Results 3,901-3,920 of 4,773 for speaker:Paudie Coffey

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Commencement of Legislation (9 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: The Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2015 provides for a number of measures which, taken together, will bring much-needed stability to the rental sector pending the coming on-stream of the supply of new housing. Firstly, section 25 of the Act provides for the extension of the period between rent reviews from 12 months to 24 months. The provision is subject to a sunset clause such that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Forthcoming Transport Council Meeting: Discussion with Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (9 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: The purpose of this meeting is to engage with the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, on tomorrow's meeting of the EU Council of transport Ministers, at which the debate will focus mainly on social aspects of road transport and road safety. I welcome the Minister and his officials. I draw the attention of witnesses to the fact that by virtue of section...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Forthcoming Transport Council Meeting: Discussion with Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (9 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I thank the Minister. Before calling on members, I will ask a question myself. The Minister mentioned security a number of times in his address, referred to the Paris outrages and mentioned aviation security. I have read of proposals by airlines to share passenger information with regard to security issues and the possibility of people, who might be going to commit outrages, travelling by...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Forthcoming Transport Council Meeting: Discussion with Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (9 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice has indicated that he must leave the meeting shortly. I propose that he be allowed to contribute next. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Forthcoming Transport Council Meeting: Discussion with Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (9 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: The Minister has indicated he is under time constraint so I will take the next two speakers together and the Minister will reply to both.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Tenant Purchase Scheme Administration (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: The new incremental tenant purchase scheme for existing local authority houses will come into operation on 1 January 2016. It will apply to all local authority houses, other than excluded dwellings, on which I can expand later. The provisions of Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, are designed to enable the development of mixed tenure, sustainable communities. Part...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Tenant Purchase Scheme Administration (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: With all due respect to the Deputy, I am a little confused because on the one hand he is saying that he is in favour of the tenant purchase scheme while, on the other, he is arguing against it.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Tenant Purchase Scheme Administration (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I am a little confused as to the Sinn Féin position on this issue. The Deputy's question asks that the Government extends the tenant purchase scheme to Part V dwellings. The importance of integration in communities has been debated and agreed in this House, as has the importance of the provision of social housing. During a recent debate in this House, Sinn Féin argued that we...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Tenant Purchase Scheme Administration (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: That is, in effect, what the Deputy is arguing and I am somewhat confused by the Sinn Féin position on this issue. Part V housing is excluded from the new scheme, as are houses that were specifically designed for occupancy by older people. The latter are excluded because the State must retain that housing stock. Part V units are excluded for integration reasons.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Tenant Purchase Scheme Administration (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I totally respect that Deputy Stanley is trying to be constructive in raising this issue.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Tenant Purchase Scheme Administration (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: That said, I am a little confused as to the Sinn Féin position and I mean that genuinely. On the one hand, Deputy Stanley is saying that he supports the scheme, but he argued previously that we should not allow the purchasing-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Tenant Purchase Scheme Administration (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: The Deputy may have certain expectations based on the older scheme but I would argue that this is a more progressive scheme because it is based on income.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Tenant Purchase Scheme Administration (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: The more income there is in a household, the lower the discount. That makes the scheme progressive. Deputy Stanley is arguing that the scheme should be based on the duration of a tenancy but in that scenario, a very high earner with a long tenancy could get a far greater discount than others. The new scheme represents a more balanced approach. We are excluding Part V units because we need...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Tenant Purchase Scheme Administration (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I welcome the fact that Deputy Stanley supports those exclusions. In general the new scheme has been welcomed. As I said earlier, we will continue to keep it under review. The scheme will kick off on 1 January 2016 and let us see how it goes.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: NAMA Social Housing Provision (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I thank the Deputy for his question. NAMA continues to play an important role in the delivery of social housing. To the end of September 2015, a total of 1,600 NAMA residential properties had been delivered for social housing use, comprising 1,241 completed properties and a further 359 that have been contracted and where completion work is ongoing. A further 486 properties are considered...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: NAMA Social Housing Provision (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: NAMA was established with a commercial mandate but it has also been expected to deliver a social dividend through its housing output. Of the 6,574 units identified by its officials, demand has been confirmed for 2,526, which is a substantial social housing offering. Negotiations and approvals relating to these units involve approved housing bodies, local authorities, the property owners,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: NAMA Social Housing Provision (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I reiterate that NAMA has confirmed the delivery of 20,000 residential units by 2020 and it estimates that 90% of the 2020 target will be in the greater Dublin area where the need is greatest. Approximately 75% of these units will be starter homes, 10% of which, as per Part V, will be provided for social housing. The Deputy will be aware from his participation in debates in this House that...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: NAMA Social Housing Provision (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: To be fair, had the cash-in-lieu arrangement not been put in place, we would today have 10,000 additional social housing units to provide for people. The putting in place of that provision was a bad mistake, as has been acknowledged by all. On the Deputy's question regarding engagement by NAMA with other developers in the market, NAMA operates on a commercial basis. However, it will...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Local Authority Housing Provision (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: Local authorities and approved housing bodies are utilising a wide range of delivery approaches to accelerate the provision of social housing. This multifaceted approach includes acquisitions, as proposed by the Deputy. I will provide data in this regard as I go through my reply. The range of delivery approaches available includes the remediation of vacant social houses, many of which...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Local Authority Housing Provision (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: As I have already told the Deputy, every avenue in terms of the delivery of social housing as quickly as possible is being explored. The voids programme has been successful, with almost 2,000 voids having been turned around and returned to use this year. As I said, we expect approximately 700 houses to be acquired through the local authorities, a measure for which the Deputy is calling. We...