Results 25,341-25,360 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payments Data (22 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: There are currently more than 18,000 households supported by the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) in 28 local authority areas, including homeless households being supported by the DRHE operated scheme for the Dublin Region. Since the commencement of the phased statutory roll-out of HAP in September 2014, the following numbers of additional households have been supported in each year of the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (22 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: The allocation of social housing support to qualified households is a matter for the housing authority concerned in accordance with the authority’s allocation scheme made under Section 22 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and associated Social Housing Allocation Regulations 2011. While the development and implementation of an allocation scheme is a matter for the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Data (22 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Question Nos. 119 and 121 together. Under my Department’s Social Housing Capital Investment and Social Housing Current Expenditure Programmes, funding is provided to local authorities to deliver additional social housing stock through new construction projects and through the acquisition of new and previously owned houses/apartments. Details on the number of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Data (22 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: The practical operation of transfer lists is a matter for each local authority to manage, on the basis of their allocation scheme made under section 22 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009. My Department does not gather or hold any information on households seeking a transfer to an alternative social housing support, whether they are currently having their housing need met...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing (22 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: As the Deputy will be aware, I attended a meeting with the Ballymun 4 Business (B4B) network on 24 November 2016, in Ballymun, and took part in an informal round table discussion where matters pertaining to housing, tenure, infrastructure and economic development were discussed. This included a discussion regarding the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund and the City Council’s...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Local Government Reform (22 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: The Programme for a Partnership Government sets out a number of requirements in relation to local government reform. This involves the submission of a report to Government and the Oireachtas by mid-2017 on potential measures to boost local government leadership and accountability, and to ensure that local government funding, structures and responsibilities strengthen local democracy. The...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (22 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: The provision of social housing support to qualified households is a matter for individual housing authorities in accordance with the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and regulations made thereunder. The Act provides for a range of social housing supports which qualified households may avail of in order to meet their housing needs, including the provision of dwellings through the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Ministerial Advisers Appointments (22 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: The Minister of State in my Department, Mr. Damien English, T.D., has not appointed any Special Advisers or Programme Managers and, insofar as her responsibilities within my Department are concerned, neither has Minister of State Catherine Byrne, who has shared responsibilities between my Department and the Department of Health.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Emergency Accommodation Provision (23 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy will receive my written reply but I will give him a verbal answer because it might be more helpful. A significant number of families have been housed or we have found homes for them. There have also been significant numbers of families coming into homelessness. The figure was 87 in the month of January. The challenge is to reduce the numbers coming into homelessness and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Emergency Accommodation Provision (23 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: Last year 2,700 housing solutions were put in place for homeless individuals and families. I will have to get the figure for the split between the two but many were families. If one looks at the figure for January, which was not a good figure overall in terms of homelessness and which people have commented on, the number of homeless adults has increased. That was not a huge surprise to us...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Emergency Accommodation Provision (23 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: If it helps, I can go through the projections we have done with the local authorities. I can do that with all spokespeople if they would like to see them so they can see what we are trying to do. It is ambitious but it is credible.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Emergency Accommodation Provision (23 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: We can do that too. It is no problem.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Mortgage to Rent Scheme (23 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: I and my Government colleagues are acutely aware of the challenges faced by households in mortgage arrears and who potentially are at risk of losing their homes. Rebuilding Ireland includes a range of actions that are targeted at assisting borrowers and ensuring that a range of suitable restructuring options is available that ultimately seeks to support borrowers to remain in their homes....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Mortgage to Rent Scheme (23 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: I have met a number of the organisations behind the funds to explore how this might work. At least one of them is now an approved housing body as well. The one in which David Hall is involved, for example, applied to become an approved housing body and it believes it can raise sufficient capital with very modest rates of returns. The business model will be something along the lines that a...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Mortgage to Rent Scheme (23 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: My Department can only take decisions and responsibility directly for those who qualify for social housing. There are broader considerations potentially within Government and the Department of Finance on whether we extend those criteria. There is an ongoing discussion as to whether, for example, we extend income thresholds around social housing eligibility and there are arguments for and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Local Authority Housing Provision (23 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: Last Monday, I published a status report for social housing construction projects which lists all approved projects up to the end of 2016, including those at various stages of advancement through planning, design and construction and those delivered in 2016. This report is available on the Department's website, and I encourage people to look at it. The status report includes 16 projects...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Local Authority Housing Provision (23 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: I will name them.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Local Authority Housing Provision (23 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: I have been through some of the programmes. Significant numbers of housing have been brought back into use through repairs. There has been quite a significant acquisition programme in Tipperary. It is true that only six units were completed there.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Local Authority Housing Provision (23 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: I can give the Deputy the names of those. There are a further 13 local authority construction schemes in the pipeline which will deliver 129 units when completed, two in Thurles, Cloughjordan, Cashel, Clonmel, Borrisoleigh, Templetuohy, Roscrea, Newport, Carrick-on-Suir and Knockanrawley. I can go through these afterwards with the Deputy if he wants. I accept the impatience to get these...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Local Authority Housing Provision (23 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: Let me give the Deputy some statistics. On 17 February-----