Results 2,341-2,360 of 4,700 for speaker:Noel Ahern

Seanad: Housing (Stage Payments) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (28 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: It is a question of what Department deals with contracts and conveyancing law — that is the issue.

Seanad: Housing (Stage Payments) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (28 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: I am trying to explain that. We tried to deal with it on a consultative basis, which is resulting in success.

Seanad: Housing (Stage Payments) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (28 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: That is not a comparison. I am not standing——

Housing Management Companies. (27 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: The Planning and Development Act 2000 allows for the attachment of management company conditions to planning permissions for residential estates. This recognises the fact that management companies have been traditionally set up for the maintenance of apartment buildings and their attendant private grounds. In late 2005 my Department requested that a survey of planning authorities be carried...

Housing Management Companies. (27 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: By this I mean estates of houses with their own front and back gardens. Planning authorities should take in charge the public roads, no matter what type of residential estate is in question. On 25 January 2006, my Department issued circular letter PD 1/06 reminding local authorities of their obligations under section 180 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 regarding taking in charge of...

Written Answers — Community Development: Community Development (27 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: The Programme of Grants for Locally-Based Community and Voluntary Organisations is funded by my Department and operates throughout the country. It is advertised annually and supports the activities of local voluntary and community groups in their community. The 2005 Programme made funds available for small scale refurbishment of premises, for the purchase of essential equipment, including...

Written Answers — Local Authority Grants: Local Authority Grants (27 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 580 and 581 together. It is not proposed to introduce a generally available grant scheme for the provision of toilet or bathroom facilities. However, there are a number of targeted options currently available to assist vulnerable groups, such as lower income households and elderly persons to secure necessary improvement works to their houses. These include the...

Written Answers — Housing Statistics: Housing Statistics (27 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: Information of this kind was collected as part of the Irish national survey of housing quality carried out by the Economic and Social Research Institute in 2001-2002 on behalf of my Department. While I understand that the number of cases involved is low, this data is being compiled and will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Housing Aid for the Elderly: Housing Aid for the Elderly (27 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: The information requested is set out in the following table: Year Amount € 1982 1,269,738 1983 1,269,738 1984 1,269,738 1985 1,269,738 1986 1,904,607 1987 1,904,607 1988 1,904,607 1989 2,539,476 1990 2,539,476 1991 2,539,476 1992 2,539,476 1993 2,539,476 1994 5,078,952 1995 3,809,214 1996 5,078,952 1997 5,246,558 1998...

School Enrolments. (22 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: I am grateful for the opportunity of outlining to the House, on behalf of the Minister for Education and Science, the actions being taken by the Department of Education and Science with regard to the enrolments of the new primary school in Naas. Scoil Bhríde national school is a new school which opened in September 2005. It currently accommodates two junior infant classes and when fully...

House Prices. (22 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: This matter, as well as the other comments made on house prices in recent days, arise mainly from a press release by Permanent TSB, the special tenth anniversary edition of the Permanent TSB-ESRI house price index. This has the appearance of a rather contrived piece of publicity, given that the first issue of the index was only published in July 1998, even if it contained backdated figures to...

House Prices. (22 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: I accept that some people on basic wages are under pressure. For those who cannot afford homes under the affordable homes scheme, the budget for social housing is almost €2 billion. Many affordable homes are available for sale at prices under €200,000. Those who earn €30,000 manage to buy these. Some of the problem is due to financial institutions shovelling out money and giving too...

Written Answers — Community Development: Community Development (22 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: The Programme of Grants for Locally-Based Community and Voluntary Organisations is funded by my Department and operates throughout the country. It is advertised annually and supports the activities of local voluntary and community groups in their community. The 2005 Programme made funds available for small scale refurbishment of premises, for the purchase of essential equipment, including...

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (22 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: Approval for a grant issued in this case. However, the applicant subsequently advised my Department that he did not wish to proceed with the proposed work.

Written Answers — Housing Policy: Housing Policy (22 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: I refer to the reply to Question No. 314 of 17 May 2006. The position is unchanged.

Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (21 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: Information supplied by the relevant local authorities, which is set out below, indicates some examples of housing units being sold at prices below €200,000 under the affordable housing scheme: ∙Dublin City Council is selling units in the price range of €170,000 to €190,000 at Parnell Street and Cork Street; ∙South Dublin County Council sold some of the units in Citywest and...

Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (21 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: Up to 31 December 2005 the total local authority housing stock in County Sligo stood at 1710. A further 332 social units have been provided by the voluntary and co-operative sector. In addition based on recent data a stock of 233 affordable units was provided in County Sligo from 1999 up to end December 2005.

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (21 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: It is open to local authorities to construct single rural houses as part of their housing construction/acquisition programmes. Guidelines for the construction of these houses are set out in my Department's Social Housing Design Guidelines. My Department notifies local authorities on an annual basis of the all-in-cost thresholds for the construction of a single rural house. Where the estimated...

Written Answers — Special Housing Needs: Special Housing Needs (21 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: My Department's involvement with the Capital Assistance Scheme relates primarily to the provision of funds for individual projects. The administration of the scheme, and the certification that particular projects comply with the terms of the scheme, are the responsibility of the local authority, in this instance Galway County Council. An application for funding of this project has not been...

Written Answers — Special Housing Needs: Special Housing Needs (21 Jun 2006)

Noel Ahern: Capital funding is available through my Department's Capital Assistance Scheme to approved voluntary housing bodies to provide accommodation to meet special housing needs, such as elderly, homeless or persons with disabilities. The scheme is not intended for the provision of nursing home or similar accommodation where residents would require extensive medical, nursing or institutional type...