Results 16,881-16,900 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Seanad: Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Bill 2016: Second Stage (16 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: There is a planning division in An Bord Pleanála which will work on these applications. It is the board members who will make final decisions but the recommendations-----

Seanad: Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Bill 2016: Second Stage (16 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: Let me finish. Housing division will be established in the board specifically to examine these in detail. It will be well resourced from a planning perspective. It will also have a sufficient number of members. We can tease through these issues again. I take the Senator's concern and I have not done this lightly. The vast majority of houses which obtain planning permission next year...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Environmental Policy (16 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: Microbeads are one facet of the larger problem of marine litter. Marine litter is a key feature of national and international maritime environmental policy. It has been identified as an issue to be addressed under the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive. It is also specified as a harmful human activity under the OSPAR Treaty which addresses pollution and other human impacts on the North...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Local Government Reform (16 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: The decision to replace town authorities with a new model of municipal governance under the Local Government Reform Act 2014 was designed primarily to strengthen local government within counties and to address widely acknowledged and long-standing weaknesses and anomalies in the previous system, rather than as a cost saving exercise. However, the 2012 Action Programme for Effective Local...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Departmental Expenditure (16 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: There has been no expenditure on marketing or advertising the Rebuilding Ireland programme and no such expenditure is planned. There is a Consultation, Communication and Engagement Strategy associated with Rebuilding Ireland, the main aim of which is to ensure that the momentum for implementation is maintained throughout the life of the Plan. A key part of the successful implementation of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Fire Service (16 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: The provision of a fire service in its functional area, including the establishment and maintenance of a fire brigade, the assessment of fire cover needs, the provision of fire station premises, is a statutory function of individual fire authorities under the Fire Services Act, 1981. My Department supports the fire authorities through setting general policy, providing a central training...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Traveller Accommodation (16 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: In accordance with the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998, housing authorities have statutory responsibility for the assessment of the accommodation needs of Travellers and the preparation, adoption and implementation of multi-annual Traveller Accommodation Programmes (TAPs) in their areas. My Department’s role is to ensure that there are adequate structures and supports in...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Departmental Funding (16 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: My Department’s Community & Voluntary Supports & Programmes provide a cohesive framework of support for the community and voluntary sector. This programme supports 21 Volunteer Centres and 8 Volunteer Information Services, as well as a number of national organisations, including Volunteer Ireland. Over €3m was allocated for these organisations in 2016. With...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Provision (16 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: The development of new social housing in counties Cavan and Monaghan is, in the first instance, a matter for the respective local authorities. Both local authorities were notified in April 2015 of social housing targets and provisional funding allocations out to end-2017; these are available on my Department’s website at the following link:. Together these two local authorities have a...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Waiting Lists (16 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: Details on the number of households on waiting lists in each housing authority area are provided in the statutory summary of social housing assessments. The most recent figures available are the results of the 2013 summary. These are available on my Department’s website at the following link:. The 2013 results show that there were 741 and 696 households on the waiting lists in...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Motor Tax (16 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: The Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers Scheme, which is the responsibility of my colleague the Minister for Finance, provides an exemption from the payment of annual motor tax for a vehicle which has been admitted to the scheme. Only the word “exempt” appears on a motor tax disc that is issued in relation to such a vehicle.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Housing Data (16 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: The official homelessness data reports provided by housing authorities are produced using the Pathway Accommodation & Support System (PASS), the single integrated national data information system on the State-funded emergency accommodation arrangements that are overseen by housing authorities. These reports are published on my Department's website as soon as they are available and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Housing Provision (16 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: Funding for the delivery of rapid build housing units is being made available, as part of the overall significant increase in my Department’s capital funding for the provision of social housing units. The funding that is being provided is in addition to funding for those social housing projects that have already been approved and will not impact on their progress. As the Deputy will...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Housing Issues (16 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: Estimates set to date for rapid build units have been based on standard unit cost ceiling data held by my Department for standard social housing units. Recently returned tenders analysed have supported this approach, with the average tenders being returned within 5% of the unit cost ceiling data, which is considered to be a successful outcome. Given that there are procurements either...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Data (16 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: My Department operates three current expenditure funded schemes in which units are sourced from the private rental sector for social housing use. These are the Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme (SHCEP), formerly the Social Housing Leasing Initiative which was initiated in 2009; the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) initiated in 2005; and the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) Scheme...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Rural Resettlement Scheme (16 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: As the Deputy will be aware, my colleague, the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, has overall responsibility for regional and rural affairs and will be advancing a broadly-based rural development strategy, in the context of commitments under the Programme for a Partnership Government. While there is no specific rural resettlement programme operated by my...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Motor Tax (15 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 277 and 287 together. To be taxed as a commercial vehicle, a vehicle must be constructed as a goods vehicle and must be used solely in the course of trade or business. Licensing authorities have an obligation under Article 3 of the Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) (Amendment) Regulations 1992 to be satisfied that a vehicle is correctly taxed and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Motor Tax (15 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: The Non-Use of Motor Vehicles Act 2013 came into effect on 1 July 2013. The primary purpose of the Act is to replace the system whereby a vehicle was declared off the road retrospectively with a system under which the vehicle must be declared off the road in advance. The system of making retrospective declarations had become a means of evasion of motor tax estimated to have cost some...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Control of Dogs (15 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: Under the Control of Dogs Acts, local authorities have responsibility for operating and managing dog control and licensing services in their administrative areas, including the management of dog pounds or shelters and my Department has no involvement in this process. In this regard, section 15(2) of the 1986 Act empowers local authorities to enter into arrangements with any person for the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (15 Nov 2016)

Simon Coveney: Longford County Council recently advertised for proposals to deliver social housing in their administrative area. As with all such publicly advertised processes and in line with public procurement arrangements, the local authority has undertaken an assessment of the proposals received and has proposed the advancement of a particular project for social housing delivery. A decision on this...