Results 3,581-3,600 of 7,024 for speaker:Willie Penrose

Written Answers — Voluntary and Co-operative Housing: Voluntary and Co-operative Housing (24 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: Under my Department's funding schemes for voluntary and co-operative housing projects, funding of up to 100% of the approved cost of accommodation is made available to approved housing bodies for the provision of social rented accommodation for people with special housing needs and for low-income families. My Department's involvement with voluntary and co-operative housing schemes relates...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (24 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: Under Section 9 of the Housing Act 1988, the statutory responsibility for determination of eligibility and assessment of housing need is entirely a matter for the relevant housing authority, in this case Kerry County Council. It is not open to me to intervene in any particular case with which the housing authority is concerned.

Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (24 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: To be eligible for social housing support, a person must have a long-term right to reside in the State. My Department has given general guidance to authorities on how to assess whether an applicant for housing support has such a long-term right to reside in the State. The latest guidance to local authorities in respect of access to social housing supports for non-Irish nationals, including...

Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (24 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: The Social Housing Assessment Regulations, 2011, establishing a new system for assessing applicants for social housing support, came into effect on 1 April 2011. In the interests of facilitating access to social housing support and using local authority resources to best effect, the Regulations provide for a single application by households that goes beyond the boundaries of the functional...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (24 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: The detailed information sought in the question is not available in my Department. The most recent published data in relation to mortgage arrears are the Service Indicators 2009, published earlier this year and available on the Local Government Management Services Board website. These show local authority mortgage arrears levels running at 15.08%, an increase of 3.38% on 2008.

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (24 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: Under section 58 of the Housing Act 1966, the management and maintenance of the local authority housing stock, including the compilation and funding of ongoing maintenance programmes, is a matter for individual authorities. My Department's Social Housing Investment Programme provides capital funding to local authorities each year in respect of a range of measures to improve the standard and...

Written Answers — Housing Grants: Housing Grants (24 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: There is potential for the use of harvested rainwater as an alternative source of water for various business and commercial operations and for supplying toilet cisterns, washing machines etc. in domestic situations. There are also the environmental and economic benefits that can accrue from reducing the demand for water abstraction at source and the subsequent and expensive treatment of raw...

Written Answers — Tribunals of Inquiry: Tribunals of Inquiry (25 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: I am advised by the Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments that it expects to complete its final report within the coming months, at which time the report will then be submitted to the Oireachtas for its consideration and publication.

Written Answers — Urban Renewal Schemes: Urban Renewal Schemes (25 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: My Department is aware of one regeneration project, Ballymun regeneration, where higher than acceptable levels of pyrite have been discovered at three locations. These include the Ballymun Central Youth Facility, a new 124-unit apartment complex at Sillogue 4 and completed and tenanted units at Poppintree 5. Following the discovery of elevated levels of pyrite in the hardcore fill for the...

Written Answers — Local Authority Charges: Local Authority Charges (25 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: The Government decided in 2009 to broaden the revenue base of local authorities by introducing a charge on all non-principal private residences. The charge is payable by the owners of private rented accommodation, holiday homes and any other residential property that is not the owner's sole or main residence. The Local Government (Charges) Act 2009, which sets out the detail of the charge,...

Written Answers — Communications Masts: Communications Masts (25 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: In general, planning permission must be obtained for the erection of an antenna support structure or mast. Under Article 6 and Schedule 2 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, certain classes of development carried out by a statutory undertaker authorised to provide a telecommunications service are, subject to specified conditions, exempted development for the purposes of the...

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (26 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: Section 42 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 was amended by section 28 of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2010. While the provision remains whereby an extension of permission is automatically given on application in a case where substantial works have been carried out within the original duration (subject only to the condition that an application complying with the...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (31 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: Funding for one-off rural dwellings is included within the general allocation for the provision of local authority housing within each housing authority's social housing investment programme. There is no separate provision for one-off rural housing.

Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (31 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: I refer to the response to Question No. 246 of 24 May last. My Department will liaise with the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service to review the guidance to local authorities on these issues. The review will clarify the policy in relation to persons who have already been granted long-term residency by INIS.

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (31 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: I propose to take Questions Nos. 224 and 232 together. An Bord Pleanála has a statutory objective to determine appeals and referrals within 18 weeks. The compliance rate with the statutory objective time period for normal planning appeals stood at 82% at the end of April 2011. The board operates a priority system for planning appeals. The priority system seeks to ensure that cases...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (31 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: The incremental purchase scheme, which will replace the tenant purchase scheme for existing local authority housing, will be introduced following the enactment of primary legislation. It is not possible at this stage to specify the terms of the new scheme but the intention is that it will be modelled on the incremental purchase scheme introduced in June 2010 for newly built social housing....

Written Answers — Alternative Energy Projects: Alternative Energy Projects (31 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: The Planning and Development Regulations 2001 to 2008 deal with the issue of wind turbines with vertical axis blades. The 2001 regulations set out the development thresholds for wind turbines which require an Environmental Impact Assessment. The 2007 regulations provide exemptions from planning permission requirements in respect of certain classes of micro-renewable technologies for...

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (31 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: Planning legislation does not place restrictions on the height of hedges or trees nor does it make any particular provision for recognition of a right to light or remedy from any other nuisance which may be caused by trees in an urban residential area. Complaints relating to matters such as trees or shrubs overhanging a property are normally addressed, where necessary, under civil law...

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (31 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: Under Articles 35(1)(a) and 35(1)(b) of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 to 2011, where a planning authority deems that further information received by it in connection with a planning application contains significant additional data, it must require the applicant to erect a site notice and publish a notice in an approved newspaper publicising the fact of the further information...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (31 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: All rental properties being let for the first time after 1 February 2009 have to comply with the minimum standards regulations for the rental sector, including local authority units, and no new bedsits can be rented. However, in so far as existing accommodation is concerned, a period of four years to 31 January 2013 has been allowed for landlords, including local authorities, to undertake...