Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 4 Mar 2010

Vol. 704 No. 2

Adjournment Debate (Resumed).

Local Authority Housing.

Deputy Jack Wall

I raise this issue in the knowledge that practically on a daily basis, Members on all sides of the House raise matters from their own constituencies in respect of housing loans. Usually, the banking sector receives the brunt of the complaints in this regard, to the effect that it is not dealing with those who are unfortunate enough to be in such a position. However, it has recently come to my attention that in addition to such problems, local authorities also have particular problems regarding housing loans they allocated to people in their communities. In this regard, I asked the Oireachtas Library to carry out a survey on shared ownerships by local authorities to ascertain the position in respect of payments being in arrears. Amazingly, 43% of the loans nationwide were in severe financial difficulty. For example, 42.8% of the loans in the Minister of State's own constituency of Dún Laoghaire were in arrears, while 36% of the loans in my constituency in County Kildare are in arrears. I raised this matter with Kildare County Council's housing section and the main problem identified by the officials there, who are ever-helpful to those who are unfortunate enough to be in such difficulties, was that it was not within their remit to do anything regarding the arrangements with which the person concerned drew down the loan. When I questioned the official further in this regard, she replied that she had investigated the matter and had found that section 34 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) 2009 had not had a ministerial order applied to it. This section bears reading and should be read into the record of the House. Section 34(2) states:

Where there are moneys due and owing by a household to a housing authority under any of the provisions to which this section applies and the housing authority is satisfied that the household would otherwise suffer undue hardship, the housing authority may enter into arrangements with the household for the payment of those moneys (together with any interest that may have accrued under section 33(2)) by such instalments and at such times as the housing authority considers reasonable in all the circumstances in addition to any rent, charges, fees or loan repayments that the household is paying to the authority.

Although both Government and Opposition Members criticise the banks, the Government itself probably is a greater problem to many people in this respect, in that it has failed to implement its own legislation. The Government has not enabled local authorities to deal with those who are unfortunate enough to be in financial difficulties. Having spoken to my local authority, this is what it wishes to do. The person at the desk of the local authority does not wish to state consistently to those concerned that the council has no means available to it to deal in any way with a person's case, other than to demand that all the payments be made that are required by legislation or under the guidelines regarding the loan and that the authority is obliged to adopt such strict criteria.

The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government talks the world over about all the wonderful things he is doing. However, when it comes to the basic function of protecting the family homes of these people, he will not apply this provision. While he applied section 35 in respect of antisocial behaviour, he has refused to implement the necessary provision to protect the family home. This is a joke. As I noted, the percentage of loans in arrears in Dún Laoghaire is 42%. In the Minister's own region of Dublin city, out of 1,652 loans, 719, or 43%, are in trouble. He has the capacity to do something about which Members argue daily in respect of what the banks are not doing but he will not do so. This is a disgrace and given the numbers I have provided to him in respect of his own constituency, I ask the Minister of State to bring this matter to the attention of the relevant Minister, be it Deputy Gormley or the Minister of State, Deputy Finneran. They should ensure the application of a ministerial order as soon as possible to allow the officials of local authorities to deal humanely with those who are in financial difficulties with regard to housing loans they have obtained from the local authorities.

Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children (Deputy Barry Andrews)

I thank Deputy Wall for raising this important matter. First, it is important to put on record once more that the Government is extremely conscious of the high value Irish people place on home ownership. The Government has brought forward a range of measures to support and protect families having difficulties with their home mortgage payments. The single most important advice for any borrower facing difficulties in meeting repayments, whether his or her mortgage is with a local authority or otherwise, is to engage early, proactively and constructively with his or her lender to seek to achieve an agreed solution. To date there is no evidence to suggest that wider economic circumstances are creating problems specifically for local authority borrowers in meeting mortgage repayments. The local authority service indicators for 2008, published in June 2009, show local authority mortgage arrears levels running at 11.7%, a marginal increase on the level in 2007, which stood at 11.6%.

Deputy Jack Wall

In that case, the Oireachtas Library must be telling lies.

Acting Chairman

The Deputy knows he is not allowed to use that word.

