Results 15,061-15,080 of 20,884 for speaker:Alan Kelly

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Flood Prevention Measures (15 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: As the Deputy will be aware the Government decided on 8 December to allocate €5m to provide emergency humanitarian support to small businesses that have been unable to secure flood insurance and have been flooded arising from the impact of Storm Desmond. The scheme is being overseen by the Department of Defence and is being administered by the Irish Red Cross. Details in relation to...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Flood Relief Schemes (15 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: Flood relief works are a matter for the relevant local authority and, at national level, the Office of Public Works.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water Conservation Grant Administration (15 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: The Water Services Act 2014 (Water Conservation Grant) Regulations 2015 govern the operation of the 2015 Water Conservation Grant scheme. The date for registration with Irish Water for the purposes of eligibility for payment of the grant in 2015 was set at 30 June 2015. The deadline for submitting a completed application for the g rant in 2015 was 8 October 2015, which was further extended to...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Noise Pollution Legislation (15 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: National noise legislation does not directly address the problem of busking near residential areas. Although noise policy is a responsibility of my Department, the making of bye-laws under the Local Government Act 2001 is entirely a matter for local authorities. Enforcement of bye-laws is therefore a matter for local authorities or the Garda Síochána, as appropriate. I...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: National Oversight and Audit Commission Remit (15 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: The National Oversight and Audit Commission (NOAC) was established under the Local Government Reform Act 2014 to provide oversight of the local government sector. The specific functions assigned to NOAC are set out in section 126C of the Local Government Act 2001 (as inserted by section 61 of the 2014 Act) and include scrutiny of the performance of any local government body against...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water and Sewerage Schemes Funding (15 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: Responsibility for the administration of my Department’s Rural Water Programme, under which funding is provided for group water schemes, has been devolved to local authorities since 1997. The selection, prioritisation and approval of individual group scheme proposals for advancement and funding under the programme, within the overall priorities set by my Department and subject to the...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing Issues (15 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: There will be no adverse implications for the quantum of private housing stock in Dublin as a result of the introduction of updated planning guidelines on apartment developments, because these guidelines will apply only to new build projects going through the planning process. The updated guidelines I propose to publish shortly are intended to address difficulties in the construction of...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (15 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: The provision of social housing services is a matter for each local authority as the housing authority for its area. Local authorities must identify their area’s social housing need and respond as required. This includes delegated sanction from my Department to acquire suitable properties for social housing, where they represent value for money, meet the social housing need in the...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Departmental Properties (15 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: My Department does not pay ground rent on the buildings it occupies. This would normally be a matter for the Office of Public Works, or, in the case of certain property occupied by Met Éireann, the Dublin Airport Authority and other Airport Authorities, where appropriate. The information requested in respect of State Agencies is not collected by my Department.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Application Numbers (15 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 579 to 585, inclusive, together. The statutory Summary of Social Housing Assessments 2013 identified 89,872 households assessed by housing authorities as being eligible and in need of some form of social housing support as at 7 May 2013. The 2013 results provide details on the number of qualified households on the waiting lists of each individual authority...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Fire Safety (15 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: The matters raised by the Deputy are currently before the Courts and, as a consequence, are sub judice. In the circumstances, it would be inappropriate for me to comment at this time.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Mortgage Protection Policies (15 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: I assume the Deputy is referring to her letter to me, dated 4 November 2015, in follow up to her Parliamentary Question No. 1028, dated 3 November 2015. A response to the letter has now issued. The local authority mortgage protection insurance (MPI) scheme is overseen by the Mortgage Protection Committee, which is a sub-committee of the County and City Management Association (CCMA) and is...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Planning Issues (15 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: MacCabe Durney Barnes Consultants were appointed in February 2014 to carry out an independent planning review on the performance of planning functions having regard to specific planning issues in respect of six planning authorities (Carlow, Cork, Galway and Meath County Councils and Cork and Dublin City Councils) in accordance with section 255 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Capital Assistance Scheme Applications (15 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: My Department received the initial proposal regarding this development from Dublin City Council in April last, when all local authorities submitted new proposals in relation to my Department’s Capital Assistance Scheme. My Department is in correspondence with Dublin City Council regarding the project and is currently awaiting a report from the Council regarding access routes to the...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Improvement Scheme Administration (15 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: The Local Government (Business Improvement Districts) Act 2006 provided for the establishment of Business Improvement Districts within the functional areas of local authorities. A Business Improvement District (BID) scheme is an organisational and financing mechanism with a legal basis, through which businesses can, on a self-help basis, develop and implement initiatives in defined areas...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Capital Assistance Scheme Administration (15 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: The terms and conditions of the Capital Assistance Scheme do not support the provision of residential care or nursing home type accommodation. Accordingly, the provision of accommodation in centres deemed as designated centres by the Health Information and Quality Authority, or where residents cannot hold an individual tenancy agreement, had not qualified for funding under the Scheme,...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Mortgage to Rent Scheme Applications (15 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: Under the Approved Housing Body (AHB) Mortgage to Rent scheme properties are offered to AHBs, which have expressed an interest in the scheme, by the Housing Agency. Financial details of the case are provided to enable the organisation make an informed choice as to the feasibility of the transaction. If an AHB cannot progress the case the Housing Agency is informed to enable it to seek an...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: NAMA Social Housing Provision (10 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: The National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) funding and financial decisions are a matter for NAMA in accordance with its statutory independent commercial mandate. However, I welcome the announcement by NAMA that, within the context of that mandate, it expects to be in a position to fund the construction of up to 20,000 new residential units, predominantly located in Dublin and the...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Climate Change Negotiations (10 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: COP21 is the 21st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and is currently taking place in Paris until 11 December 2015. 196 Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change are currently in Paris in an effort to negotiate a new legally binding global agreement on climate change. The Paris agreement should provide an enabling platform for...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: NAMA Social Housing Provision (10 Dec 2015)

Alan Kelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 203 to 205, inclusive, together. 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...