Results 25,101-25,120 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Harbours and Piers Development (31 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: I have no function in relation to the provision of funding for individual piers and harbours. The funding for such infrastructural works is a matter for Donegal County Council, in the first instance.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Water Services Provision (31 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: With effect from 1 January 2014, Irish Water is responsible for delivering public water services. Irish Water is also responsible for water services infrastructure including water supply pipes or drainage pipes extending from a waterworks or wastewater works to the curtilage of a private property. Under sections 43 and 54 of the Water Services Act 2007, responsibility for maintenance and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Homeless Persons Supports (31 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. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of accommodation and related homeless services rests with individual housing authorities. My Department has no...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Traveller Accommodation (31 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: In accordance with the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998, housing authorities have statutory responsibility for the assessment of the accommodation needs of Travellers and the preparation, adoption and implementation of multi-annual Traveller Accommodation Programmes (TAPs) in their areas. My Department’s role is to ensure that there are adequate structures and supports in...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Funding (31 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: My Department has recently given approval for Meath County Council to proceed with its planned programme of acquisitions. Subject to compliance with the usual conditions, these acquisitions will be funded by my Department following submission of the requisite funding applications and supporting documentation by Meath County Council.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Provision (31 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: The project referred to in the Question is not at tender stage. An application was recently submitted by Meath County Council seeking approval to proceed with Part 8 planning for this scheme. The Council’s submission is currently under consideration and it is expected that a reply will issue shortly.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Residential Tenancies Board (31 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: There are currently no vacant positions on the Board of the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB). However, the terms of appointment of 3 Board Members will expire on 31 March 2017. In accordance with Government policy, the Public Appointments Service (PAS) will be given responsibility for putting in place an open and transparent system through which applications can be made for appointments to...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Waiting Lists (31 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: Section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011 set down a standard procedure for assessing applicants for social housing support. A household may apply for support to one housing authority only, which may be the authority for the area in which the household normally resides or with which it has a local connection, or the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Funding (31 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: Rather than annualised allocations, funding for the delivery of new social housing is provided as local authorities advance projects or acquire housing. It is only certain programmes for the improvement of existing stock for which annual allocations are provided to local authorities. In respect of the provision of new social housing, funding is provided to local authorities under my...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Housing Adaptation Grant Data (31 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: My Department provides funding under the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability in relation to private homes.  The funding provided under this scheme to Kildare County Council in 2014, 2015 and 2016 was €1,819,830, €1,943,200 and €2,204,809 respectively. The Council drew down €1,676,952, €1,940,678 and €1,743,266...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Departmental Staff Data (31 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: The total number of full time equivalent (FTE) staff in my Department at these grades as of 31 December 2016 is as follows: 80.17 Clerical Officers and equivalents; 7.73 Staff Officers and equivalents.

Topical Issue Debate: Rent Controls (1 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: I thank the Deputy for raising the concerns of many people he represents very effectively in Drogheda. He rightly points out that rent pressure zone designation is assessed on the basis of local electoral areas. When local electoral area boundaries divide urban communities, as they do in certain parts of Drogheda, there are anomalies and consequences about which some people are not happy....

Topical Issue Debate: Rent Controls (1 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: Families on low incomes get many supports, for example, the housing assistance payment, HAP, the rental accommodation scheme and rent supplement. We took an extra 12,000 people onto the HAP scheme last year. We will take on even more, probably a further 15,000, this year. HAP and rent supplement payments were increased significantly last summer in many areas where there had been rental...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (1 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 206 and 221 together. Action 4.6 of Rebuilding Ireland provided for the introduction of an affordable rental scheme to enhance the capacity of the private rented sector to provide quality and affordable accommodation for households currently paying a disproportionate amount of disposable income on rent. As set out in the recently published Strategy...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Legislative Measures (1 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: The Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016 was enacted on 23 December 2016. The commencement provisions in section 1 of the Act provide that the amendments to the Local Government Act 1998 in Part 5 came into operation on the day of enactment, and that sections 33 to 37, 46, 47 and 50 of Part 3 - which amend the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 - came into...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payments Implementation (1 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: The Homeless Pilot of the HAP scheme has been operational since February 2015, across the four housing authorities in the Dublin Region, i.e. Dublin City Council, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, Fingal County Council and South Dublin County Council, and is being implemented through the Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE). The focus of this pilot remains the transitioning of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Data (1 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: The management and maintenance of local authority housing stock, including the implementation of planned maintenance programmes and standard and responsive pre-letting repairs, is a matter for each individual local authority under section 58 of the Housing Act, 1966 and are not directly funded by my Department and would not be included in housing statistics. However the Voids programme was...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Funding (1 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: Investment in social housing through the public private partnership or PPP model is part of a wider plan to accelerate the supply of social housing, reflected in the second pillar of the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing & Homelessness, launched in July 2016. To enable delivery to commence as quickly as possible, the PPP programme is being rolled-out in three bundles. The...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Planning Issues (1 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: A detailed and national level policy approach in relation to residential densities in urban areas has already been set out in my Department’s Guidelines for Planning Authorities on Sustainable Residential Development in Urban Areas, published in May 2009 under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended. The objective of these Guidelines is to ensure local...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Mortgage to Rent Scheme Administration (1 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: The Mortgage to Rent (MTR) scheme for borrowers of private commercial lending institutions was introduced in 2012. The scheme is part of the overall suite of social housing options and is an important part of the mortgage arrears resolution process. Up to the end of December 2016, a total of 3,575 cases have been submitted under the MTR scheme. Of these, 2,723 were ineligible or terminated...