Results 25,541-25,560 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney
- Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Water and Sewerage Schemes Grants (1 Mar 2017)
Simon Coveney: To ensure equity of treatment with households on public water supplies the subsidy rates for group water schemes were adjusted down in 2015 to reflect the new domestic water charging regime introduced on 1 January 2015. In line with the suspension of domestic water charges for a period of nine months from 1 July 2016, as set out in the Water Services (Amendment) Act 2016, and to ensure equity...
- Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (1 Mar 2017)
Simon Coveney: Provision has been made for an investment with a capital value of €300 million in social housing through the public private partnership or PPP model. In total, the programme is expected to deliver 1,500 social housing units. The first bundle, comprising six PPP sites which is to provide over 500 units in the greater Dublin area, is being developed at these sites in co-operation...
- Select Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government (Revised) (1 Mar 2017) Simon Coveney: I will make a detailed opening statement. We will, I hope, go through the different briefs one after the other and take questions members may have. I welcome the opportunity to discuss with the select committee my Department's Revised Estimate for 2017. I am accompanied by the Minister of State, Deputy Damien English, and the Minister of State, Deputy Catherine Byrne. To assist in our...
- Select Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government (Revised) (1 Mar 2017) Simon Coveney: Sounds like a scene from "Life of Brian".
- Select Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government (Revised) (1 Mar 2017) Simon Coveney: I welcome Deputy Ellis. I am sure he will pitch in on the discussion as we go. I have given an opening speech addressing the areas of funding provision, housing, water, local government, community planning, Met Éireann and administration. In some ways, I understand where Deputy Casey is coming from in terms of capital versus current spending on housing. This is a big priority for...
- Select Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government (Revised) (1 Mar 2017) Simon Coveney: We do.
- Select Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government (Revised) (1 Mar 2017) Simon Coveney: I will deal with the last question first because it is obviously topical today, although I will try to stick with the Estimates but it does impact on the Estimates to a certain extent because we have to account for the suspension of water charges this year. That was already part of the Estimate and it will be part of a Revised Estimate if the decision is made to proceed in a way that does...
- Select Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government (Revised) (1 Mar 2017) Simon Coveney: They have not, actually.
- Select Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government (Revised) (1 Mar 2017) Simon Coveney: It has not.
- Select Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government (Revised) (1 Mar 2017) Simon Coveney: There is a process still under way in that committee. We should let the committee do its work. The Chairman is attempting to bring people together. They are meeting again today. We should not try to influence its work from the outside. We should let that process take its course. We had looked at introducing a new affordable rental model that would apply-----
- Select Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government (Revised) (1 Mar 2017) Simon Coveney: I will come to the affordable mortgages. I am answering Deputy Ellis's question, if that is okay with Deputy Coppinger.
- Select Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government (Revised) (1 Mar 2017) Simon Coveney: I will come back to that. Affordable rental is linked to mixed tenure developments, which is something that we are trying to progress. I live next door to a mixed tenure development that works very well.
- Select Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government (Revised) (1 Mar 2017) Simon Coveney: I do. Deputy Coppinger seems to have preconceived notions as to where I come from every time we have this debate.
- Select Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government (Revised) (1 Mar 2017) Simon Coveney: We are trying to ensure that mixed tenure is provided where possible in the new social housing developments that we are funding. It is not always possible. Sometimes we will fund the more traditional local authority housing estate. We have signed off on many of those in the last six months. Tens of millions of euro are being spent on them. On big sites such as O'Devaney Gardens, Oscar...
- Select Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government (Revised) (1 Mar 2017) Simon Coveney: That can be looked at. Our focus to date has been on trying to get social housing built, trying to get capacity in place to build, trying to get a lot of sites that have been basically stagnant for a decade up and running again and trying to build capacity within affordable housing bodies and local authorities to build social housing. Many local authorities were very badly caught out with...
- Select Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government (Revised) (1 Mar 2017) Simon Coveney: It is not necessarily shared ownership, it is also affordable housing estates. In principle, I do not disagree with Deputy Ellis that we need to look at an affordable housing model. How we provide accommodation in places like Dublin city centre for people to be able to work and live in close proximity is key. I have an open mind on whether that is through affordable rental, through...
- Select Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government (Revised) (1 Mar 2017) Simon Coveney: Factoring in the cost of sites is a big problem in Dublin, in particular. It is less of a problem outside Dublin, apart from areas such as Galway and Cork. We are looking independently at the cost of building houses through the Housing Agency and through the Department. In Dublin, depending on what estimate one looks at, one needs to factor in €60,000 for site purchase. This seems...
- Select Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government (Revised) (1 Mar 2017) Simon Coveney: We have €300 million of capital value earmarked into the plan between now and 2021. In total, that programme is expected to deliver 1,500 social housing units through PPPs. There is a tendering process that will mean that in most of these projects, the money will be spent next year rather than this year because it takes time to ramp that up. We should use public private...
- Select Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government (Revised) (1 Mar 2017) Simon Coveney: My understanding is that Dublin City Council has been one of the leading proponents of using PPPs. It has been appointed to act as the lead local authority for the delivery of the social housing PPP programme in respect of this first project bundle with Cork County Council appointed to act as the lead local authority in respect of the second project bundle. The identification and selection...
- Select Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government (Revised) (1 Mar 2017) Simon Coveney: I am not saying now but if the Deputy has any particular concerns we can talk to Dublin City Council about them.