Results 15,981-16,000 of 21,489 for speaker:Alan Kelly

Other Questions: Wind Energy Guidelines (5 Nov 2015)

Alan Kelly: I thank the Deputy for his supplementary question. This is an important issue and one in which I have taken a direct interest. The Minister of State, Deputy Coffey, and I have done a great deal of work on the matter. It is a technical area. I can assure the Deputy that virtually all of the work has been completed. Further work on the setback distance from a technical point of view...

Other Questions: Wind Energy Guidelines (5 Nov 2015)

Alan Kelly: It is a matter for Government when the guidelines will be published. The Deputy may want to refer that issue to his party leader and Taoiseach. When I talk about getting the mix right, I ask the Deputy to trust me, I have executed all my work in relation to this topic. The majority of it is all done but there is a little technical issue that needs to be dealt with. When we speak about...

Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Data (5 Nov 2015)

Alan Kelly: Correct.

Other Questions: Homelessness Strategy (5 Nov 2015)

Alan Kelly: I am fully committed to dealing with homelessness, it is my top priority. I do not say that in any kind of glib way; I genuinely mean it. There is a necessity to focus on providing suitable emergency accommodation for families. The greatest concern is in respect of rough sleepers, which is particularly an issue in Dublin and other cities. Yesterday, I launched the Be Winter Ready...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Private Rented Accommodation Costs and Controls (5 Nov 2015)

Alan Kelly: The Deputy would know more about them than I would.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Private Rented Accommodation Costs and Controls (5 Nov 2015)

Alan Kelly: The Deputy's response was very ironic. There is no issue with vested interests in any form and I would not tolerate that in any way. I am not under the control of any form of vested interest. A small percentage of landlords are trying to act in an unscrupulous way, which is unacceptable. However, we also need landlords to supply stock because we need a mixture of social and private...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Private Rented Accommodation Costs and Controls (5 Nov 2015)

Alan Kelly: The Private Residential Tenancies Board is doing much work in the area and I presume the Deputy has seen the awareness campaigns.

Other Questions: Local Authority Housing Provision (5 Nov 2015)

Alan Kelly: The Social Housing Strategy 2020 sets out clear, measurable actions and targets to increase the supply of social housing, reform delivery arrangements and meet the housing needs of all households on the housing list with flexibility to meet future demand. The strategy has been backed up by successive budgets, including this year, where social housing has been an absolute priority. Budget...

Other Questions: Local Authority Housing Provision (5 Nov 2015)

Alan Kelly: I find the Deputy's analysis perplexing, to be honest. Given our position, it is impossible to wave a magic wand and have houses built just like that. It is impossible.

Other Questions: Local Authority Housing Provision (5 Nov 2015)

Alan Kelly: We are also building houses as quickly as we can. That is why over 200 sites are now seeing construction. The Deputy will be glad to know I will announce more in the coming days and weeks. We must have a mixture of ways to help people find housing and these include construction and acquisition. In certain parts of the country, it clearly makes more sense to acquire vacant or empty...

Other Questions: Local Authority Housing Provision (5 Nov 2015)

Alan Kelly: I am still perplexed.

Other Questions: Local Authority Housing Provision (5 Nov 2015)

Alan Kelly: It is not a case of reading the figures as I am aware of them. They are public anyway and we put targets on our website for every local authority in the State. We have to adopt the current measures, involving HAP, RAS, etc., in order to help people who the Deputy purports to support, and in fairness, I do as well. There is a lag involved with construction and we must have measures in order...

Other Questions: Local Authority Housing Provision (5 Nov 2015)

Alan Kelly: A Dublin Minister.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Data (5 Nov 2015)

Alan Kelly: Is the Deputy saying that we should not have given them the funding? Should we have given them nothing at all?

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Private Rented Accommodation Costs and Controls (5 Nov 2015)

Alan Kelly: I thank the Deputy. A shortage of supply is at the heart of rising rents and the Government is addressing it on a number of fronts. Construction 2020 is aimed at dealing with issues in the property and construction sectors and ensuring that any bottleneck that might impede the sector in meeting demand is addressed. It is being worked through constantly. As the House knows, social housing...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Private Rented Accommodation Costs and Controls (5 Nov 2015)

Alan Kelly: It was strange to remark that supply was not the issue. Of course it is. If there is enough supply, people have options in the market and rents will not be as high. In the long term, the most important issue is private and public supply. We just discussed the social housing programme in detail. The €4 billion package will take fours year to implement but it will help with supply....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Housing Provision (5 Nov 2015)

Alan Kelly: Well said.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Wind Energy Guidelines (5 Nov 2015)

Alan Kelly: In December 2013, my Department published proposed draft revisions to the noise, setbacks and shadow flicker aspects of the 2006 wind energy development guidelines. These draft revisions proposed the setting of a more stringent day and night noise limit of 40 decibels for future wind energy developments; a mandatory minimum setback of 500 m between a wind turbine and the nearest dwelling for...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Wind Energy Guidelines (5 Nov 2015)

Alan Kelly: We received 7,500 submissions with much detail and it is a very technical area, as the Deputy will agree. We are developing technical appendices and my Department is doing a considerable volume of work. Technically complex work is being undertaken by Marshall Day Acoustics and others. In the finalisation of the guidelines, we must be cognisant of our 2020 renewable energy targets. In the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Wind Energy Guidelines (5 Nov 2015)

Alan Kelly: The Deputy probably needs to put down a question to the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy White, to ask his opinions. Given that the Deputy has personalised this regarding my Labour Party colleagues-----