Results 14,741-14,760 of 20,817 for speaker:Alan Kelly

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Approved Housing Bodies (6 Apr 2016)

Alan Kelly: Section 6 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992 enables housing authorities to provide assistance to Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) for the provision of housing. Section 6 (6) of the Act empowers me, as Minister, to grant approved status for this purpose. AHBs are independent, not-for-profit organisations. They provide affordable rented housing for people who cannot afford to pay...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Voluntary Housing Sector (6 Apr 2016)

Alan Kelly: The Report of the Independent Review Group on the operations of An Bord Pleanála was published on 14 March 2016. The review was undertaken to ensure that An Bord Pleanála was appropriately positioned and fit for purpose from an organisational perspective to fulfil its legislative mandate, taking account of considerations including an anticipated increase in construction activity,...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water Services (6 Apr 2016)

Alan Kelly: Since 1 January 2014, Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels. Irish Water is responsible for water services infrastructure including water supply pipes or sewers extending from a waterworks or waste water works to the curtilage of a private property. Under sections 43 and 54 of...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Homeless Accommodation Provision (6 Apr 2016)

Alan Kelly: My Department’s role in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of housing authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of accommodation for homeless persons rests with individual housing authorities. With regard to rapid-delivery...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Development Contributions (6 Apr 2016)

Alan Kelly: Development contributions are a key part of securing investment in enabling infrastructure required to facilitate future development. A planning authority may, when granting a permission under section 34 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended), include conditions requiring the payment of a contribution in respect of public infrastructure and facilities benefiting development in...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (6 Apr 2016)

Alan Kelly: Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) have a key role to play in the provision of high quality sustainable social housing and this is recognised in the Government’s Social Housing Strategy 2020. In this way, the Strategy recognises the record of steady achievement by AHBs over the past 20 years in providing in excess of 28,000 units of quality accommodation. Under the Social Housing Current...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (6 Apr 2016)

Alan Kelly: My Department does not routinely collate the information sought on the number of, or reasons for, refusals by households of offers of social housing tenancies. However, following my interaction with local authority Chief Executives, over the course of 2015, I requested feedback from them on the level of refusals of offers of social housing across the local authority system and the various...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (6 Apr 2016)

Alan Kelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 773 and 774 together. The Social Housing Strategy 2020targets the provision of over 110,000 new social housing units out to 2020, with 35,000 new units to be delivered by local authorities and approved housing bodies, and 75,000 households to be supported mainly through the Housing Assistance Payment. In April 2015, individual targets for the delivery of new...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Irish Water (6 Apr 2016)

Alan Kelly: With effect from 1 January 2014, Irish Water is responsible for public water services. The Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 provides that Irish Water shall collect charges from its customers in receipt of water services provided by it. The Act also provides that responsibility for the independent economic regulation of the water sector is assigned to the Commission for Energy Regulation...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Members (6 Apr 2016)

Alan Kelly: The allowances and expenses payable to elected members of local authorities to assist them in carrying out their statutory functions are as provided for under the Local Government (Expenses of Local Authority Members) Regulations 2014, other secondary legislation and associated guidelines/directions (including Circular LG 5/2015 of 25 June 2015). Other supports are provided by individual...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Planning Issues (6 Apr 2016)

Alan Kelly: As the Deputy is aware, I have made €10m available from the proposed carry-over of capital savings in 2015 to be used in 2016 to fund a new initiative to accelerate the taking in charge of estates irrespective of the wider development context that they are located within. The National Taking in Charge Initiative will assist local authorities in developing new approaches to addressing...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Homeless Persons Data (6 Apr 2016)

Alan Kelly: My Department does not collect information regarding the number of children at primary school level included in families accessing emergency accommodation. Monthly reports are provided to my Department regarding the number of individuals accommodated through housing authorities in State-funded emergency accommodation facilities; these monthly reports are made available on my...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Waste Management (6 Apr 2016)

Alan Kelly: Government waste policy is predicated on the waste hierarchy as set out in the EU’s Waste Framework Directive. A number of specific measures have been, and will continue to be, introduced to reduce the amount of waste generated in the State and to increase the segregation of waste which cannot be prevented, in line with Government policy. The introduction of pay-by- weight (PBW)...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Data (6 Apr 2016)

Alan Kelly: Information on social housing units constructed and acquired in respect of all local authorities and approved housing bodies and funded by direct capital investment by my Department, is published on my Department’s website at the following link: . Data up to Quarter 3 of 2015 are currently published, including a breakdown across the different categories of delivery for all local...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Funding (6 Apr 2016)

Alan Kelly: Since my Department introduced the current programme to support local authorities to return vacant social houses to productive use in 2014, exchequer funding has been provided for some 5,000 such housing units at a cost of almost €60 million. This funding is provided to compliment the efforts that local authorities make from within their own resources to repair and re-let vacant social...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water Services Data (6 Apr 2016)

Alan Kelly: All Motor Tax income accrues to the Local Government Fund. The Fund has historically provided local authorities with finance for funding some of their day-to-day activities, including elements of water services costs, through General Purpose Grant allocations; for non-national roads; and funding for certain local government initiatives. Details of the General Purpose Grant allocations to...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Land Transfers (6 Apr 2016)

Alan Kelly: The Land Aggregation Scheme was introduced in 2010 as part of revised arrangements for the funding of land for social housing purposes. The primary purpose of the Scheme was to assist in the gradual unwinding of loans taken out by housing authorities to purchase land for the social and affordable housing investment programme. Applications to the value of some €163 million in loans...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Homeless Accommodation Provision (6 Apr 2016)

Alan Kelly: My Department’s role in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of housing authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of accommodation for homeless persons rests with individual housing authorities. With regard to rapid-delivery...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (6 Apr 2016)

Alan Kelly: The Social Housing Strategy 2020,launched in November 2014, provides for an investment with a capital value of €300 million in social housing through the public private partnership model.  In total the programme is expected to deliver 1,500 social housing units. To enable delivery to commence as quickly as possible, the PPP programme is being rolled-out in three bundles. The...

Housing and Homelessness: Statements (22 Mar 2016)

Alan Kelly: We cannot have a situation where there is no analysis of this. We have to analyse how public money is being spent. However, changes have been made which need time to bed down. Once they are bedded down, they will be shown to have worked. I acknowledge the support of Deputies from a number of political backgrounds. I ask the House to support what I said in my opening statement. We must...