Pat Rabbitte
Question:110 Deputy Pat Rabbitte asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of local authorities that have heritage officers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35811/09]
Other Questions.
Local Authority Staff.
Heritage officers play an important role in ensuring support for heritage activities and organisations at local level. Since 1999, the Heritage Council, under the aegis of my Department, has developed a partnership programme with local authorities to facilitate the employment of heritage officers. To date, my Department has provided funding of €5.15 million, including this year's allocation of €550,000, to the Heritage Council for the programme. There are 28 local authorities with heritage officers in the programme.
The employment of heritage officers is a matter in the first instance for each local authority. Local authorities that participate in the programme are eligible for financial assistance from the Heritage Council towards the cost of employing a heritage officer. The Heritage Council also organises training courses and seminars that facilitate the professional development of heritage officers.
There is great variety in the projects supported by heritage officers across the country. These projects have included survey work, development control and forward planning, biodiversity enhancement, allocation of heritage grants, and facilitating partner groups and organisations.
The Minister referred to 28 heritage officers and I presume this refers to 28 local authorities. Are these local authorities at city council and county council level or are some town councils? Is there anything in train to ensure the other local authorities have heritage officers?
The Minister made the point that there is a need for a more sustainable planning. From the point of view of the Heritage Council, sustainable planning is linked to the protection of our heritage. Heritage officers could play an important role in ensuring we do not make mistakes of the past and in ensuring we have sustainable planning and we protect the environment and heritage.
Our economy can be built on new sources of income. An obvious area for Ireland is heritage and environmental tourism. What role does the Minister see heritage officers playing?
Heritage officers can make a major contribution in promoting tourism activities in the local authority area. On every occasion that I launched a book when members of the Heritage Council were present I stated that it is my strongly held view that we should have heritage officers in each local authority area. That is not the case. However, where they are in place it has made a tremendous difference. In 1999, at the inception of the heritage officer programme the number of heritage officers employed was only three. After five years the number had risen to 25 and the number of heritage officers reached its peak in 2008 with the employment of 28 heritage officers. It has remained at that level since then. Since the introduction in March of the general moratorium on the filling of public sector posts in local authorities, the level of employment in the sector has decreased. However, the number of heritage officers employed has remained at its peak of 28.
Recently, the Department of Finance approved a delegated sanction to my Department for implementation of the general moratorium on condition that the overall staffing levels in the local authority sector are to be reduced significantly by the end of 2010 in adherence with the Government's policy on staffing and numbers in the public sector. When I have been contacted about these issues I have made it very clear that it is very important to keep in place heritage and conservation officers because I consider the job they do to be vital.
The Minister mentioned that many staff might be surplus to requirement in sections of local authorities. This is the type of work that they could do and I support the Minister on that view. There are many legacy issues and work that needed to be done which was put on the long finger because of the Celtic tiger. Will the Minister issue a circular to local authorities to appoint heritage officers, deal with heritage issues within their resources and existing staff and establish a retraining programme?
It is the case that if they wish local authorities can appoint heritage officers with the assistance of the Heritage Council. The Deputy is aware that because of budgetary constraints grants to the Heritage Council, which is based in his native city and which does a very fine job, have had to be cut somewhat although not as much as could otherwise have been the case. The points Deputy Hogan made on demarcation and the fact that we do not have enough flexibility in the public service are valid. We need to seriously examine how we employ people and the type of job they can do effectively. I believe that type of strict demarcation belongs to another era. We have 30,000 civil servants and 300,000 public servants. I do not see why people in the public service working in the environmental section of a local authority cannot come to my Department; that does not make any sense to me.
The point made by Deputy Hogan is very important. Local authorities will not need as many planning officials as they did because there will be fewer planning applications to administer. People in planning might be the right people to put into the roles of heritage officers. It is important that rather than stating this as an aspiration, the Government implements it. This is the most important public service reform of all. We need to keep jobs in the public sector but we need to deploy them to where they are needed.
The Minister stated that numbers in the public sector must be reduced because that is Government policy. Does this mean the Government has adopted the McCarthy report? I thought it had not.
No, we have not; the McCarthy report is still a list of recommendations. I made these points previously but Deputy Tuffy was not in the Chamber at the time. I made precisely the same point that Deputy Tuffy made, that people in planning departments have little enough to do compared to during the boom. The problem is with regard to public service unions and demarcation and that is a real difficulty. I have succeeded somewhat — not the extent that I would like — in giving people in those departments extra work from An Bord Pleanála. However, I must be candid and state that it is not as effective as I would like it to be. When I see the amount of people available and the amount of work is required I do not see the required results, frankly. I want to ensure that we can get greater flexibility in the public service. It is a real issue that political parties over the years and successive Governments have failed to tackle and I hope this Administration will tackle it.
