Results 6,181-6,200 of 17,531 for speaker:Jan O'Sullivan

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (23 Oct 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: My Department collates and publishes a wide range of housing and planning statistics that inform the preparation and evaluation of policy and those data are available on my Department’s website . Data on the number of shared ownership loans in 2010 and 2011 are included within that range. While my Department collates statistics on mortgage arrears in Local Authorities these are not...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (23 Oct 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: I refer to the reply to Question No. 52 on today’s Order Paper.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing Adaptation Grants (23 Oct 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: My Department remains committed to providing financial assistance to older people and people with a disability who wish to carry out essential repairs or extensions/adaptations to their homes. Over the period 2008 to 2011, over €337 million was paid out in grants in respect of approved adaptation works and extensions. Over 48,000 individual applicants received grant assistance over...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing (23 Oct 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: My Department does not hold information on the number of households on local authorities’ waiting lists. This figure continuously fluctuates as households are allocated housing and new households apply for housing support. Detailed information on the latest statutory assessment of housing need, carried out in March 2011 and including a breakdown by housing authority, is available on my...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing (23 Oct 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: I refer the replies to Questions Nos. 111 of 15 September 2011, 143 of 8 March 2012 and 222 of 3 May 2012. The position is unchanged. It remains the case that no funding restrictions have been placed on local authorities for the purposes of providing loan finance for house purchase or home improvement.

Topical Issue Debate: Student Grant Scheme Applications (24 Oct 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: I thank Deputy O'Mahony for raising this issue. I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Quinn. As the Deputy said, the processing of student grants for new entrants has been centralised this year under one body - Student Universal Support Ireland, or SUSI, which was established as a unit of the City of Dublin VEC. This will replace the 66...

Topical Issue Debate: Student Grant Scheme Applications (24 Oct 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: The correct figure is 17,500.

Topical Issue Debate: Student Grant Scheme Applications (24 Oct 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: As it is a totally new system, it is understandable that there have been some difficulties. I know SUSI is trying to deal with them as expeditiously as possible. I accept that the number of incorrect application forms - 17,500 - seems to be quite large. It is surprising that so many people failed to give all the information or fill the forms in correctly. I understand the Union of...

Topical Issue Debate: Social and Affordable Housing Eligibility (24 Oct 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue and allowing me to outline the current position. I would like him to know I have commenced a review; therefore, we recognise there is an issue. The Government's housing policy statement, published in June 2011, serves as a framework for a sequence of legislative and policy initiatives in the short to medium term. Based on a number of...

Topical Issue Debate: Social and Affordable Housing Eligibility (24 Oct 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: All of us in the Chamber probably know of some of these complex cases. There is a certain amount of discretion under the current regulations and one of the issues I am considering in reviewing the regulations is the position of couples who are separating and genuinely have a housing need that must be addressed. While I do not know exactly how long this will take, I will be doing it as...

Topical Issue Debate: Hospital Services (24 Oct 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: I thank Deputy Nolan for raising the issue to which I will respond on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health, Deputy James Reilly. University Hospital Galway has two consultants who provide a pain management clinic in the hospital. These are consultants who specialise in anaesthesia, 50% of whose time is allocated specifically to pain management. Two pain clinic sessions take...

Topical Issue Debate: Hospital Services (24 Oct 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: Deputy Nolan clearly outlined the difficult position of such patients. I will convey his concerns directly to the Minister, Deputy Reilly. We all want the quickest possible responses to patients in pain or who need care in other ways. The Deputy acknowledged the progress that has been made in various areas. I will convey the issues raised to the Minister and the suggestions Deputy Nolan...

Topical Issue Debate: Health Insurance Cost (24 Oct 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: I am taking this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health, Deputy James Reilly, who unfortunately cannot attend. This issue was around for years during the time of the previous Government and very little was done about it. There has been recent speculation regarding possible increases in private health insurance premiums. As the Deputies are aware, the Minister for Health...

Topical Issue Debate: Health Insurance Cost (24 Oct 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: It is certainly not today or yesterday that these increases happened.

Topical Issue Debate: Health Insurance Cost (24 Oct 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: In spite of the money that was in the country, there was no reform of the health service. The universal system to which the current Government is committed will address inefficiencies and extra costs in the health service and will deliver improvements for patients. A risk equalisation scheme is to be introduced by the Minister under the legislation he has introduced. The scheme in place...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Mortgage Arrears (24 Oct 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: The information sought in this question is not held by my Department.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Planning Issues (24 Oct 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: The Wind Energy Development Guidelines, which were published by my Department on 29 June 2006, provide advice to planning authorities on catering for wind energy through the development plan process. The guidelines are also intended to ensure a consistency of approach throughout the country in the identification of suitable locations for wind energy development and the treatment of planning...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Property Stock Levels (25 Oct 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: The most recent information relating to the current property stock levels can be found in the 2011 census data which are available on the Central Statistics Office’s website .

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Planning Issues (25 Oct 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: Section 177E(5) of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, provides that An Bord Pleanála may at its own discretion, on request, extend the period specified in section 261A for the making of an application for substitute consent for a quarry by such further period as it considers appropriate. I have no plans further to amend the legislation in this regard.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Unfinished Housing Developments (25 Oct 2012)

Jan O'Sullivan: The resolution of the various issues presented by unfinished developments is one of the major challenges faced by my Department and local authorities. 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...