Results 25,181-25,200 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payments Data (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: Data relating to the number of households supported by HAP within each local authority area at end of Q4 2016 are available on my Department’s website at the following link: . Under the HAP scheme, a tenant sources their own accommodation, the tenancy agreement is between the tenant and the landlord and is covered by the Residential Tenancy Act 2004 (as amended). Recognising the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payments Administration (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: A key principle of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme is that eligible households source their own accommodation in the private rented sector, which best suits their needs in their area of choice. This is distinct from the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) which is a different type of social housing support where the tenant may not always find their own accommodation and instead are...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Homelessness Strategy (8 Feb 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 services for homeless persons rests with individual housing authorities. Where a...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Homeless Accommodation Provision (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: Rebuilding Ireland: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness provides for early and longer-term solutions to address the high levels of homelessness, especially the unacceptable number of families in emergency accommodation in hotels. The plan's commitments are that, by mid-2017, hotels should only be used in limited circumstances as emergency accommodation for families. Full details and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payments Administration (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: As the Deputy will be aware, one of the key functions of housing authorities is to provide or manage the provision of social housing support in a way that counteracts undue segregation between persons of different social backgrounds and ensures the provision of an appropriate mix of dwelling types and tenure classes. Once a household has been deemed eligible for social housing support, it...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Vacant Properties (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: The use of Compulsory Leasing Orders as a possible means of re-utilising vacant properties was proposed at a presentation to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government last week by the Peter McVerry Trust in the context of discussions on addressing the issue of vacant housing, derelict sites and underused spaces. The Trust indicated that it supported...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Vacant Properties (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: Pillar 5 of the Government's Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness - Rebuilding Ireland is specifically focused on Utilising Existing Housing Stock, with a key objective of ensuring that the existing vacant housing stock throughout the country and across all forms of tenure, in both the public and private sectors, is used to the optimum degree possible. In this regard, Action 5.1 of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Data (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: Statistics on the average re-letting times for local authority social housing are gathered by the National Oversight and Audit Commission and are set out by local authority in their report on Performance Indicators in Local Authorities. These statistics are available for both 2014 and 2015 at the following links: and . The statistics as gathered by the National Oversight and Audit...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Urban Renewal Schemes (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: The Programme for a Partnership Government, published in May 2016, sets out the ambitious priority attached to urban regeneration by the Government, incorporating a series of specific actions aimed at facilitating the regeneration of our urban centres, many of which have been adversely impacted by our recent economic difficulties. The Government's Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: National Oversight and Audit Commission (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 165 and 166 together. The National Oversight and Audit Commission (NOAC) was established under the Local Government Reform Act 2014 to provide oversight of the local government sector and it is statutorily independent of my Department. The specific functions assigned to NOAC include scrutiny of the performance of any local government body against...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Planning Issues (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: I have no plans to reduce the €20 fee payable by members of the public for making submissions or observations on planning applications, including successive applications for development on the same site in respect of which other planning applications have been made in the previous 5 years. The amount of the fee for this purpose is relatively low having regard to the administrative and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Planning Issues (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: The 2005 Planning Guidelines on Sustainable Rural Housing, issued by my Department, set out the national policy framework for planning authorities in drawing up their statutory development plans in relation to rural housing, taking into account local circumstances and the type of area involved, including are as near large cities and towns which need careful management of development pressures...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: National Planning Framework (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: The new National Planning Framework (NPF), Ireland 2040 – Our Plan, will provide the strategic 20 year-plus framework for the development of Ireland to 2040. Cross-border co-operation between Ireland and Northern Ireland on planning matters has been ongoing for many years as evidenced by the publication of a Framework for Co-operation: Spatial Strategies of Northern Ireland &...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Commissions of Inquiry (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: There are no formal investigations or inquiries currently being conducted in my Department.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Applications Data (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: The results of the statutory Summary of Social Housing Assessments carried out in 2016 provide updated figures on the number of households qualified for social housing support across each housing authority. The 2016 summary recorded 91,600 such households as at 21 September, 2016. The full results of the 2016 Summary are available on my Department’s website at the following link:....

Seanad: Amendments to Councillors' Conditions: Statements (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: I am pleased to have the opportunity to provide the Members of Seanad Éireann with an update regarding improvements to the financial supports for elected members of local authorities. Local authority elected members are now midway through their first term of serving under the new framework established following the implementation in 2014 of the most radical changes in local government...

Seanad: Amendments to Councillors' Conditions: Statements (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: Just for the record, if anyone is rushed I am happy to speak to anybody after this debate offline if people have issues they want to raise.

Seanad: Amendments to Councillors' Conditions: Statements (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: I am sure the Senator would prefer that.

Seanad: Amendments to Councillors' Conditions: Statements (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: It is an allowance, rather than part of salary.

Seanad: Amendments to Councillors' Conditions: Statements (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: I should have taken the opportunity when I was speaking earlier to acknowledge the presence of the councillors in the Visitors' Gallery. I thank the AILG and LAMA for their engagement on these issues. We have had multiple meetings where we have had honest and blunt discussions with both organisations on what we need to try to do.Those meetings have been honest, blunt discussions about what...