Results 2,341-2,360 of 4,773 for speaker:Paudie Coffey

Topical Issue Debate: Homeless Accommodation Provision (18 Sep 2014)

Paudie Coffey: Again, I thank the Deputy for raising a critical and urgent matter that will require a mixed response in the short, medium and long terms. I note the Deputy’s comments on the use of construction innovations such as timber-framed housing and the possibility that it may be used to meet an immediate need on sites that become available. While myriad personal, financial and social reasons...

Water Services (Exempt Charges) Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) [Private Members] (18 Sep 2014)

Paudie Coffey: I also wish to address another point raised during last night's debate. Deputy Cowen suggested that the establishment of Irish Water was a precursor to privatisation. To use a phrase employed by Deputy Cowen during his speech, it was like déjà vu again.

Water Services (Exempt Charges) Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) [Private Members] (18 Sep 2014)

Paudie Coffey: This issue has been raised previously and it has been shown to be without foundation. In fact, the position is laid down in statute. Section 46 of the Water Services Act (No. 2) 2013 expressly provides that neither the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government or the Minister for Finance nor Bord Gais Éireann, now entitled Ervia, can dispose of their shares in Irish...

Water Services (Exempt Charges) Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) [Private Members] (18 Sep 2014)

Paudie Coffey: I thank all the Members who contributed to this debate last night and today. As the Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly, outlined last night, the Government cannot support the Bill tabled by Deputy Cowen. We appreciate that the intention of the Bill is to provide discounts for customers affected by sub-standard water supplies. However, as the Minister outlined last night, the legislative and...

Water Services (Exempt Charges) Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) [Private Members] (18 Sep 2014)

Paudie Coffey: That is not true.

Water Services (Exempt Charges) Bill 2014: Second Stage [Private Members] (17 Sep 2014)

Paudie Coffey: It is flawed.

Water Services (Exempt Charges) Bill 2014: Second Stage [Private Members] (17 Sep 2014)

Paudie Coffey: It is flawed legislation. You were the guys who were singing on the lorry.

Water Services (Exempt Charges) Bill 2014: Second Stage [Private Members] (17 Sep 2014)

Paudie Coffey: They were having a sing-song on the back of a lorry while the country was going down the tubes.

Other Questions: Local Authority Housing (17 Sep 2014)

Paudie Coffey: A number of responses are needed to urgently respond to this problem.

Other Questions: Local Authority Housing (17 Sep 2014)

Paudie Coffey: Yes. I recognise that Kildare has its demands and it is recognised by Government that the greater Dublin area, the commuter areas and other large urban areas in the country have a far greater demand on social housing provision. That is why there is a medium to long-term strategy, as well as a short-term one, where a national framework for housing supply is being established and will be put...

Other Questions: Local Authority Housing (17 Sep 2014)

Paudie Coffey: I thank the Deputy for his question and wish to reiterate the Minister's comments, in that the provision of housing units is a high priority for the Government. Action No. 1 of Construction 2020: A Strategy for a Renewed Construction Sector provides for a national framework for housing supply to be established on a statutory footing, with an annual national statement of projected housing...

Other Questions: Local Authority Housing (17 Sep 2014)

Paudie Coffey: The Government recognises the challenge of providing housing units. The housing shortage exists for a reason: the policy of previous Governments was to abdicate responsibility for direct provision of local authority houses. In tandem, the problem was exacerbated when the Part V element of private developments, which was intended to address many of the housing gaps, failed to deliver the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Mortgage to Rent Scheme Application Numbers (17 Sep 2014)

Paudie Coffey: I recognise and share the concern of the Deputy, as every Member does. I reassure the Deputy that the Government is committed to ensuring as far as possible that people remain in their family homes. While I note that the Deputy is calling for an increase in the numbers using the scheme, my hope is that people's circumstances improve so that they do not end up having to make an application....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Mortgage to Rent Scheme Application Numbers (17 Sep 2014)

Paudie Coffey: I accept the point the Deputy makes regarding awareness, but I am sure I am right in saying that in their negotiations with people in difficulties, lending institutions make them aware of all of the options available to them to remain in the family home. MABS does Trojan work to inform and assist people in debt difficulty. MABS informs people in difficulty of the options available to them....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Mortgage to Rent Scheme Application Numbers (17 Sep 2014)

Paudie Coffey: I thank the Deputy for his good wishes. ` My Department funds two mortgage to rent, MTR, schemes, a local authority, LA, scheme and an approved housing body, AHB, scheme. Both schemes are designed to assist families with income difficulties whose mortgages are deemed unsustainable and likely to remain so. Both schemes allow the household to remain in the home as a social housing tenant....

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Pyrite Remediation Programme (17 Sep 2014)

Paudie Coffey: Applications from homeowners for inclusion in the pyrite remediation scheme must be assessed against the eligibility criteria of the scheme , which include a requirement that the applicant has no other practicable options , other than under the scheme, to secure the remediation of their dwelling. It is not the Pyrite Resolution Board’s policy to exclude applicants from the scheme...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Mortgage Arrears Rate (17 Sep 2014)

Paudie Coffey: My Department publishes a wide range of housing statistics, including the number and value of local authority mortgages with a breakdown of those in arrears for more than 90 and 180 days. The most recent statistics in respect of Q1 2014 are displayed on my Department’s website - the relevant weblink will be circulated with the Official Report. by clicking “Mortgage...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Building Regulations Qualifications (17 Sep 2014)

Paudie Coffey: I am aware of the valuable contribution to the construction industry that is made by architectural technologists. I welcome and support the recent moves made by both the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland (RIAI) and the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (CIAT) to put this important discipline on a professional footing. My Department met with both bodies on 17 July 2014...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Pyrite Issues (17 Sep 2014)

Paudie Coffey: Under the European Union (Construction Products) Regulations 2013 , market surveillance authorities have a wide range of powers to ensure that construction products placed on the market comply with the requirements set out in the Construction Products Regulation . On being advised of the problem in April 2014, the relevant market surveillance authority has taken, and is continuing to take,...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Provision (17 Sep 2014)

Paudie Coffey: Part 3 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 provides for a new scheme for the tenant purchase of existing local authority houses. This scheme will replace the 1995 and 2011 tenant purchase schemes under section 90 of the Housing Act 1966, which closed in June 2014 and June 2013, respectively. The new scheme will be open to local authority tenants in receipt of social housing...