Results 5,921-5,940 of 17,531 for speaker:Jan O'Sullivan

Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (12 Jul 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: The Government's Housing Policy Statement, published in June 2011, identifies approved housing bodies (AHBs) as key partners in the delivery of social housing. This recognises both the constrained funding levels available for local authority construction programmes and the capacity and track-record of the voluntary and cooperative housing sector. The sector is a significant provider of...

Written Answers — Rental Accommodation Scheme: Rental Accommodation Scheme (17 Jul 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: The Rental Accommodation Scheme is a core part of the range of social housing supports provided by housing authorities. The scheme is specifically targeted at households who are in receipt of Rent Supplement from the Department of Social Protection, generally for over 18 months, and who have been assessed as having a long-term housing need. There are no plans to alter the qualifying...

Written Answers — Outdoor Events: Outdoor Events (17 Jul 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: Section 230 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000, which came into operation on 11 March 2002, provides that a licence is required in respect of the holding of an event, or class of event, prescribed under Part 16 of the Planning and Development (Licensing of Outdoor Events) Regulations, 2001. These Regulations, which received the positive approval of both Houses of the Oireachtas,...

Written Answers — Traveller Accommodation: Traveller Accommodation (17 Jul 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 431 and 465 together. The Social Housing Investment Programme capital allocations announced on 20 March 2012 related to a range of measures including social housing supply, regeneration, estate-wide remedial works, energy efficiency and retrofitting works, Traveller-specific accommodation, extensions/adaptations to housing stock etc. Some €5.670 million was...

Written Answers — Rental Accommodation Scheme: Rental Accommodation Scheme (17 Jul 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 435 and 502 together. Since the scheme commenced in 2005 and up to the end of May 2012, local authorities had transferred a total of 39,910 households from Rent Supplement. Of these 23,269 were housed directly under the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) and a further 16,641 were accommodated under other social housing options. Good progress is being made in...

Written Answers — Mortgage to Rent Scheme: Mortgage to Rent Scheme (17 Jul 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: On foot of the recommendations of the Keane Report on mortgage arrears, the Government launched a mortgage to rent scheme on a pilot basis in February 2012. This scheme was extended nationally in June 2012, targeting those low income families whose mortgage situation is unsustainable and where there is little or no prospect of a significant change in circumstances in the foreseeable future....

Written Answers — Unfinished Housing Developments: Unfinished Housing Developments (17 Jul 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: The most recent figures on the numbers of unfinished housing developments in the Dublin region are in my Department's National Housing Development Survey 2011, published in October 2011, which can be found at www.environ.ie . As part of the process of preparing this survey, local authorities provided details of developments in their areas which remain unfinished. The following breakdown...

Written Answers — Appointments to State Boards: Appointments to State Boards (17 Jul 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 440 and 441 together. The following table outlines the membership of the board of the Housing Finance Agency and relevant information. In line with the recommendation of the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Service, 5 of the 11 directors do not receive a fee, as they are currently employed as public servants. Where a director performs duties...

Written Answers — Housing Adaptation Grants: Housing Adaptation Grants (17 Jul 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: Exchequer allocations for 2012 in respect of the Housing Adaptation Grant Schemes for Older People and People with a Disability, totalling some €54.2 million, were notified to local authorities on 28 February. To date some €22.3 million of this has been drawn down by local authorities, facilitating the payment of over 4,300 grants. In assessing the demand for grants each year local...

Written Answers — Voluntary Housing Sector: Voluntary Housing Sector (17 Jul 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: My Department's involvement with voluntary and co-operative housing schemes relates primarily to the provision of funds for individual projects. The detailed administration of the schemes, and the certification that projects comply with the terms and conditions of the funding schemes, are the responsibility of the relevant local authority.Monaghan County Council submitted a funding proposal...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (17 Jul 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 461 and 491 together. Local authorities have long been the lenders of last resort servicing the housing loans needs of less affluent members of society. In the present economic circumstances it is to be anticipated that the ability of some borrowers to service housing loans may become restricted and that a number of loans may fall into arrears. Section 34 of...

Written Answers — Homelessness Strategy: Homelessness Strategy (17 Jul 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: Responsibility for welfare payments is a matter for my colleague the Minister for Social Protection. My Department's role in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of housing authorities in addressing homelessness at local or regional level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of...

Written Answers — Unfinished Housing Developments: Unfinished Housing Developments (17 Jul 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: I am chairing the National Co-ordination Committee on Unfinished Housing Developments (NCC) to oversee implementation of the Report of the Advisory Group on Unfinished Housing Developments, together with the Government's response to the recommendations. The NCC includes representatives from the Irish Banking Federation, local authorities, the Housing and Sustainable Communities Agency, NAMA...

Written Answers — Housing Statistics: Housing Statistics (17 Jul 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: My Department collates and publishes a wide range of housing statistics that inform the preparation and evaluation of housing policy and those data are available on my Department's website www.environ.ie. Data on vacancy levels are not among that range as they are collected by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) as part of its Census work. The 2011 Census is published on the CSO website...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (17 Jul 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: Decisions on the eligibility of specific households for social housing support and the allocation of that support are a matter solely for the housing authority concerned. It is a matter for individual housing authorities to decide on the type and size of dwellings to be allocated to applicants on their waiting lists. This policy is decided in their Allocation Schemes, the making of which is a...

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (17 Jul 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: On 6 July 2012, I issued a notice of intent to issue a Direction, together with a draft Direction, to Clare County Council relating to the South Clare Local Area Plan 2012-2018 as adopted by the elected members on 11 June 2012. I formed the provisional opinion to issue such notice on the basis that the Planning Authority had ignored or not taken account of a submission made on my behalf in...

Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (17 Jul 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: To take account of the current housing market conditions, the Government's housing policy statement, published in June 2011, announced the standing down of all affordable housing schemes in the context of a full review of Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000. That review is now underway and it is expected to conclude later in the year. Any future changes to legislation governing...

Written Answers — Rental Accommodation Scheme: Rental Accommodation Scheme (17 Jul 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: While information on the number of persons who have applied for RAS is not held by my Department, it should be noted that the main qualifying criterion for the scheme is that a person should be in receipt of rent supplement for a period of 18 months or more. From information in relation to the operation of the Rent Supplement Scheme, which is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Social...

Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (17 Jul 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: To the end of June 2012, 129 housing units have been secured under the Social Housing Leasing Initiative in County Donegal. The breakdown of these by Housing Authority is set out in the table below. Authority No of Units Donegal County Council 55 Letterkenny Town Council 42 Buncrana Town Council 31 Bundoran Town Council 1 Overall Donegal 129

Written Answers — Tenant Purchase Scheme: Tenant Purchase Scheme (17 Jul 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: To date there have been 7 completed transactions under the 2011 Tenant Purchase scheme in Co. Donegal. My Department understands that there are a number of outstanding expressions of interest under the scheme where sales will have to be finalised by 31 December 2012 when the scheme expires.