Results 24,481-24,500 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Housing Agency Portfolio (13 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: The Housing Agency currently acts as a central co-ordination body at national level for banks/investors to interact with. This activity began in early 2015 and to date has yielded 174 properties across 29 local authorities at a total value of over €25m. Rebuilding Ireland, the Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, provides for a new acquisitions initiative under which the Housing...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Residential Property Sales (13 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: The aim of the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund is to relieve critical infrastructural blockages to enable the accelerated delivery of housing on key development sites and to improve the economic viability of new housing projects in Dublin and in urban areas of high demand for housing. The €200m Fund will be composed of an Exchequer allocation of €150 million,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (13 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 245 and 246 together. The Poolbeg West Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) site has significant potential to deliver additional housing supply, including for social housing purposes, at a pace and scale that will greatly assist in addressing the current critical shortage of housing supply in the Dublin Region. The Government Order, designating the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Water and Sewerage Schemes Grants (13 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: The Domestic Waste Water Treatment Systems (Financial Assistance) Regulations 2013, a copy of which is available in the Oireachtas library, brought into operation a grant scheme to assist with the cost of remediation of septic tanks and domestic waste water treatment systems which are deemed, following inspection under the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Inspection Plan, to...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Planning Issues (13 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: My Department has not received a proposal in respect of  the provision of 42 units of accommodation on the site of the old convent in Clifden. I understand that an approved housing body is currently carrying out a feasibility assessment on such a proposal and is liaising with Galway County Council in this regard. If any such proposal is received by my Department, it will be...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Departmental Legal Cases Data (13 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: In the past five years my Department was involved in court proceedings in one case involving a confidentiality agreement. This case was the subject of an out of court settlement and the agreement did not prevent knowledge of either the court proceedings or the participants to the court proceedings, from being made known.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Rainwater Harvesting Systems Provision (13 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: I am fully supportive of technologies which contribute to the conservation of water. Rainwater harvesting has the potential to contribute to reducing the cost of water services for certain uses as well as benefitting the environment. Since 1 January 2014, Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Wind Energy Guidelines (13 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: In December 2013, my Department published proposed draft revisions to the noise, setback distance and shadow flicker aspects of the 2006 WindEnergy 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 between a wind...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Funding (13 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: My Department has responsibility for the provision of funding for social housing delivered through local authorities and approved housing bodies. The overall strategic objective of Government housing policy is to enable all households to access good quality housing appropriate to their household circumstances and in sustainable communities of their choice. The main focus of social housing...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Library Services Funding (13 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: I refer to the reply to Question No. 201 of Tuesday, 6 December, 2016 which sets out the position in this matter.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Dumping at Sea (13 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: My Department has received further legal advice on this matter. Efforts are continuing through correspondence and otherwise to narrow the identity of the appropriate parties involved in placing material on State owned foreshore without consent. This is necessary as any parties against whom legal proceedings are contemplated are obliged to be put on notice.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Water and Sewerage Schemes Grants (13 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: Since 1 January 2014, Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels. rish Water has established a dedicated team to deal with representations and queries from public representatives. The team can be contacted via email to or by telephone on a dedicated number, 1890 578 578. Under my...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Electoral Commission Establishment (13 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: In 2015, on the basis of a consultation paper prepared by my Department, and at the invitation of the then Minister, the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht undertook a public consultation process on the establishment of an electoral commission. The Committee published a report on the consultation in January 2016. This report contains a series of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Legislative Programme (13 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: Six Bills are in preparation in my Department; two Bills have been published and are currently before the Oireachtas; and two Bills have been signed into law. Information on the Bills is set out in the tables below. Bills in Preparation Building Control Bill Electoral Commission Bill Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill Maritime Area and Foreshore (Amendment) Bill ...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Rent Supplement Scheme Eligibility (13 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: The making and amending of rent schemes is the responsibility of local authorities as an integral part of their housing management functions, subject to broad principles laid down by my Department in Circular letter HRT 3/2002 of 6 March 2002. It is a matter for local authorities, when assessing individual households, to consider whether rents payable are in accordance with the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Departmental Staff Redeployment (13 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: Following an overall review of decentralisation, in November 2011, a Government decision gave effect to the winding down of a number of individual decentralisation projects. As part of the implementation of this decision the original proposal to designate the then Department of Environment, Community and Local Government’s Wexford office as Headquarters was rescinded. The...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Bill 2016: Committee Stage (13 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: I move amendment No. 4:In page 6, to delete lines 13 and 14 and substitute the following:“ “prospective applicant” means a person who—(a) is the owner of the land concerned, or (b) has the written consent of the owner to make an application under section 4 in respect of that land, and who intends to apply for permission under that section in respect of that...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Bill 2016: Committee Stage (13 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: I can confirm that that is the intention.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Bill 2016: Committee Stage (13 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: I move amendment No. 6:In page 6, line 26, to delete “or”.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Bill 2016: Committee Stage (13 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: I move amendment No. 7:In page 6, between lines 26 and 27, to insert the following:“(c) development that includes developments of the type referred to in paragraph (a) and of the type referred to in paragraph (b), or”.