Results 3,101-3,120 of 4,773 for speaker:Paudie Coffey

Other Questions: Unfinished Housing Developments (11 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: The bonds were put in place almost as an insurance policy. Where a developer does not complete an estate to a proper standard, they can be drawn down. It is the responsibility of the local authority to ensure that those bonds are put in place in a comprehensive and secure way. It is also the responsibility of the local authority, in the interest of the citizens who live on such estates, to...

Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (11 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I thank the Deputy for the question. To correct the record, what the Deputy is referring to is just phase 1 of the local authority allocations which were announced a few weeks ago. I have already stated in the House to the Deputy that further phases of allocations will be made very shortly. The capital acquisitions scheme which will provide funding to voluntary housing bodies in...

Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (11 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: Nobody can second-guess the number of housing projects that will commence in the private sector. However, as I indicated in reply to Deputy Cowen on an earlier question, there are now very strong signs of recovery in the housing market, given the number of housing projects getting off the ground and the number of commencements and planning permissions going through. Even if we were to...

Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (11 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I am seriously concerned if the Deputy is saying that local authorities in Dublin are not being provided with the funding to turn around vacant units. It is in the Estimates and it is on the public record. I would challenge any local authority and, indeed, I challenge the Deputy to sit down with his local authority-----

Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (11 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: He should bring them forward to us. If they are not turning around voids for which this Government and the country is providing funds, then we have a problem at local authority level.

Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (11 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: If the Deputy is stating that on the record of the House, I challenge him to bring that local authority to account. I also challenge all local authorities, including Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, to come forward with their proposals. The Department, the Minister, Deputy Kelly, and I are working proactively on a weekly basis in looking for solutions. It is all very well to come in here to...

Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (11 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: We need the assistance of Deputies and local authorities in coming forward with them. They will find there is a very open ear in this Department in terms of the delivery of houses in an early phase. I look forward, over the coming weeks and months, to announcing more projects in Dún Laoghaire and other local authority areas around the country.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing Issues (11 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: As the Deputy will be aware, the Government published Construction 2020: A Strategy for a Renewed Construction Sectorin May 2014 aimed at addressing issues in the property and construction sectors and ensuring that any critical bottlenecks that might impede the sector in meeting residential and non-residential demand are addressed. The Dublin Housing Supply Co-ordination Task Force,...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Building Regulations Application (11 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: The key impact on costs associated with SI No. 9 of 2014 lies in the requirement for the appointment of an Assigned Certifier whose role, in conjunction with the builder and the project team, is to draw up and execute an appropriate inspection plan and to certify the building on completion. While fees for professional services are determined by market forces and are therefore outside the...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Private Rented Accommodation Costs and Controls (11 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: The recently published Daft.ie Rental Reportfor Quarter 1 2015 reported that year-on-year inflation in rents continued to ease slightly in the first three months of 2015. It reported that rents nationally were 8.2% higher than in the first quarter of 2014, down from the 10.4% annual increase recorded in mid-2014. While the report recorded a slow-down in rent inflation in Dublin, this was...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Tenant Purchase Scheme Administration (11 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: Part 3 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 provides for a new tenant purchase scheme for the purchase of existing local authority houses along incremental purchase lines.  The scheme is an important part of the Government's strategy to promote sustainable communities by enabling local authority tenants to purchase their homes. The Government's Social Housing Strategy...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Building Regulations (11 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: In general, building defects are matters for resolution between the relevant contracting parties, i.e. the homeowner, the builder, the materials supplier and/or their respective insurers, and I firmly believe that the parties responsible for poor workmanship and/or the supply of defective materials should face up to their responsibilities and take appropriate actions to provide remedies for...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Pyrite Issues (11 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: My Department has received a copy of the report and has noted its contents. In this regard, my Department has previously put on record its strong disagreement with the stance adopted by HomeBond in withdrawing, in August 2011, cover for pyrite-related damage to homeowners. Following publication of the Report of the Pyrite Panel(July 2012), my Department engaged in protracted discussions...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing Inspections (11 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: Minimum standards for rental accommodation are prescribed in the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2008, made under section 18 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992. These Regulations were updated by the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2009. All landlords have a legal obligation to ensure that their rented properties comply with these...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Building Regulations (11 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: In general, building defects are matters for resolution between contracting parties, i.e. the homeowner, the builder, the materials supplier and/or their respective insurers. In the event that the parties cannot reach a settlement by negotiation the option of seeking redress in the Courts can be considered. My Department understands that legal proceedings have been instigated in some of the...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Pyrite Issues (11 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: My Department has received a copy of the report and has noted its contents. In this regard, my Department has previously put on record its strong disagreement with the stance adopted by HomeBond in withdrawing, in August 2011, cover for pyrite- related damage to homeowners. Following publication of the (July 2012), my Department engaged in protracted discussions with the key stakeholders,...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Unfinished Housing Developments (11 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I refer the Deputy to the reply to Question No. 6 on today's Order Paper. Section 180 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, provides - in relation to estates which have been completed to the satisfaction of the planning authority in accordance with the planning permission - that the planning authority must if requested to do so by the developer, or by the majority of the...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Tenant Purchase Scheme Administration (11 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: Part 3 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 provides for a new scheme for the tenant purchase of existing local authority houses along incremental purchase lines. The Government's Social Housing Strategy 2020includes a commitment to make the Regulations necessary for its introduction, in the second quarter of 2015, which will set out the full details of the new scheme. It is...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Tenant Purchase Scheme Administration (11 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: The operation of the tenant purchase scheme for local authority apartments is a matter for individual housing authorities under Part 4 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the associated Housing (Tenant Purchase of Apartments) Regulations 2011. Further Regulations will be made in due course prescribing the form of, and the terms and conditions to be specified in, the...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing Issues (11 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I propose to take Questions Nos. 215, 216, 218 and 222 together. The recently published Daft.ie Rental Reportfor Quarter 1 2015 reported that year-on-year inflation in rents continued to ease slightly in the first three months of 2015. It reported that rents nationally were 8.2% higher than in the first quarter of 2014, down from the 10.4% annual increase recorded in mid-2014. While the...