Parliamentary questions

Approved Housing Bodies

John Curran

318. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago, the status of the progress made to date on action 2.13 to introduce an AHB innovation fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35063/16]

Housing Policy

John Curran

319. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago the status of the progress made to date on action 2.14 to establish a dedicated one stop shop within the housing agency to support AHBs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35064/16]

Approved Housing Bodies

John Curran

320. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago, the status of the progress made to date on action 2.15 to establish a regulator for the AHB sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35065/16]

Housing Policy

John Curran

321. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago, the status of the progress made to date on action 2.16 to bring forward pilot projects for housing initiatives for older persons; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35066/16]

Housing Adaptation Grant

John Curran

322. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago, the status of the progress made to date on action 2.17 to increase the target of the housing adaptation grant draw down to 10,000 homes in 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35067/16]

Housing Policy

John Curran

323. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago, the status of the progress made to date on action 2.18 to develop policy options for supported housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35068/16]

Housing Policy

John Curran

324. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago, the status of the progress made to date on action 2.19 to create pilot competitions focusing on smart technologies, adaptation of existing housing and lifetime communities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35069/16]

Housing Policy

John Curran

325. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago the status of the progress made to date on action 2.20 to support community based living for persons with disabilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35070/16]

Housing Policy

John Curran

326. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago the status of the progress made to date on action 2.21; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35071/16]

Housing Policy

John Curran

327. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago the status of the progress made to date on action 2.22 to extend the national housing strategy for persons with disabilities to 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35072/16]

Housing Policy

John Curran

328. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago the status of the progress made to date on action 2.23 to commission an expert independent review of capital and current funding for Traveller specific accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35073/16]

Refugee Resettlement Programme

John Curran

329. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago, the status of the progress made to date on action 2.24 to establish an operational sub-group to support and co-ordinate the process of housing refugees; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35074/16]

Housing Policy

John Curran

330. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago the status of the progress made to date on action 3.1 to establish a €200 million local infrastructure housing activation fund; the details of projects that are being approved at this stage under this fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35075/16]

Housing Policy

John Curran

331. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago, the status of the progress made to date on action 3.2; the details of the uptake of the scheme by local authorities to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35076/16]

Housing Policy

John Curran

332. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago the status of the progress made to date on action 3.3; the specific details of the competitive financing on a commercial basis that has been put in place to meet on-site and other infrastructure requirements on large development sites; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35077/16]

Housing Policy

John Curran

333. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago the status of the progress made to date on action 3.4; if he will list the key 15 to 20 pathfinder sites referred to in this action and advise of the timeline for development to commence on each site; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35078/16]

Housing Provision

John Curran

334. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago the status of the progress made to date on action 3.5 to prepare a national land supply management strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35079/16]

Housing Policy

John Curran

335. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago the status of the progress made to date on action 3.6 to fast-track large-scale residential development planning applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35080/16]

Housing Policy

John Curran

336. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago the status of the progress made to date on action 3.7; the changes made and any additional resources given to An Bord Pleanála to ensure all planning appeals in relation to large-scale housing developments will be dealt with within the 18 week statutory objective period; if this 18 week time period has now been achieved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35081/16]

Housing Policy

John Curran

337. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago the status of the progress made to date on action 3.8 to develop and publish an implementation plan to prioritise implementation of key recommendations within the An Bord Pleanála review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35082/16]

Planning Issues

John Curran

338. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago, the status of the progress made to date on action 3.9 to support the development of online planning services for the local authority sector and An Bord Pleanála; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35083/16]

Planning Issues

John Curran

339. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago, the status of the progress made to date on action 3.10 to implement a root and branch review of the planning system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35084/16]

Housing Policy

John Curran

340. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago the status of the progress made to date on action 3.11 to establish a competition to champion best practice, efficient and cost effective design and new approaches to both affordable and quality residential delivery; the status of the specific call for proposals and their evaluation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35085/16]

Private Rented Accommodation

John Curran

341. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago, the status of the progress made to date on action 4.1 to develop a comprehensive strategy for the rental sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35087/16]

Private Rented Accommodation

John Curran

342. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago, the status of the progress made to date on action 4.2 to legislate to deal with circumstances where there are sales of property with tenants in situ and to address the Residential Tenancies Board's enforcement and dispute resolution powers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35088/16]

Private Rented Accommodation Standards

John Curran

343. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and Homelessness four months ago the status of the progress made to date on action 4.3 to complete the review of the Housing (Standards for Rental Houses) Regulations 2008; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35089/16]

Residential Tenancies Board Remit

John Curran

344. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago, the status of the progress made to date on action 4.4, to extend the role of the Residential Tenancies Board to include a one stop shop; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35090/16]

Private Rented Accommodation Provision

John Curran

345. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago the status of the progress made to date on action 4.5 to examine standards, costs and feasibility of build to rent on a large scale and commission research on ways in which further investment might be encouraged; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35091/16]

