Written Answers Nos. 254-266
254. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if she is satisfied that reform of the FAI since 2020 has satisfied the terms of the Government MOU of that year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3606/24]
View answerThe Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreed in January 2020 between the Government and the FAI enabled Sport Ireland to restore funding of €2.9 million per annum to the organisation and to provide additional annual funding of €2.9 million for football development up to and including 2023. In recognition of the importance of the continued operation of the stadium that is co-owned by the Association and another sporting organisation, the MOU also provided for a repayable grant to the Association of €7.6338 million towards the stadium licence fee payable by the organisation for the years 2020 - 2022.
The MOU was agreed at a point when there was a very real risk of the Association becoming insolvent. The support provided ensured that this did not happen, and was conditional on the Association implementing urgent and necessary reforms.
Sport Ireland's Governance Oversight Group has formally endorsed the status of the Association’s implementation of 159 of the 163 items from within the Association and Sport Ireland's Governance Review Group Report, Sport Ireland's KOSI audit, and commitments in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). This represents implementation of 98% of the recommended reforms.
I have asked Sport Ireland to prepare a full report on the Association’s overall implementation of actions set out under the MOU between 2020 – 2023 and I intend to publish this report in the coming days.
255. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the recipients of a grant will be published (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3427/24]
View answerThe Community Monuments Fund for 2024 was announced in November 2023. The closing date for applications to my Department is 14 February 2024 and it is expected that the awards will be announced around the second week in April.
256. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department is in contact with a homeless charity (details supplied) regarding its finances with a view to it continuing to provide services to the homeless; if financial assistance will be made available to it to ensure that all bills from creditors will be settled; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3454/24]
View answerMy Department’s role in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of local authorities in addressing homelessness at a local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of homeless services rests with individual local authorities.
The named organisation informed the Dublin Region Homeless Executive and my Department of potential financial issues in the organisation in July 2023. The organisation also advised that it had separately informed the Charities Regulator and the AHB Regulator (AHBRA).
My Department and the DRHE formed an Oversight Group, chaired by an independent governance and legal expert, to review the financial and governance issues raised and to advise me appropriately. The DRHE also appointed PwC to undertake a review and preliminary and final reports were provided to the Oversight Group.
Following the Oversight Group's review of the recommendations made by PwC, I received a letter from the Chair of the Group. Having considered the contents of the Chair's letter and the information provided, my priority was to ensure that the services provided to homeless individuals and families would continue uninterrupted.
In this regard, proposals for the provision of funding, on an exceptional basis, were considered by Government. On 28 November, the Government approved funding on an exceptional basis of up to €15 million to be paid to the named organisation. Funding may be paid between December 2023 and 31 March 2024 on a phased basis, subject to the provision of the relevant information. The funding is also conditional on the named organisation complying with a range of conditions related to financial management and governance.
257. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has ever made an exception to increase the funding available through the housing adaptation grant in exceptional circumstances, particularly where there are multiple children with special needs living in the one house; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3477/24]
View answerMy Department provides Exchequer funding to local authorities to administer the suite of Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability, which support older and disabled people living in private houses to adapt their home to meet their needs. The grants include the Housing Adaptation Grant for People with a Disability, the Mobility Aids Grant and the Housing Aid for Older People.
The income limits and maximum grant amounts payable under the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability Scheme are underpinned by S.I. 670 of 2007, and amended in 2014 by S.I. No. 104 of 2014.
The administration of the grants scheme, including the assessment, approval and prioritisation of grant applications under the various measures, is the responsibility of each local authority. Having considered all of the circumstances in any particular case, it is a matter for the local authority to determine grant eligibility. Local authorities, in administering the scheme, work with qualifying applicants to secure the most beneficial outcome possible in line with the applicants' financial circumstances and within the parameters of the Grant Scheme. However, individual applications are solely a matter for the local authority in question.
The scheme is applicant based, and where multiple eligible applicants reside in the same household, an application can be submitted for consideration in respect of each applicant in the household. Subject to eligibility and prioritisation based on medical need, local authorities aim to process the applications collectively to secure the most beneficial outcome possible for both the applicants and the local authority.
258. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he supports holding a referendum on the rights of nature in the lifetime of this Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3393/24]
View answerIreland's 4th National Biodiversity Action Plan (NBAP) 2023-2027 is published today and sets out Ireland’s vision for biodiversity, that by 2050 “biodiversity in Ireland is valued, conserved, restored and sustainably used, maintaining ecosystem services, sustaining a healthy planet and delivering benefits essential for all people”. The Plan strives for a “whole of government, whole of society” approach to the governance and conservation of biodiversity. The aim of the Plan is to ensure that every citizen, community, business, local authority, semi-state and state agency has an awareness of biodiversity and its importance, and of the implications of its loss, while also understanding how they can act to address the biodiversity emergency as part of a renewed national effort to “act for nature”.
Following the declaration by the Dáil of a Biodiversity Emergency in 2019, and in recognition of the vital role that biodiversity plays in the continued health of our society, economy, species and planet, the Programme for Government included a commitment to hold a Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss. The Assembly presented it's report in April 2023 and agreed 159 recommendations, including the recommendation that nature be provided protection within the Constitution. Central to the report’s recommendations is the need for the State to take prompt, decisive, and urgent action to address biodiversity loss and restoration and to provide leadership in protecting Ireland’s biodiversity for future generations.
Ireland's 4th National Biodiversity Action Plan has been the subject of significant effort over the last two years, through engagement with stakeholders and with the support, advice and input of an interdepartmental Biodiversity Working Group and a Biodiversity Forum. The Plan provides for a mechanism by which the recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly will be considered by Government, including an action for the National Parks and Wildlife Service to explore the ways in which the rights of nature could be formally recognised. The Plan takes account of many other actions that will address the recommendations arising from the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss, including an increase of resources, support for local action and the publication of a National Restoration Plan.
259. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will outline the current status of the mortgage-to-rent scheme and explain the delays that individuals are experiencing as they try to resolve their mortgage issues; if the scheme has been suspended; if so, why; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3522/24]
View answerThe Mortgage to Rent (MTR) scheme was introduced in 2012 for borrowers of commercial lending institutions and is targeted at those households in mortgage arrears who have had their mortgage position deemed unsustainable by their lender under the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP), who agree to the voluntary surrender of their home and who have very limited options, if any, to meet their long-term housing needs themselves. In addition, the household must be deemed eligible for social housing support. The concept of the scheme is that a household with an unsustainable mortgage goes from being a homeowner to being a social housing tenant.
To the end of 2023, 2,388 households with unsustainable private mortgages have completed the MTR scheme since its introduction. A total of 6,750 individuals are benefitting from the scheme, which comprises of 3,760 adults and 2,990 children. A further 411 cases are being actively progressed though the scheme.
Both the Programme for Government and Housing for All commit to strengthening the Mortgage to Rent scheme and ensuring that it is helping those who need it. Building on the significant amendments already made to the scheme in 2017, a 2021 Review of the Mortgage to Rent (MTR) scheme was undertaken and was published in January 2022.
One of the actions from the review of the MTR scheme was for the Department to consider the policy options around the scheme and how the scheme might be funded, to ensure its continued operation as well as ensuring value for money for the State. My Department, in conjunction with the Housing Agency, has recently run an Expressions of Interest (EOI) process which invited participants from both the private and Approved Housing Body (AHB) sector to put forward their interest in becoming MTR providers that can deliver the scheme at scale. This EOI process was necessary to support the long-term sustainability of the scheme and will offer lenders more providers with whom they can engage and process cases. The EOI process has concluded and the new large-scale MTR providers will be in place imminently.
260. Deputy Richard O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his attention has been drawn to the nuisance of shadow flicker from wind turbines which it was stated in 2019 would be eliminated, and whether the new guidelines will be robust enough to ensure this is the case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3537/24]
View answer261. Deputy Richard O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if national authorities such as the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the HSE, public health and environmental health services are involved with the review of the WEDGs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3538/24]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 260 and 261 together.
