Results 16,241-16,260 of 25,999 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

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

Darragh O'Brien: In December 2018 my Department published the National Taking in Charge Initiative Report, which considered the issues associated with residential estates that are not taken-in-charge, including a subset of estates that depend on stand-alone developer provided water infrastructure for the provision of their water services. This report included a recommendation to introduce a...

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

Darragh O'Brien: As Minister with policy and legislative responsibility for fire safety and the provision of fire services by local authorities, my primary concern, as set out in the Fire Services Acts 1981 and 2003, is that local authority provided fire services are meeting their statutory obligations in respect of provision of fire services and fire safety. Fire services are provided in Ireland by local...

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

Darragh O'Brien: My Department uses workforce planning processes to identify the critical resource needs required to deliver its business goals.  Workforce planning is a key tool in enabling my Department to forecast its current and future staffing needs (subject to the limits of the annual estimates process, the usual budgetary constraints and approvals by the Department of Public Expenditure and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Regeneration Projects (24 Sep 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: The Cork Event Centre is included as a commitment under Project Ireland 2040 and it underlines the Government’s objectives around urban regeneration, enhanced amenity and heritage, associated quality of life standards, balanced regional development, and the regeneration and development of Cork City Centre. It was agreed in the context of Budget 2020 that responsibility at central...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Invasive Plant Species (24 Sep 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: Invasive alien species legislation is contained within the Wildlife Acts and the European Communities (Birds & Natural Habitats) Regulations, SI 477 of 2011. Legal responsibility for the eradication, containment or management of invasive alien species resides with the landowner.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Housing (24 Sep 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: The regular management and maintenance of local authority housing stock, is a matter for each relevant local authority, and it is open to each authority to address maintenance or improvements to their housing stock from within their own resources. However, my Department also supports local authorities to improve their social housing stock through a range of programmes energy retrofitting,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Home Loan Scheme (24 Sep 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: The Housing Agency provides a central support service which assesses applications for the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan on behalf of local authorities and makes recommendations to the authorities to approve or refuse applications. Each local authority must have in place a credit committee and it is a matter for the committee to make the decision on applications for loans, in accordance with...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Issues (24 Sep 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: An Bord Pleanála was established in 1977 under the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1976 and is an independent statutory body responsible for the determination of appeals and certain other matters under the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, and the determination of applications for strategic infrastructure development including major road and railway cases....

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rental Accommodation Scheme (24 Sep 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: As of 30 June 2020, there were 17,887 active tenancies supported under the Rental Accommodation Scheme.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Hare Coursing (24 Sep 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 121 and 124 together. On 16 September last my Department issued licenses under the Wildlife Acts to the Irish Coursing Club on behalf of its affiliated clubs to net and tag hares for the forthcoming 2020/2021 coursing season.The licenses are published on the website of the National Parks and Wildlife Service at the following link: .

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Issues (24 Sep 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: The most recent amendments to the taking in charge provisions of the planning code were made in the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2018 with a view to further strengthening and streamlining the taking-in-charge process. I have no current plans to conduct a review of the taking-in-charge provisions of the Act. Management companies are not covered under the taking in charge process,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water Charges (24 Sep 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: Since 1 January 2014, Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning and delivery. Irish Water charging policy is also subject to approval by the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU). In this regard, my Department is maintaining close contact with Irish Water in relation to its response to the COVID-19 Emergency, while also liaising with...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Homeless Persons Supports (24 Sep 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: I am aware that that there have been a number of deaths of individuals accessing homeless services this year and I would take the opportunity to offer my condolences to the family and friends of those individuals. However, my Department does not hold specific details in this regard. Supporting households experiencing homelessness is a priority for this Government and the Programme for...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Licence Applications (23 Sep 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: I understand that a license has issued in this case.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Animal Culls (23 Sep 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: Both species of seal in Irish waters - the Harbour or Common Seal and the more numerous Grey Seal - are protected under the EU Habitats Directive and Ireland is obliged to maintain their numbers at a favourable conservation level. We are also required to monitor their populations and report to the European Commission on their conservation status. A standardised monitoring programme has been...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Rental Accommodation Scheme (23 Sep 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: Section 22 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 requires all housing authorities, as a reserved function, 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 and to households approved for a transfer, the allocation of which would, in the opinion of the authority, meet the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Emergency Accommodation (23 Sep 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 statutory role of housing authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. My Department does not fund any homeless service directly but provides funding to housing authorities towards these costs. Under the funding arrangements, housing...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Housing (23 Sep 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: Details on the number of households qualified for social housing support in each local authority area is provided in the annual statutory Summary of Social Housing Assessments (SSHA). The purpose of the SSHA is to capture the total number of households qualified for social housing support across the country whose social housing need has not yet been met, in order to better inform policy and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Housing (23 Sep 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department provides Unit Cost Ceilings (UCCs) to each local authority as a key benchmark for the development and costing of new build social housing. The tables below outline the current UCC values for houses and apartments being developed by local authorities. HOUSES 1 bed 2 bed (1 storey) 2 bed (2 storey) 3 bed 4 bed ...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Homeless Accommodation (23 Sep 2020)

Darragh O'Brien: Social housing supports are available to eligible households on the local authority waiting lists. If a household is homeless, and eligible for social housing, then the appropriate structure for their support will be determined by the relevant local authority having regard to their scheme of allocations. The cost of delivering additional social housing homes is largely dependent on a...