Housing Policy

John Curran

346. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago the status of the progress made to date on action 4.6 to introduce a new affordable rental scheme; the number of units of accommodation that have been secured under this new affordable rental scheme, in view of the fact this action had a Q3 timeline; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35092/16]

Housing Policy

John Curran

347. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago the status of the progress made to date on action 4.10 to fund a student housing officer; if this officer is now in position as the timeline for this action was Q3 of 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35096/16]

Housing Provision

John Curran

348. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago the status of the progress made to date on action 4.12 to carry out an assessment of scope for provision of additional student accommodation on local authority or other publicly owned lands; when this assessment will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35098/16]

Housing Policy

John Curran

349. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago the status of the progress made to date on action 4.13 to enable student accommodation projects for 100 units or more to go straight to An Bord Pleanála; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35099/16]

Social and Affordable Housing Provision

John Curran

350. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago the status of the progress made to date on action 5.1 to develop a national vacant housing re-use strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35100/16]

Social and Affordable Housing

John Curran

351. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago the status of the progress made to date on action 5.2 to review the disparate systems of differential rents for social housing across local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35101/16]

Social and Affordable Housing Provision

John Curran

352. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago the status of the progress made to date on action 5.3 to work with local authorities to speed up the refurbishment and where possible the re-letting of vacant social housing units; the number of vacant units in each local authority and the average length of time units are vacant in each local authority in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35102/16]

Housing Policy

John Curran

353. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago the status of the progress made to date on action 5.4 to introduce a choice based or equivalent allocation system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35103/16]

Tenant Purchase Scheme

John Curran

354. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago the status of the progress made to date on action 5.5; whether the review of the tenant purchase scheme is ongoing or will only take place after a year of operation of the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35104/16]

Housing Agency Portfolio

John Curran

355. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago the status of the progress made to date on action 5.6 to directly fund the housing agency with €70 million to acquire suitable portfolios of vacant properties for social housing; the number of units of accommodation that have been acquired under this action to date; the number that will be acquired by year end and in the first two quarters of 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35105/16]

Social and Affordable Housing Provision

John Curran

356. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago the status of the progress made to date on action 5.7; the details of the pilot repair and leasing initiative he has initiated; and the timeline to expand this initiative and, in particular, to establish it in Dublin where the housing crisis is most severe. [35106/16]

Care of the Elderly Provision

John Curran

357. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago the status of the progress made to date on action 5.8 to explore ways in which to promote the availability of step down specialist housing for older persons; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35107/16]

Planning Issues

John Curran

358. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago, the status of the progress made to date on action 5.9, to review planning legislation to allow the change of use of vacant commercial units in urban areas into residential units without having to go through the planning process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35108/16]

Planning Issues

John Curran

359. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago, the status of the progress made to date on action 5.11, to establish a ministerial-led urban renewal working group; if this group has been established; when it first met and when it is expected to bring forward proposals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35110/16]

Unfinished Housing Developments

John Curran

360. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago, the status of the progress made to date on action 5.13, to resolve unfinished housing developments in order to target opportunities for strategic acquisition and redevelopment of brownfield development sites; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35112/16]

Housing Policy

John Curran

361. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government following the publication of his action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago the status of the progress made to date on action 5.14 to progress a national taking in charge initiative with €10 million funding from DHPCLG in 2016 coupled to bond and local authority funding; the list of estates that have been taken in charge to date under this initiative; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35113/16]

Local Authority Staff Data

Dessie Ellis

362. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of Dublin City Council employees, broken down by department and area; the number of new employees over the past five years, by department; and the number of those who are tradesmen or apprentices, in tabular form. [35118/16]

Water Services Infrastructure

Eoin Ó Broin

363. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of design build operate contracts and design build contracts in water services in operation here; and the estimated cost of the remaining life of these contracts, with a breakdown of the annual cost of these contracts. [35122/16]

EU Directives

Eoin Ó Broin

364. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government when a water extraction licensing regime will be introduced; if such a regime is required under the terms of the Water Framework Directive; and if such a register would apply to all water extraction including public and commercial operations. [35123/16]

Mortgage Protection Policies

Seán Fleming

365. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his views on the mortgage protection insurance scheme which charges local authority borrowers a 0.47% premium; if, in view of this high charge local authority borrowers can obtain mortgage protection insurance on the open market at more competitive prices and satisfy his Department and local authorities they have adequate mortgage protection insurance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35142/16]

Services for People with Disabilities

Gerry Adams

366. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Social Protection the consideration his Department has given a programme (details supplied) for funding in the context of budget 2016, noting that its current funding is set to expire in a number of weeks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34800/16]

Carer's Allowance Appeals

Michael Healy-Rae

367. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of a carer's allowance appeal in respect of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34421/16]