Results 3,081-3,100 of 7,024 for speaker:Willie Penrose

Written Answers — Private Rented Accommodation: Private Rented Accommodation (20 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: The Residential Tenancies Act 2004 regulates the tenant-landlord relationship in the private rented residential sector. A dwelling let by a recognised educational institution does not fall within the ambit of the Residential Tenancies Act. Tenancies of dwellings in purpose-built student accommodation let by private landlords fall within the ambit of the Act but part 4 of the Act, relating to...

Written Answers — Sheltered Housing: Sheltered Housing (20 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: The vision for the future of the housing sector in Ireland, as set in Government's Housing Policy Statement published in June 2011, is based on choice, fairness, equity across tenures and on delivering quality outcomes for the resources invested. The overall strategic objective will be to enable all households access good quality housing, appropriate to household circumstances and in their...

Written Answers — Homelessness Strategy: Homelessness Strategy (20 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: I refer to the reply to Question No. 162 of 5 October, 2011 which addressed the position in regard to numbers of people sleeping rough in Dublin city.

Written Answers — Unfinished Housing Developments: Unfinished Housing Developments (20 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: I propose to take Questions Nos. 29, 39 and 45 together. The first National Housing Development Survey database, published in October 2010, established an authoritative baseline analysis of unfinished housing developments to assist in fully understanding the scale and extent of the issues involved. Last week I published the findings of the 2011 survey. This showed that the number of complete...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (20 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: There is a range of services available to deal with needs arising in cases of domestic violence, both in terms of protection of the abused partner and any children, and any need for emergency accommodation. Persons who are subjected to domestic violence do not need to go on the general housing waiting lists to avail of short-term emergency housing. Where a social housing assessment is an...

Written Answers — Departmental Bodies: Departmental Bodies (20 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: While the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) received Exchequer funding for a number of years since its establishment in September 2004, it has operated on a self-financing basis since 2010. I have no plans to restore Exchequer funding to the PRTB and, in the current economic circumstances, it is critical that the Board continues to manage its financial resources to best effect. The...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (20 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: The financial provision for housing next year will be determined in the context of the 2012 Estimates process. The Estimates process itself will be informed by the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure (CRE) which the Government is undertaking. The objective of this exercise is to measure the effectiveness of specific programmes having regard to their intended objectives, value for money...

Written Answers — Mortgage Arrears: Mortgage Arrears (20 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: The Government is acutely conscious of the difficulties many households are facing in terms of mortgage arrears. Where any borrower, either from a local authority or from a private financial institution, is facing difficulties in meeting mortgage repayments, they should engage proactively and constructively with the lender to seek to achieve an agreed solution. The services of the Money...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (20 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: The Government approved the publication of the Report of the Inter-Departmental Group on Mortgage Arrears on 12 October. In establishing the group, the Government set two core objectives: - To assist those facing real difficulties to remain in their own homes where appropriate, and - To ensure a distinction between those who cannot afford to pay their mortgages and those who choose not to...

Written Answers — Unfinished Housing Developments: Unfinished Housing Developments (20 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: Section 180 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 provides that where estates have not been completed to the satisfaction of the planning authority, and enforcement proceedings have not been commenced within the relevant period, the planning authority must, if requested to do so by the majority of owners, initiate the procedures for taking the estate in charge. Section 180 was amended in...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (20 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: Where any borrower, including a borrower purchasing under the shared ownership scheme, is facing difficulties in meeting mortgage repayments, they should engage proactively and constructively with the lender to seek to achieve an agreed solution. The services of the Money Advice and Budgeting Service are also available to such borrowers and support is available through the Supplementary...

Written Answers — Voluntary Housing Sector: Voluntary Housing Sector (20 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: The vision for the future of the housing sector in Ireland as set out in the Government's Housing Policy Statement, launched in June 2011, is based on choice, fairness, equity across tenures and on delivering quality outcomes for the resources invested. It is predicated on a more integrated and tenure-neutral approach to social housing provision and will involve a much greater role for...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (20 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: Local authorities have long led the way in dealing pro-actively and sympathetically with mortgage arrears. They can and do exercise the powers available to them and endeavour, in all arrears cases, to engage proactively and constructively with a distressed borrower with the aim of enabling a household remain in their home. The available data strongly bears this out and suggests that...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (20 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: A new procedure for local authority assessment of social housing applicants came into force on 1 April 2011, introducing a fairer, more consistent and transparent approach to determining eligibility for social housing support. Applicants now apply to one housing authority only in order to be placed on up to three waiting lists. The new system also involves a standard application form and...

Local Authority Housing (20 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: The recently published statutory housing needs assessment showed an increase in the overall level of need to somewhat more than 98,000 households. The assessment breaks down housing need under several headings to identify those whose need arises, for example, from unsuitable existing accommodation, age or special needs resulting from physical or mental incapacity. A notable feature of the...

Local Authority Housing (20 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: I will respond to Deputy Stanley first.

Local Authority Housing (20 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: We are trying to introduce objective and standardised criteria. It should not be necessary to produce a consultant's report, given that it may take a long period to obtain such a report, thus prolonging the process and creating further trauma for applicants. There may also be a financial outlay required of the applicant who may not have the wherewithal to meet the cost. An ordinary general...

Report by the Interdepartmental Working Group on Mortgage Arrears: Statements (Resumed) (20 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: This is one of the most important debates we will have in this Dáil. Like many of my colleagues, I wish we did not need to have it. I hope for the sake of young couples and families around the country we will need to have it only once. Almost three years ago, in December 2008, the present Tánaiste, my party leader, Deputy Gilmore, described the mortgage arrears crisis as a ticking...

Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (19 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: National policy in relation to child care is the responsibility of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. Within this context local authorities are involved in promoting child care at local level through a range of policies and activities. County/City Child care committees operate under the auspices of the local government-led County/City Development Boards to support a co-ordinated and...

Written Answers — Local Authority Funding: Local Authority Funding (18 Oct 2011)

Willie Penrose: Since 2006, my Department has recouped some €14.8 million to Sligo Borough Council in respect of the regeneration project for Sligo, which includes the Cranmore estate. Recoupments in 2006 and 2007 amounted to €1.376 million and €4.061 million respectively and these amounts were funded out of the Council's overall remedial works allocations for those years. Details of the allocations...