Results 361-380 of 15,725 for speaker:Eoin Ó Broin

Select Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Revised)
Vote 23 - An Coimisiún Toghcháin (Revised)
Vote 34 - Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (15 Jul 2025)

Eoin Ó Broin: That has the 10,000 social homes but it does not have any commitments on affordable targets. I am thinking particularly about cost rental and affordable housing fund purchases.

Select Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Revised)
Vote 23 - An Coimisiún Toghcháin (Revised)
Vote 34 - Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (15 Jul 2025)

Eoin Ó Broin: Regarding the housing targets, is the Minister hopeful that he will be able to set those out in September or at the end of August?

Select Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Revised)
Vote 23 - An Coimisiún Toghcháin (Revised)
Vote 34 - Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (15 Jul 2025)

Eoin Ó Broin: Yes, I fully accept that, but I am asking about a timeline.

Select Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Revised)
Vote 23 - An Coimisiún Toghcháin (Revised)
Vote 34 - Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (15 Jul 2025)

Eoin Ó Broin: For the Minister's predecessors, social housing targets were very clear. As was the case when Eoghan Murphy and Simon Coveney had responsibility for this area, the Minister has revived the practice - I have no issue with it - whereby we do not just have the target for new-build social and acquisitions and leases, but they are actually broken down by local authority, which is very helpful....

Select Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Revised)
Vote 23 - An Coimisiún Toghcháin (Revised)
Vote 34 - Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (15 Jul 2025)

Eoin Ó Broin: That would be very welcome. Regarding the housing needs demand assessment new housing targets, have the local authorities actually been given the new targets yet? I know the Minister wrote to them telling them they were on the way but have they actually got them? If they have, when did they get them and will the Minister share them with the committee?

Select Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Revised)
Vote 23 - An Coimisiún Toghcháin (Revised)
Vote 34 - Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (15 Jul 2025)

Eoin Ó Broin: Okay. Do we know when?

Select Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Revised)
Vote 23 - An Coimisiún Toghcháin (Revised)
Vote 34 - Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (15 Jul 2025)

Eoin Ó Broin: So the Minister is saying that they will get the numbers within the next couple of weeks, so that they can formally start the process.

Select Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Revised)
Vote 23 - An Coimisiún Toghcháin (Revised)
Vote 34 - Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (15 Jul 2025)

Eoin Ó Broin: That is okay. Obviously, the ten-year breakdowns of social and affordable will be in the autumn. I will throw out my final three questions quickly. Is there any update on the one-stage process? I am particularly interested to know how the Minister will balance the risk, which is one of the concerns that local authorities have been raising with departmental officials. I have a concern...

Select Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Revised)
Vote 23 - An Coimisiún Toghcháin (Revised)
Vote 34 - Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (15 Jul 2025)

Eoin Ó Broin: It is not specifically about Pearse House. That is just an example. My concern was more about the general policy.

Select Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Revised)
Vote 23 - An Coimisiún Toghcháin (Revised)
Vote 34 - Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (15 Jul 2025)

Eoin Ó Broin: We are all agreed that we should attempt to increase the density but if some of these flats from the 1930s and 1940s are given adequate standards then density will have to be lost, unless the physical structure can take an extra floor, as happened at St. Mary's Mansions, or there is additional council land available. The requirement for increased density is too rigid. Some of these sites...

Select Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Revised)
Vote 23 - An Coimisiún Toghcháin (Revised)
Vote 34 - Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (15 Jul 2025)

Eoin Ó Broin: It is affecting new builds as well, not just the acquisitions, but I will leave it at that, Chair. I thank the Minister.

Select Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Revised)
Vote 23 - An Coimisiún Toghcháin (Revised)
Vote 34 - Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (15 Jul 2025)

Eoin Ó Broin: I will make a quick comment and then ask a couple of questions. I do not accept that it is not sustainable to have a large proportion of overall housing output as social and affordable housing, irrespective of whether the overall output is 30,000, 40,000 or 50,000 homes. It is a political choice. There are ways of financing the delivery of 40% to 50% of all new homes in the State to meet...

Select Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Revised)
Vote 23 - An Coimisiún Toghcháin (Revised)
Vote 34 - Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (15 Jul 2025)

Eoin Ó Broin: Notwithstanding the Minister's view, and that of the Secretary General, on turnkey developments, which I am broadly supportive of, does the Minister accept that the majority of new-build social and cost-rental homes will be delivered by private developers through turnkey for some time and that there is a good chance that a large volume of those will be with different standards? Is it not a...

Select Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Revised)
Vote 23 - An Coimisiún Toghcháin (Revised)
Vote 34 - Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (15 Jul 2025)

Eoin Ó Broin: Did the Minister look at excluding all social and affordable homes from SPPR No. 1 of the new regulations, not just own developments and Part Vs but turnkeys as well? Was that considered?

Select Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Revised)
Vote 23 - An Coimisiún Toghcháin (Revised)
Vote 34 - Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (15 Jul 2025)

Eoin Ó Broin: I accept the Minister is saying that but over the next number of years between Project Tosaigh on the LDA side, CREL and SHIP and CALF turnkeys, turnkeys will continue for some years even as the Minister is trying to wind them down. Did he consider actively excluding turnkeys from SPPR No. 1 from the new apartment design standards alongside all of the social and affordable homes?

Select Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Revised)
Vote 23 - An Coimisiún Toghcháin (Revised)
Vote 34 - Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (15 Jul 2025)

Eoin Ó Broin: I thank the Chair.

Select Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Revised)
Vote 23 - An Coimisiún Toghcháin (Revised)
Vote 34 - Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (15 Jul 2025)

Eoin Ó Broin: Some local authorities have written to their elected members to tell them they have allocated - the phrase used is "exhausted" - all of their social housing acquisition funding for this year. Fingal County Council wrote to TDs and councillors last week. If a local authority has allocated and exhausted all the funding allocated for this year and goes to the Department seeking additional...

Select Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Revised)
Vote 23 - An Coimisiún Toghcháin (Revised)
Vote 34 - Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (15 Jul 2025)

Eoin Ó Broin: If they have committed it, would the Minister be open to exploring additional funding? There is a gap between committing and drawing down.

Select Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Revised)
Vote 23 - An Coimisiún Toghcháin (Revised)
Vote 34 - Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (15 Jul 2025)

Eoin Ó Broin: I am not looking to have a row with the Minister. I am just saying that three large local authorities - Cork, Dublin city and Fingal - have informed their members in writing that all funding is now committed and no new applications of any kind can be considered. If any of those local authorities approached the Department, would it be open to a discussion on the matter? It is reasonable request.

Select Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Revised)
Vote 23 - An Coimisiún Toghcháin (Revised)
Vote 34 - Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (15 Jul 2025)

Eoin Ó Broin: That is a "No", Minister. Even if they come back to the Department, it is a "No".