Results 9,061-9,080 of 17,531 for speaker:Jan O'Sullivan

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: Yes.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I move amendment No. 15: In page 45, between lines 20 and 21, to insert the following:“Part 3 and amendment of Principal Act 31. The Principal Act is amended in section 90—(a) by deleting subsections (1)(a)(i), (2), (3), (4A) and (6A), and (b) in subsection (7), by deleting paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) and by substituting the following for paragraph (l):“(l) in the case of...

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: What we are proposing is a relatively generous scheme, but we have not yet drafted all of the regulations. There is no reason I should not give the committee some indication of what we hope will be included in them and I will do so as soon as I can. We hope the discounts will be related far more to income than was the case in the past, when it was mainly a matter of length of tenancy. At...

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I am delighted Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett is so impressed. That should help to address the issue of arrears. The intention is that this will be far more related to ability to pay and income than previous schemes. However, matters such as work done will be taken into account, where somebody has carried out improvements on their home while living in it. The general scheme will be generous....

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: To answer the question posed by Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett, if local authorities have money, they can build houses-----

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: -----provided they get planning permission. We all know about the general restrictions in that regard. They are telling me that they do not have money. With regard to vacant houses, local authorities are telling me they do not have the money to do up the really bad ones and that they must get money from the State to do so. Deputy Catherine Murphy or Deputy Barry Cowen raised the question...

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: Legislation already exists providing for the sale of flats but it does not apply to the different types of dwelling to which the Deputy refers, such as maisonettes. I do not have the precise detail of why certain types are excluded, but legislation exists for the sale of flats, although the measure has not had a huge uptake.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: Apartments are not included because, under Part IV of the 2009 Act, section 50 relates to the tenant purchase of apartments. A portion of the 2009 Act already deals with the sale of apartments. There is an issue in respect of maisonettes and common areas. I acknowledge that there is an issue, but there is a facility for the purchase of apartments. It is on page 57 and 58 of the 2009 Act....

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: The scheme for apartments is in existence, whereas the former tenant purchase scheme is gone, so we are introducing a new one to replace it. It is along the lines of the one already in place for apartments in so far as it is an incremental purchase scheme.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: First, I agree with the Deputies that a multi-agency approach is appropriate. Unfortunately, I cannot accept the amendment because it involves the granting of an exclusion order. Second, a balance must be struck between the rights of the respondents and the rights of the community. The adjudication of the balance to be struck in an individual case is most appropriately determined by the...

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: We must find a mechanism to achieve what is sought by the Deputy, but I do not think that we can do so in this part of the Bill.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I cannot accept these amendments because they duplicate an existing enactment in the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009. Section 13 of the 2009 Act provides that capital moneys accruing to a housing authority from a number of sources, including the sale of a dwelling under the old tenant purchase scheme provided by the 1966 Act, or the two incremental purchase schemes provided for...

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I understand that it is available and retained at local authority level. I can come back to the Deputy with more practical information. The provision exists and perhaps it should be more publicly known.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I am pleased to be present for the Committee Stage debate. On Second Stage I referred to this Bill as substantial legislation and a significant change in how we delivered housing support. I will briefly outline some of the issues covered in the amendments that I will move, particularly the additional aspects relating to the operation of the housing assistance payment, HAP, the legal...

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I move amendment No. 1: In page 10, line 28, to delete "the authority and the tenant" and substitute the following:"the authority is satisfied that the failure to make a repayment or pay rent on a due date was due to circumstances outside the household’s control and the authority and the tenant".These six amendments are proposed to update and harmonise the approach taken in the Bill to...

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: Tenants are advised to inform the local authorities of difficulties as soon as they arise. I know that tenants might not always do that but it would be the preferable course of action to take. I take on board the Deputy's point.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: We will be communicating regularly with them on all issues. We will probably have in place improved IT systems because of the introduction of the housing assistance payment, HAP, which will also facilitate that relationship.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I move amendment No. 2: In page 16, line 29, after "than" to insert ", where there is no joint tenant,".This is a minor amendment which will bring the provisions of section 12(12) of the Bill into line with section 19(4)(a) of the Bill which updates section 3(2) of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1997 to empower a housing authority to apply in specified circumstances for an...

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I move amendment No. 3: In page 18, lines 26 and 27, to delete "but a date so specified shall not be in respect of a date that is more than 6 months" and substitute "but the date so specified shall not be more than 6 months".This is a technical amendment to improve the readability of subsection (9) of section 13. Subsection (9) relates to a possession order in respect of a local authority...

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (4 Jun 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I move amendment No. 4: In page 20, line 21, to delete "an employee" and substitute "an officer or employee".These amendments relate to section 14 which specifies the steps that a housing authority must take in order to enter an abandoned dwelling for the purposes of securing the property against vandalism or trespassers or making safe any electrical, gas or water supply in the dwelling. The...