Darragh O’Brien

Can these six ideas help fix Ireland’s housing crisis?

Taoiseach says he wants 2023 to be a ‘year of inflection’ in the housing crisis

State’s First Home Scheme ‘playing catch-up’ with rising house prices

Price ceilings under initiative to help first-time buyers rising due to increase in property prices

Numbers in emergency accommodation hit record high of 11,542 despite eviction ban

New data shows a 26.8% rise in number of homeless people over 12-month period

Right-to-housing referendum: Recommendations due this month on wording of vote

Minister expects Housing Commission to deliver its recommendations early in new year

State to be given sweeping powers in event of sudden oil emergency under new plans

Minister for Environment Eamon Ryan to tell Cabinet there is no current concern or risk around stocks

Airbnb caught off guard by introduction of short-term letting restrictions, correspondence shows

Newly released letter to Minister for Housing expresses company’s ‘surprise and serious concerns’ at new measures and complains of a lack of consultation

Extra 16,000 households eligible for social housing supports with new income thresholds

From next year, the upper-income threshold to qualify for social housing in the Republic will be increased by €5,000

100% redress for construction defects in Celtic Tiger homes to be proposed

Darragh O’Brien wants the State to fund the works, which could cost up to €2.5 billion

Review of An Bord Pleanála calls for urgent ‘reset’ and measures to tackle caseload

Statutory review for Office of the Planning Regulator found ‘breakdown of trust’ in key parts of organisation

Review recommends overhaul of pay and conditions for Ireland’s retained firefighters

‘Concerning’ that 58 per cent of firefighters say they are likely to leave within the next three years

Ministers’ report cards: With a reshuffle on the way, who is safe and who should be worried?

As Martin and Varadkar swap jobs, The Irish Times political team casts a critical eye over the performance of ministers since the Coalition came into power in 2020

Planning Bill row: Greens to seek changes to proposed judicial review curbs

Green Party unhappy with parts of reform to planning process such as curbs on judicial reviews by residents’ associations

Will the planning system be fixed by new law?

Major piece of legislation must survive scrutiny of its effect on areas such as judicial reviews, timelines, An Bord Pleanála and compulsory purchase orders

Proposed planning changes vulnerable to EU legal challenge, says civic group

Planning reforms could block residents’ groups from legal action against housing developments

Minister unveils further changes to contentious planning-law overhaul

Draft legislation set for Cabinet approval bars resident groups from taking High Court cases against decisions

‘I’m a homeless homeowner’: The apartment owner who is now couch surfing

Jeanette Brown believes there should be amendment to the Act to allow for situations such as hers

Resident groups to be barred from taking High Court actions against planning decisions

Darragh O’Brien push to deliver new homes to be aided by making it harder for objectors to challenge planning decisions

Real test for new planning system is whether it smooths the process or leads to yet more disarray

Recent history provides a salutary lesson in how planning laws can produce the opposite of desired impact

No confidence motion in O’Brien dismissed as ‘pre-Christmas stunt’

Government to table countermotion calling for vote of confidence in Housing Minister on Tuesday evening

Dáil housing motion forces Minister to cut short trip to Cop15 biodiversity talks

Minister was due to lead Irish team during final days of UN summit but will be in Montreal for less than 48 hours

Minister wanted new laws to force short term lettings into private market introduced immediately

Cabinet papers show that Darragh O’Brien clashed with Minister Catherine Martin over the proposals and wanted them to be introduced without six month grace period

Fines of €5,000 proposed for breaches of new rules for short-term letting

Measure targeting lettings on Airbnb, Booking.com and similar sites hopes to free up 12,000 homes for long-term housing

‘A lot done, more to do’, Minister for Housing tells conference

Minister sees some grounds for optimism on delivery of new homes

Mica: More market surveillance urged for concrete manufacturers

Quarry audit by regulators sparks call for stronger scrutiny of sector

How to make housing more affordable, from VAT cuts to planning reform

Rising interest rates, construction-cost inflation and an increase in the cost of living threaten to make the affordability crisis far worse

Up to 100,000 defective Celtic Tiger-era homes may need remediation

Scheme to fix defects to be submitted to Cabinet in weeks following report of working group

A homeless life: ‘I’d sneak on to a boat in Dún Laoghaire harbour and try to cosy myself’

Jodie Taite went from sleeping on empty boats as a homeless teenager to straight A student after accessing Depaul accommodation

Housing crisis: Is there an end in sight to Ireland’s intractable problem?

Government accepts that housing is the factor that will make or break its electoral fortunes

Build social houses and we’ll write off your debts, Minister tells councils

Government will offer local authorities €100 million to pay off debts on condition they develop modular homes for accelerated social housing in the next two years

Some 20,000 holiday homes sought in latest drive to house Ukrainian refugees

Minister for Integration Roderic O’Gorman accepts previous scheme had limitations

Nobody has veto on who lives beside them - Roderic O’Gorman

There is a moral obligation to provide shelter for people fleeing war, says Minister for Children

Oonagh Buckley appointed as interim chairwoman of An Bord Pleanála

Appointment of deputy secretary general at Department of Justice comes after former chairman Dave Walsh decided to take early retirement

Housing starts fall again in October as rising costs sap investment

Housing output may stall 'well short' of Government's targets

Income threshold to qualify for social housing will be increased by €5,000 in 2023, says Taoiseach

Councils criticised in October when only five local authorities announced rise in baseline level despite amount unchanged since 2011

Eighty-three children among 200 Ukrainian refugees who must leave Dublin hotel

Refugees should be permitted stay in hotel until after Christmas, urges local partnership

Cabinet reshuffle: Will Donnelly survive and who will get what ministries?

Will Micheál Martin opt for Foreign Affairs? Can Stephen Donnelly survive the changes? And where will Simon Harris end up?

An Bord Pleanála board will increase to 15 members under new Draft Bill

New Bill will also extend range of skills and expertise of board members

Developer Bartra criticises councils ‘prohibiting’ large housing projects

Bartra claims council local area plans blocking developments are ‘not fit for purpose’

Education spend rises significantly due to build costs, Ukraine crisis, Cabinet to be warned

Minister for Education will say department is also dealing with significant numbers of children unexpectedly coming from Ukraine and elsewhere

Dublin City Council defies planning regulator over build-to-rent rules

New development plan will restrict build-to-rent schemes to 40 per cent of a development

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