Results 3,141-3,160 of 4,773 for speaker:Paudie Coffey

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Nursing Staff Recruitment (16 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I thank the Senator for bringing the matter to the attention of the House and that of the Minister for Health. I agree that adaptation assessments and the turnaround of competent people to act in this area is very important. I also take on board the view expressed about visa applications. This is something which we will bring to the attention of the Minister and that of the officials in...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Private Rented Accommodation Provision (16 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I thank the Senator for raising this important issue. I reassure him there will be ample opportunity to debate the wider medium-term and long-term issues in terms of housing in the Seanad in the coming weeks. The private rented sector is an important element of the housing market, with the proportion of households in the sector almost doubling in the period 2006-2011. The Residential...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Private Rented Accommodation Provision (16 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I welcome the opportunity to respond to some of the points raised by Senator Bradford and to reassure him regarding the perception he might have that I am a Minister for the construction industry. That is not true. I am the Minister of State with special responsibility for the co-ordination of the Construction 2020 strategy, which is a Government strategy, adopted in the best interests of...

Topical Issue Debate: Mortgage to Rent Scheme Eligibility (17 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. There are two mortgage-to-rent schemes in operation through my Department. There is a scheme whereby a local authority can acquire ownership of properties with unsustainable local authority mortgages, thus enabling the household to remain in their home as a social housing tenant. The other scheme provides for an approved housing body,...

Topical Issue Debate: Mortgage to Rent Scheme Eligibility (17 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: The operation of the scheme is closely monitored on an ongoing basis by the Department and the Housing Agency which are also in regular contact with approved housing bodies and financial institutions. To date, a total of 2,865 cases have been submitted under the approved housing bodies mortgage-to-rent scheme. Of these, 2,036 were deemed ineligible or terminated during the process. Of the...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Building Regulations (17 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I fully appreciate and acknowledge the extremely difficult and distressing situations that homeowners face when they find that the home in which they have invested may not be completed to the required acceptable standards. However, primary responsibility for compliance with the requirements of the Building Regulations rests with the designers, builders and owners of buildings....

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Planning Issues (17 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: Local authorities are independent statutory bodies with democratically elected councils and their own management systems and structures and are, accordingly, responsible for their own actions.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Private Rented Accommodation Costs and Controls (17 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: In May 2013, the PRTB launched a national rent index available at . Compiled by the Economic and Social Research Institute and based on the PRTB’s own register of over 300,000 tenancies, this valuable source of information indicates the actual rents being paid for rented properties throughout the State. The rent index is updated quarterly and shows the percentage change in rents over...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Tenant Purchase Scheme Application Numbers (17 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: National tenant purchase schemes have been in place since the early 1970s, enabling local authority tenants the opportunity to purchase their homes. The most recent schemes have been the 1995 Tenant Purchase Scheme for existing local authority houses and the 2011 Fixed-Term Tenant Purchase Scheme for long-standing tenants, which closed in June 2014 and June 2013, respectively. There are...

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Second Stage (Resumed) (18 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I thank the Deputies who made contributions today and on Tuesday on this important Bill. The number of Deputies who spoke is a clear indication of the importance of this issue and this Bill. I have been listening carefully and it has been a worthwhile debate. I do not claim to have a monopoly on wisdom. I do not think anyone does and we can all learn from the debate. As I outlined in my...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Building Regulations (18 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: Prior to the (S.I. No. 9 of 2014) coming into effect on 1 March 2014, my Department signalled its intention to review their effectiveness following the first twelve months of their operation. This review is now well advanced. The public consultation phase of the review concluded on 15 May 2015. Some 170 submissions have now been received and are currently being considered by my Department....

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Derelict Sites (18 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I wish.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Derelict Sites (18 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I thank Senator Landy for raising this matter, in which I have a deep interest. The Senator is quite correct to bring a focus on derelict sites to the Seanad, as they are a blight on our towns and villages. Local authorities have a statutory responsibility to deal with them. From my own knowledge, having been a member of a local authority for several years, there is nothing worse or more...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Derelict Sites (18 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: It is quite evident from the register that some local authorities are far more proactive in pursuing derelict sites than others. I share Senator Landy's concerns in this regard and will undertake to write to local authorities to bring a new focus on pursuing derelict sites within their areas. Local authorities need to be ambitious for their areas. Voluntary community groups are already...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Private Residential Tenancies Board Enforcement (23 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: The Residential Tenancies Act 2004 regulates the landlord-tenant relationship in the private rented residential sector. The Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) was established under the Act to operate a national tenancy registration system and to facilitate the resolution of disputes between landlords and tenants in this sector.The PRTB, as an independent statutory body, will...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Urban Renewal Schemes (23 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I propose to take Questions Nos. 574 and 619 together. The Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015, which was approved by Government and published earlier this month, is primarily focussed on addressing housing supply-related issues with a view to facilitating increased activity in the housing construction sector, particularly in the Dublin area where demand currently outstrips supply. ...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Planning Issues (23 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I propose to take Questions Nos. 575 and 587 together. Under the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, as amended, a change from one type of shop to another that does not involve works is exempted development, unless the change would have land-use impacts such as in the case of, for example, the establishment of a funeral home, a restaurant, a public house, or a premises selling hot food...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Tenant Purchase Scheme Administration (23 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I propose to take Questions Nos. 576 to 578, inclusive, 582 and 588 together. 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, similar to the schemes currently operating for local authority apartments and certain new local authority houses. The...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Building Regulations Amendments (23 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: The review of the following the first twelve months of their operation is now well advanced. Some 170 submissions have been received during the public consultation stage of this review process which concluded on 15 May 2015. These submissions are currently being considered and my Department will produce a report on the matter by end June 2015 with a view to ensuring that any measures required...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing Provision (23 Jun 2015)

Paudie Coffey: Action 1 under Construction 2020 includes a commitment to put in place a National Framework for Housing Supply, ensuring a balanced approach in which the supply of housing is matched with projected demand, and in which emerging imbalances can be identified and rectified at an early stage. A core aspect of the National Housing Framework is the analysis of supply and projected demand data,...