Parliamentary questions

Building Regulations

Richard Boyd Barrett

730. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his views that staff shortages in local authorities are a contributing factor to the small number of part VIIIs that have been agreed across all the local authorities. [34639/15]

Social and Affordable Housing Data

Richard Boyd Barrett

731. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of National Asset Management Agency properties, broken down by local authority area, that have been identified by the agency as suitable homes for inclusion in the social housing list; the number, that have been offered to each of the local authorities; that have been transferred to the local authorities; and the scheme under which have they been transferred, for example rental accommodation scheme, housing assistance payment, social housing leasing initiative, etc. [34640/15]

Rental Accommodation Scheme Expenditure

Richard Boyd Barrett

732. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the amount paid out by his Department in each local authority area for the rental accommodation scheme, housing assistance payment, and social housing leasing initiative; the number of homes that are provided under each scheme in each local authority for each month in 2015; and if he will compare the amount to the same months in 2014. [34642/15]

Capital Assistance Scheme Funding

Richard Boyd Barrett

733. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the amount that has been provided from his Department to each local authority through the capital assistance scheme; the number of homes that have been provided in each of the local authority areas over the past year. [34643/15]

Building Regulations Compliance

Richard Boyd Barrett

734. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government since the announcement of Strategy 2020, the number of part VIIIs that have been agreed by each local authority; the number of one-, two-, three- and four-bed homes that are in each agreed part VIII; if he will provide details of part VIII's in the pre-agreed stages, by local authority; and the timeframes for the allocation of these planned homes. [34644/15]

Social and Affordable Housing Data

Richard Boyd Barrett

735. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of homes that have been acquired by local authorities through the part V scheme over the past year; and the number he projects for 2016. [34645/15]

Social and Affordable Housing Data

Richard Boyd Barrett

736. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government given his targets for 2015 in the Social Housing Strategy 2020, which included 1,400 to be built or acquired by local authorities and approved housing bodies, 3000 to be provided through the social housing leasing initiative, 1,000 through vacant units returned to use, 2,000 through the rental accommodation scheme and 8,400 through the housing assistance payment; if he will provide a full breakdown for each local authority, confirming the number that have been delivered in 2015 to date; and if he expects to meet his targets by the end of 2015. [34646/15]

Social and Affordable Housing Data

Richard Boyd Barrett

737. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his targets for 2016 under the Social Housing Strategy 2020 in each of the funding models, including construction and acquisition. [34647/15]

Social and Affordable Housing Expenditure

Richard Boyd Barrett

738. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide details, by category, and by local authority, of the spend on social housing support, including each of the different funding models, social housing construction, and acquisition, in each year since 2011 to date in 2015; and the projected funding for each of the various models in the coming years to 2021. [34648/15]

Departmental Funding

Richard Boyd Barrett

739. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the amount that was allocated from his Department to the Social Housing Strategy 2020; the amount of this that was, transferred from other budgets; new funding; collected from the local property tax; the amount of this revenue that was spent; is projected to be spent over the lifetime of the strategy; and if he will provide details of the breakdown of this funding, by each funding model of the strategy. [34649/15]

Foreign Policy

Richard Boyd Barrett

740. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will bring to the attention of the European Commission, which, through European Union Council Regulation EC No. 2368/2002, represents Ireland and all other European Union member states in the Kimberley process certification scheme, of the urgent need for reform of the definition of a conflict diamond, in order that diamonds which generate revenue for government forces guilty of war crimes or crimes against humanity, blood diamonds, are no longer allowed to contaminate the diamond market masquerading as conflict-free diamonds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34227/15]

Arts Funding

Richard Boyd Barrett

791. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the average annual expenditure on the arts as a percentage of gross domestic product; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34484/15]

Private Rented Accommodation Price Controls

Richard Boyd Barrett

46. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her views on the ever-increasing number of landlords who are refusing to accept rent allowance, and the extremely low level of the rent caps in view of rising rents; the reasons these issues are contributing significantly to the rising levels of homelessness; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33041/15]

Rent Supplement Scheme Eligibility

Richard Boyd Barrett

48. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will consider extending rent allowance support to those persons who are working full-time and who are on very low incomes in view of rapidly rising rents and the growing phenomenon of the working homeless and bearing in mind that the Government's policy is to move to the housing assistance payment scheme, which allows for recipients to work full-time; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33042/15]

Irish Water Funding

Richard Boyd Barrett

155. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will set out, in tabular form, the expected revenues from Irish Water in respect of domestic water charges for 2015, and for 2016; if he will provide details of the subventions to Irish Water from the Government for these years, indicating the sources of those subventions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33459/15]

Local Authority Funding

Richard Boyd Barrett

157. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the cost of restoring all cuts in central Exchequer funding to local authorities since 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33460/15]

UK Referendum on EU Membership

Richard Boyd Barrett

17. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach if he has discussed the issue of a referendum and the possible withdrawal of Britain from the European Union in his recent discussions with the British Prime Minister, Mr. David Cameron; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32854/15]

UK Referendum on EU Membership

Richard Boyd Barrett

18. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach the Government's position on British demands for changes to the treaty of the European Union; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32855/15]

Budget Submissions

Richard Boyd Barrett

137. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Finance the meetings his Department has had with the Clearing House Group; if the group has submitted a budget submission to his Department; if so, if it will be made publicly available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31770/15]

Labour Activation Measures

Richard Boyd Barrett

219. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the number of persons on the labour activation schemes who are available; if she will provide, in tabular form, the numbers on each type of scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33388/15]