Results 1,761-1,780 of 25,713 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Staff (22 Jan 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: I am satisfied that my Department properly implements the provisions of Circular 4/2013 in respect of staff returning from career breaks. Staff returning from career breaks are included in workforce planning considerations with a view to filling any appropriate existing or forthcoming vacancies in my Department. The Department has reassigned any staff returning from career breaks during...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (22 Jan 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: I commenced the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 (the Act) on 22 June 2023 which contains the enhanced grant scheme and adopted the related Regulations on 29 June 2023. The Grant Scheme applies to the owners of dwellings located in designated local authorities, which are damaged due to the use of defective concrete blocks and provided the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (22 Jan 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) is a form of social housing support available for people who have a long-term housing need. Any household assessed as eligible for social housing is immediately eligible for HAP. Under the HAP scheme, tenants source their own accommodation in the private rented market. The accommodation sourced by tenants should be within the prescribed maximum HAP...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Reports (22 Jan 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department publishes comprehensive programme-level statistics on a quarterly basis on social housing delivery activity by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) in each local authority. This data is available to the end of Q3 2024, and is published on the statistics page of my Department’s website, at the following link:. My Department also publishes the Social...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Funding (22 Jan 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The Interim Remediation Scheme for Fire Safety Defects in Eligible Apartments and Duplexes (‘Scheme’) provides for the funding, through Owner Management Companies (OMCs), of emergency fire safety defect works in order to provide an acceptable level of fire safety in affected buildings pending completion of the full remedial works. As of 31st December 2024, 193 applications...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Funding (22 Jan 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The Government has approved the principle of allowing remediation costs already incurred or levied to be covered under the forthcoming statutory remediation scheme, once such costs fall within the scope and defined parameters of the latter. The details and mechanics of such retrospective funding are being addressed as the legislation is drafted. To this end, a pathfinder exercise from a...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Reviews (22 Jan 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: Housing for All targets the delivery of 18,000 new Cost Rental homes to 2030. A strong pipeline is in place and under continuous development by Local Authorities, Approved Housing Bodies the Land Development Agency, and now also private providers under the Secure Tenancy Affordable Rental (STAR) scheme. The Cost Rental model ensures rents are based on the costs of delivering, managing,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (22 Jan 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme 2016 came into operation on 1 January 2016 and allows tenants of local authority houses to apply to purchase their home. The scheme is governed by the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 and Housing (Sale of Local Authority Houses) Regulations 2015, as amended, and is open to eligible tenants of local authority houses that are available for...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: State Bodies (22 Jan 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: An Bord Pleanála (the Board) is the national independent statutory body with responsibility for the determination of planning appeals and direct applications for strategic infrastructure and other developments under the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, and certain other Acts. Recruitment of all staff is a matter for the Board. However, the workforce plan of the Board is...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Insurance Industry (22 Jan 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: Uisce Éireann has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels. The scope, prioritisation and progression of individual projects is a matter for Uisce Éireann and is approved through its own internal governance structures. Uisce Éireann is responsible for its own arrangements in relation...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Fire Service (22 Jan 2025)

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 Act 1981. My Department supports the fire authorities through setting general policy, providing a central training...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Interest Rates (22 Jan 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The interest rate policy of the Housing Finance Agency (HFA) is a matter for the management and board of that organisation. However, the HFA has advised my Department that the HFA approach to amending variable interest rates depends on the contractual arrangements with each individual customer. The HFA advises that for some customers, the rate is linked to six-month Euribor and therefore...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authorities (22 Jan 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The Local Government Reform Act 2014 dissolved 80 town councils which represented just 14% of the population. The previous town council system also led to duplication both in administrative and electoral terms. Instead, the Act saw the introduction of 95 municipal districts in 25 of the 31 local authorities at sub-county level, including in Kerry County Council, while area committees would...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (22 Jan 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: All local authorities, including Kerry County Council, have developed and published their Housing Delivery Action Plans setting out their plans to deliver social and affordable housing during the peiod from 2022-2022. This follows a comprehensive Housing Needs and Demand Assessment. A copy of Kerry County Council’s Housing Delivery Action Plan is available on its website at the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Commercial Rates (22 Jan 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: Local authorities are under a statutory obligation to levy rates on any property used for commercial purposes in accordance with the details entered in the valuation lists prepared by Tailte Éireann under the Valuation Acts 2001 to 2020. The amount of rates liable on a property is determined by multiplying the valuation of the property set by Tailte Éireann by the Annual Rate...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (22 Jan 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: Work on providing supports for Owners’ Management Companies (OMCs) who are unable to meet eligible remediation costs in relevant multi-unit developments or may seek refunds for eligible works completed is being advanced. Legislation is currently being drafted to establish the Apartment and Duplex Defects Remediation Scheme on a statutory basis, which, subject to the legislative...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (22 Jan 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: On 18 January 2023 Government approved the principle of allowing remediation costs already incurred or levied to be covered under a Legacy Defects Scheme. On 18 September 2024 the Minister received government approval for the priority drafting of the Apartment and Duplex Defects Remediation Bill 2024. This legislation will underpin the forthcoming statutory scheme which will establish...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Postal Voting (22 Jan 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: Under electoral law, postal voting is available for a number of different categories of people including the following:whole-time members of the Defence Forcesmembers of An Garda SíochánaIrish diplomats serving abroad and their spouses/civil partnerselectors living at home who are unable to vote because of an illness or a disabilityelectors whose occupation, service or employment...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Funding (22 Jan 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: Last November, I approved Uisce Éireann's Strategic Funding Plan (SFP) for the years 2025 - 2029. The SFP specifies the arrangements Uisce Éireann proposes to make and measures it proposes to take to meet the policy objectives of the Water Services Policy Statement, incorporating its estimated funding requirements for investment and operating costs together with sources of funding....

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Data (22 Jan 2025)

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 role of local authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of accommodation and related services for homeless persons rests with individual local authorities. My Department...