Results 6,961-6,980 of 17,531 for speaker:Jan O'Sullivan

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Tenant Purchase Scheme Review (15 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: While the 1995 tenant purchase scheme for existing local authority houses closed for new applications on 31 December 2012, two incremental purchase schemes remain in operation, one for newly-built local authority houses and the other for local authority apartments. It is intended to advance the necessary legislative proposals as soon as practicable to underpin an incremental purchase scheme...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Property Repossessions (15 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: I have no function in relation to the matter in question.

Seanad: Wind Energy Guidelines: Statements (15 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: I thank Senators for the opportunity to attend and to contribute to this important discussion. Wind energy is a highly-topical issue and looks set to remain in public focus for some time to come. It is important to clarify my exact role and that of my Department regarding wind energy. I do not set policy on wind energy development or renewable energy, in general. Nor do I have direct...

Seanad: Wind Energy Guidelines: Statements (15 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: I thank all the Senators who participated in the debate. There was a high level of engagement, concern and knowledge. A couple of common themes emerged, the main one being the importance of the community, of listening to what the community has to say and of real consultation. That is an absolute priority for me too. As I said in my opening statement, we received 550 submissions when we...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payments Eligibility (16 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: The provision of sheltered housing is mainly funded through my Department’s Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS) which provides funding of up to 100% of the approved cost for the provision of accommodation to meet the needs of persons with specific categories of housing need including older people, people with an intellectual, physical or mental health disability, the homeless, returning...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Planning Issues (16 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: Section 35 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 provides that planning authorities may apply to the High Court for authorisation to refuse to grant planning permission to a developer who has substantially failed to comply with the conditions of a previous permission. This power was significantly strengthened in the Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Act 2006, which...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Departmental Expenditure (16 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: On 22 February 2013, I announced capital allocations to local authorities under the suite of Grants for Older People and People with a Disability amounting to €42.750 million. This year I allocated local authorities the full amount of their contractual commitments which, in the case of Dublin City Council, amounted to €2,906,500. The balance of the available funding was...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Special Housing Aid for the Elderly (21 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: The Special Housing Aid for the Elderly Scheme (SHAE) was discontinued in 2007 and replaced by the suite of Grants for Older People and People with a Disability. The Housing Aid for Older People measure provides increased levels of grant assistance for a suite of works which are similar in nature to those previously assisted under the SHAE . I have no proposals to reintroduce the SHAE. On...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Homelessness Strategy (21 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: I recently published a Homelessness Policy Statement in which I outlined the Government's aim to end long-term homelessness by the end of 2016. The statement emphasises a housing-led approach which is about accessing permanent housing as the primary response to all forms of homelessness. The availability and supply of secure, affordable and adequate housing is essential in ensuring...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Tenant Purchase Scheme Eligibility (21 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: Tenants are not precluded from tenant purchase by virtue of being social welfare recipients and there is no intention to change this practice in the future. However, tenants seeking to fund their purchase through loan finance from the local authority must meet the criteria that apply to such loans. Provisions governing mortgage lending by local authorities are set out in the Housing...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Private Residential Tenancies Board Enforcement (21 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: I have no function in the operational matters of the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB), an independent statutory body established under the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, and cannot therefore comment on the specifics of any individual case.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Property Taxation Exemptions (21 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: An exemption from the local property tax applies to developments listed in the schedule to the Finance (Local Property Tax) Regulations 2013. The list of unfinished housing developments eligible for the exemption was compiled by local authorities utilising the categorisation employed for the purposes of the National Housing Survey 2012. The specific development referred to is not on the...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Roadside Service Stations (21 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: I have no function in relation to the location or operation of roadside service stations.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Staff Numbers (21 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: The information sought in respect of the period 2002 - 2011 is available on my Department's website at . Data for 2012 are not yet available. Under section 159 of the Local Government Act 2001, each City and County Manager is responsible for staffing and organisational arrangements necessary for carrying out the functions of the local authorities for which he or she is responsible.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing Adaptation Grants Funding (21 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: I refer to the reply to Question No. 422 of 14 May 2013 which sets out the position on this matter .

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Planning Issues (21 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: My Department's Guidelines for Planning Authorities on Sustainable Rural Housing (2005) are designed to achieve a balance between a good planning framework for rural housing and the local housing needs of those who are part of, or have links to, local rural communities. The Guidelines elaborate on the physical development policies for rural areas as set out in the Government's National...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing Grant Applications (21 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: This project has funding approval from my Department under the Capital Advance Leasing Facility since September 2012. Under this facility a loan is made available to facilitate the securing of private finance by an Approved Housing Body (AHB) to complete the units. It is a matter for the AHB to secure the remaining finance and Dublin City Council, the Housing Agency and my Department are...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Private Rented Accommodation Provision (21 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. It provides for security of tenure and specifies minimum obligations for...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Unfinished Housing Estates (21 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: Data from individual local authorities on the number of site resolution plans are not held in my Department on an on-going basis. At the time of the publication of the 2012 National Housing Survey 136 developments had site resolution plans completed with a further 75 in the process of being completed. A further 770 SRP’s had been requested or initiated by the relevant local authority...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Traveller Accommodation (21 May 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: In accordance with the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998, statutory responsibility for the assessment of the accommodation needs of Travellers and the preparation, adoption and implementation of multi-annual Traveller accommodation programmes, designed to meet the accommodation needs of Travellers, rests with individual housing authorities. My Department’s role is to ensure...