Results 25,821-25,840 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Funding (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: Whereas I need to be careful about what I say in the context of how we draw down funding, in particular in the context of the European Union fiscal rules because the Ministers for Public Expenditure and Reform and Finance are primarily responsible for that, I can certainly comment on social housing. We are using a series of new approaches to drive delivery. We have already committed...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Commercial Rates (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: Local authorities are under a statutory obligation to levy rates on any property used for commercial purposes in accordance with the details entered in the valuation lists prepared by the independent Commissioner of Valuation under the Valuation Acts 2001 to 2015. The Commissioner of Valuation has responsibility for valuation matters. The levying and collection of rates are matters for each...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Commercial Rates (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: A harmonisation process is under way. It is happening on a county-by-county basis. The Valuation Office is carrying out the work. Some counties are still two years' away from the process while others have had it carried out. I think the revaluation process is currently being carried out in County Kildare. Any time there are rates revaluations, it causes quite a lot of strife because some...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Commercial Rates (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: It is. That is why we need a new Bill. Vacant properties and the rates that should apply to them are dealt with in the Bill. We will have an opportunity to tease it out in the committee. I will happily take on sensible suggestions in order to get the legislation right. I hope we will be able to start the process soon. I will bring the Bill to Government and I presume it will then go for...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Commercial Rates (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: I am happy to facilitate that if it is helpful.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: For the record, house prices are back to where they were in 2002. I accept that prices are increasing at a rate that is not sustainable over a prolonged period but the core response to that must be to dramatically increase supply, in particular where people are looking to buy or rent homes. A chronic undersupply of housing, over a number of years and across all tenures, is at the heart...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: "No" is the straight answer to that. It is important to put the help-to-buy scheme in context. In the last quarter of last year 3,005 purchases were made by first-time buyers. Of these, only 297, fewer than 10%, were new homes. Given the fact that first-time buyers make up only approximately 25% of the market this means we are speaking about 2.5% of purchases. I do not accept the idea...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: Just so the Deputy knows what is actually happening out there, we are moving ahead on multiple sites at present where local authorities are inviting builders-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: -----to build at much increased volume. The big problem we have is there has not been house building activity to the extent we need, and we need a combination of measures to make property available. We need to get vacant properties back into use and we need to see more houses being built on public land - in particular on public land. We have just finished an audit of all of our publicly...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Homelessness Strategy (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: We have a commitment that by 1 July we will no longer be using hotels for emergency accommodation for families. This is an ambitious target but I think we will meet it, and we will do this through a series of solutions. Obviously the preference is to put as many families as we can into social housing. Some of them will be in HAP tenancies, some of them will be in homeless HAP tenancies,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Homelessness Strategy (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: I understand that there are about 850 families in hotel accommodation today. I stand to be corrected on that, but it is not a million miles away from the exact figure. It might be slightly higher or slightly lower. The intention is to ensure that as many of those families as possible are in long-term housing assistance payment, HAP, tenancies or in social housing. I will not give...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Homelessness Strategy (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: With respect, it seems to me that the Deputy is trying to find a negative in a positive here.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Homelessness Strategy (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: I know he is.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Homelessness Strategy (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: We have given a very-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Homelessness Strategy (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: Is the Deputy going to listen? Does he not want to?

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Homelessness Strategy (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: We have given a very ambitious commitment and target here that I intend to meet. The Deputy is trying to find absolutes here, so that, as usual, he can create negative headlines out of something that is predominantly a very good ambition to try to solve problems for families.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Homelessness Strategy (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: I am not going to give the Deputy absolutes. There are always exceptions when it comes to the complexity of homelessness. We are trying to get families out of unsuitable, expensive hotel accommodation into much more suitable temporary accommodation if that is what is needed in the short term. In the long term, we are trying to get them tenancies either through HAP or in social housing. I...

Other Questions: County Development Plans (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: The draft Celbridge local area plan 2017-23 was prepared by Kildare County Council and was placed on statutory public display between 13 December 2016 and 3 February 2017. In my capacity as a statutory consultee to the local area plan process, I made a written submission to Kildare County Council under section 20 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 on 3 February 2017. ...

Other Questions: County Development Plans (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: Some of the concerns outlined by the Deputy are probably shared by my Department. In the draft local area plan I was required to consider an amendment to ensure that the proper spatial development of the town, with respect to established public transport infrastructure and in tandem with the required supporting infrastructure, actually happened. The council was requested to provide for the...

Other Questions: County Development Plans (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: First and foremost, there is a responsibility on local government, the planning authority and councillors to make sure they get these things right. When local area or county development plans come to my Department we sometimes have to ask for material changes. Sometimes this does not go down too well but it is necessary to make sure the planning process is in compliance with national...