Results 17,501-17,520 of 20,884 for speaker:Alan Kelly

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Compulsory Purchase Orders (27 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: I have not been made aware by local authorities or An Bord Pleanála of any difficulties or issues regarding the procedures for the compulsory acquisition of land at dangerous locations along regional and local roads for road enhancement purposes, and I have not received any request to amend the relevant procedures in this regard which are set out in the Housing Act 1966, as amended....

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Proposed Legislation (27 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: I will be seeking Government approval shortly to publish the Water Services Bill 2015 which will provide for a number of outstanding issues relating to the water charges package I announced on 19 November 2014. These matters were not included in the Water Services Act 2014 due to the requirement for additional consultations to take place with stakeholders. The Bill will, in the main, make...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Homelessness Strategy (27 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: I am assuming the Question is referring to the Action Plan to Address Homelessness arising from the special Summit on Homelessness which I hosted on 4 December 2014. That Summit reaffirmed the Government's commitment to end involuntary long-term homelessness by the end of 2016. A number of actions arising from the Summit were considered at the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Social Policy...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water Charges Administration (27 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: With effect from 1 January 2014, Irish Water is responsible for public water services. The Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 provides that Irish Water shall collect charges from its customers in receipt of water services provided by it. The Act also provides that responsibility for the independent economic regulation of the water sector is assigned to the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER)...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Rents (27 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 519 and 520 together. I refer to the reply to Questions Nos. 916, 917, 918, 919 and 920 of 14 January 2015, in which I stated that “ The introduction of the rent framework will mean that, on the expiry of the 2 year transitional period, the amount of rent payable by some households may be lower in some cases, and higher in others, than the rent...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Data (27 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: My Department publishes a wide range of housing statistics. It includes data on the number of units provided directly by local authorities and approved housing bodies (under the voluntary and co-operative heading), broken down by year. The statistics requested are available on my Department’s website at: by clicking “Social Housing Outputs” under the Social Housing...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Information and Communications Technology (27 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: The Local Government ICT Strategy Implementation Plan identifies priority ICT enabled projects for the sector in areas such as shared services and online services. The plan also identifies the need for enabling technologies and infrastructure which would be used across all of these projects. The local government sector has delivered major improvements in customer service, efficiency and...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Data (27 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: Details of targets and timelines for delivery of social housing units are set out in tables 1 and 2 of the Social Housing Strategy 2020, which is available on my Department’s website at the following link: The provision of 35,000 new social housing units under the Strategy is set out in two phases: Phase 1 targets the delivery of 18,000 additional housing units by the end of 2017...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Commercial Rates (27 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: 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 Act 2001. The Commissioner o f Valuation has sole responsibility for all valuation matters. The Annual Rate on Valuation (ARV), which is applied to...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing Data (27 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: My Department publishes a wide range of housing and planning statistics on our website and the total number of local authority housing units occupied can be found at the following link, under the area titled ‘LA rented units by area 2003+’ within the Social Housing Supports contents: . This information does not cover households currently renting directly from Approved Housing...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Homelessness Strategy (27 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: On 20 May 2014, the Implementation Plan on the State's Response to Homelessnesswas published in which the Government's approach to delivery on its objective of ending involuntary long-term homelessness by the end of 2016 was outlined. A copy of this plan is available on my Department's website at the following link: . This plan sets out a range of measures to secure a ring-fenced supply of...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (27 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: The issue raised concerns moving existing Rental Accommodation Scheme and Local Authority tenants that have been nominated by Mayo County Council, into a new development provided under the Capital Assistance Scheme. The charging of rent is, in the first instance, a matter for the approved housing body concerned; however, housing authorities have a clear right of consultation in relation to...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Charges Yield (27 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: The Annual Financial Statement of each local authority provides an analysis of their income from goods and services. South Tipperary County Council and North Tipperary County Council’s income from parking fines and charges in respect of the years 2011 to 2013, the latest year for which audited information is available, is set out in a table. Local Authority 2011 € 2012 ...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Housing Regeneration (27 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: As part of a planned programme of addressing vacant properties supported by my Department in 2014, there were 2,333 units returned to productive use nationally at a cost of €26.1 million. 155 of those units were in County Cork. The programme will be continuing into 2015, through funding made available under Budget 2015.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Climate Change Policy (27 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: The extent of the challenge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in line with our EU commitments, is well understood by Government, as reflected in the National Policy Position on Climate Action and Low-Carbon Development, published in April 2014, and in the Climate Action and Low-Carbon Development Bill 2015, published last week. The National Policy Position provides a high-level policy...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Waste Management (27 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: As part of the introduction of a radical and comprehensive new regulatory framework to reform the regulation of the collection of household waste in 2015, I intend to introduce measures to require collectors to have a customer charter in place and to meet certain minimum standards of customer service, such as specified frequencies of collection. I will be setting out in law what the minimum...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (27 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: The Social Housing Strategy 2020 – Support, Supply and Reform, published in November 2014, sets out clear, measurable actions and targets to increase the supply of social housing, reform delivery arrangements and meet the housing needs of households on the housing list. Actions 1 and 4 of the Strategy require the agreement of national targets for delivery of social housing across local...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Seanad Reform (27 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: I am currently considering observations made by the Technical Working Group and issues raised in submissions made as part of the public consultation process on the General Scheme of the Seanad Electoral (University Members) (Amendment) Bill 2014. These are informing the further development of the General Scheme, which has not yet concluded. To date, the Technical Working Group has met on...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Seanad Elections (27 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: Responsibility for the maintenance and publication of the relevant electoral registers is assigned in law to the universities which form the university constituencies for the election of members of Seanad Éireann. My Department has not carried out any research on the electoral registers of either university constituency. Section 8(1) of the Seanad Electoral (University Members) Act...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: City Status (27 Jan 2015)

Alan Kelly: There are no proposals to establish additional city authorities. The Action Programme for Effective Local Government(October 2012) sets out government policy in relation to the reform of a range of local government matters and the Local Government Act 2001, extensively revised and updated by the Local Government Reform Act 2014, now provides a modern legal framework supporting the local...