Results 681-700 of 2,386 for speaker:Michael Finneran
- Written Answers — Home Loan Scheme: Home Loan Scheme (21 Jan 2010)
Michael Finneran: The Home Choice Loan is intended not to provide an incentive for households to enter the housing market, but to provide access to mortgage finance to facilitate certain first-time buyers who have themselves decided to purchase a home at this time. The scheme is therefore designed to respond, in a very targeted way, to a specific set of circumstances in the housing market whereby prospective...
- Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (21 Jan 2010)
Michael Finneran: To the end of last year, some 1,933 units were sourced and approved for leasing in order to meet the housing needs of persons requiring social housing support. Of these, 437 units are deemed to be operational on the basis of signed lease agreements in place. Given that I only introduced the Social Housing Leasing Initiative in February 2009, this represents significant progress and shows...
- Written Answers — Homeless Persons: Homeless Persons (21 Jan 2010)
Michael Finneran: Implementation of the Government's Homeless Strategy will result in significant improvements in homeless services, involving action by a number of statutory and non-statutory agencies. At national level, a range of actions has been taken to ensure that implementation of the Homeless Strategy is firmly underpinned by a robust framework of policy, legislation, co-ordination and funding....
- Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (21 Jan 2010)
Michael Finneran: I propose to take Questions Nos. 22 and 28 together. The Government's key priorities in shaping the overall housing provision for this year have been to focus the impact of necessary adjustments on the areas in which there is scope to maintain output through more flexible approaches and where the policy context supports such approaches, and to continue to direct available capital resources...
- Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (21 Jan 2010)
Michael Finneran: From a social housing perspective, I see 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 — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (21 Jan 2010)
Michael Finneran: Part 3 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, which provides the legal framework for the introduction of the Incremental Purchase Scheme (IPS), has been commenced and came into effect on 1 January 2010. The Part was commenced to allow incremental purchase arrangements to be applied to new housing units being supplied by housing authorities. The Housing (Incremental Purchase)...
- Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (21 Jan 2010)
Michael Finneran: The social housing leasing initiative encompasses a number of different strands, one of which provides local authorities with the option to lease vacant and unsold affordable units to approved housing bodies, for a fixed period of five years, with the units concerned being made available to households eligible for social housing support. At the end of the five year lease period, there will be...
- Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (21 Jan 2010)
Michael Finneran: The current ambitious multi-annual regeneration programme includes a broad range of projects from smaller estates in regional towns, to inner city flat complexes in Dublin City. In line with international best practice, each project encompasses a range of activities to deliver integrated physical, social and economic regeneration, incorporating masterplanning, social inclusion interventions,...
- Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (21 Jan 2010)
Michael Finneran: I refer to the reply to Question No. 2 on today's Order Paper. To date, some 27 housing authorities and four approved housing bodies have had projects approved under the social housing leasing initiative. These projects comprise over 1,900 units. No housing authorities have indicated that they will not participate in the initiative. In the first instance, many authorities rightly focused on...
- Written Answers — House Prices: House Prices (21 Jan 2010)
Michael Finneran: I refer to the reply to Question No. 308 of 15 December 2009. The relevant Government Departments and agencies will be working in the coming months with a view to the development, as soon as possible, of the new house price database.
- Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (21 Jan 2010)
Michael Finneran: The information requested in respect of 2008 and previous years is published in my Department's Annual Housing Statics Bulletin, copies of which are available in the Oireachtas Library and on my Department's website at www.environ.ie. Information in respect of 2009 is not yet available.
- Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (21 Jan 2010)
Michael Finneran: Despite the challenges currently faced in the housing sector, significant levels of activity have been achieved under the range of housing supports funded by my Department in recent years. Through these, the accommodation needs of over 20,200 households were met in 2008, an increase of 10% on corresponding figure of 18,300 in 2007. Final data in respect of 2009 are not yet available....
- Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (21 Jan 2010)
Michael Finneran: 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 in relation to the numbers currently on waiting lists in local authorities. A statutory assessment of housing need is carried out every three years by all housing authorities...
- Written Answers — Local Authority Funding: Local Authority Funding (21 Jan 2010)
Michael Finneran: Under my Department's renewal or repair of thatch roofs of a house grant scheme, a grant up to â¬3,810, or two thirds of the approved cost, whichever is the lesser, may be payable in respect of necessary works to renew or repair the thatched roofs of houses. A higher grant of up to â¬5,714 may be payable where the house is situated on certain specified islands off the west and south...
- Written Answers — Social and Affordable Housing: Social and Affordable Housing (21 Jan 2010)
Michael Finneran: My Department's housing capital programme has provided significant investment in the construction and acquisition of new social housing stock, as well as supporting major regeneration and remedial works schemes for existing housing stock, thereby ensuring that the overall social housing stock is not depleted. From 1 January 2007, local authorities were given direct control in relation to...
- Written Answers — Homeless Persons: Homeless Persons (21 Jan 2010)
Michael Finneran: The National Implementation Plan for the Government's Homeless Strategy, The Way Home, provides a robust framework to guide the action required at national level to end long term homelessness and the need to sleep rough by end 2010 through a series of priority actions and supporting measures, and promotes and supports effective implementation locally. At national level, a range of action is...
- Social and Affordable Housing. (21 Jan 2010)
Michael Finneran: The provision of affordable housing, including setting of the sale price, is primarily a matter for individual housing authorities. The sale price of an affordable home is determined largely by its cost. Where authorities consider it appropriate in the context of reduced open market prices and the continuing need to ensure value for money outcomes, they have the option to reduce the sale...
- Social and Affordable Housing. (21 Jan 2010)
Michael Finneran: I reject the claim made by the Deputy on this matter. There is not a glut at this time. As I explained in an earlier question, our local authorities have been innovative and in the first nine months of 2009 they were successful in selling 1,300 affordable homes, which is a success that should not go unrecorded. In addition, I have taken 1,300 units into long-term leasing. At this time,...
- Social and Affordable Housing. (21 Jan 2010)
Michael Finneran: I did not give directions.
- Social and Affordable Housing. (21 Jan 2010)
Michael Finneran: I welcome the comments of Deputy Tuffy, which are very much in line with what I have put in place to make affordable housing available for social housing purposes under a number of headings. Following a number of requests from local authorities I have agreed that 200 properties should go into their stock in this way. I have also allowed 1,300 to go into long-term leasing, making a total of...