Results 3,661-3,680 of 7,024 for speaker:Willie Penrose

Written Answers — Traveller Accommodation: Traveller Accommodation (16 Jun 2011)

Willie Penrose: In accordance with the provisions of the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act, 1998, responsibility for the assessment of the accommodation needs of Travellers and the preparation, adoption and implementation of multi-annual Traveller accommodation programmes, designed to meet the accommodation needs of Travellers, rests with individual housing authorities. My Department's role is to ensure...

Written Answers — Unfinished Housing Estates: Unfinished Housing Estates (21 Jun 2011)

Willie Penrose: I propose to take Questions Nos. 242 and 266 together. The unfinished housing developments safety initiative was introduced earlier this year to deal with the health and safety issues presented by unfinished estates. My Department has allocated an initial €5 million to allow local authorities to identify such estates and make application for funding to alleviate the problem. Currently,...

Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (21 Jun 2011)

Willie Penrose: Rent Supplement is an income support scheme operated by the Department of Social Protection in respect of persons in private rented accommodation and I have no plans to review the legislation applicable to the behaviour of such tenants. In regard to accommodation let under availability agreements under Chapter 4 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, providing for the Rental...

Written Answers — Local Authority Staff: Local Authority Staff (21 Jun 2011)

Willie Penrose: As part of my review of housing policy I announced recently the Government's intention to transfer responsibility for dealing with the housing needs of persons currently in receipt of Rent Supplement from the Community Welfare Service to Housing Authorities. I have recently set up a number of working groups to advance implementation and they will deal with all aspects of the proposed new...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (21 Jun 2011)

Willie Penrose: The Regulations providing for the new tenant purchase scheme for local authority houses are made under Section 90 of the Housing Act, 1966 (as amended). This enactment, however, is not an appropriate vehicle for the sale of local authority apartments to tenants, due to the complexities involved. Work is proceeding on the necessary statutory instruments to enable the tenant purchase scheme...

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (21 Jun 2011)

Willie Penrose: I received a copy of the correspondence in question on 10 June and issued a reply on 16 June. In my capacity as a statutory consultee in respect of certain planning functions under the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended), Westport Town Council has recently submitted a draft variation to its Development Plan 2009-2015 which concerns the historic setting in question. Given that...

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (21 Jun 2011)

Willie Penrose: Section 28 of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2010 amended Section 42 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 to provide that the duration of a planning permission may be extended where substantial works have not been done, or where the development has not even commenced, in cases where the planning authority is satisfied that there were considerations of a commercial, economic...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (21 Jun 2011)

Willie Penrose: My Department collates and publishes a wide range of housing statistics that inform the preparation and evaluation of housing policy. The full range of data compiled can be viewed on my Department's website, www.environ.ie, where data on Local Authority completions, broken down by county, are displayed.

Written Answers — Environmental Policy: Environmental Policy (21 Jun 2011)

Willie Penrose: I presume the Question refers to the EU INSPIRE Directive (2007/2/EC) which entered into force on 15 May 2007 and which aims to create a European Union spatial data infrastructure to enable the sharing of environmental spatial information among public sector organisations and better facilitate public access to spatial information across Europe. The INSPIRE Directive was transposed into Irish...

Written Answers — Foreshore Licences: Foreshore Licences (21 Jun 2011)

Willie Penrose: My Department informed the applicant's representative on 20 January of 2011 that the application for a foreshore lease had been approved, and the Chief State Solicitor's Office was instructed to draft the requisite lease. However, issues relating to compliance with the consent have since arisen and these have been communicated to the applicant. Legal advice is now awaited on the matter...

Written Answers — Departmental Funding: Departmental Funding (21 Jun 2011)

Willie Penrose: I refer to the reply to Question No. 223 of 31 May 2011 which outlines the position in relation to financial support provided to An Taisce. The Planning and Development Regulations 2001 prescribe the current planning fees. Any proposed changes to planning fees, including those payable to planning authorities in relation to the making of objections in respect of planning applications, would...

Written Answers — Housing Market: Housing Market (22 Jun 2011)

Willie Penrose: On 16 June I launched the Government's new housing policy statement which will serve as a framework for a sequence of legislative and policy initiatives in the short to medium term. Based on a number of fundamental principles and goals that will form the foundation of a substantial reform programme, the new framework for housing policy responds to current and emerging conditions in the...

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (22 Jun 2011)

Willie Penrose: Significant new provisions were enacted in the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2010 in relation to: · appropriate assessment of development proposals; · a new substitute consent system for projects requiring environmental impact assessment in exceptional circumstances; and · a new examination of all quarries by planning authorities under new section 261A, to be followed by...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (23 Jun 2011)

Willie Penrose: Local authority rents are set in accordance with a rent scheme adopted by each local council. The making and amending of these rent schemes are an integral part of a housing authority's housing management functions, subject to broad principles laid down by my Department in Circular letter HRT 3/2002 of 6 March 2002. Section 31 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 will...

Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (23 Jun 2011)

Willie Penrose: On 16 June I launched the Government's new housing policy statement which will serve as a framework for a sequence of legislative and policy initiatives in the short to medium term. Based on a number of fundamental principles and goals that will form the foundation of a substantial reform programme, the new framework for housing policy responds to current and emerging conditions in the...

Written Answers — Unfinished Housing Developments: Unfinished Housing Developments (23 Jun 2011)

Willie Penrose: There is clear potential to align demand for social housing with oversupply of suitable residential stock where it exists. The restructuring of the social housing investment programme to enable greater delivery through more flexible funding models such as RAS and leasing is key to this, in conjunction with other funding mechanisms to support the delivery of permanent new social housing....

Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (23 Jun 2011)

Willie Penrose: On 16 June I launched the Government's new housing policy statement which will serve as a framework for a sequence of legislative and policy initiatives in the short to medium term. Based on a number of fundamental principles and goals that will form the foundation of a substantial reform programme, the new framework for housing policy responds to current and emerging conditions in the...

Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (23 Jun 2011)

Willie Penrose: My Department collates and publishes a wide range of housing statistics that inform the preparation and evaluation of housing policy. The full range of data compiled can be viewed on my Department's website, www.environ.ie, where data on Local Authority completions, broken down by county and city, are displayed. Information on occupation of local authority units is provided on an annual...

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (28 Jun 2011)

Willie Penrose: Section 213 of the Planning and Development Acts 2000-2010 provides for the acquisition of land by local authorities. Further enhancements to the compulsory purchase process were introduced by way of the Compulsory Purchase Orders (Extension of Time Limits) Act 2010. This improved the process whereby local authorities can obtain compulsory purchase orders, by providing that the statutory...

Written Answers — Local Authority Funding: Local Authority Funding (28 Jun 2011)

Willie Penrose: Funding of €6.115 million, of which €4.4 million relates to the provision of new social housing stock, was allocated to Donegal County Council under my Department's Social Housing Investment Programme for 2011. To date, some €3 million of the overall allocation has been drawn down by the Council. All of the available capital funding for new local authority social housing projects has...