Results 15,021-15,040 of 20,817 for speaker:Alan Kelly

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Applications (10 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: The procedures for assessing the eligibility of households for social housing support were updated in the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the associated Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011. The Regulations prescribed a common application form to be used by all housing authorities. The information sought in the form reflects the eligibility and need criteria set down in...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Waiting Lists (10 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: In terms of the social housing need, the 2013 Summary of Social Housing Assessments identified some 89,872 households nationally as qualified as being in need of social housing supports these results are the most up-to-date and reliable figures currently available. The majority of this number, 46,584 (52%), were found to be dependent on rent supplement and were therefore already supported in...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Data (10 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: My Department does not hold information on the allocation of social housing supports to individual households on the waiting lists of individual local authorities , whether by local authority housing or other accommodation provided by an authority. The allocation of such support is a matter for each authority in accordance with its allocation scheme made under the Housing (Miscellaneous...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Flood Prevention Measures (10 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: While my Department co-ordinates the national level response to several types of severe weather emergencies, including flooding, it has no role in relation to flood prevention or flood management. The development of flood prevention and protection measures is solely a matter for the Office of Public Works, which is the Lead Agency for flood risk management .I can advise the Deputy, however,...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Wind Energy Guidelines (10 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: In December 2013, my Department published proposed “draft” revisions to the noise, setback distance and shadow flicker aspects of the 2006 Wind Energy Development Guidelines. These draft revisions proposed: - the setting of a more stringent day and night noise limit of 40 decibels for future wind energy developments, - a mandatory minimum setback distance of 500...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing Adaptation Grant Funding (10 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: I allocated total funding for 2015 of €50.5m nationally for the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability. This represents a 10% increase on the funding available in 2014. The allocation to Kildare County Council for 2015 for the grants was €2,429,000. To date Kildare County Council has drawn down 77% of its allocation and has not sought additional...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Data (9 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 190 and 191 together. The Social Housing Strategy 2020provides a comprehensive response to the need for social housing and targets the provision of over 110,000 social housing units to 2020, through the delivery of 35,000 new social housing units and meeting the housing needs of some 75,000 households through the Housing Assistance Payment and Rental...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Wastewater Treatment (9 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: The requirements at EU level with regard to the standards for urban waste water treatment are set out in Directive 91/271/EEC. For example secondary treatment was required by 31 December 2000 for all discharges from agglomerations of more than 15,000 population equivalents, and by 31 December 2005 for those agglomerations with population equivalents between 10,000 and 15,000. Secondary...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: NAMA Social Housing Provision (9 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: The National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) continues to play an important role in the delivery of social housing. To the end of September 2015, a total of 1,600 NAMA residential properties had been delivered for social housing use, comprising 1,241 completed properties and a further 359 that have been contracted and where completion work is on-going. A further 486 properties are considered...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Data (9 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: Social housing targets out to 2017 for all local authorities issued in April 2015. This also included funding allocations with, nationally, over €1.5 billion to be invested in a combination of building, buying and leasing schemes by all local authorities. In the case of Donegal County Council, 507 is the target set for new social units under both Current and Capital-funded progammes...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing Provision (9 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: A shortage of supply is at the heart of the current challenges in the housing sector and the Government is addressing this on a number of fronts. The Government’s Construction 2020 Strategy, published last year, is aimed at addressing issues in the property and construction sectors and ensuring that any bottlenecks that might impede the sector in meeting the estimated residential...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Services (9 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: The provision and maintenance of public lighting is the responsibility of each individual local authority. Local authorities receive income from a variety of sources including grants from Central Government, Local Property Tax (LPT) proceeds, commercial rates and other locally-raised charges. It is a matter for each local authority to determine its own spending priorities , including...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing Issues (9 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: I refer to the reply to Question No 157 of 11 November 2015 which sets out the position in this matter.I am not aware of reports of land hoarding referred to by the Deputy and, furthermore, I have not at any time directed the Dublin local authorities not to rezone additional lands for housing. However, Minister of State Coffey and I jointly wrote to the Chief Executives of the four...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water and Sewerage Schemes Funding (8 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 548 and 549 together. As outlined in my reply to Question No. 11 of 5 November 2015, my Department is continuing to engage with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform on the future funding of group water schemes, including those in CLÁR funded areas. I hope to announce details of future funding arrangements for such schemes very shortly.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Audit Service (8 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: In accordance with the Public Service Reform Plan, a critical review on merging the Local Government Audit Service (LGAS) into the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (OCAG) was initiated in 2012 in the context of consideration of agency rationalisation generally. The work of the Group was overtaken by a Government decision in October of that year that the LGAS and the OCAG should...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Provision (8 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: A proposed social housing project at Mountshannon House, Co Clare, was submitted to my Department as part of a prioritised list of proposals from Clare County Council, for funding under the Capital Assistance Scheme. In July 2015, I announced funding approval of over €150 million under the Scheme nationally, to deliver over 1,000 new social housing units. This included 31 new units...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Building Regulations (8 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: I have no function in relation to the buildings referred to by the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Departmental Meetings (8 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: The information sought by the Deputy is not routinely compiled by my Department but will be forwarded to him as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Ministerial Expenditure (8 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: The information sought by the Deputy is not routinely compiled by my Department but will be forwarded to him as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Public Relations Contracts Data (8 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: My Department has not engaged any external public relations firms since I became Minister. In relation to my Department’s policy for the engagement of external expertise, this is generally only considered where the issues involved require expert skills or capabilities that are not readily available within my Department.