Results 16,061-16,080 of 25,999 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Priority Questions: Homelessness Strategy (6 Oct 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: I thank the Deputy for his question. Every single death in this regard is tragic and a loss to a family, as well as the support network looking after those individuals and the many committed volunteers working in homeless services. Tackling homelessness is an absolute priority for me. Since taking office, as I just said to Deputy Cian O'Callaghan, I have met a wide range of stakeholders...

Priority Questions: Homelessness Strategy (6 Oct 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: I agree with the Deputy. I am focused on doing whatever we can to ensure that the deaths in our homeless community are reduced as much as possible. It is obvious that we need to do that. That is why the first measure I took was establishment of the homelessness task force which I chair. Addiction services are important, as are mental health services and health teams. We have seen...

Priority Questions: Homelessness Strategy (6 Oct 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: That is something we do in the context of every death that takes place. The issue of quantifying such deaths is that there is then a push to comment on each individual death. We have to respect the privacy of the individual and his or her family, as well as the fact that in many instances there are issues other than homelessness, such as serious health issues. We have to be cognisant of...

Priority Questions: House Purchase Schemes (6 Oct 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: The Deputy will appreciate we are just a week from the budget and negotiations and discussions on expenditure for next year are at a crucial stage. I am not, therefore, in a position to give him any further details. This is not by way of being evasive; it is just an issue of timing. There are other measures, including affordability measures, that help people buy homes, one of them being...

Priority Questions: House Purchase Schemes (6 Oct 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: We have to work very hard with local authorities to help them to deliver faster on the land they own. I agree with this and I have made and restated that point here. It is a priority for me as Minister. The Deputy mentioned the Oscar Traynor Road site. Four times, that site has gone out for expressions of interest. It is a fine plot of ground that could house hundreds of people. It is...

Priority Questions: Housing Provision (6 Oct 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: I thank Deputy O'Callaghan for the question. Addressing homelessness, as we mentioned at a committee meeting earlier, is an absolute priority for me and my colleagues in government and, no doubt, everyone in the House. The programme for Government commits to reducing and preventing homelessness and provides details on how the Government will approach this challenge. The national...

Priority Questions: Housing Provision (6 Oct 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: I will get the date of publication and send it on to the Deputy. The Housing First data are published quarterly and are as up-to-date as we can get them. It is expected that services delivered in Cork, Limerick, Galway and Dublin will be extended to the south west, mid-west and west. That is the plan. We have to ensure the requisite services, particularly health services, are in place. I...

Priority Questions: House Purchase Schemes (6 Oct 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: I am committed to ensuring that affordable, quality housing solutions are available to all and that is reflected in the programme for Government. I believe in home ownership and I have restated that on many occasions. I will come good on the programmes made in the programme. The programme details a wide range of measures to be brought forward over the lifetime of the Government to firmly...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (6 Oct 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: This Government is absolutely committed to ensuring that affordable, quality housing is available to everyone in Irish society and this is reflected in the Programme for Government. This is a key priority of mine and since taking Office I have reviewed the situation on the ground in terms of supply, progress to date across the affordability measures and options for the expansion and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Fire Stations (6 Oct 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 a central...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (6 Oct 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: Capital Advance Leasing Facility (CALF) provides capital funding to approved housing bodies (of up to 30%) in order to facilitate the construction, refurbishment and acquisition of new social housing homes. The homes are subsequently provided to local authorities for social housing use under long-term lease arrangements known as Payment and Availability Agreements. In relation to...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Homelessness Strategy (6 Oct 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: The Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020 provided for a temporary moratorium on tenancy terminations, other than in exceptional and limited cases, and on all increases in rent during the emergency period from 27 March to 1 August 2020. The emergency measures aimed to assist in restricting the movement of people to suppress the spread of Covid-19 and applied to all...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (6 Oct 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: Firstly, I would like to acknowledge the very stressful circumstances which owners and residents face when their homes are affected by construction defects. In general, building defects are matters for resolution between the contracting parties involved, the homeowner, the builder, the developer and/or their respective insurers, structural guarantee or warranty scheme. However, the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Housing (6 Oct 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: Over the past three years (2016-2019) the number of social homes delivered in Ireland has grown from 5,714 in 2016 to more than 10,000 in 2019. The number of new build homes has more than doubled from 2,965 to over 6,000 over the same period. In addition, almost 70,000 households have been supported in their homes through HAP/RAS. The effect of these measures can be demonstrated through...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Fire Service (6 Oct 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 Service Acts 1981 and 2003. My Department supports fire authorities through general policy setting and preparing legislation,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payment (6 Oct 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: Despite the challenges faced throughout the period of the Covid emergency measures, local authorities and the Housing Assistance Payment Shared Service Centre (HAPSSC) have continued to provide a critical service to all HAP customers. This is evident in the high number of HAP tenancies that continued to be set-up this year. The 2020 HAP target is for 15,750 additional tenancies and, at the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (6 Oct 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department, which is represented on the Interdepartmental Committee for Island Development chaired by the Minister of State for the Gaeltacht and Sport, recently wrote to the 5 local authorities having inhabited islands within their administrative areas to ascertain the extent to which applicants for social housing have indicated a preference for housing on the islands. The responses...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (6 Oct 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: The Galway Social Housing Taskforce is continuing its work in line with its terms of reference, with four meetings to date in 2020, following on from the four held in 2019. The Taskforce remains strongly committed to working to improve and accelerate social housing delivery in both the Galway local authority areas. The Galway Councils have a combined target of just over 2,000 social housing...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water Quality (6 Oct 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the supervisory authority for public water supplies in Ireland. Irish Water is responsible for monitoring the quality of public water supplies while local authorities are responsible for monitoring the quality of water provided by other suppliers. The role of the EPA in relation to public drinking water supplies is set out in the European Union...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Direct Provision System (6 Oct 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: The housing of people who arrive in Ireland seeking asylum is a matter for the Department of Justice and Equality who are obliged through EU and international laws to provide shelter and subsistence to anyone who claims asylum until their claim has been determined. Once their claim has been determined, those who obtain leave to remain in the State have the same rights to apply for social...