criteria set down in section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the associated Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011, as amended. The 2011 Regulations prescribe maximum net income limits for each local authority, in different bands...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Bodies Data (9 Dec 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: In the overwhelming majority of cases, according to the governing statutes of the State bodies in question, I as Minister appoint the members of the Boards of the State bodies under the aegis of my Department.  However, the selection processes in respect of suitable candidates for Board membership differ considerably, from campaigns conducted by the Public Appointments Service, where a...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water Services (8 Dec 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: The Programme for Government provides that the Government will refer the issue of the environment, including water, and its place in the Constitution, to a relevant Joint Oireachtas Committee for consideration.  I and my Department will engage with the relevant Committee when work proceeds on this issue. 

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payment (8 Dec 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: Increased rent limits for the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) and the Rent Supplement Scheme were introduced in 2016. These limits were agreed in conjunction with the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP).  In reviewing the rent limits, my Department worked closely with DEASP and monitored data gathered from the Residential Tenancies Board...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payment (8 Dec 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: The Homeless HAP Place Finder Service was established in January 2018 and it was made available to each of the 31 local authorities, which are entitled to apply for approval for a dedicated resource. There are currently Place Finder positions in 26 local authorities, with recruitment taking place to fill existing vacancies.  The current number of placefinders in each of these 26...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Staff (8 Dec 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: Under section 159 of the Local Government Act 2001, each Chief Executive is responsible for the staffing and organisational arrangements necessary for carrying out the functions of the local authority for which he or she is responsible. My Department is not aware of the specific grade of Anti-Social Behavioural Officer nor the establishment of such a role in any local authority. ...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Fire Stations (8 Dec 2020)

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...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water Supply (8 Dec 2020)

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 in accordance with Section 7 of the Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013. The day-to-day operation of the public water system, including the arrangements for dealing with unforeseen outages, is therefore a matter for Irish Water...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (8 Dec 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: Under Call 2 of the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund  (URDF), seventy six proposals were received, with every local authority submitting at least one application for URDF support, all of which require detailed assessment, including this proposal, which was one of four poposals submitted by Dublin City Council. This assessment process is in train at...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (8 Dec 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department recently confirmed approval to Mayo County Council to proceed to tender in relation to the proposed development of 22 new social homes at Lios ns Circe, Saleen, Castlebar, County Mayo.  It is now a matter for Mayo County Council to advance the project and I look forward to them doing so as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Vacant Properties (8 Dec 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: Since 2018, and the publication of the National Vacant Housing Reuse Strategy, my Department has secured funding of €50,000 per annum for each local authority to support the work of a Vacant Homes Office, including a Vacant Homes Officer for each local authority. This Strategy strives to provide a targeted, effective and co-ordinated approach to identifying and tackling vacancy across...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rental Sector (8 Dec 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: The Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2015 provided for, among other things, the establishment of a tenancy deposit protection scheme to be operated by the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB). The Programme for Government commits to the examination of a system of holding rental deposits and how best to achieve this is under consideration my Department.  However, there have been...