Water Quality.
Jim O'Keeffe
Question:111 Deputy Jim O’Keeffe asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the problem regarding green algae on beaches from the Old Head of Kinsale to Rosscarbery in County Cork; if he will ensure that the necessary funding is provided and schemes approved for the provision of sewerage treatment plants in Courtmacsherry and Timoleague and the upgrading of facilities in Clonakilty and Rosscarbery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35764/09]
I am glad to see Deputy Jim O'Keeffe here because I know this part of the country well.
I am delighted.
I am aware that there have been recurrent problems with green algae on a number of beaches in County Cork. Various factors can contribute to the formation of green algae, which is due to excessive nutrients entering water, including from run-off from land due to intensive agricultural practices, septic tanks or discharges of untreated wastewater.
The draft south-western river basin management plan identifies the full range of water quality issues in the area covered by the plan, including Cork county and city, and sets out how it is proposed to manage the rivers, lakes, groundwaters and coastal waters covered by the plan to ensure their protection. The plan, being finalised by the relevant local authorities, will contain a programme of measures to address these challenges, including the identification of any necessary waste water infrastructure.
In addition, my colleague the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has established a task force representative of a number of stakeholders, including my Department, to advise him and Cork County Council on various aspects of the green algae at Coolmaine, Harbour View, Inchydoney and Ring beaches.
Proposals to upgrade and improve the wastewater infrastructure at Clonakilty, Courtmacsherry, Rosscarbery and Timoleague are currently at various stages of planning under my Department's Water Services Investment Programme 2007–09. Local authorities have been asked to submit an assessment of needs for water and sewerage services to my Department by the end of next week as a key input to the development of the 2010 to 2012 water services investment programme. In conducting their assessments, local authorities have been asked to prioritise schemes and contracts for progression over the coming years based on key environmental and economic criteria.
It is appropriate that we have a Green Party Minister to deal with green algae in west Cork. The problem is that he is not dealing with it and that is my difficulty. I am very glad I do not have to tell him about Coolmaine and Inchydoney beaches because he knows them. However, if had visited them in the past year or two he would hardly have recognised them because of the problems there. I want to press him very strongly on this issue because serious public health issues are raised and much damage is being caused to the environment.
The tourism industry is also being badly damaged. Last weekend, people booked out of hotels in Clonakilty and the Minister knows the effort that town makes in the Tidy Towns and Entente Florale competitions. It is a disgrace that these issues have not been dealt with at official level. Apart from all of this, there is the matter of community use. My kids used to go to Coolmaine beach and I used to go swimming there with them. One can no longer go to Coolmaine beach during most of the summer. The local people are affected.
I want to press the Minister on two issues. The first is the management plan on the green algae, or "sea lettuce" as it is called. I understand expert groups are meeting and a major meeting is taking place today, whether by coincidence or otherwise. The second issue is to stop this occurring. There is no doubt that the lack of a treatment plant in Courtmacsherry, which has been on the cards for past six years, and the need to upgrade the Clonakilty and Rosscarbery facilities play a part. These issues are directly under the control of the Minister and they have been delayed repeatedly.
I know the area as I used to holiday in Timoleague and I know this problem has existed for years. When I was on holidays there more than ten years ago I could see the algae on the beach. If one went down to Dunworley one could see the green algae there and it was very clear. This is coming from run-off nutrients from farming practices and septic tanks. We must deal first with the point sources. While the Department allocates the moneys for the water services investment programme, the local authority is responsible for the schemes. It is unfair for Deputy Jim O'Keeffe to claim I am responsible for all these local authorities and must make them do their work. I cannot do that. I can, however, give the Deputy some idea of where the various projects stand.
The three schemes in question amount to an investment of €122 million. Cork County Council is preparing the contract documents for the Clonakilty water and sewerage scheme with a view to seeking tenders next year. My Department is assessing the additional information on the Courtmacsherry and Timoleague water and sewerage scheme which was just received from Cork County Council to determine whether to approve the council's revised preliminary reports for it. The report sets out the scale, scope and costs of the scheme. In April I met with a delegation from the area about the scheme. The meeting's focus was on the affordability of the scheme as a substantial element of it falls to be funded by the council under the water pricing policy.
