Results 24,941-24,960 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Other Questions: Rent Controls (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: It is not strange at all. We need to have a faster dispute resolution process for tenants and landlords. Some people in this House only want to make the case for one side of the rental debate. Of course, we need to introduce changes to protect tenants from spiralling rents and to address the matter of security of tenure to ensure that landlords are not abusing tenants, but we also need to...

Other Questions: Rent Controls (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: I agree we need to build thousands of social housing units, and we will do so, but it does not happen overnight. People seem to think we can turn away from a functioning rental market and just build thousands of social housing units overnight at the wave of a hand. This is just not the way it works. We are building capacity in the system to build tens of thousands of social housing units...

Other Questions: Rent Controls (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: Market rent is defined in the Residential Tenancies Acts as the rent a willing tenant would give and a willing landlord would take for the dwelling concerned, having regard to the other terms of the tenancy and the letting values of dwellings of a similar size, type and character and situated in a comparable area. It is important to note that any notice of new rent given by a landlord to a...

Other Questions: Rent Controls (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: I do. At the moment social housing makes up between 7% and 8% of total housing stock. I think the average in Europe is between 17% and 18%. We need to significantly increase our social housing stock and that is why we are proposing to increase it by nearly 50,000 over the next five years, increasing social housing stock as a percentage of the total by nearly 30%. I am absolutely committed...

Other Questions: Rent Controls (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: I am not sure which element to answer now as there were a lot of questions. We need to bring vacant sites into use, particularly land that has been zoned for residential use. There is a lot of that in Dublin, some of it with full planning permission as well as zoning. We took advice on how soon we could introduce a vacant site levy and we are proceeding with that. If I could do it...

Other Questions: Water Charges (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: The conclusion drawn by the Deputy from the report is not accurate. I do not want to say that the journalist wrote something that was inaccurate as that would not be fair.

Other Questions: Water Charges (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: I said that if there were no charging for water this year the State would have to find an extra €114 million, but that I expected there would be some charge for the wasting of water that would bring the figure down below €100 million. It has been deduced from my comments that I am saying this will equal €14 million, but that is not actually the case. The water committee...

Other Questions: Water Charges (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: Yes.

Other Questions: Water Charges (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: The committee has an opportunity to ask multiple stakeholders questions about anything it likes. It has been doing that to date. The importance of this issue extends beyond the creation of a revenue stream. I believe there is an obligation to ensure some element of the water policy that is to be determined encourages conservation and applies the polluter pays principle so that we can be...

Other Questions: Water Charges (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: With respect, it is not up to me to do the job of the committee. Officials from my Department were before the committee yesterday.

Other Questions: Water Charges (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: Officials from Irish Water have also been in attendance.

Other Questions: Water Charges (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: There is nothing preventing the committee from asking my Department any questions it wants. I will try to ensure the committee gets accurate answers. Similarly, there is nothing preventing the committee from asking Irish Water to respond to questions that the committee needs to get answered so that it can draw conclusions.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Deposit Protection Scheme Implementation (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: The Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2015 provides for, among other things, the establishment of a tenancy deposit protection scheme to be operated by the Residential Tenancies Board. Indecon Consultants were originally appointed to carry out the research on the development of a deposit retention scheme and they reported in November 2012. The provisions in the 2015 Act were developed...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Waiting Lists (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: The results of the statutory Summary of Social Housing Assessments carried out in 2016 were published last month and show that there were 91,600 households on local authority housing waiting lists as at 21 September 2016. This figure represents an increase of 1,728 households, or 1.9%, on the 89,872 households recorded in the last summary which was carried out in May 2013. The results of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Vacant Sites Levy (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: The Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015 introduced a new measure, the vacant site levy, which is aimed at incentivising the development of vacant or under-utilised sites in urban areas. Under the Act, planning authorities are required to establish a register of vacant sites in their areas, beginning on 1 January 2017, and to issue annual notices to owners of vacant sites by 1 June...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Homeless Accommodation Provision (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: My Department’s role in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of housing authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. In accordance with section 37(2) of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of homeless services,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Housing Issues (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: In publishing the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, the Government has set out a practical and readily implementable set of actions to create a functioning and sustainable housing system. The Plan is available at the website www.rebuildingireland.ie.The Plan is divided into five pillars, with each targeting a specific area of the housing system for attention. On 13...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Housing Provision (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: To support the implementation of the Rebuilding Ireland: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness,I have secured €5.35 billion in Exchequer investment to deliver 47,000 social housing units through build, refurbishment, acquisitions and leasing, over the period to 2021. This €5.35 billion investment comprises some €4.5 billion in capital funding and €844 million in...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Water Charges Administration (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: I understand that the Deputy is referring to individual domestic water supplies more commonly known as private wells. Funding is available under my Department’s Rural Water Programme towards the provision or necessary improvement of private wells. Local authorities were informed of the introduction of the grant scheme and the criteria to be met by way of Circular Letter L8/97 of April...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Ministerial Meetings (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: During the course of the occupation of Apollo House, my primary focus was the welfare of homeless individuals accommodated there and I sought to facilitate their transition to alternative accommodation where appropriate support services could be accessed to meet their short and long-term needs. Together with officials of my Department and Dublin City Council, I met with various individuals...