Results 6,881-6,900 of 17,531 for speaker:Jan O'Sullivan

Other Questions: House Purchase Schemes (1 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: I am very supportive of facilitating tenants in purchasing their houses or apartments. In 2010 we informed tenants that the 1995 scheme was going to be brought to a conclusion at the end of 2012. Quite an amount of notice was given. I am sure the Deputy will recall that we discussed the matter in the House. Everyone agreed that we should inform tenants that the scheme would be coming to...

Other Questions: House Purchase Schemes (1 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: I must inform Deputy Ellis that it is the current scheme which relates to new houses. The scheme it is proposed to introduce will relate to old and new houses. Old houses will not be omitted from the new scheme.

Other Questions: House Purchase Schemes (1 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: That relates to the current scheme, which involves new houses. We have work to do in the context of deciding how valuations will be deal with under the new scheme. To address one of Deputy Ó Cuív's points, the payment system will centre more on income than the current scheme does. In the case of the latter, much depends on the length of time one has spent in a house. The income...

Other Questions: House Purchase Schemes (1 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: It is normal to allow one scheme to end before the next one starts. I do not want the gap to be long and I want to introduce the legislation as soon as I can. I do not see a reason for a conspiracy. Not permitting people to purchase their houses will not address the issue of waiting lists, as people are already in the houses. There is no reason not to facilitate them in purchasing their...

Other Questions: House Purchase Schemes (1 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: I am sorry, but I did not catch that.

Other Questions: Anti-Social Behaviour (1 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: The Supreme Court judgment referred to concerned two cases relating to section 62 of the Housing Act 1966. In one case, the court made a declaration under the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003 that section 62(3) of the Housing Act 1966 was incompatible with the State's obligations under Article 8 of the convention due to the absence of appropriate procedural safeguards where there...

Other Questions: Anti-Social Behaviour (1 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: I take it seriously. In fact, I met one of the officials working on the legislation this morning. We will have it ready and published this year as part of the housing legislation.

Other Questions: Anti-Social Behaviour (1 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: As to the delay, discussions with the Attorney General's office and a detailed examination were necessary. Complicating matters is the fact that the European Court of Human Rights has issued rulings in a number of other cases relating to Article 8 in other countries. We must consider those rulings when drafting our legislation. I assure the Deputy that we want to deal with this matter as...

Other Questions: Anti-Social Behaviour (1 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: I can only agree with the Deputy that the problem needs to be dealt with urgently. Indeed, it is being dealt with urgently. The issue will form part of the next substantial Bill that comes from my Department. We will ensure that the lacuna-----

Other Questions: Anti-Social Behaviour (1 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: The legislation is being worked on. As the Deputy knows, there are lists of legislation and Ministers must ensure their priorities are included on them. We are working on doing so with the Attorney General's office. We will lay the Bill before the Houses and have it passed as quickly as possible.

Other Questions: Anti-Social Behaviour (1 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: I cannot give the Deputy a date.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Private Rented Accommodation Prices (1 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: Private residential tenancies, with limited exceptions, are governed by the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 and the main provisions in respect of rent and rent reviews are set out in Part III of that Act. Under section 19 of the Act, it is prohibited to set the rent under a tenancy at a rate above the market rent at either the beginning of the tenancy or at any subsequent rent review. Both...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Maintenance (1 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: An explosion occurred within a private house, one of a terrace of six houses, in this development in March 2012. Subsequently, Longford County Council established an expert steering group and appointed a firm of consulting engineers to investigate the cause of the explosion. A second explosion occurred in this development at the beginning of October 2012. The specific findings of the...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Private Rented Accommodation Provision (1 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: The grounds upon which a tenancy in the private rented residential sector may be legally terminated are clearly set out in the Residential Tenancies Act 2004. The Act provides the main regulatory framework for the private rented residential sector and for the operation of the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB). The maximum duration of a tenancy under the Act is four years, after which...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Waiting Lists (1 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 22, 34, 60 and 171 together. The Government's housing policy statement, published in June 2011, clearly identifies that the priority for Government will be to meet the most acute needs of households applying for social housing support. I am determined to ensure that the social housing programme optimises the delivery of social housing and the return for the...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: National Spatial Strategy (1 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 26, 48, 50 and 61 together. The 2002 National Spatial Strategy (NSS) is Ireland's first national strategic spatial planning framework. It provides the spatial vision and principles to achieve a better balance of social, economic and physical development and population growth between regions through the co-ordinated development of nine gateway cities and...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Unfinished Housing Developments (1 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 29, 44 and 158 together. I am chairing the National Co-ordination Committee (NCC) 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...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Voluntary Housing Sector Issues (1 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 30 and 156 together. At the end of 2012 a total of 25,371 units of accommodation had been provided by approved voluntary and co-operative housing bodies under my Department’s capital funding schemes since the inception of the Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS) in 1984 and the Capital Loan and Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) in 1992. Exchequer funding of €1.3...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Private Residential Tenancies Board Remit (1 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: The Residential Tenancies Act 2004 sets out the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants in the private rented residential sector. The Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) was established under the Act to operate a national tenancy registration system and to resolve disputes between landlords and tenants in the private rented residential sector. My Department conducted a review...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Planning Issues (1 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: The Government published its response to the recommendations of the Final Report of the Mahon Tribunal on 19 July 2012 including in respect of an independent planning regulator, to which it has agreed in principle. I also discussed this specific recommendation with the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht on 29 January 2013. Following further appropriate,...