Results 9,041-9,060 of 11,114 for speaker:Damien English

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Building Energy Rating Administration (11 Dec 2019)

Damien English: As part of the just transition proposals for the midlands region, budget 2020 has made provision for an additional €20 million to fund energy efficiency upgrades to local authority houses in the affected midland counties. There is €5 million in the initial tranche. This funding is in addition to the €25 million, which my Department is making available in 2020 for energy...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Building Energy Rating Administration (11 Dec 2019)

Damien English: A BER certificate is issued both before and after the works to capture what has been achieved. That is an EU requirement. Some €25 million has been allocated for phase 2 of the scheme next year. A call for submissions is issued to all local authorities every year seeking applications for funding under the energy efficiency retrofit programme. It is natural and positive that there...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Building Energy Rating Administration (11 Dec 2019)

Damien English: It is a condition of receiving resources. The Deputy raised issues with regard to certain local authorities not having spent money allocated for voids programmes and so on previously. They are often combined. The BER certificates are required and we do gather the data. It is gathered locally and then made available to us. I do not know whether we take it in every week but it is available...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Maintenance (11 Dec 2019)

Damien English: I propose to take Questions Nos. 41 and 56 together. The energy efficiency retrofitting programme for social housing was launched in 2013 with the aim of improving the insulation standards and overall energy performance of local authority social housing stock for all the reasons the Deputy outlined, including helping with the issue of fuel poverty, making our homes healthier, warmer and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Maintenance (11 Dec 2019)

Damien English: To be honest with the Deputy, I do not have information on the timing. It is up to the local authority but I presume we can do it quite quickly. With regard to when people are paid, we do not pay out until we receive the rating. I do not know what arrangements the local authorities have in place. We cannot do everything for them. That is a matter for them to arrange locally. The...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Maintenance (11 Dec 2019)

Damien English: The Department has common sense. We work with local authorities as best as we can. There are a range of schemes outside of these grants under which houses can be retrofitted. These grants are linked to specific works and to BER certificates. A range of works may need to be carried out. If local authorities propose to carry out other works, we will examine those proposals. The aim is to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Tenant Purchase Scheme (11 Dec 2019)

Damien English: I propose to take Questions Nos. 45, 49 and 91 together. I thank the Deputy for raising the issue again. We have had quite a lot of discussion on this over the past couple of years. I have been talking to the Deputy’s colleague about it. Other parties are also very interested in this issue. The Housing (Sale of Local Authority Houses) Regulations 2015 provide the basis for the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Tenant Purchase Scheme (11 Dec 2019)

Damien English: Let me deal with the issue of the income. I can confirm that there is an income limit. It has to be €15,000. The minimum reckonable income for the 2016 scheme is determined by the relevant local authority in accordance with the detailed provisions of the Minister's directions, which include the figure of €15,000. In the determination of the minimum reckonable income, local...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Tenant Purchase Scheme (11 Dec 2019)

Damien English: As I said, we will be bringing the social housing package forward in the very near future. After that, there will be discussions around this recommendation. I have discussed it with some of Deputy O'Brien's colleagues and we can discuss it further. We have had conversations about what people wanted from this. The sense we got was that people wanted a way of dealing with that...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (11 Dec 2019)

Damien English: The Government recognises that mental health issues can give rise to specific housing needs and this is reflected in the development, by my Department and the Department of Health, of a National Housing Strategy for People with a Disability. The strategy sets out the Government’s framework for housing delivery for people with disabilities, including mental, physical, intellectual and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Credit Union Lending (11 Dec 2019)

Damien English: The Programme for a Partnership Government recognises the potential role that Credit Unions can play in housing finance and supported the efforts of the Registrar of Credit Unions at the Central Bank to gradually lift current investment restrictions as appropriate, including for housing. Credit Union bodies have set out proposed means by which funding could be provided by the sector to...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Building Regulations Compliance (11 Dec 2019)

Damien English: I want to acknowledge the very stressful circumstances which owners and residents face when defects occur in their homes. Building defects are matters for resolution between the contracting parties involved, that is the homeowner, the builder, the developer and/or their respective insurers, structural guarantee or warranty scheme. The statutory position is very clear in terms of where...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Pyrite Remediation Programme Implementation (11 Dec 2019)

Damien English: Last year, the Government agreed in principle to introduce a scheme to support affected homeowners in the counties of Donegal and Mayo to carry out the necessary remediation works to dwellings that have been significantly damaged due to defective concrete blocks. Budget 2020 provides funding of €40 million to fund the operation of the pyrite remediation scheme and this new scheme...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (12 Dec 2019)

Damien English: I want to acknowledge the very stressful circumstances which owners and residents face when defects occur in their homes. In general building defects are matters for resolution between the contracting parties involved, that is the homeowner, the builder, the developer and/or their respective insurers, structural guarantee or warranty scheme. The State has no general statutory role in...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Architects Register (12 Dec 2019)

Damien English: The RIAI publishes an annual report each year which is available on its website at the following link: . This includes a certified financial report with details of income and expenditure. In addition, its annual return is filed with the Companies Registration Office. Earlier this year my Department engaged with the RIAI on this matter and they have since provided a more detailed...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Proposed Legislation (17 Dec 2019)

Damien English: I intend to bring forward legislation to amend the existing Fire Services Acts 1981 and 2003 next year to   a) update the Fire Services Acts, 1981 and 2003, b) place relevant elements of emergency management practice at national and local level on a statutory footing, and, c) revise the legislative approach to certain aspects of funfair public safety in Ireland. The...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Fire Safety Regulations (17 Dec 2019)

Damien English: The design and construction of buildings is regulated under the Building Control Acts 1990 to 2014. The building regulations set the minimum performance requirements that a building must achieve, to provide for the health, safety and welfare of people in and about buildings. The building regulations apply to the design and construction of a...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Maritime Spatial Planning (18 Dec 2019)

Damien English: Ireland has undertaken to expand its network of Marine Protected Areas in accordance with commitments made under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, the National Biodiversity Action Plan (2017-2021), the 1992 OSPAR Convention and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).  On 23rd October this year I announced the formation of an expert Advisory Group to advise my Department and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Foreshore Licence Applications (5 Mar 2020)

Damien English: Detail in relation to the processing of this application are available on my Department's website at the following link: . It is not appropriate for me to comment in detail on an application that will come before me for determination, however, all submissions made during the public consultation phase will be considered prior to the determination of the application. 

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Traveller Accommodation (5 Mar 2020)

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...