Results 8,561-8,580 of 11,114 for speaker:Damien English

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Credit Unions (9 Apr 2019)

Damien English: I will give the Deputy an update to the best of my ability because we have been through this on a number of occasions.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Credit Unions (9 Apr 2019)

Damien English: Absolutely. The Department, the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, and I would be delighted to see the credit union money invested in social housing projects.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Credit Unions (9 Apr 2019)

Damien English: We would be very happy to do it and, wherever we can, we have worked to that end, but we cannot and should not control or be involved in certain parts. Considerable work has been ongoing between the Irish Council for Social Housing, a number of larger tier 3 approved housing bodies, AHBs, and their financial advisers on the development of a vehicle for delivering private financing for...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Credit Unions (9 Apr 2019)

Damien English: -----could be invested in housing and we would be delighted to see it.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Credit Unions (9 Apr 2019)

Damien English: We cannot be any clearer that it is something that we want to do and have facilitated as a Department, working with the Department of Finance and the Central Bank. All the rules and changes have been made to facilitate this to happen. We committed to it in our programme for Government and it makes common sense. If there is money to be invested and we want to fund social housing projects,...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Credit Unions (9 Apr 2019)

Damien English: With respect, I have not heard Deputy Darragh O'Brien come forward with solutions over the last six months in which he has asked the same question but good luck to him if he wants to bring forward a solution. To be clear, because the Deputy keeps wanting to mix up what I said, I confirm that one of the credit union bodies, the Credit Union Development Association, has indicated that it has...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Credit Unions (9 Apr 2019)

Damien English: -----would not justify it until such a time as a clear investment opportunity is available. To be very clear-----

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Credit Unions (9 Apr 2019)

Damien English: This is an important point.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Credit Unions (9 Apr 2019)

Damien English: It is exactly the same.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Credit Unions (9 Apr 2019)

Damien English: The Deputy should check the record. I have checked it but the Deputy obviously has not checked it.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Credit Unions (9 Apr 2019)

Damien English: I have nothing to correct.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Credit Unions (9 Apr 2019)

Damien English: It has absolutely not fallen off our agenda. Deputy O'Brien does not like the answers to the questions and keeps trying to phrase them differently every time and tries to insinuate that I misled the House. I have absolutely nothing to change on the record. I have been very clear in saying one of the credit union bodies is ready to do this. Everything is in place. It can switch it on...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Credit Unions (9 Apr 2019)

Damien English: I cannot be any clearer. That is a fact, it is true and I have no record to change. It is ready for business if a body wants to use it.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Credit Unions (9 Apr 2019)

Damien English: The other section is where we grant-aided money through an innovation fund to the sector along with the credit union movement to bring forward a special purpose vehicle. It is to encourage innovation. We are not dictating to it how it develops that special purpose vehicle because we would not be allowed to do that, nor would it be appropriate. The Deputy seems to fail to understand that....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (9 Apr 2019)

Damien English: Rebuilding Ireland aims to deliver 50,000 additional social housing homes through build, acquisition and leasing programmes and aims to support some 87,000 additional households through the housing assistance payment scheme and the rental accommodation scheme, over the six-year period of the plan. A significant part of that will have an impact on Wexford. Very significant progress has been...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (9 Apr 2019)

Damien English: We are available to meet Wexford County Council on any occasion and in fairness it is quite active in meeting with us. The specific questions the Deputy has asked have not come to our attention. I can confirm that the budget for acquiring houses is not gone. I am surprised that this is the impression that has been given. We are encouraging local authorities to build more houses and to get...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (9 Apr 2019)

Damien English: I did not hear the very last thing the Deputy said but funding is available to local authorities, when they ask for it, to fund certain projects. Wexford County Council went way beyond its targets last year, thankfully, and successfully did so in respect of both its build and its acquisition. We encourage that when it makes good sense and is good value. Certainly if there is targeted...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Pyrite Issues (9 Apr 2019)

Damien English: I am glad we are taking Deputy Daly's question as it is an important discussion. There are no plans to set up the forum she is calling for but that does not mean we are not open to discussing any of the issues. We had very useful meeting at the back end of last year where all the relevant Deputies came together with the agency and the Department to tease through some of the issues....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Pyrite Issues (9 Apr 2019)

Damien English: Perhaps I was not clear in my first answer. I think we have made progress on that particular area. The Department got legal advice because I do not expect any board to listen to me as an individual Minister of State, so we backed that up with legal advice and an opinion. I understand the board then got its own legal advice and we have now finally made progress on that situation, which...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Tenant Purchase Scheme Review (9 Apr 2019)

Damien English: I propose to take Questions Nos. 72 and 82 together. The Housing (Sale of Local Authority Houses) Regulations 2015 set the commencement date as 1 January 2016 for the introduction of the Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme for existing local authority houses. The Scheme is open to eligible tenants, including joint tenants, of local authority houses that are available for sale under...