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

Paudie Coffey: I stated earlier that NAMA has identified over 6,000 units as suitable for provision to local authorities or approved housing bodies. Whether the Deputy likes it or not, the housing authorities are responsible for housing people. The Government sets policy and provides funding to local authorities and approved housing bodies. If the local authorities or approved housing bodies come forward...

Other Questions: Local Authority Housing Provision (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I thank the Deputy for his question. I reiterate that the Government has firmly put local authorities back at the heart of social housing provision, something that some would argue was abdicated to some degree over recent years. The Social Housing Strategy 2020, which is very ambitious, has targeted the provision of 35,000 new units and these will be delivered by local authorities either...

Other Questions: Local Authority Housing Provision (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: Government sets the policy and strategy nationally for social housing and we have set out a very clear strategy up to 2020 that has ambitious targets for all local authorities. However, we are not just putting in the strategy. We are putting in the funding as well. We have already committed funding. In the past two budgets, we put our money where our mouth is, so to speak, and if we are...

Other Questions: Local Authority Housing Provision (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: To be fair to all Deputies present, I acknowledge that we are all trying to find solutions and quicker ways of delivering social housing. I assure the Deputy that the Minister, Deputy Kelly, and I are pursuing every avenue available to us to increase the number of available houses. Deputy Wallace was not here earlier when, in response to other Deputies, I made the point that initially NAMA...

Other Questions: Private Residential Tenancies Board (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I acknowledge that the Deputy welcomes the deposit protection scheme because it is a scheme that has been long called for. I am glad we were able to legislate to allow for that recently in both Houses of the Oireachtas. The Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 2015 was enacted on 4 December 2015 and provides for the establishment of a tenancy deposit protection scheme. Under the...

Other Questions: Private Residential Tenancies Board (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I acknowledge the Deputy's concerns but we should acknowledge the practicality of the situation. The PRTB has substantially improved its efficiency in latter years and has introduced new IT systems to deal with its database and tenancy registration. This new deposit protection scheme is a substantial body of work. If one considers the number of deposits of each registered tenant, there is...

Other Questions: Private Residential Tenancies Board (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: The reduction in staff to which the Deputy refers was entirely attributable to the introduction of new IT systems to deal with tenancy registration and the database within the PRTB. The Deputy will know that registration was dealt with initially using hard copies, which was inefficient, cumbersome and labour intensive. With the new IT systems, it was found the process did not need to be as...

Other Questions: Housing Issues (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I thank the Deputy for raising this because it is very serious and concerns me greatly. As the Deputy knows, I visited Donegal earlier this year with the Minister of State, Deputy Joe McHugh, and met the mica action group and many affected householders. I acknowledge their current distress. While building defects are, in the first instance, matters for resolution between the relevant...

Other Questions: Housing Issues (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: It is important that the expert panel be constructed properly and have the expertise necessary to deal with and investigate the problem comprehensively. The Deputy will accept and agree with that. I expect the chairperson to have considerable experience in communications, negotiation and other fields relating to solving complex problems. This is a very complex problem in so far as it...

Other Questions: Housing Issues (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I thank the Deputy again for raising these important issues. Anywhere that building defects are found, it is a matter for resolution, in the first instance, between the contracting parties, including the builders and product suppliers. I am conscious that there is a trend indicating building defects in Donegal and Mayo. I am not an expert in the field but I know some preliminary tests of...

Other Questions: Rental Accommodation Scheme Eligibility (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. The rental accommodation scheme, RAS, is a social housing scheme which has two key objectives, namely, the elimination of dependence on rent supplement by persons assessed as being qualified for and in need of social housing support, and the enhancement of the position of local authorities to respond to social housing need. As such, RAS...

Other Questions: Rental Accommodation Scheme Eligibility (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: All of us are working towards trying to keep people in their homes. Threshold and other agencies have a tenancy sustainment protocol which provides that, irrespective of a person's circumstances, he or she cannot be evicted at the whim of a landlord or as a result of a rent increase. As the Deputy will be aware, the recent package of rent measures we introduced brings an element of...

Other Questions: Rental Accommodation Scheme Eligibility (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: While I appreciate it is not in place in the Deputy's area, it is being rolled out in tranches of six or seven local authorities at a time. It will be a nationwide scheme once it has been rolled out to the remaining local authorities. The rent supplement is essentially a short-term payment for people who need it. It was never intended to be a long-term support. The Deputy dismisses the...

Other Questions: Rental Accommodation Scheme Eligibility (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: The housing authorities, namely, local councils, have a number of options available to them in terms of housing people under threat of homelessness. The Minister and I have both made direct interventions to provide additional funding to local authorities which have been presented with such cases.

Other Questions: Rental Accommodation Scheme Eligibility (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: All these issues are related. The Deputy is essentially arguing that people are being evicted at the whim of a landlord, which is not possible under current legislation. If someone finds himself or herself in homelessness, the local housing authority will have been funded to respond in one way or another.

Other Questions: Rental Accommodation Scheme Eligibility (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I do understand it. We are extending the housing assistance payment and we will, in time, eliminate the rental accommodation scheme. The HAP scheme is a long-term supplement to assist people to retain their tenancy and allow them to remain in work where they are in employment.

Other Questions: Rental Accommodation Scheme Eligibility (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: It will be rolled out to all local authorities, including the Deputy's local authority, in the coming period.

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2015: Second Stage (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am pleased to have the opportunity to introduce Second Stage of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2015 to the Dáil. It was introduced in the Seanad last week, where general support was expressed for its main provisions and purpose. The primary background to the Bill is the Government's recently approved package of...

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2015: Second Stage (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: On a point of order, the Deputy may be referring to the Bill scheduled for next week. The Bill before us relates to apartment guidelines.

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2015: Second Stage (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I did not think the Deputy would.

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