Results 14,981-15,000 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Other Questions: Rent Controls (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: Areas that are seeing significant rent inflation are likely to come in under the zoning. I would have to get the data for Limerick, which has been published, but my understanding is that parts of Limerick are close to being designated. I take Deputy Bríd Smith's point about areas that are contiguous to rent pressure zones. There may be spillover in terms of landlords feeling that...

Other Questions: Local Authority Housing (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: I thank the Deputy for the question. My Department published a comprehensive list of all social housing construction schemes that were advancing nationwide at end of the fourth quarter of 2016. Over 500 approved schemes were listed that, when completed, will deliver about 8,500 new social homes. The schemes listed include those that are being designed, those currently on site and those...

Other Questions: Local Authority Housing (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy is right that this is all about delivery. I have said on numerous occasions that if I come to the conclusion that local authorities are not able to deliver social housing at the pace we need it, we then need to look at new structures, such as a national housing authority or something like that. At the moment, to be fair, the vast majority of local authorities are seriously...

Other Questions: Local Authority Housing (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: In response to Deputy Durkan, we now have a framework for rapid-build housing. I understand that Kildare County Council has been asked to fully exploit the potential of rapid-build housing, but it needs to come back with projects. We now have a central tendering list that has been agreed for companies that have the capacity for modular construction, which is essentially offsite...

Other Questions: Rent Controls (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: I did not see all of the programme, but I answered questions on Claire Byrne's show afterwards. I was in Waterford that night, but I appeared from the Waterford studio. The young man, who was homeless and who was finding difficulty getting certainty on getting a bed at night, now has certainty. He has access to emergency accommodation and does not have to do it on a nightly basis....

Other Questions: County Development Plans (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: The draft Celbridge local area plan 2017-23 was prepared by Kildare County Council and was placed on statutory public display between 13 December 2016 and 3 February 2017. In my capacity as a statutory consultee to the local area plan process, I made a written submission to Kildare County Council under section 20 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 on 3 February 2017. ...

Other Questions: County Development Plans (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: Some of the concerns outlined by the Deputy are probably shared by my Department. In the draft local area plan I was required to consider an amendment to ensure that the proper spatial development of the town, with respect to established public transport infrastructure and in tandem with the required supporting infrastructure, actually happened. The council was requested to provide for the...

Other Questions: County Development Plans (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: First and foremost, there is a responsibility on local government, the planning authority and councillors to make sure they get these things right. When local area or county development plans come to my Department we sometimes have to ask for material changes. Sometimes this does not go down too well but it is necessary to make sure the planning process is in compliance with national...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Homelessness Strategy (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: I understand that there are about 850 families in hotel accommodation today. I stand to be corrected on that, but it is not a million miles away from the exact figure. It might be slightly higher or slightly lower. The intention is to ensure that as many of those families as possible are in long-term housing assistance payment, HAP, tenancies or in social housing. I will not give...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Homelessness Strategy (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: With respect, it seems to me that the Deputy is trying to find a negative in a positive here.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Homelessness Strategy (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: I know he is.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Homelessness Strategy (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: We have given a very-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Homelessness Strategy (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: Is the Deputy going to listen? Does he not want to?

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Homelessness Strategy (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: We have given a very ambitious commitment and target here that I intend to meet. The Deputy is trying to find absolutes here, so that, as usual, he can create negative headlines out of something that is predominantly a very good ambition to try to solve problems for families.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Homelessness Strategy (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: I am not going to give the Deputy absolutes. There are always exceptions when it comes to the complexity of homelessness. We are trying to get families out of unsuitable, expensive hotel accommodation into much more suitable temporary accommodation if that is what is needed in the short term. In the long term, we are trying to get them tenancies either through HAP or in social housing. I...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: "No" is the straight answer to that. It is important to put the help-to-buy scheme in context. In the last quarter of last year 3,005 purchases were made by first-time buyers. Of these, only 297, fewer than 10%, were new homes. Given the fact that first-time buyers make up only approximately 25% of the market this means we are speaking about 2.5% of purchases. I do not accept the idea...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: Just so the Deputy knows what is actually happening out there, we are moving ahead on multiple sites at present where local authorities are inviting builders-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Social and Affordable Housing (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: -----to build at much increased volume. The big problem we have is there has not been house building activity to the extent we need, and we need a combination of measures to make property available. We need to get vacant properties back into use and we need to see more houses being built on public land - in particular on public land. We have just finished an audit of all of our publicly...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Homelessness Strategy (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: We have a commitment that by 1 July we will no longer be using hotels for emergency accommodation for families. This is an ambitious target but I think we will meet it, and we will do this through a series of solutions. Obviously the preference is to put as many families as we can into social housing. Some of them will be in HAP tenancies, some of them will be in homeless HAP tenancies,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Commercial Rates (6 Apr 2017)

Simon Coveney: Local authorities are under a statutory obligation to levy rates on any property used for commercial purposes in accordance with the details entered in the valuation lists prepared by the independent Commissioner of Valuation under the Valuation Acts 2001 to 2015. The Commissioner of Valuation has responsibility for valuation matters. The levying and collection of rates are matters for each...