Deputy Jack Wall

The Minister of State should check the Oireachtas Library.

Deputy Barry Andrews

Similarly, despite worsening economic conditions generally, repossession remains extremely rare for local authority borrowers, with only three repossessions carried out by local authorities last year.

Local authority borrowers have received considerable protection from the worst effects of the downturn in terms of their borrowing costs. The effective rate for borrowers has come down by 3% since October 2008 and now stands at just 2.25%. These rates represent exceptional value by comparison to rates charged by commercial lenders and at present, the local authority rate is more than 0.9% lower than the average market variable rate.

Section 34 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 enables a housing authority to enter into an arrangement with a household for the rescheduling of payments of accumulated arrears, including interest, due to it in respect of specified rents, equity charges and loans, where the authority is satisfied that the household would otherwise suffer undue hardship. While work is continuing on the preparation of the regulations, directions and guidance necessary to enable the remaining provisions of the 2009 Act to be commenced over the coming months, this section has not yet been commenced. However, even without the provisions of section 34, local authorities have extensive powers under legislation already in place to deal flexibly with borrowers facing difficulty in meeting mortgage repayments.

Provisions on lending by local authorities for the purposes of house purchases are set out in section 11 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992. Where a loan stands in default, section 11(10) provides that a local authority may make such monetary arrangements with a borrower as it considers equitable to take account of the particular circumstances of the borrower. Local authorities can and do exercise the powers available to them under this section and endeavour to engage proactively and constructively with a distressed borrower with the aim of enabling a household to remain in that home. The available data strongly bear this out and suggest that repossession, where it does occur, is always a last resort.

Nevertheless, the Minister of State with responsibility for housing and local services, Deputy Finneran, is committed to supporting consistency of approach and ensuring best practice across all local authority areas. He is developing guidance based on the regulator's code of conduct to ensure that cases of local authority mortgage arrears are handled in a manner that is sympathetic to the needs of the particular household, while also protecting the position of the local authority concerned. He intends to issue this guidance in the coming weeks.

Planning Issues.

Deputy Noel Ahern

A retail unit in my constituency is built, fitted out, stocked and ready to open, serve the community and provide employment. The problem is that it cannot open because of a national disagreement on interpretation between the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and local authorities, in this instance Dublin City Council. My constituent, the owner of the premises, wants but cannot get a fire regularisation certificate. Under the Building Control Act 2007, the Department issued SI 351, Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2009. I am told there is a dispute between all local authorities and the Minister's office regarding the interpretation of the statutory instrument. As a result, no fire regularisation certificates have been issued anywhere this year. If so, it is a disgrace that needs early attention. Will the Minister of State, who is standing in for the Minister, Deputy Gormley, sort out the overall issue and the case I am raising, the details of which have been given?

It has been suggested that a line in the regulations asks the fire officer to certify that the works, as constructed, comply with the regulations. Were "as" changed to "if", all would be well, everyone would be happy and the certificates could flow nationally. Will the Department issue an amended statutory instrument or some other solution that would lead to the opening of my constituent's shop being approved, pending clarification of the national dispute? The owner has made a considerable investment and the building, which is three or four storeys high, was built two or three years ago. Apartments are overhead and the retail unit was recently outfitted at an approximate cost of €250,000. Will the Department take some action to allow this shop to be opened, even on a temporary basis? The interpretation of the statutory instrument could be sorted out afterwards.

For five years, I was a Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. I will not say that I know where some of the bodies are, but I have a slight knowledge of the Department and I can read between the lines to some extent. There seems to be confusion and non-co-operation between two sections of the Department, namely, the building control and fire sections. If so, it is a disgrace and the issue should be sorted out. It has been suggested that there will be an informal meeting in the Department tomorrow, but we are not even sure whether senior officials from the two sections will be present in the same room. Some people seem to believe that there is no problem and that, if they ignore it, it will go away.

Deputy Pat Breen

They are all greens now.

Deputy Noel Ahern

I did not say that. Will the Minister of State, Deputy Barry Andrews, contact the Minister, Deputy Gormley, and raise the status of tomorrow's meeting? He should instruct that the relevant officials from both sections attend and that it be turned into a decision making meeting. Let us have action on the national issue and my constituent's problem.

