Results 16,161-16,180 of 27,055 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Vacant Properties (3 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Dublin City Council (DCC) have advised my Department that, following delays in the process, they have recently finalised the agreement with the receiver in relation to the acquisition of 58 unfinished units at Prospect Hill to add to their social housing stock, which are now in DCC ownership. DCC have also advised that their housing department is currently preparing tender documents for...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (3 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) was launched in 2018 to support more compact and sustainable development. The Fund, which has an allocation of €2 billion to 2027, is providing part-funding for projects that will enable a greater proportion of residential and mixed-use development to be delivered within the existing built-up footprints of our cities and large towns,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Heritage Fund (3 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department has a wide and diverse business agenda, covering a broad range of functions, including local authority housing, voluntary housing, homeless services, estate regeneration, energy efficiency retrofitting, housing grants, rural water schemes, urban regeneration, fire services and heritage In order to achieve its business objectives, the Department allocates...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Functions (3 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The policy, technical and regulatory functions in relation to building standards are spread over a number of Divisions and Sections within my Department. Implementation and enforcement of the building control system is a function for the 31 local building control authorities (BCAs), established in each local authority. The BCAs have a suite of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Construction Industry Register Ireland (3 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: This Government is committed to placing the Construction Industry Register Ireland, or CIRI, on a statutory footing. The General Scheme of a Bill to place the CIRI register on a statutory footing was approved by the then Government on 30 May 2017 which was referred to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government for pre-legislative scrutiny. The...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Functions (3 Feb 2021)

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 oversees workforce planning for the local government sector, including the monitoring of local government sector employment levels. To this...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Homeless Persons Data (3 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: 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. The Reports are available to access on my Department's...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (3 Feb 2021)

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: Compulsory Purchase Orders (3 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Section 213 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, provides a framework whereby a local authority may acquire land, permanently or temporarily, by agreement or compulsorily for the purposes of performing any of its functions (whether conferred by or under this Act, or any other enactment passed before or after the passing of this Act). My colleague, the Minister...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water Services (3 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Programme for Government provides that the Government will retain Irish Water in public ownership as a national, standalone, regulated utility. In this context, in September 2018, the Director General of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) reported on a process of engagement, undertaken with the parties involved in the water sector transformation programme, including ICTU and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Housing (3 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The management and maintenance of local authority housing stock, including pre-letting repairs to vacant properties, responsive repairs and implementing planned maintenance programmes, is a matter for each individual local authority, in line with Section 58 of the Housing Act 1966. My Department requested local authorities to prepare an audit of their social housing stock in...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Housing (3 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Local authorities are responsible under the Housing Acts for the management and maintenance of their housing stock and the management of their estates, which includes taking the appropriate measures, and putting in place the structures, to facilitate and enable tenants’ participation in estate management.  Tenants are encouraged to become actively involved in Residents'...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Correspondence (3 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The Residential Tenancies Acts 2004-2020 regulate the landlord-tenant relationship in the private rented sector and sets out the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants. The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) was established as an independent statutory body under the Acts to operate a national tenancy registration system and to resolve disputes between landlords and tenants. ...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payment (3 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The table below shows the number of households at the end of Q3 2020, broken down by local authority, who are in receipt of Housing Assistance Payment support. Local Authority Total Active HAP Tenancies @ 30-09-2020 Carlow County Council 758 Cavan County Council 418 Clare County Council...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Housing (3 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 Since 2014, Exchequer funding has also been provided through my Department's Voids programme to support local authorities in...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Septic Tanks (3 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Following on from the recommendations contained in the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services report in April 2017, a Working Group was established to conduct a review of the wider resources and investment needs relating to the rural water sector. As part of its work, the Working Group recommended a number of revisions to the existing grant scheme that...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Covid-19 Pandemic (3 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The advancement of  each URDF supported project is, in the first instance, a matter for the individual local authority involved. It is also a  matter for each local authority as an independent statutory body to establish whether their projects can be considered essential by reference to the relevant regulations concerning restrictions during the current Covid 19...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Staff (3 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: The former Chief Executive of Galway County Council retired on 4 July 2014. A temporary chief executive was appointed at that time, pending a permanent appointment. In the intervening period, there has been extensive policy development processes examining optimum arrangements for local governance in Galway. Arising from these processes, in June 2018 the Government...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water Supply (3 Feb 2021)

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. As part of Budget 2021, I secured funding of over €1.4 billion to support water services. This includes €1.3 billion in respect of domestic water services provision by Irish Water. This overall...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (3 Feb 2021)

Darragh O'Brien: Under the Programme for Government, ‘Our Shared Future’, this Government has committed to putting housing affordability at the heart of the housing system and to: - prioritise the increased supply affordable homes and to ensure that local authorities are central to delivering housing, and  - progress a state-backed affordable home purchase scheme to promote home...