Results 16,761-16,780 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Pension Provisions (22 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: My Department has no record of any injury warrant applications under the Superannuation Acts since 1995.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Data (22 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: My Department does not hold information on the allocation of, or refusal of offers of, social housing supports to households on the waiting list. The allocation of social housing support is a matter for each housing authority in accordance with its allocation scheme made under the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, and, as Minister, I am precluded by law from intervening in...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Tenant Purchase Scheme Eligibility (22 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: The Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme came in to operation on 1 January 2016 and offers eligible local authority tenants the opportunity to buy their homes. To be eligible for the Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme, tenants of local authority houses that are available for sale under the Scheme must meet certain criteria, including having a minimum reckonable income of €15,000 per...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Library Services Provision (22 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: The provision of public library services is a matter for each local authority in its capacity as a library authority under the Local Government Act 2001. This includes the procurement of books and other library related services. My Department has no direct role in these matters. I understand that the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) is currently working with the Educational...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Brexit Issues (22 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: My Department has not established a Brexit sub Committee but a Brexit coordinator has been appointed to manage any impacts of Brexit on the business of the Department and to liaise with the Departments of An Taoiseach and Foreign Affairs and Trade. My Department is also represented on the Inter-Departmental Group on EU-UK Affairs. Ireland's preparations for Brexit are being strongly...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Departmental Properties (22 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: My Department does not own any vacant sites, property or land in the functional area of Dublin City Council. The details requested in relation to bodies under the aegis of my Department are a matter for the individual bodies concerned. Arrangements have been put in place by each Agency to facilitate the provision of information by State Bodies directly to members of the Oireachtas. The...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Homeless Persons Data (22 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: Responsibility for the provision, funding and oversight of services to support victims of domestic violence, including refuges, rests with Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, under the aegis of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. The official monthly homeless data published by my Department is provided by housing authorities via the Pathway Accommodation & Support System...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Rates (22 Nov 2016)

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 2001-2015. The Commissioner of Valuation comes under the remit of the Minister for Justice and Equality. The principle of local authorities...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Traveller Accommodation (17 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: We are looking at that. The Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality, Deputy Stanton, is leading on that effort. I have had long conversations with the Minister of State in respect of it. The Government is looking at that issue. In terms of the housing, it is important to understand the funding history here. My understanding is that the reason the funding for...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Local Authority Staff Recruitment (17 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 64 together. The elected members of a local authority have direct responsibility in law for all reserved functions of an authority, which includes adopting the annual budget, and are democratically accountable for all expenditure by the authority. As such, it is a matter for each local authority to determine its own spending priorities in the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Local Authority Staff Recruitment (17 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: I assure Deputy Ó Broin it will no longer take 18 months to get approval. There was an eight-stage approval process. It is now down to four stages. There is a real effort to streamline now. We have given a commitment to chief executives that once they get projects across the line in terms of the Part 8 process and once they make applications in respect of those projects to the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Housing Data (17 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: I totally agree with what has just been said. It has taken some time to put a procurement framework in place. Companies are tendering to build these kind of houses and they will be building them years to come. I suspect this is not just about the 1,500 we are planning. I believe it will go well beyond that, but that is what we are committing to for the moment. I have been in and out of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Housing Data (17 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: It is the norm for houses in many cases.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Housing Data (17 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: The issue here relates to standards, quality, certification and consistency, and the need for a high-quality procurement process that ensures we get we will get all of the latter from reputable builders. As it happens, I believe the vast majority of these houses will not be timber frame. They will be steel frame, but that is incidental.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Housing Data (17 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: No, one will not. Deputy Broughan is talking nonsense.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Housing Data (17 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: All of the construction companies and developers that are tendering for this work are giving 60 year guarantees. Deputy Broughan should do his homework before he starts to ditch-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Housing Data (17 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: These are good solutions. Has Deputy Broughan been to Poppintree?

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Housing Data (17 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: The exhibition was about modular homes. They are not the same as rapid build.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Housing Data (17 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: People should get their facts right before they start trying to undermine genuine efforts to get significant numbers of social houses built right across Dublin and in other parts of the country. It is not a silver bullet but one of the ways in which we can get the kind of numbers that others have been calling for here moving into good quality houses that have a lifespan of 60 years and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Housing Data (17 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: First, we should have been building many more social houses than we were able to in recent years but people conveniently forget the storm Ireland has come through. We were borrowing money with a lot of conditions attached, which made it virtually impossible to be able to fund the kind of social housing building programme that was needed during those years. We now have an economy that is...