Results 3,921-3,940 of 7,024 for speaker:Willie Penrose

Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (18 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: In March 2009, Cork City Council submitted an outline proposal to my Department to purchase a number of houses in a private residential development being progressed by the person referred to. My Department subsequently raised concerns with the City Council in relation to a number of issues including the design of the houses, the location of the site and the existing high concentration of...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (18 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: I refer to the reply to Question No. 366 of 27 September 2011. My Department has since 2008 collected data on rent arrears, calculated by the total monetary amounts and not by individual persons or households, owing to local authorities and those data were set out in the above-mentioned reply. My Department has recently commenced the collation of data from local authorities on the number...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (18 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: Repossession remains extremely rare for local authority borrowers with only 128 repossessions across all local authority areas carried out in the period 2005-2010. During that period Wicklow County Council carried out only three repossessions. Two of these cases were voluntary surrenders in 2010. The other repossession took place in 2008. Clearly, where repossession does occur it is a last...

Written Answers — Regeneration Projects: Regeneration Projects (18 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: I refer to the reply to Question No. 334 of 11 October 2011, setting out the current position in relation to the national regeneration programme and the individual regeneration projects being progressed in Limerick City and in Dublin at St Michael's Estate, O'Devaney Gardens, Dominick Street and Dolphin House. Dublin City Council previously intended carrying out the regeneration of St....

Written Answers — Private Rented Accommodation: Private Rented Accommodation (18 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: The Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) was established under the Residential Tenancies Act 2004. The Act provides the main legislative framework for the private rented residential sector and for the operation of the PRTB. It sets out the obligations of tenants and landlords in the sector and the PRTB is charged with the enforcement of those obligations, as necessary, and the...

Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (19 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: National policy in relation to child care is the responsibility of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. Within this context local authorities are involved in promoting child care at local level through a range of policies and activities. County/City Child care committees operate under the auspices of the local government-led County/City Development Boards to support a co-ordinated and...

Report by the Interdepartmental Working Group on Mortgage Arrears: Statements (Resumed) (20 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: This is one of the most important debates we will have in this Dáil. Like many of my colleagues, I wish we did not need to have it. I hope for the sake of young couples and families around the country we will need to have it only once. Almost three years ago, in December 2008, the present Tánaiste, my party leader, Deputy Gilmore, described the mortgage arrears crisis as a ticking...

Local Authority Housing (20 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: The recently published statutory housing needs assessment showed an increase in the overall level of need to somewhat more than 98,000 households. The assessment breaks down housing need under several headings to identify those whose need arises, for example, from unsuitable existing accommodation, age or special needs resulting from physical or mental incapacity. A notable feature of the...

Local Authority Housing (20 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: I will respond to Deputy Stanley first.

Local Authority Housing (20 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: We are trying to introduce objective and standardised criteria. It should not be necessary to produce a consultant's report, given that it may take a long period to obtain such a report, thus prolonging the process and creating further trauma for applicants. There may also be a financial outlay required of the applicant who may not have the wherewithal to meet the cost. An ordinary general...

Written Answers — Private Rented Accommodation: Private Rented Accommodation (20 Oct 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 and the incorrect retention of deposits by landlords was identified in the review process as one of a range of issues that merited specific attention. In July 2011 the Government approved the drafting of the Residential...

Written Answers — Urban Renewal: Urban Renewal (20 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: A wide range of property-based tax relief schemes was introduced up to the mid-2000s, including town renewal and living over the shop schemes. While many important developments were encouraged by these schemes, independent reviews concluded that the tax costs of the initiatives were high relative to the outputs achieved and the Department of Finance is in the process of winding down existing...

Written Answers — Homelessness Strategy: Homelessness Strategy (20 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: Statutory responsibility for a youth homelessness strategy rests with my colleague the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, while the Health Service Executive (HSE) leads on its implementation. In May 2011 my Department was represented at a meeting arranged by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs with a range of interested bodies and service providers at which the current Youth...

Written Answers — Private Rented Accommodation: Private Rented Accommodation (20 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: Proposals for the transfer of responsibility for households in receipt of rent supplement, but with an identified housing need, from the community welfare service to housing authorities are being developed in my Department in conjunction with the Department of Social Protection. At this point these proposals are being advanced on a 'cost neutral' basis. However, it is considered likely that...

Written Answers — Private Rented Accommodation: Private Rented Accommodation (20 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: The Residential Tenancies Act 2004 regulates the tenant-landlord relationship in the private rented residential sector. A dwelling let by a recognised educational institution does not fall within the ambit of the Residential Tenancies Act. Tenancies of dwellings in purpose-built student accommodation let by private landlords fall within the ambit of the Act but part 4 of the Act, relating to...

Written Answers — Sheltered Housing: Sheltered Housing (20 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: The vision for the future of the housing sector in Ireland, as set in Government's Housing Policy Statement published in June 2011, is based on choice, fairness, equity across tenures and on delivering quality outcomes for the resources invested. The overall strategic objective will be to enable all households access good quality housing, appropriate to household circumstances and in their...

Written Answers — Homelessness Strategy: Homelessness Strategy (20 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: I refer to the reply to Question No. 162 of 5 October, 2011 which addressed the position in regard to numbers of people sleeping rough in Dublin city.

Written Answers — Unfinished Housing Developments: Unfinished Housing Developments (20 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: I propose to take Questions Nos. 29, 39 and 45 together. The first National Housing Development Survey database, published in October 2010, established an authoritative baseline analysis of unfinished housing developments to assist in fully understanding the scale and extent of the issues involved. Last week I published the findings of the 2011 survey. This showed that the number of complete...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (20 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: There is a range of services available to deal with needs arising in cases of domestic violence, both in terms of protection of the abused partner and any children, and any need for emergency accommodation. Persons who are subjected to domestic violence do not need to go on the general housing waiting lists to avail of short-term emergency housing. Where a social housing assessment is an...

Written Answers — Departmental Bodies: Departmental Bodies (20 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: While the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) received Exchequer funding for a number of years since its establishment in September 2004, it has operated on a self-financing basis since 2010. I have no plans to restore Exchequer funding to the PRTB and, in the current economic circumstances, it is critical that the Board continues to manage its financial resources to best effect. The...