Results 8,581-8,600 of 17,531 for speaker:Jan O'Sullivan

Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (11 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: On the general point of people building up rent arrears, most Members are aware that under the new scheme proposed in this Bill there will be deduction at source and the local authorities will not be able to take more than 15% of the person's income in respect of arrears, which addresses the point about people taking on more than they can afford and trying to pay back huge amounts of money...

Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I had more or less finished what I was saying, having addressed the various issues involved. For example, Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked about the status of the legislation on the guidelines. We will update the guidelines because of this Bill; therefore, we will take account of the points made in this debate.

Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: The ten days is a minimum, not a maximum, period. I will be advising housing authorities that, generally speaking, they should give longer notice than the minimum period but occasionally there will be cases where the minimum notice only can be given because of the necessity for the housing authority to move quickly to repossess the dwelling. Section 62 of the Housing Act 1966, which is being...

Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: We are all trying to achieve a fair balance between giving people due warning while at the same time ensuring that where there are serious problems, the local authority has some powers to deal with them. In some ways this amendment is going in the opposite direction to the previous amendment in so far as the Bill states that the housing authority must give the household at least two months...

Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: Let me explain exactly what an excluding order for a minor can and cannot do. Under an amendment to the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1997, included in the Bill, an excluding order cannot exclude a minor from the family home. This is critical. What it can do is exclude a minor from being in another house or place such as a green area or set of local shops where anti-social...

Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: The legislation concerns the point at which a case goes to court. In many ways, what the Deputies are looking for is much earlier intervention. Deputy Catherine Murphy has asked me specifically whether I will return to this issue. It will not be under this legislation because I do not believe it is appropriate to it. However, I am planning to meet the Minister for Children and Youth...

Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: The amendment relates to a new section 29A proposed to be inserted into the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 that empowers the Minister to prescribe amendments to terms of existing local authority tenancy agreements that are consequential to new or existing legislative provisions. It would not be appropriate to limit the application of this new section to procedures for...

Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I welcome Deputy Coppinger. On Second Stage, when she was not a Member of the House, we had many contributions relating to people's absolute frustration at seeing houses they could be living in lying empty for years and seeing kitchens being thrown out when they were on the housing waiting list. It is something that everybody in this House feels very strongly about, regardless of our...

Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: It is a matter for each local authority in the context of the availability of its own resources from rental income and receipts from the sale of dwellings under the tenant purchase schemes to maintain their stock and ensure houses are made available. They also have had delegated sanction to use their internal capital receipts for housing purposes since 1 January 2007, subject to terms and...

Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: Perhaps they might raise the issue at local level. Some councils are better at this than others. They do not have many vacancies and turn over houses over quickly. Other councils are not so good in this regard, which is why I brought in all of the directors of housing a few weeks ago. I acknowledge that they do not like many diktats from the Custom House, but the primary responsibility...

Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: A parliamentary question was tabled to establish the average time it took to reallocate houses and there are major disparities around the country. I cannot recall who tabled the question.

Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: We discussed that issue on an earlier amendment.

Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: We allocated money recently as part of a stimulus package. Money is not always available throughout the year. There is money available because two stimulus packages were announced by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and my Department received €50 million from each package for social housing. Currently, money is available for the refurbishment of specific houses and...

Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: The issue we have just been discussing would not in any way be solved by the amendment, which provides only that the money that comes in from the sale of a house under Part 3 shall be retained by the local authority for the specific purpose of providing further accommodation. It is a limited amount of money and not the kind of funding needed to address the entire social housing need....

Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: How would I do that? I would love to know how. Perhaps Deputy Broughan can tell me.

Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: If we do not reach the targets, there will be all sorts of consequences. Others raised the general issue so I wanted to refer to it. With regard to the specific amendments, there are some different points in the third of the three amendments. With regard to the first two, I said on Committee Stage that they duplicate an existing enactment in the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009....

Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: A wide range of issues has been raised on this section. Deputy Boyd Barrett mentioned loans to build. Rural Deputies have suggested this, particularly where people have land on which they wish to build. In regard to the issue raised by Deputy Ellis, on Committee Stage I undertook to come back on the issue of the sale of maisonettes. Part IV of the 2009 Act included provision for a scheme...

Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: The complex must have at least five units. I do not know whether we can look to see if there is a way around this. It has to do with common areas and the need for estate management, in compliance with the judgment of the Law Reform Commission. Perhaps we can come back to that later. I am satisfied that the issues raised in amendments Nos. 16 and 17 are dealt with already in legislation....

Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I forgot to respond on that, but thought it was a provocative question.

Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I have absolutely no reason to believe the Economic Management Council has, at any time, stated anything about the capital receipts of local authorities.