Results 25,601-25,620 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Water and Sewerage Schemes (7 Mar 2017)

Simon Coveney: Ballyduff Upper Group Water Scheme, a small existing three house scheme located on the Cork – Waterford border, was included by Cork County Council in its 2016 bids under Measure 3 of the Multi-Annual Programme Rural Water 2016–2018. This measure supports social and economic development in rural towns and villages and their hinterlands by providing newgroup water schemes where...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Fire Stations Provision (7 Mar 2017)

Simon Coveney: The provision of fire services in local authority areas, including the establishment and maintenance of fire brigades, the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of premises, is a statutory function of the individual fire authorities under the provisions of the Fire Services Act, 1981. My Department supports the fire authorities through setting general policy, providing a central...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Library Services Provision (7 Mar 2017)

Simon Coveney: The provision of premises and facilities in the public library service is generally a matter for each local authority in its capacity as a library authority. Notwithstanding that, in January 2016 my Department announced a new €22m Libraries Capital Investment Programme for the period 2016-2021 to support the development of priority capital projects submitted by local authorities. The...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Tenant Purchase Scheme (7 Mar 2017)

Simon Coveney: The Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme came into operation on 1 January 2016. The Scheme is open to eligible tenants, including joint tenants, of local authority houses that are available for sale under the Scheme. To be eligible persons must be a tenant, or joint tenants, of the house to be sold by the housing authority, i.e. registered as joint tenants of the property for purposes of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Construction Industry (7 Mar 2017)

Simon Coveney: With the reduced level of capital funding that applied up until recently, there has been minimal tender activity up to 2016 to form a reliable data base in respect of construction projects for which my Department is the sanctioning authority. However, recently, there has been a much increased level of tender activity and my Department has a team of Quantity Surveyor advisors who monitor this...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Water Supply (7 Mar 2017)

Simon Coveney: The information requested is not available in my Department. Since 1 January 2014, Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels. The Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013, which came into effect on 1 January 2014, provides for the transfer of responsibility for the delivery of water services from...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Tenant Purchase Scheme (7 Mar 2017)

Simon Coveney: Under the terms of the Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme 2016, the purchase price for a house (as per section 10 of the Housing (Sale of Local Authority Houses) Regulations 2015 ) shall be the greater of: (a) The relevant market value of the house, or (b) 50 percent of the estimated cost to the housing authority of providing, on the same site as the house being purchased and in accordance...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Asbestos Remediation (7 Mar 2017)

Simon Coveney: There is no funding programme managed by my Department granting assistance to community groups to remove asbestos from community buildings.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Water and Sewerage Schemes (7 Mar 2017)

Simon Coveney: In 2016, my Department recouped local authorities for subsidy payments made by them to 694 group water schemes serving 96,678 houses. This does not account for all group water schemes in the country as not all group water schemes claim subsidies. Some smaller schemes, particularly those that are supplied water from the Irish Water public mains supply, do not currently apply for subsidies....

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payments (7 Mar 2017)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 278 and 279 together. The nationwide rollout of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme was competed with its introduction, on 1 March 2017, to the administrative areas of Dublin City Council, Fingal County Council and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council. Eligible households in all 31 local authority areas can now avail of an immediate form of social...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Tax Code (7 Mar 2017)

Simon Coveney: Pillar 5 of the Government’s Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness is specifically focussed 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: County Development Plans (7 Mar 2017)

Simon Coveney: I have not received any request from Cork County Council in respect of funding for the development of the Strategic Development Zone designated by the Government at Monard and for which a Planning Scheme was approved by An Bord Pleanála in May 2016, details of which can be accessed at the following link . This is a matter for the local authority to progress.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Seniors Alert Scheme (7 Mar 2017)

Simon Coveney: The objective of the Seniors Alert Scheme is to encourage support for vulnerable older people in our communities through the provision of personal monitored alarms to enable them to continue to live securely in their homes with confidence, independence and peace of mind. Funding is available under the Scheme towards the purchase by a registered community-based organisation of equipment, i.e....

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Data (7 Mar 2017)

Simon Coveney: My Department publishes a range of statistics in relation to housing, including on Part V output which is available at the following link: .Information in respect of the full year of 2016 is currently being finalised and will be published shortly. It is anticipated that over the lifetime of the Action Plan, at least 4,700 new social homes will be delivered through the Part V mechanism....

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Water and Sewerage Schemes Funding (8 Mar 2017)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 150 and 151 together. My Department’s new Multi-annual Rural Water Programme 2016-2018 includes funding of groups sewerage schemes, through Measure 4(d), where clustering of households on individual septic tanks is not a viable option, particularly from an environmental perspective. Local authorities were invited in January 2016 to submit bids under the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Cross-Border Co-operation (8 Mar 2017)

Simon Coveney: My Department has policy responsibility for, and provides funding under, two themes under the PEACE IV Programme. These themes are Shared Spaces and Servicesand Building Positive Relations at Local Level. Progress under these themes, and the roll-out of the programme generally, is proceeding as expected. I anticipate a successful implementation of the PEACE IV Programme and, at this stage, I...

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

Simon Coveney: I refer the Deputy to the reply to Question Number 99 of 2 March 2017, which sets out the position in relation to this matter.

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

Simon Coveney: Statistics in relation to social housing stock are gathered by the National Oversight and Audit Commission (NOAC) in their annual reports on Performance Indicators in Local Authorities. These statistics are set out by local authority and include the percentage of such dwellings that were vacant at the end of the year, with the last year for which the statistics are available being 2015. This...

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

Simon Coveney: My Department is responsible for workforce planning for the local government sector, including monitoring of local government sector employment levels. Up-to-date staffing numbers for the local authority sector are available on the Public Service Numbers Databank which is hosted and maintained by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and is available at the following link: . The...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Property Tax (8 Mar 2017)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Question Nos. 156 to 159, inclusive, together. Local Property Tax (LPT) was introduced to provide an alternative, stable and sustainable funding base for the local authority sector, providing greater levels of connection between local revenue raising and associated expenditure decisions and giving greater funding certainty for the sector through removing the reliance on...