Results 17,221-17,240 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing (6 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: The following criteria formed the basis of the assessment of sustainability for prospective social housing sites being delivered through the Public Private Partnership programme : - Compatibility with the relevant development plan for the area; - Impact on sustainable communities in the area; and - Access to services by future residents ( amenities such as public transport, schools,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Mortgage to Rent Scheme (6 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 136 and 137 together. Amendments were made to the Mortgage to Rent (MTR) Scheme in operation for borrowers from private lending institutions in August 2015 and then reflected in the operation of the Local Authority Mortgage to Rent (LAMTR) scheme with effect from March 2016. These amendments were made, in both cases, to enable more properties to qualify for...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: An Bord Pleanála (6 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: Since the establishment of An Bord Pleanála in 1977, planning legislation has clearly assigned final responsibility for decisions on planning appeals to the Board and not to inspectors making reports and recommendations to the Board. The Board’s Annual Report for 2015 states that the number of all Inspectors’ recommendations not generally accepted by the Board was 204...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Ministerial Staff (6 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: In accordance with the Guidelines and Instructions on Ministerial Appointments for the 32ndDáil, I have appointed two Special Advisers, Mr. Bob Jordan and Ms. Caitriona Fitzpatrick. Their salaries, along with those of all Special Advisers, have been published on the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) website at . The appointment and role of Special Advisers are set out...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Library Services (6 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 140 to 142, inclusive, together. Under section 78 of the Local Government Act 2001, the provision and management of library services is a matter for each local authority in its capacity as a library authority. Accordingly, expenditure on library services and book funds by local authorities, the number of library branches in each area and whether they open on...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Traveller Accommodation (6 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: My Department has worked closely with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and other stakeholders to meet the accommodation and other needs of the bereaved families in the aftermath of the Carrickmines tragedy. Temporary emergency accommodation for the surviving family members has been in place in Ballyogan since shortly after the tragedy. Following discussions with the family around...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Departmental Funding (6 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: The funding of agencies under my Department’s aegis is subject to financial controls and governance as set out in the Public Financial Procedures, the Public Spending Codeand Circular 13/2014; Management of and Accountability for Grants from Exchequer Funds. All funding unexpended by an agency at the end of the year must be surrendered to my Department. However, in certain...

Other Questions: Housing Policy (5 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: The SHCEP-----

Other Questions: Housing Policy (5 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: Unfortunately, the reality is that we cannot do everything together. Not even the Deputy could deliver all the social houses within the timeframe that he seems to think is possible. The reality is that we have huge pressure on the system and there is no one silver bullet. What we need to do is to put sustainable, long-term tenancies in place where we can. We need to put long-term leasing...

Other Questions: Housing Policy (5 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: The truth is that it is a combination of both. Some people do not have any issue with being in long-term tenancies.

Other Questions: Housing Policy (5 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy has this ideological perspective that the State has to control all this land and property. We are going to increase significantly the State's stock of social housing and we will build that increased stock as quickly as we can. We have funding in place of more than €5 billion for the next five years to do that. On top of that, we want to learn lessons from the past, to put...

Other Questions: Housing Policy (5 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy will see all the costings and details in the budget next week; they will all be published next week

Other Questions: Irish Water Funding (5 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 18 and 30 together. We finally got to one on Irish Water. Irish Water's capital investment in the period 2017 to 2021 will be funded by a mix of debt and equity, including capital transfers from Government. This investment programme for the period 2017 to 2021 will be subject to review by the Commission for Energy Regulation, CER, and Government funding will...

Other Questions: Irish Water Funding (5 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: It is not possible to give an exact commitment until we know what the funding model will be. I am sure that will result in a lot of political debate between now and next March or April when the Oireachtas votes on it. We are committed to the business plan that Irish Water has put in place and is implementing. What Irish Water has done on conservation of water by fixing leaks has...

Other Questions: Irish Water Funding (5 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: I am tempted not to get into the water charges debate here around ring-fencing adequate funding. If we are not careful, we will get into the realm of funding for medium-term and long-term water projects having to compete with immediate spending commitments that we must decide year after year on budgets. That is the whole point of having a sustainable funding model for what we need here. ...

Other Questions: Housing Policy (5 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: All three of the current expenditure funded schemes – the rental accommodation scheme, RAS, the housing assistance payment, HAP, and the social housing current expenditure programme, SHCEP, are critical components to the accelerated delivery of social housing envisaged under Rebuilding Ireland - an Action Plan on Housing and Homelessness. It is anticipated that more than 111,000...

Other Questions: Housing Assistance Payments Implementation (5 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 17 and 32 together. Approximately 13,600 households are currently being supported by the housing assistance payment scheme across 19 local authority areas in which the scheme is operational, including eligible homeless households under the homeless HAP pilot scheme managed by the Dublin Region Homeless Executive, DRHE, which I met just before Question Time...

Other Questions: Housing Assistance Payments Implementation (5 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: I am unsure what the Deputy is proposing. Does he suggest we would be in a better position if we did not have HAP?

Other Questions: Housing Assistance Payments Implementation (5 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: No, Deputy, let me answer.

Other Questions: Housing Assistance Payments Implementation (5 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: We are building houses.