I am more than happy to give the Deputy more information on the Rosscarbery and Owenahincha scheme.
I would be pleased to receive that extra information. Regarding the treatment plant in Courtmacsherry, I am not blaming the Minister for the delay as he has only been in office for two years and this has been going on for years. I would have thought, however, that he would have pushed it to a conclusion. All that happens is that a scheme's proposals are sent back and forth to the Department with added proposals for six months at a time.
The Minister referred to revised proposals just received by his Department regarding the Courtmacsherry-Timoleague scheme. Last May I received a reply to a parliamentary question that the Department was examining a revised preliminary report for the same scheme. This was supposed to be included in the 2007 to 2009 investment programme. There is no way it will be built now before the end of the year. Will the Minister give an absolute commitment that he will give priority, as far as he can and in so far as his Department is concerned, to clear this problem?
Yes, I will. While the Deputy is concerned about this, there are members of the Cabinet who go on holidays to the spots in question.
The Cabinet should know Inchydoney.
They also want this matter cleared up. I have been aware of this problem for some time.
One could not invite them down there any more.
There is no getting away from the fact that it must be dealt with at point source. We have some work to do in this country not to be in denial about the problems associated with agricultural run-off and septic tanks. There are too many parties which do not want to know about these problems because they are difficult issues with which to deal. Building water treatment plants is fine but we must go beyond that in examining the cause of the problem.
We could have a new REP scheme for the farmers.
I am pleased the Minister said he will clean the greens out of the water.
I have been informed by Fingal County Council that it takes ten years to deliver a water treatment plant. How can the Minister stand over this unacceptably slow delivery of plants nationwide? In north County Dublin——
Is this related to Deputy Jim O'Keeffe's question?
This is related to the Courtmacsherry question but it is a generalisation——
I am sure it is and I am waiting to hear how.
Will the Leas-Cheann Comhairle give me a little latitude? The people of Swords, Donabate, Rush and Lusk——
Deputy Reilly, please.
Our beaches have lost their blue flags.
I am sure Deputy Reilly knows how to put down a parliamentary question.
I have been told by health experts that if 10,000 people visit a north Dublin beach on a summer weekend, which is easily the case at Skerries, Donabate——
Please, Deputy, you are being unfair to your colleagues in trying to muscle in on their questions.
——then 1,000 of them could fall ill if the water were contaminated.
That is worthy of its own question.
Water quality is dropping. What steps will the Minister take to address it?
We will move on to Question No. 112.
Is it not reasonable to ask what the Minister will do to address this deficiency in our local authorities? He is the Minister responsible for the environment.
That is entirely beyond the scope of this question. The Deputy knows that and he is capable of drafting a question about north Dublin.
I have no problem, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, if Deputy Reilly wants to ask a question after the west Cork plants.
Planning Issues.
Frank Feighan
Question:112 Deputy Frank Feighan asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will draft new planning guidelines for the proper development and maintenance of village and urban centres for the benefit of local communities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35950/09]
The proper planning and sustainable development of urban and village centres is underpinned by the legislative and regulatory frameworks set out in planning legislation and supported by the extensive suite of statutory planning guidance already in place. New draft guidelines in preparation will provide further support in these regards.
Building on the 2007 guidelines for planning authorities on development plans, which comprehensively deal with the function, content, process and implementation of development plans as a blueprint for the economic and social development of cities and towns, including their central areas, my Department published guidelines for planning authorities on sustainable residential development in urban areas in December 2008.
These promote high quality, sustainable residential development at all levels of the urban hierarchy, including towns and villages. The guidelines provide more specific advice on co-ordinated planning and development of such areas. Best practice examples and processes to implement the guidelines were also provided in an accompanying urban design manual.
The 2005 retail planning guidelines for planning authorities also support the vibrancy and vitality of city, town and village centres. My Department intends to commence a focussed review of these guidelines before the end of the year, which will consider how town centres can be further enhanced and revitalised through sustainable retail planning policies. In addition, my Department is preparing draft guidelines on local area plans which are increasingly used in the planning of strategic developments within an urban and suburban context.
There has been much bad planning in towns and villages across the country. Many housing estates have been left unfinished with no proper facilities. It is important, therefore, these guidelines are drawn up and issued as soon as possible. In one estate in the Dublin North-East constituency a town centre was to be built and a DART station brought on-line but neither has happened. Will the Minister guarantee that the provision of proper facilities will be included in these new guidelines and be put on a statutory footing?
