Vol. 719 No. 1
66 Deputy Simon Coveney asked the Minister for the Environment; Heritage and Local Government his response to the communication from the European Union Commission threatening fines against the Government in respect of the remediation work at Haulbowline island in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37471/10]
A complaint was received from the European Commission in May 2009, through the EU pilot pre-infringement process, concerning the regulatory status of the former Irish ISPAT site at Haulbowline. Ireland wrote to the Commission in October 2009 setting out the current position. A response from the Commission is still awaited under this process.
Ireland's response to the additional letter of formal notice relating to the 2005 judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Communities in case C-494/01 is being formulated and will be forwarded to the Commission in the two months provided for under article 260(2) of the EU treaty. While this letter references the former Irish ISPAT site on the issue of a valid waste authorisation, this site did not form part of the original judgment.
Consideration of the regulatory requirements relevant to the site falls within the terms of reference of the Office of Public Works-led working group established by the Government to develop a structured and coherent approach to the site's further management and development. The future use of the site will influence the levels and extent of further works and remediation required, as well as helping to clarify the further regulatory requirements which may fall to be met. The Environmental Protection Agency has been in contact with the Office of Public Works on the regulatory requirements applicable to the site.
It is important to recognise the State has spent approximately €50 million on remediation work on Haulbowline including on investigations, surveys, site works and waste disposal. The bulk of this expenditure was incurred since 2007.
Does the Minister agree that the site is still a mess and the remediation work unfinished? Will he confirm all regulatory requirements and licensing matters are being observed at the site? Is the site in accordance with relevant EU directives and law?
Irish ISPAT applied for and was granted an integrated pollution control licence by the EPA. However, the company went into liquidation before the conditions in the licence could be met. The liquidator applied to the High Court seeking to disclaim the integrated pollution control licence. Judgment occurred on 29 July 2004 and found the licence was granted after the company had ceased production of steel and the conditions of the licence could not be applied retrospectively. A lacuna, therefore, arose and the resolution of this must involve a determination as to the future use of the site and, accordingly, the appropriate regulatory arrangements that should apply to it.
The Office of Public Works-led group is examining how to deal with the site. It very much depends on the future use of the site. The level of remediation will be determined by whether the site will be used for commercial or residential purposes or returned to parkland.
I knew about the licence already. Is the Minister satisfied the site complies with other regulatory requirements, EU directives and so forth?
Yes. A complaint was received from the European Commission in May 2009, through the EU pilot pre-infringement process, concerning the regulatory status of the former Irish ISPAT site at Haulbowline. Ireland wrote to the Commission in October 2009 setting out the current position. A response from the Commission is still awaited under this process.
The issue of the regulatory status of the former Irish ISPAT site, however, will now be addressed as part of Ireland's response to the latest letter of formal notice in respect of the case. The EPA is in the process of establishing the licensing requirements and has been in contact with the Office of Public Works in that regard.
The Minister still does not know if the State is complying with all EU directives, regulations and laws.
Listening to the Minister reminded me of Deputy Martin before the last general election when he stated he had plans to put a hotel on the site. Then it was discovered what was buried there. This is possibly the most toxic site in western Europe.
A brief question, please.
The Minister must forget about future uses for the site. People who live in the proximity of the site in Cork harbour want to know what the Government's policy is for remedying the state of the site. We could chase this around the House for the afternoon with report after report issued. Will the Minister indicate now as to whether he will be opting, first, to clean out the site entirely, a major and expensive protect to undertake or, second, build a barrier around the site to contain the waste?
There were more health effects and dangers posed to the population in the area when the actual plant was in operation. It was a Fine Gael-Labour Government that sold the place off for £1 without any regard to environmental or health implications.
That was the past.
More money has been spent by this Government trying to remediate the site than previously. When Fine Gael gets the opportunity, I would like to see how much money it would invest in this project.
There will be no money left then.
I believe it would not spend a fraction of what this Government has spent.
The Minister dodged my question. The site is still a mess.
I asked the Minister a straightforward question which he did not answer.
The Chair, unfortunately, has no control over Ministers' answers. I call on Deputy Clune.
We have been hearing about possible future use of the site since 2004. It is a complete dodge. The site is toxic, a word used by the Minister too. I will agree it was different when the ISPAT works were in operation. However, the Minister has been in office for the past three years during which time the matter has been on his desk. Will he tell us now what he proposes to do about the site?
The OPW group has been sitting for at least a year, if not more, and there is no outcome from that. When will there be a decision on dealing with the toxicity issue?
A final reply from the Minister.
We have dealt with it and are dealing with it. With regard to what has happened to date, my Department co-ordinated all legal actions relating to the site. It carried out a comprehensive site investigation to determine the levels of contamination and remediation and development options at the site.
Then you left it there.
We set up ongoing environmental monitoring at established monitoring points. We decontaminated and demolished the steel works. We also arranged for the site surface clearance contract with Hammond Lane Metal Company Limited——
It is not finished.
We contracted an independent company to carry out an investigation, which was peer reviewed so we could ensure its accuracy. That was to assure people in the area that there were no health effects from the site. All of that has been done and now an OPW-led team is continuing to carry out that work——
Is there a timescale?
If another Government could do as much, it would be doing a hell of a lot.
Does the Minister have a timescale for the OPW report?
We must proceed to Question No. 67.
