Results 2,281-2,300 of 4,700 for speaker:Noel Ahern

Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (13 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: Responsibility for the management, maintenance and improvements of their rented dwellings, including the implementation of a planned maintenance programme lies with the local authorities and is financed from their own resources. The National Survey of Housing Quality 2001-2002 reported that just under three-quarters of persons in local authority accommodation are satisfied or very satisfied...

Written Answers — Sustainable Communities: Sustainable Communities (13 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: Work is well underway on a new housing policy statement which will set out more detailed approaches to implementing the Housing Policy Framework: Building Sustainable Communities published in December 2005. This statement, which will be published later this year will take a medium term perspective, will have regard to current discussions within the Partnership Talks, and will link into the...

Written Answers — Departmental Schemes: Departmental Schemes (13 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: Under the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) local authorities are providing accommodation to certain recipients of SWA rent supplement who have been assessed as having a long-term housing need. The RAS scheme is part of a graduated range of housing supports and is an additional housing option for authorities in meeting housing need. Eligible persons can indicate their preference to be...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (13 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: The management, maintenance and improvements to their rented dwellings is the responsibility of each local authority and the funding of such works is required to be provided by local authorities from their own resources as part of their ongoing maintenance programmes. My Department does, however, provide capital funding for major refurbishment work to local authority dwellings under the...

Written Answers — Community Development: Community Development (13 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: The group detailed in the Deputy's question received funding detailed as follows through the Tallaght Local Drugs Task Force for a parent support group. Total € November 2001 — October 2002 31,744 November 2002 — April 2003 9,524 May 2003 — October 2003 9,524 November 2003 — April 2004 9,524 May 2004 —...

Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (13 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: Under the terms of the Sustaining Progress Affordable Housing Initiative, a series of lands belonging to local authorities have been released to the initiative. To date, 131 affordable housing units have been provided on three sites in Buckley's Field, Blackrock, Cork (32 units), Finglas Road (50 units) and Flemington, Balbriggan (49 units). Construction is also underway on ten sites...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (13 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: Circulars HRT 8/93 (15 June 1993) and HRT 2/97 (14 April 1997) advised local authorities of their obligations under the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 1993 which detail standards for rented houses including local authority houses. Copies of these circulars are available from my Department.

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (13 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: An application for funding under the voluntary housing capital assistance scheme has been received from Drogheda Borough Council in respect of this project and clarification on a number of aspects sought from the Council is awaited. When this is to hand the application will be further considered. Officials from my Department will, if required, meet with the Council and the voluntary body to...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (13 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: Details of the number of social and affordable houses that have been provided in Waterford City and county in each of the past five years are set out in my Department's Housing Statistics Bulletins, copies of which are available in the Oireachtas Library and on the Department's website at www.environ.ie. The majority of these have been funded through either Exchequer capital provision or...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (13 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: My Department met with officials from Sligo Borough Council on 7 June 2006 to discuss the draft framework plan for the regeneration of this estate. The overall proposals are now being examined in my Department in relation to their scope and suitability as well as indicative costings and implementation. A response from the Department will be conveyed to the Borough Council as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (13 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: The information requested is being compiled and will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (13 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: In 2004 I sought the preparation by local authorities of social and affordable housing action plans for the period 2004-2008. The Action Plans, now at their midway stage are currently being reviewed. The review is focusing on how targets have been met in the first two years of the plan and on incorporating any adjustments required for the remaining years of the plan, in light of performance...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (13 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: I recently informed local authorities of their financial capital allocations for their local authority housing programmes and have urged them to accelerate progress on the implementation of their housing programmes in order to commence construction and secure completion of as many social housing schemes as possible in 2006. An allocation of €43.2 million has been notified to the Kildare...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (13 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: I refer to the reply to Questions Nos. 238 and 239 of 4 May 2006. The loan limit for the Shared Ownership Scheme was reviewed and increased with effect from 1 January 2006. The maximum loan that may now be advanced by a local authority in respect of the share of a dwelling being purchased (minimum 40%) is €185,000. While the cost of a dwelling may substantially exceed this amount, the...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (13 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: The relative priority of households on the local authority waiting lists is determined in accordance with the authorities' schemes of letting priorities, the making of which is a function reserved to the elected members. It is the case that some applicants for local authority housing are on waiting lists for longer periods on the basis that their housing need has a relative lower priority...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (13 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 450 and 453 together. The most recent assessment of need for social housing was undertaken by local authorities in March 2005 indicated that there were 43,684 households on local authority waiting lists compared with 48,413 in March 2002 — a decrease of almost 10%. Information on the number of local authority housing units constructed each year for the past...

National Drugs Strategy. (14 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 42 and 43 together. The overall aim of the mid-term review of the national drugs strategy, NDS, was to examine the progress made to date in achieving the key strategic goals set out in the strategy and to enable priorities for future action to be identified for the remaining period up to 2008. As part of the review, the steering group undertook an extensive...

National Drugs Strategy. (14 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: I thank the Deputy for his comments. I accept the needle exchange was a weakness in the operation of the strategy. While a number of centres in Dublin have needle exchange programmes, they tend to operate for only a couple of days per week or for only part of the day. Too many people, therefore, were coming to one or two main centres in the city centre. The HSE has provided extra money this...

National Drugs Strategy. (14 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: One of the Deputy's colleagues spoke to me about that recently. The buses were geared at the more chaotic people who would not go to treatment centres. This was the thinking behind them. I will follow up on the matter for the Deputy. Many of the people who have a cocaine problem now were already attending services for other drug problems such as heroin. It is not necessary to have more...

National Drugs Strategy. (14 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: I do not see the community drugs strategy as a failure. We are working with the community and all the statutory agencies. Drugs have not gone away and will not go away in the next year or two. As I said in my reply there may be people who are using drugs for recreational purposes. While on the prevention side we try to provide information to all sectors of society, our strategy is geared...