Results 4,801-4,820 of 8,016 for speaker:Peter Burke

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Tenant Purchase Scheme (6 Oct 2020)

Peter Burke: I propose to take Questions Nos. 34 and 67 together. I thank Deputy Ó Cuív for the question. The programme for Government commits to maintaining the right of social housing tenants to purchase their own homes with some changes to eligibility. The current tenant incremental purchase scheme 2016 is open to eligible tenants, including joint tenants, of local authority houses that...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Tenant Purchase Scheme (6 Oct 2020)

Peter Burke: I thank each of the Deputies for their questions. In line with the programme for Government, the review which had been commenced has to be refined, because of the agreement that was made regarding the three issues I alluded to in the programme for Government. We have to be very careful as Deputies when we are talking about cash buyers buying local authority housing. We have to be very...

Priority Questions: Housing Policy (6 Oct 2020)

Peter Burke: I thank the Deputy. It is clear that the Land Development Agency wants to deliver public housing on public lands. The make-up of that is clearly directed and includes affordable housing, cost rental and social homes. Actions speak louder than words. Planning permission has been granted for lands at Shanganagh, the application for which was submitted by the Land Development Agency, in...

Priority Questions: Housing Policy (6 Oct 2020)

Peter Burke: The Land Development Agency will play a key role. The Deputy mentioned O'Devaney Gardens in Dublin. The project has been approved under the second serviced sites fund. That project and another in Killinarden were approved in August 2019. Those two projects will assist in the delivery of 465 affordable homes, with 165 in O'Devaney Gardens and 300 in Killinarden. The Department is...

Priority Questions: Housing Policy (6 Oct 2020)

Peter Burke: I thank the Deputy for her question. The programme for Government commits to the State playing a greater part in directly providing affordable and social homes with a focus on middle income earners and developing sustainable mixed tenure communities. These principles will guide our housing policy and the work of the Land Development Agency, LDA, in assembling strategic sites in urban areas...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (6 Oct 2020)

Peter Burke: My Department has introduced a number of initiatives aimed at encouraging and facilitating the provision of residential accommodation above existing retail units. In December 2018, the Report of the Working Group on the Reuse of Existing Buildings and the Bringing Back Homes Manual for the Reuse of Existing Buildings were published. The Manual is available to download from my Department's...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Planning Issues (6 Oct 2020)

Peter Burke: My Department has received correspondence relating to a number of allegations regarding certain matters in County Wicklow. An assessment and analysis have been carried out of the various allegations raised. It should be noted that some of the matters raised in the correspondence have been the subject of previous reviews or investigative processes by a person with suitable expertise or an...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Heritage Sites (30 Sep 2020)

Peter Burke: I thank both Deputies for their responses. As I indicated earlier, it is inappropriate for me, as the Minister of State with responsibility for planning matters, to become involved in or to make any comment on this matter as the law simply precludes me from doing so. The planning authorities and the board are independent statutory bodies under the provisions of the planning Act and, as...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Architectural Heritage (30 Sep 2020)

Peter Burke: St. Patrick's Cathedral is one of Ireland's most important historic structures, still operating as per its original purpose 800 years after its construction. The cathedral normally welcomes in excess of 600,000 visitors annually and is of strategic importance to the surrounding businesses. The major roof conservation project currently under way at the cathedral provides employment to many...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Heritage Sites (30 Sep 2020)

Peter Burke: I thank Deputies O'Callaghan and Ward for raising this very important matter. I appreciate that both Deputies have considerable concerns relating to the demolition of The O'Rahilly's house at 40 Herbert Park, Dublin 4. I understand that permission for such works was granted by An Bord Pleanála on 8 September 2020. The Deputies should be aware that under section 30 of the Planning and...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Architectural Heritage (30 Sep 2020)

Peter Burke: I thank Deputy Ó Snodaigh for his very important Topical Issue matter. St. Patrick's Cathedral is the largest medieval church in Ireland. It has been recorded by my Departments national inventory of architectural heritage and rated of national significance. It is included on the Dublin City Council record of protected structures. Although substantially restored in the mid-19th...

Ban on Rent Increases Bill 2020: Second Stage [Private Members] (17 Sep 2020)

Peter Burke: I thank all the Deputies for their contributions. We all meet people in our clinics with genuine concerns and the most vulnerable people we see are those affected by the issues raised here tonight. It is important that we respond in the most genuine fashion in trying to ensure we protect the most vulnerable. We all know that rents are unaffordable, that we need a sustainable rental market...

Seanad: Residential Tenancies and Valuation Bill 2020: Second Stage (31 Jul 2020)

Peter Burke: I am grateful to the Leas-Chathaoirleach and to all Senators for facilitating the urgent passage of this very important legislation through Seanad Éireann today. I accept that the time allowed for debate is necessarily short. The Government is keen to deliver for renters today. The programme for Government recognises the important role that the private rental sector plays in housing...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Local Authority Funding (23 Jul 2020)

Peter Burke: With regard to the local property tax, it is incorrect and not factual to say that all other grants were removed from local authorities. Record streams of funding are now available to local authorities through urban and rural regeneration funds and various grants, including equalisation funds for local authorities that are short. By raising the property tax in County Longford, the council...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Local Authority Funding (23 Jul 2020)

Peter Burke: I thank the Deputy for his kind words. The Programme for Government – Our Shared Future sets out a range of actions that relate to local authority funding, including a commitment to review how commercial rates will be treated for the remainder of 2020. The programme also commits to bringing forward legislation for the local property tax, LPT, on the basis of fairness and where...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Local Authority Funding (23 Jul 2020)

Peter Burke: Many measures can be used to measure the funding local authorities receive. On population size, this can be a crude instrument to determine what level of funding is delivered. As I said, the increase to Meath County Council since 2016 is very clear. Other avenues are available to, and are at the disposal of, the local authority to increase funding. One key issue is if the local authority...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Vacant Properties (23 Jul 2020)

Peter Burke: The local infrastructure housing activation fund was introduced by the previous Government. It is a key tool in the context of activating sites and is linked to the national planning framework, which is important in keeping our towns and villages vibrant. Sometimes the issue of vacant housing can be taken out of proportion. Looking at the vacant homes register, in Roscommon in the Deputy's...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Vacant Properties (23 Jul 2020)

Peter Burke: I take on board the Deputy's concerns about Irish Water. I would be at pains to point out, however, that the Department has invested significant funding in a co-ordinated approach to try to unlock vacant properties. I refer to measures to deal with the ghost estates we were left with after the crash and the amount of money that was invested in unlocking unfinished estates. The latter...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Vacant Properties (23 Jul 2020)

Peter Burke: I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 10 together. A range of measures to assist in meeting Ireland's housing needs by ensuring that our existing housing stock is used to the greatest extent possible were set out in pillar 5 of Rebuilding Ireland. An overarching action within that pillar was the commitment to develop a national vacant homes reuse strategy. This strategy was published by my...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Vacant Properties (23 Jul 2020)

Peter Burke: It is very clear regarding vacant houses that a blend or suite of measures is needed to ensure that we bring housing back into use. In the pilot project that was undertaken by the Department in connection with six local authorities, they found a vacancy rate of around 2.9%. That required two inspections over a six-month period. At times this can be put across as though there is a huge...