My Department is currently undertaking a focused review of the 2006 Wind Energy Development Guidelines which is addressing a number of key aspects of the Guidelines including shadow flicker, noise, setback distance, community obligation, community dividend and grid connections.
With regard to shadow flicker, my Department intends to ensure that the possibility of shadow flicker occurring at residences in the vicinity of a wind energy development is minimised and that the Guidelines are robust, up-to-date and fit for purpose in this regard.
As part of the review process, a strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is being carried out on the draft Guidelines. My Department intends to undertake a public consultation in the coming months whereby individuals and organisations - including the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the HSE and public health and environmental health services - will have an opportunity to submit observations on the draft Guidelines.
With regard to the finalisation of the review process, the Climate Action Plan 2024 sets out a timeline of Q4 2024 for publication of the final, updated Guidelines and my Department is working towards meeting this commitment. When finalised, the revised Guidelines will be issued under section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, or subject to enactment of the Planning and Development Bill 2023, as a National Planning Statement, as appropriate. In the meantime, the current 2006 Wind Energy Development Guidelines remain in force.
262. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the next review of income eligibility limits for social housing will be carried out; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3559/24]
View answerFollowing a review conducted by my Department in 2022, the Government agreed to my recommendation to increase the baseline social housing income thresholds by €5,000 for all local authorities with effect from 1 January 2023. The thresholds increased to €40,000, €35,000 and €30,000 for bands 1, 2 and 3 respectively.
Notwithstanding these recent changes, my Department is awaiting detailed research examining the existing income limits in the context of current market and population conditions. This has been commissioned by the Housing Agency and I understand this work is near completion. When it is available, my Department will undertake a further review, including consultation with stakeholders. This work is scheduled to be completed in Quarter 4 2024.
263. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of WTE qualified chartered surveyors employed by his Department as of 22 January 2024; and if he will provide the same figure as of 31 March 2022, in tabular form. [3583/24]
View answerMy Department does not generally keep a record of qualifications held by staff members, and accordingly there may be staff working in various roles in the Department who have a qualification in quantity surveying but applied for different positions. However, we do currently have seven fulltime equivalent (FTE) quantity surveyors employed in the department in roles where this is a requirement . There were five (WTE) quantity surveyors employed in such roles in the department at the end of March 2022.
264. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of residential units purchased by non-household entities, excluding public bodies and local authorities, in 2022, disaggregated by house and apartment. [3610/24]
View answerData on the number of residential units purchased by households and non-households are published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). These data are available in table HPA02 (Residential Dwelling Property Transactions) on the CSO website.
Data from 2010 to 2022 are available from the CSO at data.cso.ie/table/HPA02.
265. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will comment on the status of a proposal (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3625/24]
View answer266. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Parliamentary Question No. 841 of 17 January 2024 if he is satisfied with the target of ten units in Shannon; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3626/24]
View answerUnder Housing for All, the Government has targeted the delivery of 28,500 new affordable homes from 2022 to 2026, to be facilitated by local authorities, Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs), the Land Development Agency (LDA) and through a strategic partnership between the State and retail banks.
Clare County Council has prepared and published its own 5-year Housing Delivery Action Plan. While Clare does not have a specific affordability target, it has identified localised affordability need in key urban locations where new households being formed would not be able to access housing for purchase or rent at prices/rents affordable to them.
The Affordable Housing Fund (AHF) is open and available to support all local authorities to address any affordability needs identified in their area.
In this context, my Department has been liaising with Clare in the development of its affordable housing delivery programme to respond appropriately to identified need in its area.
To date Clare has received funding approval from the AHF to assist in the delivery of 10 affordable purchase homes at Shannon. A further application for a proposed affordable purchase scheme at Ennis was received by the Department on 8 December 2023 and is currently under assessment. My Department, along with the Housing Agency and the Housing Delivery Coordination Office of the Local Government Management Agency will continue to advise and support Clare in respect of its planned response to affordable housing needs in its area.
