Results 1,621-1,640 of 15,555 for speaker:Eoghan Murphy

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (18 Sep 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: There are 1,005 families headed by a single parent in emergency accommodation. We tried to do a piece of research into the reasons people were presenting as homeless and at emergency accommodation centres, but 40% of respondents did not give a reason. We tried to get a proper understanding of what was going on from the answers of the other 60%. Family breakdown accounted for one in three...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (18 Sep 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: They are not homes but a first response. In the first half of this year 467 families left emergency accommodation and moved into homes, an increase of 45% on the number in 2018. While things are very bad and we face a huge challenge, we are increasing the supports and getting more families and children out of emergency accommodation. On the question about the position in Cork, we need...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (18 Sep 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Senator for his questions. I might jump around with the answers as there were some important questions and I want to ensure I can address them. There has been some misunderstanding about what happened in the universities over the summer. What may be advertised as "rent" is not actually rent until it is agreed. As the new laws came into effect on 15 August, unless the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (18 Sep 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I think we all agree that the affordability gap can only be bridged by means of State-led intervention. It is not going to happen if we leave it to the market. It is not going to happen if we only do it in respect of social housing and hope that might have a knock-on effect. When we look at what is actually coming on line through things like the serviced sites fund or the cost rental...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (18 Sep 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I actually counted eight questions there. We have provided for e-planning already through legislation. A pilot project is being rolled out so we are starting to make moves on that. I spoke to the chair of An Bord Pleanála about this approximately three months ago at our last official engagement. I mentioned the importance of the project. On the Central Mental Hospital campus in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (18 Sep 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: We are doing the work as we decant the health facilities from that site. There will be no delay once the HSE is gone from the site in terms of getting construction under way. On Cherrywood, I am aware of the points the Senator has raised and the Department is engaged in terms of what solutions might be available. That is a very important development with a lot of potential. It is a kind...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (18 Sep 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: It is very important. It is being led by the Department of Finance. We have got the Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019 beginning Second Stage next week in the Dáil, which is very important. There is no question about there being money in Rebuilding Ireland for housing bodies to do the work they need to do. I have been quite clear on that all along. We can deal...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (18 Sep 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: No.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (18 Sep 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: No, they have been higher.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (18 Sep 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: As I said earlier, the trends concerning families and children in emergency accommodation show that there are fewer in emergency accommodation than there were this time last year. We have increased the number of exits and preventions for families so that we find a home immediately for one of every two families presenting. However we are still seeing huge numbers of presentations. They are...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (18 Sep 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I absolutely understand the damage that is being done to families, children and individuals because of the housing crisis. I do not need any more data to understand that. I have met families in hotels and hubs. Thankfully, I have also met families going into their new homes. The scale of this challenge is incredibly significant. It is not just that not enough homes were built for several...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (18 Sep 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: It is very difficult to interact with Deputy Barry because he always mischaracterises and misrepresents the people with whom he engages. I am very sorry for that, because the case he raises is disgusting. There are many power imbalances in Irish society as in every society, but if the particular case he raises, of which I do not know any details, is true it is disgusting. However, Deputy...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (18 Sep 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I answered the Deputy earlier when I spoke about engagement with Deputy Coppinger on this issue. I spoke to him earlier about engaging with the Department of Justice and Equality on how we can compile statistics. I also pointed out that this issue would not solely fall to me and the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government because it is a criminal matter outside of my brief. To...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (18 Sep 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy for those questions. The most recent numbers that we have are from the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, rent index for the first quarter of this year. We do not know if it is a trend because we are still awaiting the figures for the second quarter. Some 3,000 new tenancies were created over that period, tenancies that would not exist but for new landlords coming into...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (18 Sep 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I am sorry. I am just taking a note. We are 1,000 short on what?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (18 Sep 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: Okay; sorry.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (18 Sep 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: Can I ask the Deputy where he is getting that information?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (18 Sep 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy for those questions. To go back to the institutional investors, when I talk about a continental model, I mean a continental model for renters and a continental model in terms of home ownership. What we are seeing in home ownership, in terms of the decreasing rates of home ownership, and I do not believe we are below the EU average-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (18 Sep 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: Home ownership fell at the same rate from 2006 to 2011 as it did from 2011 to 2016. There is an underlining factor there that shows that even in the boom years, and in previous Governments, home ownership was declining. What we believe is that, culturally in this country, people prefer to own a home, even people who are renting now. We need to make sure there is a process in place to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (18 Sep 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: We need to be careful that we do not turn off an important increase in supply that is coming through in terms of the build-to-rent sector. We have to recognise the views of experts, including Assistant Professor Ronan Lyons. In other countries, these institutional investors are known as landlords. For the rental sector here, we need to make sure that we move away from the volatility we...