Results 1,801-1,820 of 4,700 for speaker:Noel Ahern

Housing Policy: Motion (21 Nov 2006)

Noel Ahern: Zoning is dealt with by local authorities.

Housing Policy: Motion (21 Nov 2006)

Noel Ahern: I was a member of a local authority for years. I believe in local authorities, provided they do their job. When the Affordable Homes Partnership comes forward with its proposals and recommendations I hope local authority members in the councils in Dublin, who are so committed to the provision of affordable homes for their constituents, will support them.

Housing Policy: Motion (21 Nov 2006)

Noel Ahern: We have been innovative and dynamic in our response to the unprecedented circumstances of recent years. Our success has been based on practical interventions. This will remain our focus, centred on addressing the needs of first-time buyers and low income households. It surprised me to hear Deputy Lynch say she repaid her mortgage over 15 years because I repaid mine over 25 years. I accept...

Housing Policy: Motion (21 Nov 2006)

Noel Ahern: I think that is a fair record of the work being done by the Government.

Housing Policy: Motion (21 Nov 2006)

Noel Ahern: I move: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "welcomes: the launching of the Housing Policy Framework — Building Sustainable Communities in 2005, which firmly sets the housing policy objective of enabling every household to have available an affordable dwelling of good quality, suited to its needs, as far as possible at the tenure of its choice, in the...

Housing Policy: Motion (21 Nov 2006)

Noel Ahern: It sets out housing policy firmly in the broader context of building sustainable communities and was launched last December with a package of increased resources for housing programmes. There is an extraordinary similarity between many of the issues raised by the Labour Party and the contents of our framework document. In developing this agenda, we have sought to build wide support for the...

Housing Policy: Motion (21 Nov 2006)

Noel Ahern: That sounds interesting, but I wonder how one would do it and what type of landlord would let accommodation with that encouragement.

Housing Policy: Motion (21 Nov 2006)

Noel Ahern: One could not do it by coercion.

Housing Policy: Motion (21 Nov 2006)

Noel Ahern: Irrespective of whether it is real, I admit that it is an innovative approach. The housing policy framework sets out an important agenda for social housing. It is not only a question of delivering quantity, but also quality. This issue is absent from the Labour Party motion. We are not going down the road of quantity; quality and building communities are important.

Housing Policy: Motion (21 Nov 2006)

Noel Ahern: In the 1960s, we chose quantity. We spend approximately €240 million per year trying to put——

Housing Policy: Motion (21 Nov 2006)

Noel Ahern: I am sure that we were all there.

Housing Policy: Motion (21 Nov 2006)

Noel Ahern: If the Deputy wants, I will broaden the period in question to include the 1970s. We are spending €240 million per year trying to put right some past policies that were based on keys and numbers. Numbers are important, but so is quality. In recent years, everything that has been built has been of the highest quality. There was a time when local authority houses stuck out for a mile, but...

Housing Policy: Motion (21 Nov 2006)

Noel Ahern: We are building new social housing at rates not seen in a generation. Some 11,000 units were in progress at the end of June 2006 and we are well placed to deliver on the commitments in Towards 2016 to start or acquire some 27,000 new homes for those in need of social housing in the next three years. This commitment was entered into against the backdrop of the NESC report and its associated...

Housing Policy: Motion (21 Nov 2006)

Noel Ahern: Deputy Gilmore is normally up to speed on these matters.

Housing Policy: Motion (21 Nov 2006)

Noel Ahern: I am surprised the Labour Party called for a new scheme. The rental accommodation scheme has the potential to solve many of the problems to which the Labour Party spokespersons referred, by not penalising people for taking up a job.

Housing Policy: Motion (21 Nov 2006)

Noel Ahern: There are more like 12,000. Similarly, we have already committed, in Towards 2016, to work with the social partners on the elimination of people in long-term emergency accommodation by 2010. We have made good progress tackling the many issues of homelessness. An independent review of implementation of the Government's homeless strategies, published earlier this year, acknowledged that...

Housing Policy: Motion (21 Nov 2006)

Noel Ahern: Not all housing output in the State is subject to Part V.

Housing Policy: Motion (21 Nov 2006)

Noel Ahern: The mistake is regularly made, when viewing output under Part V, of simply applying a percentage to the total overall housing output to determine the Part V contribution. While some people make that mistake, others, including Deputy Gilmore, encourage a misreading of the provision. This has led many to jump to erroneous conclusions and make wild pronouncements about what Part V should...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (16 Nov 2006)

Noel Ahern: It is the responsibility of Athy Town Council to determine how best to advance the Remedial Works Scheme in Townspark and to develop proposals in order to proceed with refurbishment works to local authority dwellings. My Department will give consideration to proposals put forward by the Council.

Seanad: Water and Sewerage Schemes. (16 Nov 2006)

Noel Ahern: I thank the Senator for raising this issue. The Department's water services investment programme 2005-07, published last December, includes 18 major water and sewerage schemes for North Tipperary, with a value of over €90 million. The Thurles, Roscrea and Newport areas will all benefit from new or upgraded water supply schemes, as will towns and villages in the north west of the county...