Results 3,481-3,500 of 4,700 for speaker:Noel Ahern

Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (30 Jun 2005)

Noel Ahern: Wexford County Council is developing two sites under the affordable housing initiative with a potential yield of 60 units. This is in addition to continuing affordable activity in Wexford under Part V, the 1999 affordable housing scheme and the shared ownership scheme. No State lands have been identified in Wexford for the purposes of the affordable housing initiative.

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (30 Jun 2005)

Noel Ahern: My Department gave approval to Laois County Council in December, 2004 to proceed with a further phase of 14 houses at Castletown. It is understood that the county council will submit cost proposals to my Department shortly.

Written Answers — Housing Aid for the Elderly: Housing Aid for the Elderly (30 Jun 2005)

Noel Ahern: Under the voluntary housing capital assistance scheme, accommodation may be provided for persons with special needs such as the elderly, homeless or persons with disabilities. The scheme is not designed to provide nursing homes or accommodation where residents would require extensive medical, nursing or institutional type care. However, some housing projects, which require a higher ratio of...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (30 Jun 2005)

Noel Ahern: The three local authorities in County Kildare, namely Kildare County Council and Athy and Naas Town Councils, have indicated to my Department that they will complete or acquire over 150 dwellings for letting in 2005 at various locations in the county including Athy, Clogherinkoe, Kilcock, Kill, Kildare town, Prosperous and Straffan. This figure does not include casual vacancies that normally...

Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (30 Jun 2005)

Noel Ahern: A value for money analysis was carried out on the Harcourt Terrace Lane site as part of the procurement process, which itself was open and transparent and conducted by Dublin City Council as project managers for the site. The analysis included data in respect of the pre-tender value of the site, the value of the equity being received in exchange for the site and the estimated sale price of...

Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (30 Jun 2005)

Noel Ahern: Following an open and transparent procurement process conducted by Dublin City Council, who were project managers for the exchange of the Harcourt Terrace Lane site, Durkan Homes was selected as the preferred bidder. The six other sites identified as having potential for similar exchanges will be marketed, and procurement undertaken, on a similar basis.

Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (30 Jun 2005)

Noel Ahern: The Construction Industry Federation made a submission in April 2004 to the Department of the Taoiseach proposing a number of additional measures to accelerate delivery of affordable units under the affordable housing initiative, AHI. In response, the Taoiseach announced to the parties to Sustaining Progress in July 2004 that alternative strategies for fast-tracking delivery would be pursued,...

Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (30 Jun 2005)

Noel Ahern: The land swap programme is designed to accelerate delivery of affordable housing units under the affordable housing initiative. The model to be used will be similar to that piloted on the Harcourt Terrace Lane site. The exchange of a 0.4-acre site is now set to deliver some 193 affordable houses in private housing estates, 140 of which will be available in 2005 with the balance in 2006....

Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (30 Jun 2005)

Noel Ahern: Details on the number of houses completed under Part V of the Planning and Development Acts 2000 to 2004 are published in my Department's housing statistics bulletins. Information is already available up to the quarter ending September 2004, copies of which are available in the Oireachtas Library. Information will shortly be available up to end 2004 in the 2004 annual housing statistics...

Written Answers — Private Rented Accommodation: Private Rented Accommodation (30 Jun 2005)

Noel Ahern: It is a statutory function of the Private Residential Tenancies Board to review the operation of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 and any related enactments, and make recommendations to the Minister for amendments, as appropriate. I will consider any such recommendations following an adequate period of experience of the operation of the legislation. However, as I indicated in my reply to...

Written Answers — Community Development: Community Development (29 Jun 2005)

Noel Ahern: Responsibility for the issuing of contracts of employment to community development project, CDP, staff is a matter for the management committee of each project. My Department has no legal responsibility for the employment of CDP staff. It should also be noted that two thirds of the funding provided to CDPs comes from sources other than my Department. CDPs have traditionally been funded on the...

Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (29 Jun 2005)

Noel Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 24, 37, 47 and 58 together. I do not accept the implications in the Deputies' questions about either a delay on my part in bringing forward draft legislation to regulate the charities sector or resultant difficulties for the sector. Far from there having been a delay, it is only following the establishment of my Department in June 2002, and the setting up of a...

Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (29 Jun 2005)

Noel Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 26 and 45 together. The proposed content of the future Charities Regulation Bill has already been the subject of an inclusive, public consultative process, undertaken in two stages over the period 2004-05. At end-2003, the Government approved the core legislative proposals for regulating the charities sector. Those proposals were set out in a consultation...

Written Answers — White Paper on Voluntary Activity: White Paper on Voluntary Activity (29 Jun 2005)

Noel Ahern: With regard to progress made to date on implementation of the White Paper, I refer the Deputy to my reply to Question No. 30 of 19 May 2005. As I stated in that reply, the White Paper remains Government policy. However, the White Paper is now five years old and the context in which White Paper policy is to be implemented has clearly changed with time. Against this background of change my...

Written Answers — National Drugs Strategy: National Drugs Strategy (29 Jun 2005)

Noel Ahern: The report of the steering group on the mid-term review of the national drugs strategy was published in early June. The report was the culmination of the mid-term review, a comprehensive review process which was launched last year and included an extensive public consultation. The review was overseen by a steering group, chaired by my Department, and made up of the relevant Departments and...

Written Answers — National Drugs Strategy: National Drugs Strategy (29 Jun 2005)

Noel Ahern: The European Council endorsed the EU Drug Strategy 2005-2012 in December of last year. This strategy sets out the framework, objectives and priorities for two consecutive action plans, the first of which is the EU Action Plan on Drugs 2005 to 2008. This action plan has not yet been adopted and is scheduled to be discussed at the next meeting of EU Justice and Home Affairs Ministers. The...

Written Answers — Dormant Accounts Fund: Dormant Accounts Fund (29 Jun 2005)

Noel Ahern: Decisions on the disbursement of funds from dormant accounts moneys are currently a matter for the Dormant Accounts Fund Disbursements Board, an independent body established under the dormant accounts Acts. The board engaged Area Development Management Ltd., ADM, to administer the initial round of funding on its behalf, which involves the allocation of €60 million from the dormant accounts...

Written Answers — Community Development: Community Development (29 Jun 2005)

Noel Ahern: I have comprehensively addressed the issues raised in the Deputy's question in this House on a number of occasions. In order to assist him, however, I will again explain my position. Funding of anti-poverty networks arises from the White Paper on a Framework for Supporting Voluntary Activity and was originally administered by the Combat Poverty Agency on a three-year contract basis. This...

Written Answers — Offshore Islands: Offshore Islands (29 Jun 2005)

Noel Ahern: I propose to take Question Nos. 292 and 293 together. The position regarding funding for the Sherkin Island Development Society, SIDS, is as outlined to the Deputy in my response to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 47 and 58 of 14 December 2004. Following the decision to discontinue funding to the SIDS, my Department made contact with the West Cork Arts Centre and made arrangements to financially...

Written Answers — Dormant Accounts Fund: Dormant Accounts Fund (29 Jun 2005)

Noel Ahern: Decisions on the disbursement of funds from dormant accounts monies are currently a matter for the Dormant Accounts Fund Disbursements Board, an independent body established under the Dormant Accounts Acts. Disbursements from the fund are designed to assist three broad categories of persons, namely, those who are socially or economically disadvantaged, those who are educationally...