Results 721-740 of 8,873 for speaker:Batt O'Keeffe

Social and Affordable Housing. (10 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: The Minister does not intend to pursue that matter at present. The matter has not been examined by me to date. I have been, since taking up office, familiarising myself with the brief. I will undertake to examine the matter and to report directly on it to the Deputy. In terms of the Government's overall strategy in this area, it is important to point out that the needs of some 140,000...

Social and Affordable Housing. (10 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: Two questions were asked. The Government has been innovative in terms of the provision of social and affordable housing. A whole range of new mechanisms have been introduced to address the problem. The introduction in early 2008 of the miscellaneous housing Bill will provide further initiatives including, incremental purchase by tenants of local authority houses. Measures to address the...

Social and Affordable Housing. (10 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: The provision of affordable housing is a key priority for the Government and is a key element of the "Paths to home ownership" component of the Government's housing policy statement, Delivering Homes, Sustaining Communities. Significant progress has been made in increasing delivery under the range of affordable housing mechanisms currently in place, including the shared ownership scheme, the...

Social and Affordable Housing. (10 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: That surprises me. It has not come to my attention.

Social and Affordable Housing. (10 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: Already, through Part V, site subsidy is achieved by virtue of the fact that land components of the cost of homes reflect only the existing use value, that is, the agricultural value of sites. Under the affordable housing initiative, the site subsidy is achieved. The process is in place. Under the 1999 affordable housing scheme, a site subsidy can be provided by the Department where...

Social and Affordable Housing. (10 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: ——including the city of Dublin and for Dún Laoghaire Rathdown, Fingal, south Dublin and certain parts of Kildare, Meath and Wicklow. In the cities of Cork, Limerick, Waterford and Galway there is a subsidy in place and sites are being taken up. However, I will take up the issue with my officials and report back directly to the Deputy.

Social and Affordable Housing. (10 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: Obviously, what happened in 2005 and 2006 was unsustainable. There was a frenzy, with people afraid they would not get on the property ladder. They bought property and the amount of finance made available led to price inflation. That could not be sustained. From the point of view of people in the market at present, it is time the Construction Industry Federation learned again how to sell....

Social and Affordable Housing. (10 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: I will investigate this and will report back directly.

Social and Affordable Housing. (10 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: I will give a commitment to Deputy Naughten to investigate and report back to him. With regard to the point made by Deputy Barrett, I did not have the housing brief in the last Government when Deputy Gilmore was a spokesperson on housing and the environment. One place mentioned because no effort was made to provide housing there was Dún Laoghaire. The funny thing is that when the...

Social and Affordable Housing. (10 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: I asked the affordable housing partnership to report back to me on how we can have better delivery mechanisms and how we can better equip ourselves to obtain houses in the areas Deputy Barrett mentioned. The report is due to be given to me this week and we can discuss this matter in further detail at a later time.

Fire Services: Motion (Resumed) (10 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: On behalf of the Government, I acknowledge the presence of the families and friends of Brian Murray and Mark O'Shaughnessy, who have been with us for the past two nights. I extend my condolences to all those connected to the two men, including members of the fire service in Bray. I thank all the Deputies who contributed to this debate and commend them on their measured approach thereto....

Fire Services: Motion (Resumed) (10 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: In this case, the relevant authority is Wicklow County Council.

Fire Services: Motion (Resumed) (10 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: The fire authority is required under section 10 of the Fire Services Act 1981 to make provision for the delivery of fire services in its functional area, including the establishment and maintenance of a fire brigade service, and to make adequate provision for the reception of, and response to, calls for the assistance of that service. The Minister does not have any discretion in the matter.

Fire Services: Motion (Resumed) (10 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: The Minister and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government must have regard——

Fire Services: Motion (Resumed) (10 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: ——to the provisions of the 1981 Act which, after all, was passed into law by the Dáil.

Fire Services: Motion (Resumed) (10 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: I remind the Members of the House who have referred to risk assessment that a risk-based approach to fire cover standards is one of the projects being advanced under the fire services change programme. When that project has been completed, it will help the fire authorities to carry out a risk analysis in their functional areas when determining the cover and resources which are needed. I can...

Fire Services: Motion (Resumed) (10 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: Such suggestions are not accurate. All of the recommendations made in the Stardust report received full and careful consideration and were either implemented or taken into account as fire safety policy was formulated and local authority fire services were developed in the intervening period. Very significant improvements have been made in all areas of the fire service. Investment has been...

Written Answers — Private Rented Accommodation: Private Rented Accommodation (10 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: The Residential Tenancies Act, 2004 provides that rents in the private rented sector cannot be set at greater than the open market rate and that rent reviews cannot, in the normal course, occur more frequently than once a year. Any tenant who considers that the rent sought exceeds the market rate can refer the issue to the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) for resolution. It is a...

Written Answers — Private Rented Accommodation: Private Rented Accommodation (10 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: All landlords have a legal obligation to ensure that their rented properties comply with the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 1993. Responsibility for enforcing the regulations rests with the relevant local authority. In September 2006 a comprehensive Action Programme to promote improvement in standards of private rented accommodation was announced, involving a range of...

Written Answers — Private Rented Accommodation: Private Rented Accommodation (10 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: The Residential Tenancies Act 2004 provides for significantly improved security of tenure in the private rented sector while respecting the rights of accommodation providers to regain possession where there are valid grounds for this. In particular, the Act provides for 4-year tenancy cycles, and, once a tenancy has lasted 6 months, it can only be terminated during the remaining three and a...