Only last week, we introduced the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2009 in the Seanad which will ensure the highest standards in planning and development. For the first time, a local authority's regional planning guidelines will have to have regard to and comply with the national spatial strategy. I have also introduced measures which ensure new residential developments will be built near public transport facilities, crèches and playing areas which is what good planning is about.
Planning is not about buildings but about people. In the past, we tended to forget about this aspect. It is only when one has people-centred planning that it makes sense and people's quality of life is enhanced. I hope the Deputy will see the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill contains many good provisions and as a consequence support it.
Proposed Legislation.
Joe McHugh
Question:113 Deputy Joe McHugh asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government when he expects to bring to Cabinet legislation that will create a directly elected mayor for Dublin that was promised to be in place in 2010; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35968/09]
Michael D. Higgins
Question:156 Deputy Michael D. Higgins asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will bring legislation before the Houses of the Oireachtas in autumn 2009 to provide for directly elected mayors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35822/09]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 113 and 156 together.
On 12 May 2009 I announced the Government decided to introduce a directly elected mayor for the Dublin region in 2010. This decision arises from the commitment in the programme for Government to introduce a directly elected mayor of Dublin and from the considerations in the Green Paper on local government which I published in April 2008.
A central theme of the Green Paper on local government is the need for a renewal of local democratic leadership. The Government's decision to introduce a directly elected mayor of Dublin will deliver significantly strengthened leadership for the city and region, with enhanced accountability and a direct connection with the citizen. My Department is drafting the necessary legislation and it is my intention that the mayor will be equipped with a suite of substantial powers across the functions of local government, and will have the authority and powers to deliver real leadership for the city and region. The mayor will act primarily as a strategic policy maker who will also work to integrate the activities of local government and the wider public service in and across Dublin. The details of the mayor's responsibilities will be set out in legislation.
The Government decision on the Dublin mayor marks the first phase of the transformation of local government in accordance with the programme for Government. Given my intention that mayoral elections will be held next year, it will be necessary to have the relevant legislation in place well in advance. To these ends, I will be bringing my legislation proposals to Government in the coming weeks.
The Minister's response is a wee bit flowery. I know he will respond by saying that the specifics will be in the legislation, but at this stage we need to put some meat on the bones because several questions need to be answered even before we reach the legislative stage. For example, what are the powers of this proposed mayor in respect of rezoning and the draft development plan, a power that county councillors hold under a statutory instrument? How will the mayor affect this process? Questions arise about staffing, salary, the expense of creating the office, the term of the office and powers. There is an onus on us to put this up for debate because there are many questions. One might ask why I, as a Donegal man, am asking about the Dublin mayor but I want to know if this will be rolled out nationally. Will Dublin be a pilot? Will Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo, and Cork all have directly elected mayors? If the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government is still in office in 2010 when the mayor is elected, what will his relationship be with the mayor? Many questions need to be answered.
I hope I will have a good relationship with the person elected, even if it is a Fine Gael person. Fine Gael has supported this proposal. One of Deputy McHugh's colleagues raised it on the Adjournment and I set out the responsibilities involved in a little more detail then. If the Deputy wishes, I can repeat them: setting the framework for the future; the physical development of Dublin city and the region by setting out regional planning guidelines which Dublin local authorities must abide by; delivering a reliable, sustainable, integrated public transport in Dublin by leading the Dublin Transportation Authority, following the London model; ensuring the delivery of an environmentally sustainable approach to waste management in Dublin by proposing and overseeing the implementation of the Dublin region waste management plan; maximising conservation and efficient use of water resources and the safe treatment of waste water through proposing and overseeing the implementation of the Dublin regional water services plan; promoting a dynamic city region which is enterprising and renowned for its rich culture and heritage by bringing all key public and private sectors together in a new regional development board; promoting quality housing and sustainable communities; promoting the protection and enhancement of Dublin's environment; and a range of other areas. This will be set out in the legislation.
We feel it will not impose significant costs. They will be found within the existing financial arrangements. Given the broad support we have received for this initiative from the Dublin Chamber of Commerce and others, we feel that it will be successful. It will be a real legacy and something of which we can all be proud.
The Minister is aware that the Labour Party pioneered the concept of a directly elected lord mayor of Dublin. Does he intend to extend this to other cities? Is this the only aspect of the White Paper that will be implemented? It belongs in the context of local government reform but where are the rest of those reforms? The election of mayors should be tied to the local election period and, while I know there is a sequencing issue in respect of the legislation, does the Minister envisage that the first term of office will be on the current five year schedule for local government elections?
