Results 17,281-17,300 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Provision (5 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: All local authority areas already have targets in respect of social housing delivery out to 2017 arising from the Social Housing Strategy 2020; those delivery targets have involved a combination of building, purchase and leasing schemes and good progress has been made to date on these, in particular in kick-starting a new pipeline of local authority and approved housing body construction...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Funding (5 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 33 and 48 together. The agreed Programme for a Partnership Governmentrecognises the potential role that credit unions can play in housing finance and supports the efforts of the Registrar of Credit Unions at the Central Bank to gradually lift current lending restrictions as appropriate, including for housing. The Programme further provides that we will...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Commission on Domestic Public Water Services (5 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: I refer to the reply to Questions Nos. 576, 626 and 627 of 16 September 2016 which sets out the position in this matter. The position remains unchanged.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (5 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: In publishing Rebuilding Ireland: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, the Government has set out a practical and readily implementable set of actions to create a functioning and sustainable housing system. The Plan is available to view at . As part of the Plan, a new dedicated Housing Delivery Office has already been established within my Department, as provided for under Action 2.9 of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Housing Provision (5 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: As I indicated in the reply to Question No. 39 of 24 May 2016, the creation of strong communities is at the heart of good planning. The ten principles on which the planning system in Ireland is based are set out clearly in my Department’s Planning Policy Statement published in 2015. Principle No. 3, which is particularly relevant to the issue raised in the Question, states:...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Provision (5 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: The Government has published Rebuilding Ireland: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, which is available at the website . The Plan sets out a practical and implementable set of actions that aim to increase the supply of homes to 25,000 units per annum by 2020, thereby creating a functioning and sustainable housing system. This cross-Government plan is divided into five pillars, each...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Private Rented Accommodation (5 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: In publishing Rebuilding Ireland: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, the Government has set out a practical and readily implementable set of actions to create a functioning and sustainable housing system. The Plan is available at the website . The Plan is divided into five pillars, with each targeting a specific area of the housing system for attention. Pillar 4 of the Plan commits to...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Homeless Persons Data (5 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: Under the relevant legislation it is a matter for housing authorities to determine if a person is to be regarded as homeless; a housing authority will not regard someone as homeless if there is accommodation available to the person that they can reasonably be expected to occupy, of if the housing authority considers that the person is able to provide accommodation from their own resources....

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (5 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: As the Deputy will be aware, a very challenging housing crisis exists in Ireland, the root cause of which is an undersupply of housing across all tenures. At an overall level, while 25,000 new homes a year are needed to meet demand, output fell to as low as 8,300 in recent years. At its heart, the Government's Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan on Housing and Homelessness is about increasing...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Tenant Purchase Scheme Eligibility (5 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: The new 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 and applies to all existing local authority houses, other than those classes of houses excluded under legislation. To be eligible, tenants must meet certain criteria,...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Provision (5 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: Under the amendments to Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 made by the Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015, the options for a Part V agreement, with effect from 1 September 2015, are as follows: 1 Transfer to the ownership of the planning authority of a part or parts of the land subject to the planning application (section 96(3) paragraph (a)); 2 Build and transfer to the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Funding (5 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: I recently announced the Government’s approval to the establishment of a Local Infrastructure Fund of €200 million 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 Fund will be composed...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Data (5 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: It is estimated that approximately 11,000 new social housing units, of the 47,000 to be delivered under Rebuilding Ireland: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, will be acquired by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) directly from the market or the Housing Agency. Final delivery on this and other elements of the delivery of the 47,000 units will ultimately depend on...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Private Rented Accommodation (5 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: In publishing Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, the Government has set out a practical and readily implementable set of actions to create a functioning and sustainable housing system. The Plan is available at the website . The Plan is divided into five pillars, with each targeting a specific area of the housing system for attention. Pillar 4 of the Plan commits to...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Staff Data (5 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: Since 1 January 2015, my Department has received 518 housing staff sanction requests from Local Authorities, of which 502 posts have been approved, and 16 posts are pending. The status of these requests is set out in the link below. Posts marked pending are, in general, awaiting supporting information prior to an informed decision being taken. Under section 159 of the Local Government Act...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Homeless Accommodation Provision (5 Oct 2016)

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 accommodation for homeless...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Housing Assistance Payments Administration (5 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: I refer to the reply to Question No. 661 of 16 September 2016 which sets out the position in this matter.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Rural Resettlement Scheme (5 Oct 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 matters and will be advancing a broadly based rural development strategy, in the context of theProgramme for a Partnership Government. For my part, the recently published Rebuilding Ireland: An Action Plan for Housing and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Flood Prevention Measures (5 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: Local authorities are designated as the Lead Agency for responding to severe weather events, including flooding. The response to all emergencies is appropriately locally-led in the first instance. The generic response arrangements are detailed in A Framework for Major Emergency Management(2006). Specific guidance for responding to severe weather events is outlined in A Guide to Flood...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Funding (5 Oct 2016)

Simon Coveney: The Improvement Works in Lieu (IWILs) scheme allows local authorities to improve or extend privately-owned accommodation, which is occupied or intended to be occupied by an applicant approved for social housing, as an alternative to the provision of social housing. Expenditure by a local authority on improvement/extension works is regarded as an interest free loan secured by a charge on the...