Results 22,881-22,900 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2016
Vote 34 - Environment, Community and Local Government (Revised) (30 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: By the way, requiring by law a period for a decision to be made by An Bord Pleanála is not as straightforward as the committee might think. It has a quasi-judicial function in making judgments. It is true that it is a planning authority, but it is also an appeals body. My understanding is it is not straightforward to simply require it to make a decision, particularly if there are...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2016
Vote 34 - Environment, Community and Local Government (Revised) (30 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: I do not want to be difficult about the Water Bill. We have clear guidance from the clerk on what is standard practice, such as there is a period of four days to put amendments together. I ask the committee to look at going beyond the norm, given what we are trying to deal with. Certainly for the three parties represented here and I suspect the Independents, I have had no indication that...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Tenant Purchase Scheme (5 Jul 2016)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 232, 238, 239 and 245 together. The consideration of individual applications and the determination of eligibility under the new Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme is a matter for the local authority concerned, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the governing legislation for the scheme. The new Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme came...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Wind Energy Guidelines (5 Jul 2016)

Simon Coveney: In December 2013, my Department published proposed “draft” revisions to the noise, setback distance and shadow flicker aspects of the 2006 Wind Energy Development Guidelines. These draft revisions proposed: - the setting of a more stringent day- and night-time noise limit of 40 decibels for future wind energy developments, - a mandatory minimum setback distance of 500 metres...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: National Archives (5 Jul 2016)

Simon Coveney: I refer to the reply to Question No. 358 of 31st May 2016 which sets out the position in this matter.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Proposed Legislation (5 Jul 2016)

Simon Coveney: A Programme for a Partnership Government includes a goal for this Government to pursue the implementation of the Manning Report, formally known as the Report of the Working Group on Seanad Reform. That report makes recommendations to restructure and reform the Seanad, including implementation of the 1979 amendment of the constitution to extend the university franchise at Seanad elections to...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (5 Jul 2016)

Simon Coveney: The advancement through design, planning and construction of the social housing project concerned is a matter in the first instance for the County Council. The Council forwarded the outcome of the tendering process for the construction of this project to my Department in recent days and this is now being assessed with a view to responding to the Council shortly.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: An Bord Pleanála Appointments (5 Jul 2016)

Simon Coveney: Appointments to the Board of An Bord Pleanála are governed by sections 105 to 107 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, and positions on the Board are filled as vacancies arise in line with those provisions. Information on the current nine members of the Board, their dates of appointment and when their appointments expire is set out in the following table: Board...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water and Sewerage Schemes Funding (5 Jul 2016)

Simon Coveney: Kerry County Council has included the Group Water Scheme in question in its application to my Department for funding under the new Rural Water Multi-Annual Funding Programme for the period 2016 to 2018. My Department is currently considering local authorities' bids for funding and allocations to authorities for funding under the new programme will be provided shortly.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Waste Disposal Charges (5 Jul 2016)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 241, 253, 264 and 278 together. It is widely recognised that there are difficulties associated with the collection of household waste in bags, including: - littering caused by ripped bags; - health and safety issues for collectors, where sharp objects are placed in bags; - litter caused by fly-tipping on streets/areas, where bag collections take place; -...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Mortgage to Rent Scheme Funding (5 Jul 2016)

Simon Coveney: There are currently two Mortgage to Rent (MTR) schemes funded by my Department. A scheme exists whereby a local authority (LA) can acquire ownership of properties with unsustainable local authority mortgages, thus enabling the household to remain in their home as a social housing tenant (LAMTR ). The other scheme provides for an Approved Housing Body (AHB) to acquire ownership of a property...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Mortgage to Rent Scheme Applications (5 Jul 2016)

Simon Coveney: Under the Approved Housing Body (AHB) Mortgage to Rent Scheme (AHB-mortgage-to-rent) an AHB can acquire ownership of a property with an unsustainable private mortgage, enabling the household to remain in their home as a social housing tenant. To be eligible for the scheme a household must have had their mortgage position deemed unsustainable under the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Waste Disposal Charges (5 Jul 2016)

Simon Coveney: I have stated publicly that I am unhappy with the arrangement whereby a waste collector would require existing customers to move automatically to pay by weight as opposed to being left on their current plan and given the choice to ‘opt-in’ to pay by weight. I do not believe that this approach is consistent with the spirit of the agreement that I reached with the industry last...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Finances (5 Jul 2016)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 248 and 249 together. It is a matter for each local authority to manage its own finances in a prudent and sustainable manner. Under the Local Government Act 2001, a decision to borrow money is a reserved function of the elected members of a local authority. Section 106 of the Act provides that, in order to undertake borrowing, local authorities must obtain...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payments Implementation (5 Jul 2016)

Simon Coveney: As of 4 July 2016, 467 homeless households, referred by the homeless units, including the Homeless HAP Pilot Scheme being managed by the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive, are being supported by the HAP scheme in the following local authority areas: HAP Local Authority Number of HAP households referred from Homeless Units Carlow 1 Clare 2 Cork City 1 Cork County 8 Dublin City...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Funding (5 Jul 2016)

Simon Coveney: A new arrangement was introduced on a pilot basis in January 2016 to facilitate a further streamlining of funding approvals for social housing construction projects that have an all-in budget of less than €2m and up to 15 housing units. This new arrangement is optional and local authorities can, if they so wish, submit project costings over the course of planning for a project and...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Mortgages (5 Jul 2016)

Simon Coveney: The main house purchase loan currently available from local authorities is the standard annuity mortgage, targeted at lower income first time buyers. The relevant terms and conditions applying to local authority housing loans are set out in the following regulations – the Housing (Home Choice Loan) Regulations 2009 – available at - and the Housing (Local Authority Loans)...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing (5 Jul 2016)

Simon Coveney: Part V provisions are a key component of the range of delivery mechanisms required to achieve the targets set out in the Government’s Social Housing Strategy 2020. One of the objectives of the Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015 is to streamline and enhance the operation of Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 and increase the level of social housing provided as an...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Data (5 Jul 2016)

Simon Coveney: The following table sets out the funding provided by my Department to local authorities for the acquisition of new and previously owned houses and apartments for social housing from 2015 to end June 2016. This includes direct purchases, purchases under Part V arrangements and the delivery of turnkey projects. Some local authorities also fund acquisitions from their own resources such as...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Eligibility (5 Jul 2016)

Simon Coveney: The Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011 prescribe maximum net income limits for each housing authority, in different bands according to the area, with income being defined and assessed according to a standard Household Means Policy. The income bands and the authority area assigned to each band were based on an assessment of income needed to provide for a household's basic needs...