Results 2,061-2,080 of 11,114 for speaker:Damien English

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...

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...

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 - 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 - 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...

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...

Rent Freeze (Fair Rent) Bill 2019: Second Stage [Private Members] (10 Dec 2019)

Damien English: I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle and am grateful for the opportunity to say a number of words on this Bill. Before I do, I wish to comment on the voids question that has been mentioned. It is not true to say, as Deputy Quinlivan has done, that we have not tackled voids, which even his own party's spokesperson will recognise. It does not mean that we are not sometimes annoyed that some...

Rent Freeze (Fair Rent) Bill 2019: Second Stage [Private Members] (10 Dec 2019)

Damien English: I am answering the Deputy's question and I presume he will raise this information again. He raised it here a couple of years ago. We checked it out. Money was allocated and Limerick did not spend as quickly as it should have done. It eventually did so. I will check again regarding the houses the Deputy has just mentioned. I suspect that these are another round of new houses that have...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Fire Service (10 Dec 2019)

Damien English: The provision of a fire service in its functional area, including the establishment and maintenance of a fire brigade, the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of fire station premises, is a statutory function of individual fire authorities under the Fire Services Act, 1981. My Department supports fire authorities through setting general policy and progressing legislation,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Fire Service Staff (10 Dec 2019)

Damien English: The provision of a fire service in its functional area, including the establishment and maintenance of a fire brigade, the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of fire station premises, is a statutory function of individual fire authorities under the Fire Services Act, 1981. My Department supports fire authorities through setting general policy and progressing legislation,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Building Regulations Compliance (10 Dec 2019)

Damien English: Stronger compliance with building standards has been a key priority for Government and has manifested in the Building Control Reform Agenda, which was initiated in 2011, when, a high level working group reviewed the existing building control regulatory framework. The key deficits identified in the regulatory regime were the lack of involvement of construction professionals on site and lack of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Fire Safety Regulations (10 Dec 2019)

Damien English: In July 2015, it was decided that a review be undertaken by an independent fire expert to develop a framework for general application, in the interest of supporting owners and residents living in developments where concerns regarding non-compliance with fire safety requirements arise. It included a case study based on the housing estate that the Deputy refers to. The Framework was published...