Results 22,441-22,460 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (2 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: I do not see how one would be able to say that definitively.

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (2 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: There are NAMA estates in the Deputy's constituency. However, 20,000 houses will be built and she has no idea what percentage of them will be social housing.

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (2 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: That is not necessarily true because, through the NARPS model, NAMA is already making houses available for approved housing bodies. The latter has nothing to do with its 10%. Let us not assume the worst all the time. I expect and hope that more than 10% of the NAMA-built properties will be available for social housing through various different mechanisms. Let us work out, development by...

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (2 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: Based on what I know, the 25,000 figure is a Housing Agency figure. It is also backed up by a number of economic think tanks in Ireland, including the ESRI. There are few people who would disagree that a country with a population of approximately 5 million and the type of demographics we have needs to build approximately 25,000 housing units per year. Most people would also accept that...

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (2 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: Yes, I think so.

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (2 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: Yes, that would be my view. If we can reach the 25,000 target in terms of delivery in advance of 2020, it will be a huge achievement. If we can go beyond that target, we should aspire to do so. In response to the question on the number of houses I would like to be built per year for the next ten years in a perfect scenario, I would like between 30,000 and 35,000 per year to be built....

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (2 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: I do not mean to interrupt but I need time to answer before I go to a Cabinet meeting at 2 p.m. That is the problem.

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (2 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: On that particular question, Deputy Wallace will get an opportunity to ask questions of some of the chief executives later on.

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (2 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: Hopefully, the Deputy will get some answers then. I am aware that NAMA spent tens of millions of euro doing up properties to make them suitable for social housing. I do not have the exact figure but it was very significant.

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (2 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: It spent €100 million making properties ready for social housing.

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (2 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: Of course it matters, but €100 million is a very significant investment in social housing.

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (2 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: We can have a long debate about the remit of NAMA. The NAMA vehicle was set up to take broken property-related loan books off the banking system and its remit was to try to minimise the financial exposure to the State. That is the remit it continues to work out, which is why it has - and it is unapologetic about it - a commercial remit to try to do that. It is predicting that by 2020 it...

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (2 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: Absolutely. For example, there are very strategic and large landbanks in Cork, in particular, as well as Limerick and Athlone. These landbanks are often in city centres and will never really be used for commercial rail in the future. Obviously, Irish Rail must get a commercial rate of return for an asset that it owns and is on its balance sheet. It cannot simply write it off without all...

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (2 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: It can be buy-to-lease or build-to lease. Absolutely, and perhaps we could expand that model. If one looks at the UK, there is a huge reliance on approved housing bodies there to build and manage large property portfolios of social housing and often also of specialised housing. Whether it is for the elderly or the disability sector, there are specialised providers of certain types of...

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (2 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: In Tipperary the figure was quite high.

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (2 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: I could not possibly comment on that.

Committee on Housing and Homelessness: Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (2 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: The figure in Leitrim was 47% so there are other high figures as well. I thank the committee. I would have preferred to have stayed for longer. I look forward to getting the committee's report when it is produced. If people want follow-up meetings on the report recommendations, we will happily oblige. If the committee needs any information from the Department in terms of statistics we...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Waste Management (8 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: Exporting is a loss of waste resources that could otherwise be used to generate employment, open up new markets for Irish products, and boost domestic economic activity. Government waste policy supports managing waste as a national resource, and the benefits of this approach, as part of the transition to a circular economy , are increasingly being recognised across Europe. If Ireland can...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Seniors Alert Scheme (8 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: My Department is responsible for the Seniors Alert Scheme which encourages community support for vulnerable older people in our communities by providing grant assistance towards the purchase and installation of personal monitored alarms to enable older persons, of limited means, to continue to live securely in their homes with confidence, independence and peace of mind. My Department...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water Services (8 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: Responsibility for water services policy and legislation remains with my Department.