Results 9,421-9,440 of 17,531 for speaker:Jan O'Sullivan

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Planning Issues (12 Mar 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: Pursuant to Part XI of the Planning and Development Act, 2000 a local authority may carry out development in its functional area which does not contravene materially the development plan. In this regard, where the estimated cost of a proposed development is less than €126,000, a local authority can proceed to carry out the proposed development without the need to obtain the approval of...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing Adaptation Grant Funding (12 Mar 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: Under section 58 of the Housing Act, 1996, the management and maintenance of the local authority social housing stock, including the carrying out of planned maintenance and the provision of minor adaptation works to meet the needs of tenants, is a matter for individual authorities. My Department provides funding to local authorities for a range of measures to improve the quality and...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing Issues (12 Mar 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Question Nos. 37 and 41 together. The Government’s 2011 Housing Policy Statement announced the standing down of all affordable housing schemes in the context of a full review of Part V of the Planning and Development Acts 2000-2013. Details regarding the review are available on my Department’s website The period for public submissions has closed and...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Waiting Lists (12 Mar 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: The report on the 2011 Housing Needs Assessment, available on my Department’s website at , contains details of waiting list numbers for each local authority which were recorded under the tri-annual social housing needs assessments carried out from 1993 to 2011 under Section 9 of the Housing Act 1988. The latest social housing needs assessment was carried out as at 7 May 2013 in...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Wind Energy Guidelines (12 Mar 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I commenced a public consultation on 11 December 2013 on proposed “draft” revisions to the existing 2006 Wind Energy Development Guidelines focussing specifically on the issues of noise, setbacks and shadow flicker. These draft revisions include a proposal for a mandatory setback of 500 metres between a wind turbine and the nearest dwelling for amenity considerations. My...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Mortgages (12 Mar 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: The Government’s 2011 Housing Policy Statement announced the standing down of all affordable housing schemes, including the shared ownership scheme, in the context of a full review of Part V of the Planning and Development Acts 2000-2013. Details regarding the review are available on my Department’s website . In 2013, I asked the Housing Agency to conduct a standalone review...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Unfinished Housing Developments (12 Mar 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 124 and 125 together. Budget 2014 contains a special provision, in the form of a targeted €10 million Special Resolution Fund (SRF), to further assist in addressing the legacy of unfinished housing developments. The SRF has been introduced to encourage the resolution of the remaining tranche of unfinished developments identified in the National...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Waiting Lists (12 Mar 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: The report on the 2011 Housing Needs Assessment, available on my Department’s website at , contains details on waiting list numbers for each local authority which were recorded under the tri-annual social housing needs assessments carried out from 1993 to 2011 under Section 9 of the Housing Act 1988. The latest social housing needs assessment was carried out as at 7 May 2013 in...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing (12 Mar 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 128 and 129 together. My Department collates and publishes a wide range of housing and planning statistics that inform the preparation and evaluation of policy, and those data are available on my Department’s website . The data show that a total of 35,547 units of local authority social housing were provided over the past ten years. Some 27,407...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Shared Ownership Scheme (12 Mar 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 132 and 133 together. The Government’s 2011 Housing Policy Statement announced the standing down of all affordable housing schemes, including the shared ownership scheme, in the context of a full review of Part V of the Planning and Development Acts 2000-2013. Details regarding the review are available on my Department’s website In 2013, I...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing Management Companies (12 Mar 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: My Department has no function in relation to the operation of property management companies. The Multi-Unit Developments Act 2011, which falls under the remit of my colleague the nister for Justice and Equality, regulates the management and operation of such companies.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Planning Issues (12 Mar 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: In the context of the broader efforts to control development in rural areas, my Department’s 2005 Guidelines for Planning Authorities on Sustainable Rural Housing recommend the attachment of a seven-year occupancy condition period for a dwelling being granted planning permission in a rural area. Nonetheless, within this period, it is open to the dwelling owner, with the consent of the...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Private Residential Tenancies Board (12 Mar 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: The Residential Tenancies Act 2004 regulates the tenant-landlord relationship in the private rented residential sector and the Act provides that landlords in the sector must apply to register the tenancy of a dwelling with the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) within one month of the commencement of the tenancy. Tenancies may be registered by post or on-line and I understand that...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing Adaptation Grant Funding (12 Mar 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: On 16 January 2014, I announced details of the capital allocations for the suite of Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability . The schemes are funded by 80% recoupments available from my Department together with a 20% contribution from the resources of the local authority . Every local authority received increased funding for grants compared to the 2013...

Topical Issues Debate: Voluntary Housing Sector (11 Mar 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I thank Deputy Kitt for raising this matter and I am aware of his interest in the housing area generally. As Minister of State with responsibility for housing, I am keenly aware of the challenges we face in providing housing supports to a range of vulnerable people in County Galway and elsewhere. The Government's 2011 housing policy statement clearly outlines that the priority for the...

Topical Issues Debate: Voluntary Housing Sector (11 Mar 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I thank Deputy Kitt for his remarks. We will have an opportunity to address some of those issues tomorrow. I do hope that we will be able to get further funding. I welcome support from all sides of the House in getting as much funding as we can for housing construction because there is clearly a need for it. The transfer of NAMA units has been speeded up quite a bit. We expect that we...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Wind Energy Guidelines (11 Mar 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: A more stringent absolute outdoor noise limit (day and night) of 40 decibels for future wind energy developmentsthan that which pertains under the current Guidelines,has been proposed in the draft revisions to the Wind Energy Development Guidelines. This takes into account the 2009 World Health Organisation’s findings in relation to night time noise, when people are generally sleeping,...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing Issues (11 Mar 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: In order for a household to qualify for social housing support a housing authority must carry out an assessment to establish whether the household meets specified eligibility requirements and has a housing need. Regulation 22 of the Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011 provides that a household is ineligible for social housing support where a household member owns accommodation other...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (11 Mar 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 334 to 336, inclusive, together. The Government’s 2011 Housing Policy Statement clearly outlines that the priority for Government is to meet the most acute needs of households applying for social housing support. Government is responding to these needs through a variety of mechanisms and more flexible funding models. To maximise the social...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Tenant Purchase Scheme Eligibility (11 Mar 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 337 and 355 together. The Government, on 17 December 2013, approved priority drafting of a Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill that will, among other things, underpin a new tenant purchase scheme for existing local authority houses along incremental purchase lines.  I expect that the Bill will be enacted this year, following which I will prescribe...