Results 1,121-1,140 of 2,156 for speaker:John Cummins
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)
John Cummins: Okay.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)
John Cummins: The council is on course to achieve the overall target but the mix may be different than intended.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)
John Cummins: That is fine. My next question relates to leasing. Meath County Council delivered 214 units through leasing in the period from 2018 to 2021 and 104 units are intended for 2022 and 2023. Kildare County Council delivered 447 units through leasing in the period from 2018 to 2021 and 348 units are earmarked for 2022 and 2023. I have asked a number of local authorities about the benefits of...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)
John Cummins: That is correct. If it were to be reintroduced, would Mr. Lynch welcome it?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)
John Cummins: What is Ms Aspell's opinion?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)
John Cummins: Will Ms Aspell expand on that point? It is important.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)
John Cummins: Okay. It is not as if those units would have come available to Kildare County Council. The fact that the leasing option was in place allowed the council the benefit of those units.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)
John Cummins: An area in which I and the entirety of the country has an interest is vacancy and dereliction. It gets on people's nerves when they see vacant and derelict properties at a time of such need. The Croí Cónaithe scheme has been launched. Kildare County Council has 11 applications thus far under that scheme. Has Meath County Council received any such applications?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)
John Cummins: Has the council had calls from people expressing an interest, aside from the applications that have been lodged? Have people been looking for information in respect of the scheme?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)
John Cummins: Neither of the local authorities has utilised the repair and lease scheme to any great extent. It has been used for only a single unit in each local authority. Kildare County Council has had 23 applications under that scheme and Meath County Council has had ten. That represents a poor conversion rate. Why is that the case?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)
John Cummins: Has the county council projects in the system at the moment?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)
John Cummins: When someone makes that query, does the county council make them aware of the fact that €60,000 per unit is delivered to them and it is not per property? One could deliver three units within a single property, and receive up to €180,000 towards the upfront cost of that. Is that made clear?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)
John Cummins: It is interesting that Fingal County Council, which I would expect would attract higher costs, has delivered 28 units under this scheme. Can I ask Mr. Lynch or Ms Maguire for a response to this question, please?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)
John Cummins: Meath County Council has had 23 applications.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)
John Cummins: My apologies Mr. Lynch, but Meath County Council has ten applications.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)
John Cummins: Meath County Council has been successful with 55 units in that case. My time is up but I may get the opportunity to come back on the second round. I thank the Chairman.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)
John Cummins: I do not think my colleague is on line. I will continue from where I left off on the vacancy and dereliction issue. Meath County Council has been successful with the buy and renew scheme. How has the council gone about that? Did it use a carrot-and-stick approach with compulsory purchase orders, CPOs? A total of 13 CPOs have been actioned in recent years. How has that worked?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)
John Cummins: Kildare County Council has similar vacancy rates. It also similar regarding the repair and lease scheme in that there has been limited uptake. The council has not had as much activity in the buy and renew scheme or the CPO space. Why is that, because there is certainly vacancy and dereliction in Kildare? While the rates may be lower than in some areas, one cannot say they do not exist.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)
John Cummins: That is on the CPO side. I misread the submission. I thought those figures were in the context of buy and renew. Six are in progress and 13 are awaited.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Implementing Housing for All: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2022)
John Cummins: What has worked well in my county of Waterford is the carrot-and-stick approach taken in CPOs versus making them aware of the other schemes, such as repair and lease, which has delivered 165 units - 50% of the national total. When I see a single unit in both the Kildare and Meath local authorities, more needs to be done in that space. It frustrates people to see vacancy and dereliction, and...