Results 3,541-3,560 of 11,114 for speaker:Damien English

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (31 Jan 2018)

Damien English: It is fine. We can do it in the Seanad. I am just letting Members know in case they get confused with me afterwards. I was meant to withdraw amendment No. 97 and I withdrew amendment No. 92. We discussed it with the Clerk. I can bring it back in in the Seanad. It was an amendment to an amendment which Deputies were happy enough with when it was discussed. We can raise it again.

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (31 Jan 2018)

Damien English: I move amendment No. 95:In page 53, to delete line 23 and substitute the following:“(a) in subsection (1)—(i) by substituting “plan, or” for “plan, and” in paragraph (a)(iv)(I), and (ii) by substituting “appropriate authority” for “prescribed authority” in paragraph (c), and”.

Questions on Promised Legislation (31 Jan 2018)

Damien English: The Department has indicated receipt of the report and will make presentations to it and so on. We got the final report from the committee last week and we are looking through it and engaging with it. We will report back at a later stage. I wish to be very clear at the outset. These are generally private contracts between people that relate to the construction of homes. The State and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Approved Housing Bodies (31 Jan 2018)

Damien English: I want to stress that the local authorities are the key players for social housing. The approved housing bodies are part of that and are working with us and our local authorities to deliver quite a lot of social housing into social housing stock. They have a proven track record. I am not sure if the Deputy is trying to insult them or compliment them. He seems to be confused in his...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Approved Housing Bodies (31 Jan 2018)

Damien English: For the record, I have asked our councils and local authorities to engage more with them, because the approved housing bodies cannot bring any project forward without the co-operation of the local authorities. They work through them, with our Department and the agencies. I want to be clear on that. The Deputy should not tell me that they are taking over local authorities or that local...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Approved Housing Bodies (31 Jan 2018)

Damien English: They are part of it and have to work in conjunction with local authorities. I have to stress that they provide very good value, and our commitment under the 30% target is about €63 million. We are getting a large amount of housing stock for that. One can look at the figures that have been delivered over the past year in terms of the housing targets. This year there will be in...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Approved Housing Bodies (31 Jan 2018)

Damien English: The Government is committed to supporting approved housing bodies, AHBs, to contribute to the delivery of social housing. The purpose of the capital advance leasing facility, known as CALF, is to provide AHBs with a small amount of loan capital to assist them in securing other loan finance for the purchase, construction or refurbishment of new social housing homes. The loan facility can...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Approved Housing Bodies (31 Jan 2018)

Damien English: The Deputy is welcome to do so, if he meets all of the criteria.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Approved Housing Bodies (31 Jan 2018)

Damien English: I disagree with the Deputy. It is a good scheme and makes financial sense if we can stretch our capital budget and by putting up 30% of the cost it results in a 100% spend on a house which is to be delivered, but it is only part of the solution. Every time I engage with local authorities I stress that they are central to the delivery of social housing. They are the key players. Approved...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Repair and Leasing Scheme (31 Jan 2018)

Damien English: The Deputy has raised this matter on a few occasions. I agree it is a scheme we had hoped would work better. However, it is a demand led scheme. It was a carrot to the sector to bring housing forward by providing access to finance to bring vacant properties to the market. While my Department is currently finalising detailed output data across each of the social housing delivery programmes...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Repair and Leasing Scheme (31 Jan 2018)

Damien English: I agree that the figures were ambitious, but rightly so. There is potential for the scheme and there was potential for it last year as well. The prediction of 800 this year is realistic when one considers that over 550 applications are in the system and are waiting to be processed, so we can reach the figure. The changes are sufficient. The biggest deterrent, as we found from feedback...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Repair and Leasing Scheme (31 Jan 2018)

Damien English: In case I gave the Deputy misinformation, it was not 750 refused. There were 850 applicants. Some 573 are still going through the process and over 40 have gone through it. A couple of hundred did not pass the test. In most cases, it was that after they engaged and made the applications there were parts of the scheme they did agree with or the application did not pass the social housing...

Seanad: Housing: Statements (31 Jan 2018)

Damien English: I thank the Cathaoirleach and the Members of the Seanad for the opportunity to update the House on the Government’s progress in responding to the housing challenges. I will highlight the actions we have taken and are taking to increase the social housing stock and meet the needs of those on the waiting lists and those at risk of becoming homeless, as well as to drive the increased...

Seanad: Housing: Statements (31 Jan 2018)

Damien English: I read all the documents that come to me and I read all the suggestions.

Seanad: Housing: Statements (31 Jan 2018)

Damien English: I can see that. That proposal is not going to be in it. I do not know where that came from.

Seanad: Housing: Statements (31 Jan 2018)

Damien English: I can come back on another day.

Seanad: Housing: Statements (31 Jan 2018)

Damien English: I am happy to provide that.

Seanad: Housing: Statements (31 Jan 2018)

Damien English: We can have a discussion separately on that issue. Today's update was on homelessness and housing, but I totally agree with Senator Dolan that it is a discussion we have to have, and it is an area I am responsible for. I would love to have a separate discussion on that issue.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Data (31 Jan 2018)

Damien English: Details on the number of households qualified for social housing support in each local authority area, are set out in the statutory Summary of Social Housing Assessments.  The most recent summary, which was carried out in 2017, details the number of households on all local authority waiting lists, as at 28 June 2017. The 2017 summary, which was...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (31 Jan 2018)

Damien English: Wexford, like many other local authorities around the country, has experienced a low level of construction activity both public and private over the last number of years. However, Rebuilding Ireland is focused on accelerating delivery of housing across all tenures and a comprehensive programme of action is well underway. One of the most significant areas of the Government's...