Results 7,701-7,720 of 17,531 for speaker:Jan O'Sullivan

Seanad: Adjournment Debate: Direct Provision System (19 Nov 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: The Minister has concerns regarding the Senator's proposal that all Members of the Oireachtas would have unrestricted access to any one of the 34 asylum accommodation centres under contract to the Reception and Integration Agency. The Minister is conscious of the need to balance the right sought in this Adjournment motion with the rights of residents and the need for proper management of the...

Seanad: Adjournment Debate: Direct Provision System (19 Nov 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: I will convey to the Minister the views expressed by both Senators, including the suggestion that there might be a middle ground and a way of establishing protocols that would facilitate what they seek.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Mortgage to Rent Scheme Eligibility (20 Nov 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: On foot of the recommendations of the Keane Report on mortgage arrears the Government launched a mortgage to rent scheme on a pilot basis in February 2012. This scheme was extended nationally in June 2012, targeting those low income families whose mortgage situation is unsustainable and where there is little or no prospect of a significant change in circumstances in the foreseeable future....

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing Adaptation Grants Funding (20 Nov 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: The Abridged Estimate for my Department, published by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in Expenditure Report 2014, provides some €28.6 million in respect of the suite of Grants for Older People and People with a Disability. The Estimates provision will be supplemented by the recently announced €10 million in additional funding for this measure, giving an overall...

Topical Issue Debate: Services for People with Disabilities (21 Nov 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: I thank Deputy Nash for raising this important and serious issue. As housing authorities, local authorities have an overall role in respect of ensuring that the dwellings they provide meet the needs of tenants and, through the housing adaptation grant schemes, to support people with disabilities and the elderly. Clearly, technological solutions play an important role in this regard and all...

Topical Issue Debate: Services for People with Disabilities (21 Nov 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: I share the Deputy's concern regarding the need for proper and appropriate solutions that meet people's individual needs. I accept that local authorities probably use different approaches and that some of them still carry out extensions to tenants' dwellings. We are reviewing the scheme at present because we want to ensure that maximum value will be obtained. In that context, I will pursue...

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

Jan O'Sullivan: The estate in question is a category 4 unfinished housing estate. The administration and addressing of issues relating to unfinished housing developments are matters for the individual local authority involved, in this case Carlow County Council. Matters of a planning nature should be addressed to the planning department of that local authority while the unfinished estate coordinator is the...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Voluntary Housing Sector (21 Nov 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: As part of the process of good governance, Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) have to ensure that they are compliant with a number of statutory requirements including annual reporting to the Companies Registration Office and compliance with the terms and conditions of capital funding schemes and leasing schemes operated by my Department. My Department is currently in consultation with the AHB...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Tenant Purchase Scheme Administration (21 Nov 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. Work is proceeding on the preparation of the General Scheme of a Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, which is expected to...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Mortgages (21 Nov 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: The Government’s 2011 housing policy statement stood down 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 2000. The period for public submissions under this review closed on 27 September 2013. Consideration of these submissions is currently underway with a view to evaluating their...

Local Government (Town Centres) Bill 2013: Second Stage [Private Members] (22 Nov 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: I join with Deputy Cowen in acknowledging the 50th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and, in particular, the warm relationship between our country and the United States due largely, but including other factors, to his Presidency of that country. One of the highlights for anybody visiting this House is the flag which commemorates the people who died in the American Civil...

Local Government (Town Centres) Bill 2013: Second Stage [Private Members] (22 Nov 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: We have had a good debate and I thank Deputy Cowen for facilitating that. The context in which all of us are speaking is the economic collapse. The doughnut effect, whereby much is happening at the edges of towns and cities and not much in the centre, coupled with the economic collapse, has meant that the life has been sucked out of many of our town and city centres. People have less...

Local Government (Town Centres) Bill 2013: Second Stage [Private Members] (22 Nov 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: There are proposals from the Government on alcohol pricing.

Local Government (Town Centres) Bill 2013: Second Stage [Private Members] (22 Nov 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: I wonder what created it.

Local Government (Town Centres) Bill 2013: Second Stage [Private Members] (22 Nov 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: The Deputy is showing his Fianna Fáil colours.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing Adaptation Grants Funding (26 Nov 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 451 and 452 together. The Abridged Estimate for my Department, published by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in Expenditure Report 2014, provides some €28.6 million in respect of the suite of Grants for Older People and People with a Disability. The Estimates provision will be supplemented by the recently announced €10 million...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Unfinished Housing Developments (26 Nov 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 456 and 471 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: Planning Issues (26 Nov 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: The decision as to whether to grant planning permission in any particular case is a matter for the relevant planning authority, in the first instance, and for An Bord Pleanála in the event of an appeal. I have no function in relation to the matter. In making decisions on planning applications, planning authorities and the Board must consider the proper planning and sustainable...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Planning Issues (26 Nov 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: In line with the recommendation contained in the Final Report of the Mahon Tribunal, the Government approved proposals for the preparation of a new Planning and Development Bill at its meeting on 7 May 2013 to establish a new Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR). The primary function of the OPR, which will be established with an independent corporate identity, will be to carry out...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: NAMA Portfolio (26 Nov 2013)

Jan O'Sullivan: I cannot comment on individual units of housing that are under negotiation to be acquired for use as social housing. However , in Kilkenny to the end of September 2013 167 units have been identified by NAMA as being potentially suitable for social housing and of these 96 have been confirmed as being suitable. My Department, the Housing Agency and NAMA continue to work together with housing...