Results 15,941-15,960 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Homeless Persons Supports (19 Jan 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. In accordance with section 37 (2) of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of homeless services,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Funding (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: The aim of the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund is to relieve critical infrastructural blockages to enable the accelerated delivery of housing on key development sites and to improve the economic viability of new housing projects in Dublin and in urban areas of high demand for housing. The €200m Fund will be composed of an Exchequer allocation of €150 million,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Library Services Provision (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: The provision of public library services, including the procurement of books, is a matter for each local authority in its capacity as a library authority under the Local Government Act 2001. My Department has no direct role in these matters. A national tender for book stock procurement is being progressed by the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) on behalf of local authorities....

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Assets (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: Rebuilding Ireland: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness,which is available at, contains a number of integrated actions to underpin active land supply management for the delivery of housing. Initially, this involves identifying and mapping sites in local authority and public ownership with appropriate lands to be master-planned to deliver increased mixed-tenure housing, including social...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Housing Policy (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: The cost to the Exchequer of subsidies, including tax incentives and tax exemptions, falls within the remit of my colleague, the Minister for Finance. In respect of social housing, to support the implementation of the Rebuilding Ireland: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, I have secured €5.35 billion in exchequer investment to deliver 47,000 social housing units through...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Departmental Budgets (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: Under Actions 2.5 and 5.6 of Rebuilding Ireland: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness,the Housing Agency is actively and positively engaged with banks and investment companies in relation to its acquisitions programme.  €70m is being provided to the Agency in 2017 to establish a revolving fund to acquire some 1,600 units over the period to 2020 for social housing use. The...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Rent Controls (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 36 and 40 together. The Residential Tenancies Acts 2004 to 2016 regulate the landlord-tenant relationship in the private rented residential sector and set out the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants. The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) was established as an independent statutory body under the Acts to operate a national tenancy registration...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Wind Energy Guidelines (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: 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-time noise limit of 40 decibels for future wind energy developments, - a mandatory minimum setback distance of 500 metres between a...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Rental Accommodation Standards (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: On 13 December 2016, I published the Strategy for the Rental Sector,one of the key measures promised under Rebuilding Ireland: Action Plan for Housing and Homeless. The strategy sets out a range of measures under the headings of Security, Supply, Standards and Services to address both immediate and long term issues affecting the supply, cost, accessibility and quality of rental...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Homeless Persons Data (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: The official monthly homelessness data reports provided by housing authorities are produced using the Pathway Accommodation & Support System (PASS), the single integrated national data information system on State-funded emergency accommodation arrangements overseen by housing authorities. They therefore do not capture details of individuals utilising State-funded emergency...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Tenant Purchase Scheme Eligibility (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: The Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme came into operation on 1 January 2016. The Scheme is open to eligible tenants, including joint tenants, of local authority houses that are available for sale under the Scheme. To be eligible, tenants must meet certain criteria, including having a minimum reckonable income of €15,000 per annum and having been in receipt of social housing...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: House Sales (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: A lack of additional housing supply coming on stream over the past decade or so in the areas of strongest demand is one of the principal root causes of our current housing crisis. Activity by institutional and professional residential sector investment specialists such as Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS) in purchasing housing and engaging in the building out of part completed schemes...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Vacant Sites Levy (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: The Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015 introduced a new measure, the vacant site levy, which is aimed at incentivising the development of vacant or under-utilised sites in urban areas. Under the Act, planning authorities are required to establish a register of vacant sites in their areas, beginning on 1 January 2017, and to issue annual notices to owners of vacant sites by 1 June 2018 in...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Data (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: Dublin City Council proposes the development of up to 640 new homes on the site referred to in the Question. The 640 new homes, will comprise a mix of private, public and affordable homes, 30% of which has been designated for social housing, with the objective of delivering a sustainable mixed tenure housing development. It is proposed that the remaining units will be 50% private and 20%...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Local Government Management Agency (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: The LGMA is a state body under the aegis of my Department. The oversight arrangements in relation to accountability, systems, practice and procedures for state bodies in general are set out in Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies 2016 which is available at the follow weblink: . Related provisions are included in the Agency's Establishment Order which also provides for the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: In line with the commitment under Social Housing Strategy 2020, statutory summaries of social housing assessments will be carried out on an annual basis from 2016, rather than every three years as was done in the past. These regular summaries will provide up-to-date and comprehensive data on the numbers of households qualified for social housing support on an on-going basis. The results of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Applications Data (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: The processing of applications for social housing support is a matter for individual housing authorities and is carried out in accordance with the timescales and rules set down in current housing legislation. Under the application process, there is an obligation on applicants to notify their housing authority of any changes in their household circumstances such as change of address,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Applications Data (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: My Department does not hold information on the allocation of social housing supports to households on the waiting list. The allocation of such support is a matter for each housing authority in accordance with its allocation scheme made under the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: NAMA was established as an independent commercial body to operate under the direction of its Board of Directors, in accordance with the NAMA Act. Under Section 10 of the NAMA Act, NAMA is mandated to act in a commercial manner to obtain the best financial return for the State. As such, NAMA's dealings with its debtors, as well as the management, funding and sale of assets are all commercial...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Housing Loans (19 Jan 2017)

Simon Coveney: There are currently two house purchase loan offerings available to lower income first-time buyers from local authorities. The first is a standard annuity mortgage available from all local authorities. A first-time buyer unable to get a loan from a building society or a bank, may be eligible for a mortgage from the local authority concerned to purchase a new or second hand property or build...