Results 24,581-24,600 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Traveller Accommodation (14 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 112, 113 and 114 together.112, 113 , 114 together. Following the tragic loss of life in Carrickmines on 10 October 2015, my Department’s National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management (NDFEM) was tasked with leading a Programme to Review Fire Safety in Local Authority Provided Traveller Accommodation. The objective of the review was to ensure...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Traveller Accommodation (14 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: Approved Housing Body (AHB) status was granted to CENA, Ireland’s first Traveller-led AHB, in 2013. As an AHB, CENA has signed up to the Voluntary Regulation Code for AHBs, which will allow them to play a significant role in the provision and management of accommodation for Travellers in the coming years. My Department has committed to providing funding to CENA to advance two pilot...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Private Residential Tenancies Board Enforcement (14 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: The Residential Tenancies Act 2004 regulates the landlord-tenant relationship in the rented residential sector and sets out the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants. The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) was established as an independent statutory body under the Act to operate a national tenancy registration system and to facilitate the resolution of disputes between landlords and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Irish Water (14 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: Under the ‘ Confidence and Supply Arrangement’ agreed with Fianna Fáil, the Government is committed to establishing an External Advisory Body to advise on measures to improve the transparency and accountability of Irish Water. The advisory body will be tasked with publishing advice to the Government and giving quarterly reports to an Oireachtas committee on the performance...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Staff Data (14 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: My Department gathers quarterly data on staff numbers in local authorities. The data gathered do not provide detail in respect of numbers working in the building control sections within each local authority and accordingly the information requested is not available in my Department. Under section 159 of the Local Government Act 2001, each Chief Executive is responsible for the staffing...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Departmental Staff Data (14 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: I cannot comment on the data held by other Government Departments. However, my Department does not collect payroll information in the way in which the Deputy has requested it. I have, however, requested the Payroll shared service to retrieve and collate the information requested and a response will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as the material is available.

Business of Dáil (15 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: They cannot do that.

Business of Dáil (15 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: First, I want to set the record straight on a number of points in relation to the process here. I agree with Deputy Ó Broin in that regard. We have flagged for many weeks that we may use Report Stage of this Bill in order to ensure that there is a very short period between announcing quite a radical change in how the private rental market in Ireland will work and legislating for that...

Business of Dáil (15 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: It is important that everybody understands that the process was agreed here by spokespersons across all parties. It was debated in the Seanad at length and I flagged the issue that we would probably deal with this amendment to the legislation in the last week before Christmas so nobody should have been taken by surprise by that.

Business of Dáil (15 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: I accept that the process is unusual but the legislation we were planning to debate today has been subject to a lot of debate in the Seanad, in committee and in the Dáil on Second Stage. It was always suggested that the amendment on rent predictability or certainty would be brought forward on Committee or Report Stage if possible. That is exactly what is being proposed. That...

Business of Dáil (15 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: Let me finish with this because others had their say.

Business of Dáil (15 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: -----of ensuring that we do not undermine-----

Business of Dáil (15 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: -----supply coming into the market as well as trying to protect hard-pressed tenants. As Deputy Micheál Martin said, we want to be constructive but as Minister I cannot agree to take a Government Bill in Government time if I do not know what the outcome is likely to be on Report Stage.

Business of Dáil (15 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: If I do that, I am likely to have to face the prospect of having to implement a Bill that is neither legally sound nor makes sense.

Business of Dáil (15 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: We need to have some certainty on the detail of a final Bill that I will have responsibility for implementing and the Dáil will have responsibility for holding me to account on. Until I have some certainty on what the final Bill may look like-----

Business of Dáil (15 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: -----which is perfectly normal when a Government has a majority. We are operating in a minority situation which requires a new approach-----

Business of Dáil (15 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: -----which requires a new approach to politics and that is being tested today. We want to be constructive and try to find a way forward.

Business of Dáil (15 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: I am the person who proposed the timeline here and nobody wants to get this done today more than I do, but in an effort to get this done quickly, I am not going to facilitate flawed legislation.

Business of Dáil (15 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: No, it is not my way.

Business of Dáil (15 Dec 2016)

Simon Coveney: I am not going to facilitate and I am certainly not going to implement legislation that is not in the interests of the country.