Deputy Barry Andrews

I thank Deputy Noel Ahern for raising the matter of regularisation certificates and reassure him that there is no dispute between the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and local authorities in this regard.

In terms of the construction of new buildings, including apartment blocks and dwellings, and extensions to, material alterations of and certain changes of use of existing buildings, the legal requirements are set out in the building control code. The Building Control Regulations 1997 set out the requirements for fire safety. A comprehensive suite of related technical guidance documents provides detailed guidance on how to comply with the regulations. Part III of the 1997 regulations provides for the issuing of a fire safety certificate, FSC, by a building control authority. The FSC certifies that the work or building, if constructed in accordance with the plans, documents and information submitted, complies with the fire safety requirements of the regulations. A certificate is required for building work in categories specified in the regulations, including the construction or material alteration of commercial premises, places of work and assembly, institutional buildings and apartment blocks.

The Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2009 provided, inter alia, for the introduction on 1 October 2009 of new measures to improve the fire safety certification regime. Article 20C of the regulations provides for the issuing of a regularisation certificate by a building control authority in respect of buildings commenced or completed without a FSC where such a certificate is required. This measure was introduced to assist building owners who wished to bring their buildings into compliance with the building code.

The regularisation certificate may be granted by the building control authority with or without conditions or refused. An application for a certificate must include a statutory declaration from the applicant that the works carried out are in compliance with the fire safety requirements of the regulations. The authority is empowered to specify that the certificate will not have effect unless any conditions or additional works required by the authority are carried out within a period of four months after it is granted. Responsibility for compliance with the regulations rests with the builder and the owner of a building. Enforcement of the regulations is a matter for the local building control authority, which is empowered to carry out inspections and initiate enforcement proceedings if necessary.

The issue of a regularisation certificate in respect of the development to which the Deputy refers is the responsibility of Dublin City Council. The Minister understands that an application for a certificate was received on 8 February 2010 for the proposed fit-out of a retail unit located in an existing sheltered housing development at 105 Marewood Crescent, Ballymun, Dublin 11. This may be the development the Deputy has in mind.

On 15 February, the fire officer contacted the fire safety consultant dealing with the application with regard to incomplete documentation submitted, namely, the statutory declaration and the application form. On 17 February, additional information was received and is being assessed. The application is due for decision on or before 7 April. There is a statutory period of up to two months, which may be extended by agreement, for assessment of an application for a regularisation certificate. The council timescale is in accordance with the building code.

Deputy Noel Ahern

That reply was written by one section and the other section has not been consulted. They are in denial.

Deputy Barry Andrews

The Deputy should have carried out reforms while he was there.

Acting Chairman

As he stated, he knows where the bodies are. He should not rise to my comment.

Special Educational Needs.

Deputy Pat Breen

I am the last man standing this evening. I take this opportunity to thank the Ceann Comhairle for facilitating me in raising in an Adjournment debate what is an important matter for parents in east County Clare. The position of a special educational needs organiser, SENO, has been vacant in that area since September 2009 and the non-filling of the vacancy is having a significant impact on the area's most vulnerable children. The National Council for Special Education, NCSE, employs SENOs to be responsible for allocating additional teaching and other resource to support children with special needs at local level. The failure, for the past six months, to appoint a special educational needs organiser, SENO, for the east Clare area, which includes all the secondary schools in Ennis, means that applications for children who have been identified, assessed and recommended for resource teaching support or special needs assistance are not being processed since the school year began last September.

Heretofore there were three SENOs employed in County Clare. One dealt with east Clare, including parts of north Tipperary, one with the west Clare area and the third with cases in the south west and south east areas of the county, including parts of west Limerick. Since the vacancy for a SENO in east Clare arose, the area has been left without service. The two existing SENOs support schools in their own areas and are already overloaded with cases. In the past six months they were expected to deal with an additional workload from east Clare. As a result, envelopes containing applications for help for children in the east Clare area have not been opened and files are piling up.

