Results 7,521-7,540 of 17,531 for speaker:Jan O'Sullivan

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing Regeneration (22 Oct 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: My Department currently supports an ambitious programme of physical, social and economic regeneration of disadvantaged estates and flat complexes in Dublin, Cork and Limerick and at a number of regional locations around the country. In the case of the Cork City regeneration project, my Department is currently awaiting formal submission of the revised Socio Economic and Environmental Plan...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Mortgages (22 Oct 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: Local authorities have long provided housing loans to less affluent members of society. Section 34 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 provides local authorities with powers to deal flexibly with distressed borrowers, and they have demonstrated sensitivity over the years in this regard. My Department has issued guidelines to local authorities, based upon the Central Bank's...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Mortgages (22 Oct 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: My Department does not collect data on shared ownership loans arrears specifically on a regular basis, but gathers housing loans arrears data generically on a quarterly basis. Quarterly housing loans arrears data are published on my Department's website .

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Shared Ownership Scheme (22 Oct 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: My Department does not specifically collect data on shared ownership loans arrears on a regular basis, but gather s housing loans arrears data generically on a quarterly basis. In order to conduct the review of the shared ownership scheme, which is still ongoing, my Department requested data from local authorities earlier in 2013, some of which related to arrears on shared ownership loans....

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Repossessions (22 Oct 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: Local authorities have long provided housing loans to less affluent members of society. In the present economic circumstances it is to be anticipated that the ability of some borrowers to service housing loans may become restricted and that a number of loans may fall into arrears. Section 34 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 provides local authorities with powers to deal...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (22 Oct 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: My Department, the Housing Agency and NAMA continue to work together with housing authorities and approved housing bodies towards identifying suitable NAMA housing units and bringing them into social housing use. It continues to be my Department's objective to maximise the delivery of social housing using all of the resources available. A breakdown by county of the units identified, deemed...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Shared Ownership Scheme (22 Oct 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: The Government's 2011 housing policy statement announced the standing down of all affordable housing schemes, including the shared ownership scheme, in the context of a full review of Part V of the Planning and Development Act. That review is available on my Department's website () and the period for public submissions closed on 27 September 2013. Earlier in 2013 , I asked the Housing...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Homeless Accommodation Funding (22 Oct 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: My Department provides funding to housing authorities towards the operational costs of homeless accommodation and related services under Section 10 of the Housing Act 1988; €45 million is being made available by my Department to housing authorities in 2013 for this purpose. This amount represents a decrease of 3.32% on the 2012 outturn and this reduction has been applied on a pro-rata...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Stock (22 Oct 2013)

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 the data relating to the acquisition of houses by local authorities over the past ten years are available on my Department’s website www.environ.ie. The Government’s housing policy statement, published in June 2011, clearly identifies...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Provision (22 Oct 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: With a view to making optimum use of the capital funding available under the housing programme over the 2012-14 period, I announced funding of €100 million in July 2012 for a 3-year housing construction and acquisition programme to deliver some 800 new units of social housing by end 2014. This included a construction programme which is currently underway for 185 local authority houses...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Homeless Accommodation Provision (22 Oct 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: The regionalisation of homelessness services follows ministerial directions, made in 2010 under the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, on the establishment and membership of the Joint Homeless Consultative Fora and Management Groups. These regional fora are based on the statutory local government regions, with the internal division of the Border region into North East and North...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing Adaptation Grant Application Numbers (22 Oct 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: My Department’s involvement in the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability relates primarily to the recoupment of a proportion of local authority expenditure on the payment of the individual grants. The grants schemes are funded by 80% recoupment available from my Department together with a 20% contribution from the resources of the local authority. It...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Wind Energy Generation (22 Oct 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: My Department issued detailed Guidelines to planning authorities in 2006 in relation to the assessment of proposed wind farm developments. These Guidelines offer advice to planning authorities on planning for wind energy through the development plan process and in determining applications for planning permission. The guidelines are also intended to ensure a consistency of approach throughout...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Wind Energy Generation (22 Oct 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: My Department does not collate the specific statistical data requested. With regard to whether the planning process was observed in each instance, the enforcement of the conditions attached to a planning permission is a matter for the relevant planning authority and I have no role in that regard. As Minister I am precluded, under section 30 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000, from...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Private Rented Accommodation Provision (22 Oct 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. Section 19 of the Act prohibits the setting of 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 tenants and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Alternative Energy Projects (23 Oct 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: My Department is currently undertaking a targeted review of the Wind Energy Guidelines 2006 focusing on noise, proximity and shadow flicker. In the interim, these comprehensive guidelines remain in place to ensure that all proposed wind energy developments are subjected to careful scrutiny by the relevant planning authority. They provide advice to planning authorities on catering for wind...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Alternative Energy Projects (23 Oct 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: For quite some time, I have made it clear what the timelines are concerning the guidelines. I am aware of the concerns expressed. There is a big difference between wind energy produced for export and wind energy which will be used in the context of Ireland meeting its targets. In regard to the wind energy produced for export, this cannot happen until agreement has been reached between the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Alternative Energy Projects (23 Oct 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: Extensive work in this regard is being done in the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. The Deputy would need to table a parliamentary question to the Minister to get the detail in that regard. On height and so on, all these issues have a bearing on noise, proximity and so on, which issues form part of what is being considered in the review of the guidelines. As...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Local Authority Housing Provision (23 Oct 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: The Abridged Estimate for my Department, published by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in the expenditure report for 2014, provides €525.8 million in respect of the housing programme. These resources have been supplemented by a further €50 million announced in the budget to fund infrastructural investment, primarily in the housing area. When taken in...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Local Authority Housing Provision (23 Oct 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: The overall housing budget will remain more or less as it was last year, but that is across different functions. The extra €30 million will be added onto the capital budget for construction, which had been steadily dropping over the past few years. All capital budgets have been declining significantly but we expect to have an additional 500 new units from the construction stimulus...