Results 16,201-16,220 of 25,999 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Appeals (30 Sep 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: In evaluating the making or varying of county and city development plans, the Office of the Planning Regulator (the Office) must have regard to provisions set out in the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended (the Act), including, but not limited to, the National Planning Framework, regional spatial and economic strategies, the principles of proper planning and sustainable development,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Irish Water (30 Sep 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: Having regard to the provisions of the Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act 1993, Irish Water’s governing legislation, including the Water Services Acts and its Constitution, and Irish Water’s current position as a subsidiary within the Ervia Group, there is currently no scope for the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) to have a role with respect to Irish...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Land Development Agency (30 Sep 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: There are currently no staff employed by the Land Development Agency (LDA) who were transferred from the National Asset Management Agency.  Based on information provided to the Department by the LDA, on establishment there were three members of staff seconded to the LDA by the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) for a period who were later recruited by the LDA through a...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Staff (30 Sep 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: Following the retirement of the most recent permanent Chief Executive of Mayo County Council, in accordance with section 145(6) of the Local Government Act 2001, as amended, the then Minister with responsibility for local government, appointed a Temporary Chief Executive to the post. This temporary appointment commenced on 14 May 2020. A permanent appointment has not yet been...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Home Loan Scheme (30 Sep 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: The Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan Scheme enables credit-worthy first-time buyers to access sustainable mortgage lending to purchase new or second-hand properties in a suitable price range, where they cannot obtain sufficient mortgage finance from a commercial lender. As with the previous local authority loan offerings, the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan is available to first-time...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Funding (30 Sep 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: Capital funding is provided to local authorities under my Department's Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS) to support Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) in the provision of social housing for priority groups such as older people, people with disabilities and people who are homeless. Capital funding of over €2.5 million has been provided to date for the development by the AHB referred...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Contracts (30 Sep 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 113 and 115 together. My Department does not engage third party or private companies to provide media monitoring services. It does however, engage a third party to provide a daily press clippings service and the costs are outlined below. Year Cost 2017 €8,280 2018 €7,985 ...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Expenditure (30 Sep 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department has expended €8,466.25 since May 2020 to date for access to online and hardcopy media publications. A breakdown of the online and hard copy subscriptions and publications that my Department subscribes to are set out in the table below. ">Compiled Table

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Archaeological Sites (29 Sep 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: The archaeological monument most directly associated with the development site in this case is included in the Record of Monuments and Places (“RMP”) established under section 12 of the National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1994.  While the published RMP for each county provides illustrative guidance of the area and scale of listed monuments, it also clarifies that the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Special Protection Areas (29 Sep 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: In response to a question on this matter from the Deputy last March, the then Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht advised that “At the request of the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, my Department's National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) completed and published detailed site-specific conservation objectives for the Gearagh SAC (000108) in September...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Natural Heritage Areas (29 Sep 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: I refer to the reply to Question No. 422 of 30 July 2020.  The role for the National Parks and Wildlife Service in this matter is to continue to provide expert support to the EPA and the Forest Service in delivering their statutory functions in relation to woodlands, and to consider Toon Wood as an NHA to protect the remaining woodland and woodland areas on the site that can be recovered...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: National Parks (29 Sep 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: I refer  to the reply to Question No. 114 of 23 July 2020. The National Parks and Wildlife Service secured €500K under the Outdoor Recreational Infrastructure Scheme towards improving public access, including the provision of new parking facilities at the site in question. Works are currently underway and are expected to be completed before year end...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (29 Sep 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: I am engaging with my colleague the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform as part of the budgetary process, including ensuring that we have sufficient capital, and current, budgets to meet the targets, and most importantly the need arising for households in 2021 and beyond. Of course, the term public capital housing programme is not reflective of the full breadth of social housing...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Home Loan Scheme (29 Sep 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: Following a review of the two existing local authority home loan schemes, the House Purchase Loan and the Home Choice Loan, a new loan offering was introduced, from 1 February 2018, known as the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan.  In line with the previous schemes, the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan is designed to enable credit worthy first time buyers to access sustainable mortgage...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Fire Stations (29 Sep 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: Pyrite Incidence (29 Sep 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: In relation to the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant scheme, Regulations under sections 2 and 5 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1979 provide for a grant scheme of financial assistance to support affected homeowners in the counties of Donegal and Mayo to carry out the necessary remediation works to dwellings that have been damaged due to defective concrete blocks, entitled...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (29 Sep 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department publishes comprehensive statistics on a quarterly basis. Social housing delivery data gathering and collation was impacted by COVID-19, where the focus for local authorities was on maintaining the essential housing services. The data collection and collation process has resumed and the social housing statistics for Q1/Q2 2020 together with the Quarter 2 Social Housing...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (29 Sep 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: The revised ceiling on the Single-Stage Approval Process for local authority social housing Capital Construction Projects increased from €2m to €6m in September 2020.  Quarter 2 2020 covers the period to end June, therefore the increased ceiling for single stage construction projects was not applicable at that time and will not be detailed in the Construction Status...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Staff (29 Sep 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: The information requested is set out in the Table below. The figures for 2016, 2017 and 2018 give the total number of all approved staffing resources by each local authority, i.e. not just additional staffing resources as my Department did not record the requests for staffing sanctions by the particular category "additional staffing resources" at that time. The 2019 figures provide the figure...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (29 Sep 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: It is a matter for individual housing authorities to bring forward project proposals to my Department for funding to deliver additional social housing stock under various initiatives.  No proposal has been submitted by Kerry County Council to my Department in relation to provision of social, voluntary or temporary homeless emergency accommodation at the property referenced.