Results 18,061-18,080 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2016
Vote 34 - Environment, Community and Local Government (Revised) (30 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: If there is a requirement for further information, it is impossible to have it done in the 18-week period. An Bord Pleanála is also trying to set a target for larger schemes for 18 weeks, but that is challenging unless we can give it more resources. We have said we want it to prioritise large-scale residential developments in order that we can get the right decisions made in the system...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2016
Vote 34 - Environment, Community and Local Government (Revised) (30 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: By the way, requiring by law a period for a decision to be made by An Bord Pleanála is not as straightforward as the committee might think. It has a quasi-judicial function in making judgments. It is true that it is a planning authority, but it is also an appeals body. My understanding is it is not straightforward to simply require it to make a decision, particularly if there are...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2016
Vote 34 - Environment, Community and Local Government (Revised) (30 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: I do not want to be difficult about the Water Bill. We have clear guidance from the clerk on what is standard practice, such as there is a period of four days to put amendments together. I ask the committee to look at going beyond the norm, given what we are trying to deal with. Certainly for the three parties represented here and I suspect the Independents, I have had no indication that...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Motor Tax (30 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: While I have overall policy responsibility for motor tax policy, I have no role in relation to individual applications for motor tax. Responsibility for the administration of motor tax rests with the relevant licensing authority (motor tax offices and, in the case of online motor tax, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport). Licensing authorities have an obligation under Article 3...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Private Residential Tenancies Board (30 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: The Residential Tenancies Act 2004 regulates the landlord-tenant relationship in the private rented residential sector and sets out the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants. The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) was established as an independent statutory body under the Act to operate a national tenancy registration system and to facilitate the resolution of disputes between...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Motor Tax Collection (30 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: I have no plans currently to introduce a system of regular direct debit payments for motor tax. Any such proposal would require to be underpinned by robust legislation to ensure that there is a system in place to recoup income lost to the taxpayer where there are insufficient funds in personal accounts to meet the payment or where a direct debit or standing order option is cancelled by...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Motor Tax Collection (30 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: Motor tax is payable on an annual, half-yearly or quarterly basis. The rates applicable for the half-yearly and quarterly options are 55.5% and 28.25% of the annual charge, respectively. These relativities have remained generally consistent since the 1960s. The differential takes account of the extra workload for staff in motor tax offices and the Driver and Vehicle Computer Services...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Tenant Purchase Scheme (30 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: The Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2016, which completed second stage debate in the Dáil on 28 June 2016, seeks to implement water elements of the ‘Confidence and Supply Arrangement’ agreed with Fianna Fáil in the context of supporting a minority Government. The Arrangement document also affirms the parties’ position that those who have paid their water bills...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Fire Stations Provision (30 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: The provision of fire services in local authority areas, including the establishment and maintenance of fire brigades, the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of premises, is a statutory function of the individual fire authorities under the provisions of the Fire Services Act 1981. My Department supports the fire authorities through setting general policy, providing a central...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water Charges (30 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: Under Section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, a household is ineligible for social housing support where the household is in arrears of rent, rent contributions, charges, fees or loan repayments, or any other moneysowing to a housing authority in the previous three years for an accumulated period of 12 weeks or more, and has not entered into a repayment arrangement with...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Motor Tax (30 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: There are no plans at present to replace the current system of motor tax with additional taxation on motor fuel or with any other mechanism. Gross motor tax receipts for 2015 were in the order of €1.124 billion. Maintenance of the tax base would require an increase in fuel excise rates of at least 20 cent per litre, with direct negative impacts on the rate of inflation and...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Waste Disposal Charges (30 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: My Department intend to meet with the waste industry next week to discuss the details of the agreement referred to, including how new customers will be dealt with under the agreement. Notwithstanding the difficulties associated with trying to accommodate customers of whom the collector has no record, I am confident that a reasonable and fair solution will be found to address this issue.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Departmental Legal Costs (30 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: As the Deputy will be aware, the settlement in this High Court case has only recently been agreed between the two parties. Accordingly, the legal fees have not yet been agreed and settled by the Chief State’s Solicitors Office (CSSO). Once the fees have been agreed and settled by the CSSO, I will bring this information to the attention of the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Graduate Support Schemes (30 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: Launched in 2015, the Local Authority Graduate Programme is designed to provide recently qualified graduates with the opportunity to acquire significant experience through working in a local authority and to benefit local authorities with the knowledge they have acquired in the course of their studies. The selection process for the 2015 Programme was by competition, open to candidates...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: UK Referendum on EU Membership (30 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: The outcome of the recent United Kingdom EU referendum clearly has very significant implications for Ireland, as well as for Britain and for the European Union. However, as the United Kingdom has not yet formally withdrawn from the Union, it currently remains a full EU Member, with all of its existing rights and obligations. Contingency planning in that context is challenging because...

Other Questions: Severe Weather Events Expenditure (29 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: While the responsibility for storm sewers remains with local authorities, responsibility for combined sewers, which carry both foul sewage and storm water, has been transferred to Irish Water. A memorandum of understanding to establish principles and mechanisms through which Irish Water and each local authority will co-operate with respect to sewer flooding and storm water management is...

Other Questions: Severe Weather Events Expenditure (29 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: I know a bit about the agriculture side. There are pretty demanding directives with which farmers must comply to get their CAP payments and to avail themselves of benefits under the various schemes we operate. Cross-compliance criteria require farmers to ensure they do not undermine directives such as the Water Framework Directive and wildlife directive. Therefore, there are many...

Other Questions: Severe Weather Events Expenditure (29 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: The emphasis is away from clearing land under the new CAP. Obviously, there is a market that farmers want to access in terms of productive farming, which sometimes incentivises trying to create more productivity on farms and a greater output in terms of land management. However, if we examine all the support programmes that exist and the €4 billion rural development programme, it can...

Other Questions: Severe Weather Events Expenditure (29 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: Sorry?

Other Questions: Severe Weather Events Expenditure (29 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: My understanding is that responsibility for the combined sewers, which carry both foul sewage and storm water, has been transferred to Irish Water but that responsibility for the water run-off infrastructure for storm water management, etc., remains with the local authorities. I will clarify which body is responsible for which pieces of infrastructure afterwards if it is helpful. My...