Results 341-360 of 2,386 for speaker:Michael Finneran

Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (29 Jun 2010)

Michael Finneran: The allocation of an affordable home is made on the basis that an individual is in need of housing, is a first time buyer, cannot afford to purchase privately on the open market but can service a mortgage obtained by loan through an approved financial institution or a local authority where private finance has been refused. While the terms and conditions of the various affordable housing...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (29 Jun 2010)

Michael Finneran: My Department is currently gathering repossession and arrears information from all local authorities in relation to quarter 1 2010. Once this information has been collected and collated it will be included in the quarterly statistics published by my Department. A total of 66 repossessions across all local authorities have been carried out in the five year period 2005-2009. This includes 7...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (29 Jun 2010)

Michael Finneran: One of the conditions applying to the availability of local authority mortgages is that the applicant be a first time buyer. Provisions regarding the application of stamp duty and the definition of a first time buyer for the purposes of stamp duty are set out in the Stamp Duties Acts, which fall within the remit of the Minister for Finance.

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (29 Jun 2010)

Michael Finneran: Paragraph 16 of the circular in question allows local authorities to apply the Shared Ownership rent subsidy, pro rata, in the current year in the event that a household suffers financial difficulties. While my Department does not require local authorities to report all instances of the application of paragraph 16, the policy approach contained therein remains in place and has been extended...

Written Answers — Housing Grants: Housing Grants (29 Jun 2010)

Michael Finneran: I refer to the reply to Question No. 372 of 25 May 2010. The position remains unchanged.

Written Answers — Departmental Agencies: Departmental Agencies (29 Jun 2010)

Michael Finneran: The main functions of the new Housing and Sustainable Communities Agency are, [a] within a shared service environment, to assist local authorities in the discharge of their functions under housing, planning and building control legislation, to facilitate, advise and assist housing authorities, approved housing bodies and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government in...

Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (29 Jun 2010)

Michael Finneran: From a social housing perspective, there is clear potential for real and meaningful synergies between the work of the National Asset Management Agency in ensuring the stability of the financial system and the role of my Department in responding to social housing need. For some time now the social housing investment programme has been undergoing a significant restructuring to shift the focus...

Written Answers — Departmental Bodies: Departmental Bodies (29 Jun 2010)

Michael Finneran: In April 2009 my Department commenced a review of the provisions of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, under which the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) operates. The purpose of this review was to consider whether the Act best supported the PRTB's key functions and whether legislative amendments would support either the achievement of additional operational efficiencies by the PRTB...

Written Answers — Voluntary Housing: Voluntary Housing (29 Jun 2010)

Michael Finneran: Under my Department's Capital Loan and Subsidy Scheme (CLSS), mortgage finance is provided to approved housing bodies by way of loans from the Housing Finance Agency (HFA) to meet the cost of providing social rented accommodation for low-income families. At end 2009, approved housing bodies had provided some 9,335 units of accommodation and loans to the value of around €1.3 billion had been...

Written Answers — Human Rights Issues: Human Rights Issues (29 Jun 2010)

Michael Finneran: In accordance with standard practice, the norms of constitutional and administrative law, European Convention on Human Rights law and relevant EU law were taken into account in drafting the provisions of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, and housing authorities are required to discharge their functions under the Act in a manner consistent with such norms.

Written Answers — Human Rights Issues: Human Rights Issues (29 Jun 2010)

Michael Finneran: There is no provision in the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003 for Ministers to issue directions to particular bodies on whether they are deemed, for the purposes of the Act, to be organs of the State, an expression defined in section 1(1) to include "any ... body ... which is established by law or through which any of the legislative, executive or judicial powers of the State are...

Written Answers — Departmental Bodies: Departmental Bodies (29 Jun 2010)

Michael Finneran: The Housing Forum plays an important role in inputting to policy development and evaluating outcomes over the period of the framework of the National Agreement, Towards 2016. The Forum provides an opportunity for its members to contribute constructively to ongoing housing policy formulation and implementation. It also has a monitoring role in relation to activity on housing programmes. The...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (29 Jun 2010)

Michael Finneran: A revised proposal in respect of 4 units of accommodation was received from Kilkenny County Council on 22 March 2010. The proposal will be considered for inclusion in the list of projects to be funded under my Department's Capital Assistance Scheme in 2011.

Written Answers — Local Authority Loans: Local Authority Loans (29 Jun 2010)

Michael Finneran: I have requested my Department to arrange to have the provisions necessary to address this matter included in the first appropriate legislative vehicle that becomes available.

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (24 Jun 2010)

Michael Finneran: The making and amending of rent schemes is the responsibility of local authorities as an integral part of their housing management functions subject to broad principles laid down by my Department in Circular letter HRT 3/2002 of 6 March 2002. It is a matter for local authorities, when assessing individual households, to consider whether rents payable are in accordance with the authority's...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (23 Jun 2010)

Michael Finneran: The practice whereby tenant purchasers paid the purchase price for their dwellings to housing authorities by instalments was replaced in 1993 by the current practice of purchasers paying the full amount of the purchase price at the point of sale, supported as required by mortgage finance. I have no proposals to revert to the old system as a person who cannot obtain a mortgage in respect of...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (23 Jun 2010)

Michael Finneran: Local authorities operate a range of housing supports for households with varying degrees of need, from the most vulnerable, disadvantaged households such as homeless people and people with disabilities, to middle income households whose needs may be more modest. The various supports available are detailed on my Department's website, www.environ.ie. In terms of the options available for...

Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (22 Jun 2010)

Michael Finneran: I propose to take Questions Nos. 389 and 390 together. It is a matter for each housing authority to determine, in accordance with section 9 of the Housing Act 1988, whether a household is or is not reasonably able to meet the cost of the accommodation which they are occupying or to obtain suitable alternative accommodation. Guidance issued to housing authorities by my Department in relation...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (22 Jun 2010)

Michael Finneran: Part 3 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 provides for an incremental purchase scheme in respect of newly-built houses reserved by housing authorities and approved housing bodies for the purpose. I recently made the necessary statutory instruments bringing the scheme into operation from 14 June 2010. When I announced the details of the new scheme, I indicated my intention to...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (22 Jun 2010)

Michael Finneran: I propose to take Question Nos. 394 and 415 together. The number of households on a local authority's waiting list continuously fluctuates as households on the list are allocated housing and new households apply for housing support. My Department does not hold information on waiting lists. A statutory assessment of housing need is carried out every three years by all housing authorities in...