Results 3,821-3,840 of 7,024 for speaker:Willie Penrose

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (14 Sep 2011)

Willie Penrose: I propose to take Questions Nos. 531 and 542 together. In Case C-66/06, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) found that Ireland's system of screening projects to assess the requirement to carry out environmental impact assessment (EIA) for certain categories of agriculture development was over-reliant on size thresholds and did not take sufficient account of other relevant criteria such as...

Written Answers — Inland Waterways: Inland Waterways (14 Sep 2011)

Willie Penrose: While works that could materially impact on rivers and river beds, such as the deepening or widening of the river bed, would require planning permission, other minor type works, such as the removal of accumulation of silt and debris (such as might accumulate after winter floods, for example) from a river and the restoration of the watercourse to its original condition would be classed as...

Written Answers — Private Rented Accommodation: Private Rented Accommodation (14 Sep 2011)

Willie Penrose: The Residential Tenancies Act 2004 regulates the tenant-landlord relationship in the private rented residential sector. My Department conducted a review of the Act in 2009 with a specific emphasis on whether the Act best supports the PRTB's key functions and on whether legislative amendments would support either the achievement of additional operational efficiencies by the PRTB in the...

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (14 Sep 2011)

Willie Penrose: Under the Planning and Development Acts 2000 - 2010, all development, unless specifically exempted under the Acts or associated Regulations, requires planning permission. Any development that is carried out without planning permission, or that does not comply with the terms of a planning permission, is unauthorised development, and may be subject to enforcement action by a planning...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (14 Sep 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 €5.147 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...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (14 Sep 2011)

Willie Penrose: The rent charged on the local authority's equity in a shared ownership transaction is to cover the funding costs to the Housing Finance Agency which are based on borrowings at the prevailing interest rates. Any difference between the rent and prevailing interest rate is reflected in the capital outstanding on the property i.e. if the rent charged in any period is greater than the prevailing...

Written Answers — Unfinished Housing Developments: Unfinished Housing Developments (14 Sep 2011)

Willie Penrose: I propose to take Questions Nos. 552, 556 and 575 together. I have established and am chairing the National Co-ordination Committee on Unfinished Housing Developments to oversee implementation of the Report of the Advisory Group on Unfinished Housing Developments, together with the Government's response to the recommendations. Both documents were published on 9 June 2011 and are available...

Written Answers — Housing Aid for the Elderly: Housing Aid for the Elderly (14 Sep 2011)

Willie Penrose: The suite of Grant Schemes for Older People and People with a Disability is funded by 80% recoupment available from my Department together with a 20% contribution from the resources of the local authority. It is a matter for each local authority to decide on the specific level of funding to be directed to each of the various grant measures, and to manage the operation of the schemes in their...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (14 Sep 2011)

Willie Penrose: Provisions governing mortgage lending by local authorities are set out under the Housing (Local Authority Loans) Regulations 2009 and associated credit policy. To ensure effective targeting of resources, loan finance continues to be available to first time buyers only. Income limits are also in place, distinguishing between single and dual income households and a maximum loan limit is...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (14 Sep 2011)

Willie Penrose: Detailed data are being finalised and I expect to be in a position to release the statutory Housing Needs Assessment figures for 2011 shortly. As I indicated recently, the total number of households on the local authority waiting lists nationally, the "net need", is just under 100,000 households.

Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (14 Sep 2011)

Willie Penrose: Affordable housing schemes were introduced to facilitate homeownership for first time buyers. To this end, while the terms and conditions of the various affordable housing schemes do not prohibit an affordable home owner from renting a spare room in his/her home, a local authority may attach conditions to the contract with the purchaser pertaining to subletting of the unit and its use by the...

Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (14 Sep 2011)

Willie Penrose: Based on the tender costs received in my Department, the current average unit cost is now in the order of €125,000, approximately 21% lower than was the case at the height of the boom. Given that there have been a limited number of construction tenders in the recent past, the sample used is very small and the results therefore need to be interpreted with caution. This figure does not...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (14 Sep 2011)

Willie Penrose: I propose to take Questions Nos. 597 and 598 together. Detailed data in respect of rental revenue accruing from local authority rented dwellings since 2003 can be viewed on my Department's website, www.environ.iehttp://www.environ.ie/. Data in respect of 2010 output have not yet been finalised.E

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (15 Sep 2011)

Willie Penrose: I propose to take Questions Nos. 20 and 49 together. Leasing is a form of social housing support that, along with the Rental Accommodation Scheme and more traditional forms of support is provided by local authorities to meet a person's housing needs. The recent statement on the Government's housing policy, published by Minister Penrose on 16 June, referred to the provision of housing support...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (15 Sep 2011)

Willie Penrose: The Housing Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2009 gives legislative recognition to rental accommodation availability agreements as a form of social housing support. Consequently, since 1 April 2011, RAS tenants are now considered to be in receipt of social housing support and should not generally remain on the housing waiting lists for new applicants for social housing. In recognition that...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (15 Sep 2011)

Willie Penrose: A person occupying a house under the shared ownership scheme can sell their house at any time provided they have bought out the local authority's share and have acquired full ownership of the dwelling. Full ownership may be achieved either by purchasing, from time to time, additional shares of the authority's equity or a single outright purchase of its remaining equity. The cost of...

Written Answers — Retail Sector Developments: Retail Sector Developments (15 Sep 2011)

Willie Penrose: In response to the requirement in the EU/IMF Programme of Financial Support for Ireland for an economic analysis of the potential impact on competition and consumer prices of eliminating or relaxing the floorspace cap on retail premises, my Department and the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation commissioned Forfás to undertake an evidence-based and focused study to analyse the...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (15 Sep 2011)

Willie Penrose: Under the new system of social housing assessment that came into force on 1 April 2011, overcrowding continues to be one of the criteria for determining a household's need for social housing support. I am not aware of any particular issue relating to housing authorities removing households from their housing lists on the grounds that their living conditions have now been determined not to be...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (15 Sep 2011)

Willie Penrose: The Social Housing Allocation Regulations give each housing authority the option of including choice-based letting as a means of allocating dwellings in its allocation scheme under section 22 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009. The Housing and Sustainable Communities Agency has advised housing authorities on my behalf that choice-based letting can be a useful approach to...

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (15 Sep 2011)

Willie Penrose: Under the Dublin Docklands Development Authority Act 1997, the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA) is required to prepare a Master Plan for the area to guide its social, economic and physical regeneration. The Act also provides that the Authority's Master Plan identify those parts of the Dublin Docklands Area where planning schemes would be appropriate. Section 25 of the Act...