Results 7,661-7,680 of 11,114 for speaker:Damien English

Other Questions: Local Authority Housing Waiting Lists (27 Feb 2018)

Damien English: We all share Deputy Durkan's concerns and we all want to try to solve the housing problem as quickly as possible. Most Deputies daily meet people with a housing need, whether in our clinics and offices or, as I do, on visits to projects. Members from all parties are committed to delivering a minimum of 50,000 houses over the next three or four years through Rebuilding Ireland. We want to...

Other Questions: Local Authority Housing Waiting Lists (27 Feb 2018)

Damien English: Deputy Durkan and I are on the same page. We want progress to be made as quickly as possible. The Minister and I visited County Kildare recently where we met the Deputy at the opening of two new housing projects. Kildare County Council is committed to delivering more than 2,600 houses in the next couple of years, which will make a significant contribution towards solving the county's...

Other Questions: Housing Provision (27 Feb 2018)

Damien English: I propose to take Questions Nos. 42 and 45 together. The Department is working closely with all local authorities on increasing and accelerating the delivery of a range of social housing programmes and supports, including through the use of rapid build methodologies. Under the Department's social housing capital programme, 208 rapid delivery homes were completed in schemes across the...

Other Questions: Housing Provision (27 Feb 2018)

Damien English: The big issue is not necessarily construction as these are, without a doubt, constructed much more quickly after being produced in factories. Getting on sites has been the cause of the delay. We made many changes in the processes, and the Deputy is familiar with those from her time in the Department. There were long delays on many sites across the country for many years going on for three...

Other Questions: Housing Provision (27 Feb 2018)

Damien English: I am quite confident about it. I have even named the sites in Limerick so I am quite confident the Deputy will see the results of the rapid delivery scheme, which we should have been able to see well before now. We will certainly be able to see it in future. The issue has been getting to site and getting planning, along with other requirements. We have fast-tracked that as much as possible.

Other Questions: Housing Provision (27 Feb 2018)

Damien English: The Deputy is not being unkind and he is quite entitled to question the figures. I have already explained that we expect many of our schemes to deliver much more this year, next year and in the years ahead. It has become the default position that rapid build is the best technology to use for speed purposes in some of these sites. We are providing workshops and skills bases for local...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Tenant Purchase Scheme (27 Feb 2018)

Damien English: I propose to take Questions Nos. 46 and 63 together. The Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme came into operation on 1 January 2016.  The Scheme is open to eligible tenants, including joint tenants, of local authority houses that are available for sale under the Scheme. To be eligible, tenants must meet certain criteria, including having a minimum reckonable income of €15,000...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Land Issues (27 Feb 2018)

Damien English: I propose to take Questions Nos. 47, 78 and 95 together. The active management of the publicly-owned housing land bank is part of a range of complementary actions being progressed under the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, designed to accelerate and increase housing output.  To this end, details of some 1,700 hectares of land in local authority and Housing...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Fire Safety Regulations (27 Feb 2018)

Damien English: Under the Building Control Acts 1990 to 2014, primary responsibility for compliance of works with the requirements of the Building Regulations, including Part B (Fire Safety), rests with the owners, designers and builders of buildings. Enforcement of the Building Regulations is a matter for the 31 local building control authorities, who have extensive powers of inspection and enforcement...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Building Regulations (27 Feb 2018)

Damien English: The Planning and Development (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2018 amend Article 10 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001-2017 to provide an exemption for the change of use, and any related works, of certain vacant commercial premises to residential use without the need to obtain planning permission.  The main objectives of this exemption are to facilitate the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Ministerial Meetings (27 Feb 2018)

Damien English: I received a request in recent days from this group, through my colleague Minister of State Sean Kyne, TD, to meet with me. The group will be contacted with a response once due consideration has been given to the request.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (27 Feb 2018)

Damien English: I have read the report entitled Safe as Houses: A Report on Building Standards, Building Controls and Consumer Protection, published by the Joint Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government on 24 January 2018. It should be noted that in response to the many building failures that emerged in the last decade, my Department has been working on a building control reform agenda,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Fire Stations Upgrade (27 Feb 2018)

Damien English: The provision of fire services in local authority areas, including the establishment and maintenance of fire brigades, the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of premises, is a statutory function of the individual fire authorities under the provisions of the Fire Services Acts, 1981 and 2003. My Department supports the fire authorities through setting general policy, providing a...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Fire Stations Upgrade (27 Feb 2018)

Damien English: The provision of fire services in local authority areas, including the establishment and maintenance of fire brigades, the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of premises, is a statutory function of the individual fire authorities under the provisions of the Fire Services Acts, 1981 and 2003. My Department supports the fire authorities through setting general policy, providing a...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Issues (27 Feb 2018)

Damien English: Under the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, all development, including a material change of use, unless specifically exempted under the Act or associated Regulations, requires planning permission. Section 4 of the Act and Article 6 and Schedule 2 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 (as amended) set out in more detail the various exemptions from the requirement to...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Building Regulations Compliance (27 Feb 2018)

Damien English: I propose to take Questions Nos. 739 to 741, inclusive, together. Section 3(5) of the , provides that every building to which building regulations apply shall be designed and constructed in accordance with the provisions of such regulations. Under the Building Control Acts 1990 to 2014, primary responsibility for compliance of works with the requirements of the Building Regulations, including...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Coastal Zone Management (27 Feb 2018)

Damien English: The application in question includes an area of Clare Coastline from the Clare/Galway border around to Rinn Point in Ballyvaghan Bay.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Seaweed Harvesting Licences (27 Feb 2018)

Damien English: Under the Foreshore Act 1933, I have responsibility for regulating the harvesting of wild seaweed. I have no statutory role in the promotion or development of the seaweed industry. A number of applications to harvest wild seaweed along the west coast are on hand in my Department. During the course of assessing these applications, it became clear that certain rights to harvest seaweed...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Traveller Accommodation (27 Feb 2018)

Damien English: In accordance with the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998, housing authorities have statutory responsibility for the assessment of the accommodation needs of Travellers and the preparation, adoption and implementation of multi-annual Traveller Accommodation Programmes, TAPs, in their areas. My Department’s role is to ensure that there are adequate structures and supports in...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Unfinished Housing Developments (28 Feb 2018)

Damien English: The 2016 Annual Progress Report on Unfinished Housing Developments was published in March 2017 and is available at the following link: As outlined in the Report, the numbers of unfinished housing developments has reduced by over 85% from just under 3,000 developments in 2010 to 420 developments in 2016, with 248 developments resolved in 2016 alone. Funding...