Results 3,461-3,480 of 7,024 for speaker:Willie Penrose

Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (17 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: The majority of households purchasing affordable housing obtain loan finance from private financial institutions. Prospective purchasers under these schemes, or under the tenant purchase scheme, who have been unable to access credit elsewhere, can apply to the relevant local authority for a standard annuity loan. While my Department has collected information on the number of these loans...

Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (17 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: I propose to take Questions Nos. 51 and 67 together. The Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2009, provides for a new process of housing needs assessment for applicants for social housing support and empowers the Minister to make regulations setting out the criteria for determining the eligibility for such support. These criteria include, but are not limited to, income levels and the...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (17 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: Two of the key challenges for the housing sector at present are the oversupply of housing in certain areas, including in respect of unfinished estates, and the need sustainably to meet the increasing demand for social housing in the context of a severely restricted resource environment. There are clear linkages between the roles of my Department and the National Asset Management Agency...

Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (17 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: The detailed data requested in respect of social housing output from 2005 can be viewed on my Department's website, www.environ.ie. Data in respect of 2010 output have not yet been finalised. Between 2005 and 2009, 21,430 social housing units have been completed and 5,587 units have been acquired.

Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (17 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: Ballymun is by far the largest regeneration project ever undertaken in this country with a capital investment to date of over €700 million. This ambitious project has an expected completion date of 2014. Since construction started in 2000, the project has delivered 1,620 social housing units, 105 voluntary housing units and 1,228 private and affordable units. A further 200 units are under...

Written Answers — Unfinished Housing Developments: Unfinished Housing Developments (17 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: I propose to take Questions Nos. 66 and 70 together. The high-level Expert Group on Unfinished Housing Developments, established in October 2010 following the publication of my Department's National Housing Development Survey database, has identified practical and policy solutions to address the difficulties associated with unfinished housing developments. On foot of the interim analysis and...

Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (17 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: I refer to the reply to Questions Nos. 279 and 280 of 5 April 2011 which sets out the position in this matter.

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing Loans: Local Authority Housing Loans (17 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: House purchase loan approvals for each local authority area in 2009 are set out in the following table. Data for 2010 are being compiled at present. Data for 2011 are not yet available. Local Authority Total Loans Approved County Councils Carlow 8 Cavan 5 Clare 10 Cork 32 Donegal 30 DL/Rathdown 5 Fingal 36 Galway 4 Kerry 5 Kildare 1 Kilkenny 17 Laois 66 Leitrim 3 Limerick 3...

Written Answers — Public Transport Services: Public Transport Services (17 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: Under the Planning and Development Acts 2000-2010 and the associated Regulations, all development commenced on or after 1 October 1964 requires planning permission unless specifically exempted. While certain developments are exempted under section 4 of the Act and Part 2 and Schedule 2 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, as amended, there is no specific exemption provided for...

Written Answers — State Property: State Property (17 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: The site at Magee Barracks was one of the State lands assigned to the Affordable Housing Initiative. In October 2009 it was the view of the Project Board set up to oversee the development of the site via a Public Private Partnership that the site could not be economically developed for the purposes of the Affordable Housing Initiative. The lands had not been formally transferred to Kildare...

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (17 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: In June 2007, a Letter of Formal Notice issued from the Commission of the European Communities to Ireland under Article 226 of the EC Treaty, seeking to address areas of possible concern around the compatibility of certain provisions in specified County Development Plans with Articles 43 and 56 of the EC Treaty regarding the fundamental principles of freedom of establishment and the free...

Written Answers — Private Residential Tenancies: Private Residential Tenancies (17 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: The Residential Tenancies Act 2004 regulates the tenant-landlord relationship in the private rented residential sector. My Department conducted a review of the Act in 2009 with a specific emphasis on whether the Act best supports the PRTB's key functions and on whether legislative amendments would support either the achievement of additional operational efficiencies by the PRTB in the...

Written Answers — Local Authority Funding: Local Authority Funding (17 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: Provisions governing mortgage lending by local authorities are set out under the Housing (Local Authority Loans) Regulations 2009 and associated credit policy. To ensure effective targeting of resources, loan finance continues to be available to first time buyers only. Income limits are also in place, distinguishing between single and dual income households and a maximum loan limit is...

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (17 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: The decision whether to grant planning permission with or without conditions is a matter for the relevant planning authority and, in the event of an appeal, for An Bord Pleanála, having regard to the provisions of the Planning and Development Acts and associated Regulations and, where relevant, the Habitats Regulations 1997. I have no role in the matter and under section 30 of the Act, I am...

Written Answers — Local Authority Funding: Local Authority Funding (17 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: I refer to the reply to Question No 248 of 10 May, 2011 which sets out the position in relation to funding for regeneration in Sligo. It will be a matter for Sligo Borough Council, in the context of the development of a masterplan for the regeneration project, to determine the areas to be included for regeneration.

Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (17 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: Importantly, where the clawback amount payable on the resale of affordable housing would reduce the proceeds of re-sale below the initial price paid, legislation provides for the amount of clawback payable to be reduced to the extent necessary to avoid that result. I do not therefore intend to introduce changes to the clawback provision.

Social and Affordable Housing (17 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: The Deputy makes a fair point. I have indicated my intention to look at the assessment regulations by the end of the year and I will take on board submissions from Deputies in this regard. There is nobody better than Oireachtas Members and local authority representatives in this regard because they are at the coalface and can identify the shortcomings and failures of any system. The new...

Social and Affordable Housing (17 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: I always argued for discretion. I recall that my first day as a council member when we discussed the county development plan, an old councillor, who has long since passed away, said the one thing we must not do is allow the county manager to streamline everything because he will never exercise an ounce of discretion. Perhaps there is an argument in that regard. However, standardisation of...

Social and Affordable Housing (17 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: I propose to take Questions Nos. 44 and 62 together. Notwithstanding the significant easing of affordability experienced in recent years, the current adverse economic circumstances have impacted on the demand for social housing and the capacity to meet this demand. The straitened resource environment has accelerated the shift away from reliance purely on programmes of construction and...

Social and Affordable Housing (17 May 2011)

Willie Penrose: I would love to do that because local authorities should be the prime drivers of social housing policy and I come from that background but, in the context of the straitened financial circumstances in which we find ourselves, the capital budget for social housing has reduced by 66% since 2008 down from €1.535 billion to €500 million and the bulk of that reduction has affected the local...