Results 18,101-18,120 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Local Authority Housing Provision (29 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: We also need affordable private housing as otherwise more and more people will join social housing lists.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Local Authority Housing Provision (29 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: There is nothing wrong with it.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Local Authority Housing Provision (29 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: We are trying to provide homes which are affordable and in areas where people want to live. For people who are not able to afford to rent or buy their own homes we want to make sure we will have social housing to meet their needs. That is what we are trying to do with multiple challenges in a housing market that is fundamentally broken and we are trying to fix. While we are building 12,000...

Other Questions: Housing Provision (29 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: One particular case which the Deputy mentioned earlier has triggered this question. I have looked at it and its outcome. Ultimately, it is up to local authorities to make the judgment on whether a family are homeless or not before they provides emergency accommodation for them. It is important that I do not try to micro-manage by telling them what to do. There is a judgment call that...

Other Questions: Housing Provision (29 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: The criteria are included in the legislation. The Housing Act 1998 states: "A person shall be regarded by a housing authority as being homeless for the purposes of this Act if (a) there is no accommodation available which, in the opinion of the authority, he, together with any other person who normally resides with him or who might reasonably be expected to reside with him, can reasonably...

Other Questions: Housing Provision (29 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: Perhaps the best body with which to raise this issue is the Dublin regional homeless executive which is trying to co-ordinate responses. I will raise it with it and we will have a look at the guidelines. We need to make sure the most genuine cases are prioritised and that we minimise mistakes. There can be serious consequences if and when that happens.

Other Questions: Irish Water (29 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: Since 1 January 2014 Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local level. This includes the domestic water metering programme. Irish Water's revenue shortfall arising from the proposed suspension of domestic water charges in 2016 is under consideration. I intend to bring my proposals on this matter...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Housing Provision (29 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: The correspondence to which the Deputy referred, which was sent from the Taoiseach's office, was regarding EUROSTAT definitions around what is off-balance sheet and what is on-balance sheet, which is confusing. It is very difficult to get certainty about what is on and what is off-balance sheet. In the UK, much of the social housing build programme which the UK Government thought was...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Housing Provision (29 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: Off-balance sheet funding is not necessarily more expensive and does not necessarily take longer. We are working to try to put new vehicles and models in place that we are satisfied will allow for significant investment that is off-balance sheet. We are working through it. I still maintain that it is frustrating trying to get clarity before signing off on a vehicle from EUROSTAT, about...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Local Authority Housing Provision (29 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: While I take the Deputy's point, it is important to be realistic. While we are going to revise our social housing build targets, even if we were to build the number of social houses the all-party committee report has asked for, it still would not be anywhere near 70% of total housing output. We need to build as many social houses as feasible, given what can be funded and built through local...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Local Authority Housing Provision (29 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: I said we were going to review the social housing output targets. We will do it-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Local Authority Housing Provision (29 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: Let me answer the question. Deputies have raised the issue of families who are homeless in Dublin this evening. We are not going to be able to build houses for them by tomorrow, next week or in two weeks' time. However, we may be able to access rental accommodation for them in the meantime. I agree that we need to build many more social houses, and there are many ways we can do it. In...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Housing Provision (29 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: The European fiscal rules, which are designed to ensure that countries in the EU maintain sound public finances, are not an insurmountable obstacle to providing the investment required for social housing over the coming years. If they were not there, we would not have to look at other vehicles and ways of funding; we would be able to do it in a much more direct way. The Government, however,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Emergency Accommodation Provision (29 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: Many organisations are combining to try to provide better outcome for families in very vulnerable situations. The primary responsibility, of course, is with local authorities to be able to put systems in place that can respond quickly to people's needs. It is true to say, particularly in a peak tourism season such as now, there is pressure to find hotel accommodation for the many families...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Emergency Accommodation Provision (29 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: I assure the Deputy that funding will not be an impediment to this.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Emergency Accommodation Provision (29 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: I will finish on this.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Emergency Accommodation Provision (29 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: We will launch our housing strategy in approximately three weeks, so it is not as if people will have to wait for very long to see the strategies we will adopt.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Emergency Accommodation Provision (29 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: The response this evening to this type of pressure will be to find more bed and breakfast or hotel accommodation, which is exactly what Dublin City Council and other local authorities have been doing. Everybody knows this is not a medium-term solution for families. It is a short-term solution while more sustainable solutions are found. It is important to say that so far this year in...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Local Government Reform (29 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: On that last point, we need to value democracy, and that includes local democracy as well as what happens in this House. We need to encourage people into politics, and to do that, we need to ensure it is properly resourced in order that councillors can do a professional job and represent people properly. The demands on local councillors are now more severe than they would have been in the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Emergency Accommodation Provision (29 Jun 2016)

Simon Coveney: We have already spoken about this issue a number of times and we will continue to do so. There is no silver bullet, as the Deputy knows. Many of the actions that will be announced in the housing action plan are under way. Key measures already implemented or under way include the programme of rapid delivery housing, whereby 500 units are to be provided in Dublin to accommodate homeless...