Results 15,581-15,600 of 25,999 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Homeless Persons Supports (24 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: A priority for me and for this Government is to continue the fight against homelessness. That is the reason we have put unprecedented resources into that particular area. Thankfully, even since early April this year, we have seen a continued reduction in both family and singles homelessness and in respect of children. That is a trend we want to continue. That is the reason we need to ramp...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (24 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 44 and 67 together. We took this question earlier and it could not be linked because Deputy Ó Broin's was a priority question but we actually did that. The 253 social homes were fully funded by the Department and €8.6 million or €8.7 million in the serviced sites fund was available to go towards the affordable housing. It is a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (24 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: It is what it is.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (24 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: We have binned the non-adversarial approach and now someone asks me for unrealistic proposals. We may have just heard one but, having said that, I am interested in results and building homes. That is what we are about. I am not sure how many homes the Deputy or his ideology has built in this State. It is probably none. What we are about is delivering homes for people and for families. I...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (24 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: I thank the Deputy. I do not want to constrain what the city council will do over the coming weeks by giving my own view on the solution or the way forward with this. All I would say is that there are a number of workable options available and we should not constrain the thinking within the council on what those would be. My Department had provided significant funding under the original...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (24 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: We will work with others on it but it will not be either of those. We will not be held to ransom by a small number of councillors with ideological opposition to certain different types of housing tenure.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (24 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: The Deputy has just arrived. Will he relax? I think he doth protest too much. Let us deal with this from the perspective that we can resolve this situation. We have an opportunity. We need to develop the lands the State has better and faster. We cannot constrain or restrain the ambition that some local authorities will show in regard to how they deem it fit to develop their lands....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Homeless Persons Supports (24 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: I thank the Deputy for his question. He is correct that day services are crucial. My Department's role is to provide a framework of policy, legislation and funding to support housing authorities to address homelessness locally. To that end, I secured a further €60 million in a Supplementary Estimate for additional Covid-19 measures just the week before last, bringing the total...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Land Development Agency (24 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: The Deputy regularly has a tendency to think and presume the worst of what will happen but I am convinced we will get this Bill right. The Bill will be published shortly so I would say in advance of raising criticism based on his own thoughts, the Deputy might wait until he sees the published Bill. I will certainly through the course of the Second Stage debate and on Committee and Report...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (24 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: I am aware of Oscar Traynor Road and the decision the city council took. I walked that site myself with Deputy Paul McAuliffe and others, and all of us will agree it has been vacant and unused for far too long. It is a significant site. The proposal rejected by the local authority, which is within its powers and function, would have delivered 853 homes and included 253 social homes fully...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Departmental Reviews (24 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: The bottom line is that the circular issued to all planning authorities yesterday, so anything lodged beforehand is still in the system under the 2018 guidelines. I cannot change that because they were lodged at the time when the 2018 guidelines pertained. Existing permissions stand. It is important Deputies know that one of the reasons I looked at this in a lot of detail is that 14...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Departmental Reviews (24 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: I have been clear regarding what we have done. I said I would carry out a review, which I did. I said I would base any decision I made on clear research and the data I had, which I have done. I have published the report for all to see. It outlines four different options and only one of those options was to do what I have done. Government has made a very clear decision here, through me as...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Land Development Agency (24 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: The programme for Government contains a commitment in respect of the State playing a greater part in the deliver and direct provision of affordable and social homes and the LDA Bill will play a key role in that regard. I recently received Cabinet approval for a revised general scheme for the LDA Bill, which reflects the commitments in the programme for Government and indeed the consideration...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Land Development Agency (24 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: The legislation in question is important and, as the Deputy rightly says, a lot of work and effort went into it in the previous Oireachtas. I was quite critical of parts of the previous heads of Bill that were published and some significant changes have been made in that regard. If one looks at the programme for Government, in the "Housing for All" section, we very clearly define what we...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (24 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: The Deputy makes a fair point. We are all aware of the reason delivery stood at only 9% at the end of quarter 2. I was criticised by the Deputy in that regard but that is fair enough. A housing delivery task force comprised of all the stakeholders - the housing delivery co-ordination office, local authorities and approved housing bodies - meets regularly and I will have the report in the...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (24 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: The Deputy criticised me.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (24 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: It is fine.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (24 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: I am projecting that we will reach approximately 70% of the target but it could be higher. I am giving the Deputy the information to the best of my knowledge. Obviously, a large number of people are doing intense work to ensure we catch up. I visited a number of the sites in question. Yesterday, for example, I was on the site on the Enniskerry Road in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown which...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Departmental Reviews (24 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: I thank Deputy Ó Ríordáin. I am pleased to be given the opportunity to make an official statement to the House. I have been clear in previous debates in my intention to review the provisions on shared accommodation or, as it is more widely known, "co-living", as set out in section 5.0 of Sustainable Urban Housing: Design Standards for New Apartments Guidelines for Planning...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (24 Nov 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: I thank the Deputy for his question. Increasing the supply of housing, particularly social and affordable housing, is a priority for me and for the Government. The programme for Government contains a commitment in respect of increasing the social housing stock by more than 50,000 units, with an emphasis on new builds. I will elaborate on that presently. In budget 2021, we backed this...