Results 15,701-15,720 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Seanad: Amendments to Councillors' Conditions: Statements (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: On the vouching side, I hope that everybody recognises that we live in a very different world now to 20 years ago. The public expect a very different level of accountability and transparency for how public money is spent.We want to make that as easy as possible within councils, in terms of how it functions, and I hope that people work with us on that. It would, of course, be simpler to have...

Seanad: Derelict and Vacant Sites Bill 2017: Second Stage (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: Is that right?

Seanad: Derelict and Vacant Sites Bill 2017: Second Stage (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: That is already under way.

Seanad: Derelict and Vacant Sites Bill 2017: Second Stage (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: A full audit of all State-owned land is being done.

Seanad: Derelict and Vacant Sites Bill 2017: Second Stage (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: For the purposes of clarity, the figure is not 0.5 but 0.05 hectares.

Seanad: Derelict and Vacant Sites Bill 2017: Second Stage (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: There is a big difference.

Seanad: Derelict and Vacant Sites Bill 2017: Second Stage (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: May I come in now, as otherwise I will sum up without having made an initial contribution? I am in the hands of the Chair.

Seanad: Derelict and Vacant Sites Bill 2017: Second Stage (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: I thank the House for affording me the opportunity to speak on the Derelict and Vacant Sites Bill 2017, proposed by a number of Senators, led by Senator Grace O'Sullivan. While the Bill is relatively short, it proposes to amend three existing Acts, namely, the Derelict Sites Act 1990, the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, as recently amended by the Planning and Development (Housing) and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Appointment of Receivers (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: On 13 December 2016, Government approved the publication of a Strategy for the Rental Sector, which delivers on a commitment made under Pillar 4 of Rebuilding Ireland. The strategy is structured around four key areas: security, standards, supply and services. The measures under these four headings will be implemented through the 29 actions contained in the Strategy. The appointment of a...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Commercial Rates Valuation Process (8 Feb 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 pursuant to the Valuation Acts 2001 to 2015. The levying and collection of rates are matters for each individual local authority. The annual rate on valuation (ARV),...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Local and Community Development Programme Staff (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: The matter concerned, including the associated legal advice, remains under consideration in my Department, including through discussions with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. My Department will be endeavouring to complete its consideration of the matter as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Ministerial Meetings (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 154, 155 and 168 together. The Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan on Housing and Homelessness acknowledges the role of private sector funding in addressing the significant housing need that currently exists in Ireland. Since taking up office as Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, I have been open to ideas and proposals from private...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payments Data (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: Data relating to the number of households supported by HAP within each local authority area at end of Q4 2016 are available on my Department’s website at the following link: . Under the HAP scheme, a tenant sources their own accommodation, the tenancy agreement is between the tenant and the landlord and is covered by the Residential Tenancy Act 2004 (as amended). Recognising the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payments Administration (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: A key principle of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme is that eligible households source their own accommodation in the private rented sector, which best suits their needs in their area of choice. This is distinct from the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) which is a different type of social housing support where the tenant may not always find their own accommodation and instead are...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Homelessness Strategy (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: 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 and related services for homeless persons rests with individual housing authorities. Where a...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Homeless Accommodation Provision (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: Rebuilding Ireland: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness provides for early and longer-term solutions to address the high levels of homelessness, especially the unacceptable number of families in emergency accommodation in hotels. The plan's commitments are that, by mid-2017, hotels should only be used in limited circumstances as emergency accommodation for families. Full details and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payments Administration (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: As the Deputy will be aware, one of the key functions of housing authorities is to provide or manage the provision of social housing support in a way that counteracts undue segregation between persons of different social backgrounds and ensures the provision of an appropriate mix of dwelling types and tenure classes. Once a household has been deemed eligible for social housing support, it...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Vacant Properties (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: The use of Compulsory Leasing Orders as a possible means of re-utilising vacant properties was proposed at a presentation to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government last week by the Peter McVerry Trust in the context of discussions on addressing the issue of vacant housing, derelict sites and underused spaces. The Trust indicated that it supported...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Vacant Properties (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: Pillar 5 of the Government's Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness - Rebuilding Ireland is specifically focused on Utilising Existing Housing Stock, with a key objective of ensuring that the existing vacant housing stock throughout the country and across all forms of tenure, in both the public and private sectors, is used to the optimum degree possible. In this regard, Action 5.1 of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Data (8 Feb 2017)

Simon Coveney: Statistics on the average re-letting times for local authority social housing are gathered by the National Oversight and Audit Commission and are set out by local authority in their report on Performance Indicators in Local Authorities. These statistics are available for both 2014 and 2015 at the following links: and . The statistics as gathered by the National Oversight and Audit...