Results 14,521-14,540 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Planning Investigations (30 May 2017)

Simon Coveney: Since 2011, there has been one investigation initiated under section 255 of the Planning and Development Acts and that investigation concluded in 2015. The investigation referred to is the Independent Planning Review of The Performance of Planning Functions having regard to Specific Issues raised in respect of Six Planning Authorities.  This investigation...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Planning Issues (25 May 2017)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy should take cognisance of developments that are currently under way, such as the Poolbeg site. It will be the highest density residential development ever in Ireland. It will comprise 3,500 units on a medium-sized site. Several very tall buildings will be part of the scheme and will be factored into the overall design, taking account of the needs of the community and so on....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Planning Issues (25 May 2017)

Simon Coveney: Higher buildings are beginning to emerge. Planning permission will probably be granted in the coming weeks or months for the highest building in the country. It is to be built on a super site in the Cork docklands in the middle of the city centre. Planning permission has previously been granted for a building of 36 stories in the docklands in Cork. It is possible for developers to develop...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Data (25 May 2017)

Simon Coveney: We have not rowed back on anything. As usual, the Deputy is trying to create an impression of something that does not exist. We do not have an agreement yet but the Deputy is drawing conclusions as to what the agreement might look like.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Data (25 May 2017)

Simon Coveney: It is typical of the Deputy that he is trying to put a negative spin on something that does not even exist. We are not going to sign off on any financing deal until we see the detail. It is up to the local authority to finalise the detail in negotiations with the various developers on site, as is the case with many of the other aspects of the Cherrywood development. We have assisted that...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Data (25 May 2017)

Simon Coveney: I am not here to indulge the Deputy. I am here to answer questions.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Data (25 May 2017)

Simon Coveney: We will know what the affordability agreement looks like when it is in place.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Data (25 May 2017)

Simon Coveney: If we are not happy, we will not sign off on any agreement. Otherwise we would have approved the money by now. It is up to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown to negotiate with the developers, of whom there are a number, and to put in place an adequate affordability agreement. We have deliberately said we will not sign off formally on funding until we see the detail. The Deputy can read anything...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Data (25 May 2017)

Simon Coveney: We are holding back on the formal sign-off of the money until we get full details. When we get full details we will have the opportunity to debate them.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Planning Issues (25 May 2017)

Simon Coveney: My Department routinely monitors the planning process and acts to ensure that it facilitates appropriate multi-unit housing developments to meet the broader housing requirements of society. My Department's 2009 guidelines for planning authorities on sustainable residential development in urban areas encourage local authorities to bring about high-quality and sustainable urban development,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (25 May 2017)

Simon Coveney: Yes. Some 57 of those houses are specifically being designed for elderly people. That is the type of mix we are looking for now. If local authorities need guidance, they can get it from the Department's housing delivery unit. There are teams of staff in the Department who are willing to meet local authorities to work out what is appropriate on a site-by-site basis in order that we can get...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (25 May 2017)

Simon Coveney: It is wrong.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (25 May 2017)

Simon Coveney: There are 607 projects, which will comprise 10,074 housing units, at various stages in the pipeline. Some of them are in the assessment process, some are in the Part VIII process and others are on-site. I agree there is a need for urgency. When I became Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government I asked the same question that Deputy O'Sullivan just asked. When I, or...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Data (25 May 2017)

Simon Coveney: The aim of the local infrastructure housing activation fund is to relieve critical infrastructural blockages to enable the accelerated delivery of housing on key development sites in urban areas with high demand for housing. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council received approval for funding of €15.19 million for Cherrywood for the provision of public infrastructure that will...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (25 May 2017)

Simon Coveney: They are virtually identical questions.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (25 May 2017)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1, 4 and 5 together. Of course we need to provide affordable homes for people. The approach we are taking is different from the way it was done previously. What ended in 2011 was an affordable housing scheme. We are now trying to put together affordable housing projects as part of schemes on a case-by-case basis. We have asked local authorities to publish,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (25 May 2017)

Simon Coveney: It does not have to be a slow process at all. It requires some urgency and initiative from local authorities. They have landbanks that have sat there doing nothing, in some cases for decades.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (25 May 2017)

Simon Coveney: There is no shortage of money now. None. We have more than 10,000 social housing units in the pipeline today. That figure was 8,400 back in January.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (25 May 2017)

Simon Coveney: It is true. The Deputy will have his opportunity in a minute, but he did not even table a question on this area. That shows his interest in it.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (25 May 2017)

Simon Coveney: The issue is that we are asking the local authorities to do things a little differently. It will not necessarily be the same as it was previously, whereby the Department has to do everything in terms of designing an affordable housing scheme and then the local authorities implement it. We are asking people to take a much more innovative approach towards building more diverse and healthier...