Results 1,941-1,960 of 15,555 for speaker:Eoghan Murphy

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payment Expenditure (19 Jun 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I refer to the replies to Questions Nos 48 and 1003 on 11 June 2019. As the Deputy will be aware, Rent Supplement comes within the remit of my colleague, the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection. As HAP is progressively replacing Rent Supplement for households with a long term housing need, the funding directed to Rent Supplement has decreased in recent years, as funding for...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Investigations (18 Jun 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The Review Into Certain Planning Matters In Respect Of Donegal County Council, by Mr. Rory Mulcahy S.C., was received by my Department in June, 2017. Following initial analysis and assessment of the report’s findings and recommendations, including interaction with the Department’s own legal advisers and the Attorney General’s Office, a comprehensive set of queries...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Guidelines (18 Jun 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: In March 2018, I published updated Sustainable Urban Housing: Design Standards for New Apartments Guidelines for Planning Authoritiesunder Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended), to respond to the changing housing needs in light of demographics and the dynamics in the urban employment market. An extensive public consultation process took place prior to finalisation...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Animal Welfare (18 Jun 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: 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: Local Authority Housing Funding (18 Jun 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: Under my Department’s Social Housing Investment Programme, funding is available to all local authorities to deliver additional social housing stock through construction and the acquisition of new and previously owned houses/apartments for social housing use. This includes delivery through the Buy and Renew Scheme and activity in this regard is largely delegated to local authorities so...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Issues (18 Jun 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: Section 230 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 provides that a licence is required in respect of the holding of a prescribed event or class of event. Part 16 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 provides for the licensing of outdoor events. Article 183 of the Regulations provides that a prescribed event for the purposes of Section 230 is an event at which the audience...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Adaptation Grant Data (18 Jun 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: In 2019, a total of €71.25 million is available for the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability Scheme, in respect of private houses. This is made up of €57 million Exchequer funding, which is an increase of some 8% on the 2018 figure, with the balance of €14.25m being contributed by the local authorities. A total of €13.83 million...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Tenant Purchase Scheme (18 Jun 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: A local authority tenant who wishes to purchase their dwelling can apply to do so through the Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme, which came into operation on 1 January 2016. The Scheme is open to eligible tenants, including joint tenants, of local authority houses that are available for sale under the Scheme. To be eligible, tenants must meet certain criteria, including having a minimum...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Maintenance (18 Jun 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: My Department engages with the organisation referred to in relation to a range of issues of common interest to the Department and the local government sector. While the internal operations of the organisation, including internal groups and sub-committees, are a matter for the organisation itself, I understand that the work of the sub-group referred to is progressing well. My Department is...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Homeless Accommodation Provision (18 Jun 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I propose to take Questions Nos. 664 and 665 together. 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 housing authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of emergency accommodation for homeless persons rests with...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Properties (18 Jun 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I propose to take Questions Nos. 666 and 667 together. In relation to the information sought, the only transaction of relevance was funding of €241,000 provided, by my Department, to the Office of Public Works to purchase property at Valentia Island in 2016, in relation to the operations of Met Eireann; ownership of this property is vested in the Commissioner of Public Works. The...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Eligibility (18 Jun 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: I propose to take Questions Nos. 668 and 669 together. The right of local authorities to set and collect rents on their dwellings is laid down in section 58 of the Housing Act 1966. The making or amending of a rent scheme is an executive function and is subject to broad principles set out by my Department including that – - the rent payable should be related to income and a...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Electric Vehicles (18 Jun 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The Government’s Climate Action Plan 2019, launched on 17 June 2019, contains a number of actions to increase substantially the penetration of electric vehicles and the supply of necessary infrastructure to facilitate planned growth and stay sufficiently ahead of demand. A number of these actions, including the development of an overarching charging infrastructure strategy, which will...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Capital Assistance Scheme Funding (18 Jun 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS) is operated on an open basis and AHBs can submit new proposals to local authorities at any time. The 2019 funding provision is €94.875 million, €16.9 million of which had been drawn down as at 14 June 2019. CAS is administered by the local authorities who may advance loans of up to 100% of eligible project costs to AHBs, with that funding...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Data (18 Jun 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: One of the mechanisms available to local authorities to help them deliver affordable housing options is the Serviced Sites Fund (SSF). Under the SSF, €310 million is being made available over the 2019 to 2021 period to support the delivery of infrastructure on local authority sites, which will deliver over 6,000 affordable homes. This funding consists of €275 million Exchequer...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Adaptation Grant Funding (18 Jun 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: My Department provides funding on an annual basis under the Disabled Persons Grants (DPGs) scheme to local authorities for adaptations and extensions to the existing social housing stock to meet the needs of local authority tenants. The scheme applies to works that are necessary to address the needs of older people or people with a disability. This may involve minor adaptations such as...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Funding (18 Jun 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: My Department does not fund any homeless service directly but provides funding to housing authorities towards the operational costs of homeless accommodation and related services under Section 10 of the Housing Act, 1988. Under Exchequer funding arrangements, housing authorities must provide at least 10% of the cost of services from their own resources. Furthermore, housing authorities may...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Approved Housing Bodies (18 Jun 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: My Department provides local authorities with a range of funding programmes that support the provision of social housing by Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs). These programmes include supporting the provision of new homes using capital funding, and long-term leasing and rental arrangements using current funding. In each case, the contractual arrangements are between the local authority and the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Homelessness Strategy (18 Jun 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: Addressing homelessness is a priority for the Government. In 2016, the Government published the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan on Housing and Homelessness. Rebuilding Ireland is designed to significantly increase the supply of social housing by 50,000 homes in the period to 2021, double the output of overall housing to at least 25,000 homes per annum by 2020, support all tenure types...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payment Data (18 Jun 2019)

Eoghan Murphy: The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme is funded through a combination of Exchequer monies and tenant differential rents collected in respect of HAP tenancies. Budget 2019 has increased the Exchequer funding for the HAP scheme to €422 million. This will allow for the continued support of existing HAP households and also meet the needs of the additional 16,760 households targeted...