Results 6,501-6,520 of 17,531 for speaker:Jan O'Sullivan

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Offshore Exploration (24 Jan 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: A foreshore licence was granted to the company in question on 27 September 2012 in respect of works specified in its application.  Information on my decision to grant the licence, including potential environmental effects and the conditions imposed to mitigate there, is available on my Department’s website at: http://www.environ.ie/en/Foreshore/ApplicationsandDeterminat...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Provision (29 Jan 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: Local authorities, as landlords and owners of their social housing stock, are responsible for the management, maintenance and repair of all their rented properties. The information requested in relation to numbers of inspections for dampness or condensation in dwellings is not available in my Department.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Rental Accommodation Scheme Eligibility (29 Jan 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: The administration of the Rental Accommodation Scheme is entirely a matter for local authorities. Transfer from one authority to another within RAS is by agreement with both authorities, and a number facilitate mutual transfers on an informal basis. A tenant considering transferring from accommodation provided under the scheme should first contact the authorities in question to determine...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing Adaptation Grants (29 Jan 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 512, 528 and 529 together. My Department remains committed to providing financial assistance to older people and people with a disability who wish to carry out essential repairs, extensions/adaptations to their homes in order to meet their accommodation needs. Work is currently underway on preparing the capital allocations under the housing programme for...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Homelessness Strategy (29 Jan 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: My Department is aware of the property in question which is in the ownership of Wicklow County Council. The Council purchased the property for social housing purposes with the assistance of capital funding from my Department’s Social Housing Investment Programme. Wicklow County Council’s proposal to utilise the property as a homeless facility has been the subject of on-going...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Residential Tenancies Act (29 Jan 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: The Residential Tenancies Act 2004 regulates the tenant-landlord relationship in the private rented residential sector. Following a review of the Act in 2009 Government approved the preparation of the Heads of a Bill to deliver on the review’s recommendations. The Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012 was published on 19 July 2012 and Second Stage in the Dáil...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Regeneration Projects (29 Jan 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 526 and 527 together. Notwithstanding the constraints on capital expenditure a cross the various measures under my Department's Social Housing Investment Programme, I will continue to support the National Regeneration Programme to the fullest extent possible. I am determined that there will be no loss of momentum in 2013 in progressing regeneration projects...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing Adaptation Grants (29 Jan 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: Under the terms of the suite of Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability, grants are available to assist households to have necessary repairs, adaptations or improvement works carried out in order to meet the accommodation needs of an older person or a person with a disability. The suite of grants include three separate grant measures: the Mobility Aids Grant...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Foreshore Licences (29 Jan 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: The following arrangements for public consultation have been put in place in relation to this foreshore licence application: - The applicant arranged for the application form and supporting documentation to be made available for public inspection from 15 December 2012 to 23 January 2013 at Togher Garda station, Co. Cork. - This arrangement was notified to the public by a notice published by...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Standards (29 Jan 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: Minimum standards for rental accommodation are prescribed in the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2008, as amended by the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) (Amendment) Regulations 2009, made under section 18 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992 . Local authorities are not, in the main, exempt from these regulations. The regulations apply to all rental...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Establishment of Planning Regulator: Discussion with Minister of State (29 Jan 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: I welcome the opportunity to engage with the committee on this important issue of the Government's response to the final report of the Mahon planning tribunal, in particular its recommendation that the Government establish an independent planning regulator. While I propose to engage with Members in terms of their views on the role of that regulator I will first provide some background...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Establishment of Planning Regulator: Discussion with Minister of State (29 Jan 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Establishment of Planning Regulator: Discussion with Minister of State (29 Jan 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: The first three contributions were interesting. What has come across is the importance of, on the one hand, balancing the independent role of a regulator but, on the other, ensuring accountability. Deputy Stanley, in particular, referred to the accountability of the Minister answering questions and similar accountability at local level and we must get that balance right. Transparency is an...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Establishment of Planning Regulator: Discussion with Minister of State (29 Jan 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: Mr. Philip Nugent from the planning section has just advised me that we have written to the Courts Service on two occasions offering to organise educational seminars on the planning system. In other words, we could offer it information on planning but we have to be careful about the spade we use.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Establishment of Planning Regulator: Discussion with Minister of State (29 Jan 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: I will make a general point first of all, mainly in response to what Deputy Seán Kenny said about the ethics area. The Mahon tribunal made 64 recommendations and only ten of them relate to planning. Much of the corruption-related issues are being dealt with in other ways and do not relate to my responsibilities on planning. Today, we are specifically focusing on the forward planning...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Establishment of Planning Regulator: Discussion with Minister of State (29 Jan 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: I agree with Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan that we would want to ensure that these practices do not happen again and that his experience is not the experience in future. That is why we want to put as much transparency as possible into the system. For example, there are ethics declarations required of councillors, as well as of representatives in the Dáil, in the context of declarations...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Unfinished Housing Developments (30 Jan 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: The development in question was categorised by Limerick County Council as a Category 3 development in 2011 and its status remains unchanged. As part of the process of preparing the National Housing Development Survey 2011, published by my Department in October 2011, local authorities provided details of all unfinished housing developments in their areas. Unfinished housing developments were...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Unfinished Housing Developments (30 Jan 2013)

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

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Unfinished Housing Developments (31 Jan 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 136 and 137 together. As part of the process of preparing the National Housing Development Survey 2011, published by my Department in October 2011, local authorities provided details of all unfinished housing developments in their areas. Unfinished housing developments were divided into four categories as follows: - Category one, where the development is...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Provision (31 Jan 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: It is open to any person or household to apply to a housing authority for an assessment of their housing need. It is a matter solely for the housing authority concerned to determine whether an applicant for social housing support is eligible for and in need of that support. The authority must make its determination in accordance with the provisions of section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous...