Results 821-840 of 4,773 for speaker:Paudie Coffey

Other Questions: Rental Accommodation Scheme Eligibility (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: All these issues are related. The Deputy is essentially arguing that people are being evicted at the whim of a landlord, which is not possible under current legislation. If someone finds himself or herself in homelessness, the local housing authority will have been funded to respond in one way or another.

Other Questions: Rental Accommodation Scheme Eligibility (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I do understand it. We are extending the housing assistance payment and we will, in time, eliminate the rental accommodation scheme. The HAP scheme is a long-term supplement to assist people to retain their tenancy and allow them to remain in work where they are in employment.

Other Questions: Rental Accommodation Scheme Eligibility (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: It will be rolled out to all local authorities, including the Deputy's local authority, in the coming period.

Other Questions: Private Residential Tenancies Board (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: The reduction in staff to which the Deputy refers was entirely attributable to the introduction of new IT systems to deal with tenancy registration and the database within the PRTB. The Deputy will know that registration was dealt with initially using hard copies, which was inefficient, cumbersome and labour intensive. With the new IT systems, it was found the process did not need to be as...

Other Questions: Housing Issues (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I thank the Deputy for raising this because it is very serious and concerns me greatly. As the Deputy knows, I visited Donegal earlier this year with the Minister of State, Deputy Joe McHugh, and met the mica action group and many affected householders. I acknowledge their current distress. While building defects are, in the first instance, matters for resolution between the relevant...

Other Questions: Housing Issues (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: It is important that the expert panel be constructed properly and have the expertise necessary to deal with and investigate the problem comprehensively. The Deputy will accept and agree with that. I expect the chairperson to have considerable experience in communications, negotiation and other fields relating to solving complex problems. This is a very complex problem in so far as it...

Other Questions: Housing Issues (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I thank the Deputy again for raising these important issues. Anywhere that building defects are found, it is a matter for resolution, in the first instance, between the contracting parties, including the builders and product suppliers. I am conscious that there is a trend indicating building defects in Donegal and Mayo. I am not an expert in the field but I know some preliminary tests of...

Other Questions: Local Authority Housing Provision (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: To be fair to all Deputies present, I acknowledge that we are all trying to find solutions and quicker ways of delivering social housing. I assure the Deputy that the Minister, Deputy Kelly, and I are pursuing every avenue available to us to increase the number of available houses. Deputy Wallace was not here earlier when, in response to other Deputies, I made the point that initially NAMA...

Other Questions: Private Residential Tenancies Board (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I acknowledge that the Deputy welcomes the deposit protection scheme because it is a scheme that has been long called for. I am glad we were able to legislate to allow for that recently in both Houses of the Oireachtas. The Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 2015 was enacted on 4 December 2015 and provides for the establishment of a tenancy deposit protection scheme. Under the...

Other Questions: Private Residential Tenancies Board (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I acknowledge the Deputy's concerns but we should acknowledge the practicality of the situation. The PRTB has substantially improved its efficiency in latter years and has introduced new IT systems to deal with its database and tenancy registration. This new deposit protection scheme is a substantial body of work. If one considers the number of deposits of each registered tenant, there is...

Other Questions: Local Authority Housing Provision (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I thank the Deputy for his question. I reiterate that the Government has firmly put local authorities back at the heart of social housing provision, something that some would argue was abdicated to some degree over recent years. The Social Housing Strategy 2020, which is very ambitious, has targeted the provision of 35,000 new units and these will be delivered by local authorities either...

Other Questions: Local Authority Housing Provision (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: Government sets the policy and strategy nationally for social housing and we have set out a very clear strategy up to 2020 that has ambitious targets for all local authorities. However, we are not just putting in the strategy. We are putting in the funding as well. We have already committed funding. In the past two budgets, we put our money where our mouth is, so to speak, and if we are...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: NAMA Social Housing Provision (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I reiterate that NAMA has confirmed the delivery of 20,000 residential units by 2020 and it estimates that 90% of the 2020 target will be in the greater Dublin area where the need is greatest. Approximately 75% of these units will be starter homes, 10% of which, as per Part V, will be provided for social housing. The Deputy will be aware from his participation in debates in this House that...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: NAMA Social Housing Provision (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: To be fair, had the cash-in-lieu arrangement not been put in place, we would today have 10,000 additional social housing units to provide for people. The putting in place of that provision was a bad mistake, as has been acknowledged by all. On the Deputy's question regarding engagement by NAMA with other developers in the market, NAMA operates on a commercial basis. However, it will...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Local Authority Housing Provision (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: Local authorities and approved housing bodies are utilising a wide range of delivery approaches to accelerate the provision of social housing. This multifaceted approach includes acquisitions, as proposed by the Deputy. I will provide data in this regard as I go through my reply. The range of delivery approaches available includes the remediation of vacant social houses, many of which...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Local Authority Housing Provision (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: As I have already told the Deputy, every avenue in terms of the delivery of social housing as quickly as possible is being explored. The voids programme has been successful, with almost 2,000 voids having been turned around and returned to use this year. As I said, we expect approximately 700 houses to be acquired through the local authorities, a measure for which the Deputy is calling. We...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Local Authority Housing Provision (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I stated earlier that NAMA has identified over 6,000 units as suitable for provision to local authorities or approved housing bodies. Whether the Deputy likes it or not, the housing authorities are responsible for housing people. The Government sets policy and provides funding to local authorities and approved housing bodies. If the local authorities or approved housing bodies come forward...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: NAMA Social Housing Provision (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: I thank the Deputy for his question. NAMA continues to play an important role in the delivery of social housing. To the end of September 2015, a total of 1,600 NAMA residential properties had been delivered for social housing use, comprising 1,241 completed properties and a further 359 that have been contracted and where completion work is ongoing. A further 486 properties are considered...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: NAMA Social Housing Provision (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: NAMA was established with a commercial mandate but it has also been expected to deliver a social dividend through its housing output. Of the 6,574 units identified by its officials, demand has been confirmed for 2,526, which is a substantial social housing offering. Negotiations and approvals relating to these units involve approved housing bodies, local authorities, the property owners,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Tenant Purchase Scheme Administration (10 Dec 2015)

Paudie Coffey: With all due respect to the Deputy, I am a little confused because on the one hand he is saying that he is in favour of the tenant purchase scheme while, on the other, he is arguing against it.