The provision of special needs assistants, SNAs, and resource teachers has proved a lifeline for many children. A mother of a special needs child from Mount Shannon in east Clare recently spoke on the local radio station, Clare FM, about her experience and how her daughter had benefited from the SNA scheme. She said: "It has made such a difference to my daughter's life. She is now accepted by other children in the school and she is reaching her full potential." These are very touching words.

Early education is a key step in a child's development and early intervention is vital. These children in east Clare desperately require assistance and are being discriminated against on the basis of the geographical location of their schools. They have been left sitting in their classrooms without the additional support they require since last September. The situation is deplorable and cannot be allowed to continue. The provision of resource teacher supports and special needs assistants has played a pivotal role in the integration of children with special needs in mainstream classrooms and is helping to break the cycle of stigma.

Parents of special needs children must battle against many obstacles in the fight to get a fair deal for their children. The father of a child from east Clare expressed his frustration at the current situation when I met him last week. He said: "I have no one to talk to about my daughter's case. When I rang Limerick I was told it was not in my area."

As Henry Van Dyke said: "Teach your students to use what talents they have. The woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those who sing best." Thankfully, parents and teachers are breaking the silence to speak up for these children. They are extremely concerned that these children will never reach their potential and will be left behind to spend their lives trying to catch up. A threat is already hanging over many of these parents with the uncertainty regarding the number of special needs assistants who may receive P45s shortly.

The National Council for Special Education is currently reviewing the allocation of these posts, on foot of a request from the Department. The criteria for this review is too restrictive. It does not take into consideration the child's needs to access the curriculum and there is no appeals mechanism for schools and parents. If these SNAs are lost to our schools, it will be a backward step in the education of our children with special needs.

I appeal to the Minister of State to bring this matter to the attention of the Minister and ask him to reconsider his position on this matter. I want a commitment that the vacant position for a special educational needs organiser will be filled immediately. I understand the position has been advertised. I want priority given to the special needs of these children. I want to see the backlog of cases in east Clare dealt with and I do not want to see more delays. Further delays in appointing an organiser will be a further disadvantage to these children. I hope the Minister of State will have good news this evening.

Deputy Barry Andrews

I am replying to this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue as it gives me an opportunity to clarify the position in relation to the matter raised by him. An important feature of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 was the setting up of the National Council for Special Education, NCSE. The council was formally established on 1 October 2005 and was set up to improve the delivery of education services to persons with special educational needs arising from disabilities, with particular emphasis on children.

The council's remit includes the provision of a range of educational services at local and national level for students with special educational needs. In particular, its network of 89 special education needs organisers, SENOs, including 12 senior SENO positions based in over 40 NCSE offices throughout the State, co-ordinates special needs education provision at local level and arranges for the delivery of special educational services. They act as single points of contact for parents of students with special educational needs, schools and the health sector where appropriate. The responsibility for the deployment of the SENOs rests with the council. The NCSE is responsible, through its SENOs, for allocating special education supports, including resource teachers and SNAs to schools to support children with special educational needs. The council operates within the Department's criteria in allocating such support. It has advised the Department that an SENO post in the council's Ennis office, covering east County Clare and north County Tipperary became vacant unexpectedly during the current academic year.

Having regard to the priority importance of front line SENO services, the council sought derogation from the moratorium on the filling of posts in the public service. I am pleased to advise the Deputy that this has been approved by the Departments of Education and Science and Finance. I understand that arrangements are now being made by the council to fill the post in question through the Public Appointments Service. It is expected that the appointment will be made shortly.

I assure the House that when temporary SENO vacancies arise from time to time, for a variety of reasons, the council seeks to provide such cover from within existing resources. The council has advised the Department that temporary SENO cover is being provided in relation to the district to which he refers.

I am also pleased to advise the House that in the context of enhancing the capacity of the council to co-ordinate the provision of services to children with special needs, approval has been given to the council for a further two new SENO posts. The council is also making arrangements for the deployment and filling of these posts. I thank the Deputy for raising the matter.

Deputy Pat Breen

I thank the Minister of State for that reply.

The Dáil adjourned at 6.30 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 9 March 2010.