Yes, that was the intention. We need to broaden our concept of local government. We are committed to a Dublin mayor. I did not know that the Labour Party pioneered the issue but that raises the question why it did not do anything about it.
We were not in office.
I do not know how long ago that was or the circumstances. We need, however, to rethink the structures of local government. What we have now is an inherited British model but is it suitable to our modern State and does it have the dynamism and flexibility to deal with the issues? The answer is probably "No". We must reinvent it. It may be a difficult transition but we need to be quite radical. The mayoralty is only one aspect of that, but if we are to have more dynamic local authorities with fewer people on them, it raises the question about the number of people in this Dáil. Should we have a slimmed-down Dáil? That question does not go down too well in this House.
I think it does.
Does it?
The Minister is the one who should be worried, not us.
I never detect great enthusiasm for creating a——
Will the Minister return to the question about sequencing?
That is absolutely right. That is why I brought this forward.
When does the Minister expect to advertise the position?
I am not going to advertise the position.
It will be an election.
The Minister might run.
There will be an election so there will be no advertisement in the newspaper. We will hold a democratic election. People can put their names forward in the normal way and it should be a very interesting election.
When?
Next year, as I told the Deputy.
Next year is a long time.
The Minister may confirm or reject the revelations in The Sunday Tribune at the weekend. I do not assume that everything I read in the papers is true but it seems that a survey of voter attitudes in Dublin south east was commissioned at the cost of €12,000 which was subsequently charged to the Minister’s Department.
I am not sure this is relevant to the question about the Dublin mayor.
It is very relevant. Red C carried out the opinion poll on voter attitudes in Dublin south east. As part of that were any surveys done or questions asked about the Dublin mayoralty, what voters thought of it, or the kind of candidate they might wish to support?
The Department did not pay for it. I paid for it. I do not recall questions about the Dublin mayoralty. It will enhance the city greatly and has been called for by the Dublin Chamber of Commerce. The role would evolve. If one talks to Ken Livingstone, for example, he will say that initially people were sceptical about the London mayoralty. He told me he, too, was sceptical and voted against the legislation when it came to the House of Commons although later, of course, he was a passionate advocate for the role of the mayor in London. People will criticise this move and say it is only starting off and that perhaps the Minister should award more radical powers. I believe the role will have sufficient powers. The person can be assured he or she will have powers to do a good job for this city. Whoever he or she may be, if I am in office as Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, that person will have my full co-operation.
The Minister made the point that the mayoralty is only part of what he hopes to do for local government. It will be welcome. A directly elected mayor is an idea worth trying, especially for Dublin, to see how it will work out and evolve. That said, we should not lose sight of the importance of the role of the ordinary county and city councillor. These people are at the coal face and are often able to achieve things that perhaps Deputies and the Opposition cannot. There is no separation of Government and Opposition on local authorities.
The Minister made a point about reducing the number of councillors. I would guard against that because we do not want politics to become totally professionalised and a full-time job. The good point about councils is that they still have a certain number of people who come from and work in the community. They have other jobs and experiences which they can bring to their work as local county councillors. We need to keep that.
I hope that in whatever the Minister does he will not allow the media to drive the agenda. In reality, there are not too many Deputies. Professor Michael Gallagher of Trinity College has said the number of Irish parliamentarians is in line with that in other countries of similar size to Ireland. There is a tendency for us to go along with the media agenda. The Minister mentioned the election of faceless people from lists who would be picked by party membership. We should not do only what the media says but should do what is good for democratic representation in this country.
This is well outside the scope of the question, interesting as it is. I am not sure if the Minister wishes to air his views.
I did not recommend any system along the lines of what exists in Germany where party apparatchiks put people in place. The list or top-up system I had in mind would be based on those people who stood in elections and the percentage vote they received. That allows the election to be personalised. I am not going along with any media agenda but simply proceeding with what I think is best.
The Deputy's point in respect of councillors is fine. However, as the Deputy knows, we discovered there has been a significant turnover of councillors, particularly on Dublin City Council. We must ask ourselves why this is the case. Some have complained the work was not compatible with their work commitments and was not paying enough. There were many complaints. The Deputy's basic point is that it is good to have people from different professions represented and that is fair. However, there are clear difficulties that must be addressed and that is what I hope to do in the forthcoming legislation, particularly in the White Paper.
Written Answers follow Adjournment Debate.