67 Deputy John O’Mahony asked the Minister for the Environment; Heritage and Local Government if the target to end homelessness by the end of 2010 will be met; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37525/10]
69 Deputy Seán Sherlock asked the Minister for the Environment; Heritage and Local Government the number of registered homeless adults in the State; the number registered on a local authority basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37440/10]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 67 and 69 together.
Action to address homelessness is a matter for the housing authorities and the HSE, which have statutory responsibility for providing accommodation and health care services for homeless persons. I have put in place a comprehensive range of measures to underpin the role of housing authorities and approved housing bodies towards achieving the ambitious objective of eliminating long-term homelessness and the need to sleep rough, including an enhanced programme for procurement of accommodation. A new tenancy support system to help such persons live independently has also been put in place.
I recently approved €60 million for the purchase of accommodation to meet the needs of persons with specific categories of housing need, including persons moving out of temporary homeless accommodation. Over 100 of these units will provide long-term accommodation for such persons, and approved housing bodies have been asked to develop proposals for the further delivery of leased units in addition to accommodation approved under this initiative. My Department is also working closely with the Housing and Sustainable Communities Agency and the Dublin local authorities, where the homelessness issue is most pronounced, to ensure that the drive to eliminate long-term homelessness is advanced as rapidly as possible. Taken together, these measures have the potential to make significant further progress towards reaching the target in the current year. The pace of progress is also dependent on the response of market interests, including property owners and financial institutions.
The number of homeless households that were assessed as eligible and in need of social housing support throughout the State, according to the 2008 housing needs assessment, is 1,394. A breakdown of this figure by household on a local authority basis is available on my Department's website at www.environ.ie. A more comprehensive survey, in March 2008, reported a total of 1,436 homeless households in Dublin. Some 708 households were recorded as residing in long-term and transitional accommodation, but it would be incorrect to regard all of these as homeless. This survey method was also used for the first time in Cork, Galway and Limerick in 2008. The results indicated a total of 767 homeless households in these centres. That figure also includes households in long-term and transitional accommodation, some of whom should not properly be regarded as homeless.
I acknowledge the Minister's personal interest in trying to rectify this situation but the Government will not achieve the target of eliminating homelessness by the end of the year. I have three questions for the Minister. With regard to his definition of homelessness, there is a difference between local authorities in terms of how they interpret the different definitions. Does the Minister plan to introduce a single definition? Most people would equate homelessness with a person not having accommodation in which to live from day to day. That should probably be the standard definition.
With regard to strategy, the HSE is involved in dealing with this matter as well as the Department. Are there plans to make a single Government agency ultimately responsible for dealing with homelessness? In terms of statistics, can the Minister confirm that there has been an increase in the number of people who are homeless as a result of the recession? How often are statistics compiled? As regards housing schemes, there was a target of providing 1,200 long-term lease homes for homeless people. That has not been achieved. Does the Minister have any plans to roll this out and, for example, use the CAS or RAS schemes to acquire these units?
The definition of homelessness must be looked at in a number of ways. Many people associate homelessness with people who sleep rough on the streets in the capital and in other centres of population. The focus of the strategy is, of course, on that category to ensure that nobody would be obliged to sleep rough. It also focuses on the other category, people who are in temporary accommodation for a long time, ranging from six months to seven or eight years. There is another category of people whom it is probably unfair to categorise as homeless, that is, people who are in assisted living accommodation. They are not capable of living by themselves and probably will not be in the future. It is unfair and somewhat discriminatory to describe them as homeless. They should be identified as people who are living, if the accommodation is suitable, where they will live into the future through assisted living.
With regard to the strategy, I have made it clear to the housing authorities, approved bodies and others that the strategy should be their aspiration. Recall what happened in January this year. I am proud that the local authorities, approved bodies, outreach people and all others involved ensured that no homeless person in this country lost their life during the cold period and that nobody had to sleep rough. That was a great compliment to everybody involved. Across the water some 30 people died during the cold spell while hundreds died across Europe. Recently, I allocated a further €60 million towards acquiring 430 units. A total of 100 of those units are specifically identified for the homeless.
On the statistics——
Some other Deputies wish to put their questions. The Minister can add it to his next reply.
Information acquired under the Freedom of Information Act shows that last January the HSE-run homeless persons unit received over 5,000 calls for emergency housing. By July this figure had almost doubled to 9,300 calls. I agree that the Minister is familiar with this area but the real issue in dealing with homelessness is moving people from emergency housing to long-term, more sustainable living arrangements. In Dublin, 54% of people who are defined as homeless under the current definition are in emergency housing. Does the Minister recognise that the way to deal with homelessness in the long term is to move people from emergency housing into long-term, more independent and sustainable living accommodation? What type of investment is the Minister focusing on this area? Finally, does he believe the strategy set down in 2008 is meeting its targets or is the schedule falling behind?
It is important to identify the categories of homeless and long-term homeless. There will be homelessness and nobody can prevent that. It is happening on an ongoing basis for many reasons. I will not go through them in detail but Members will be aware that it arises as a result of family disputes, health problems, substance abuse and so forth. We are focusing on people who are more than six months in short-term accommodation. I am anxious to move these people on so they can build a new life. I have set out supportive measures for the local authorities and the approved bodies in that area. Not only have I provided €66 million in 2010 but I also recently approved €60 million. I have set up two support mechanisms. In Dublin, the Dublin Simon Community will deal with people who might need some assistance for the first six or 12 months to go into a home. I have set up another group in Galway under the COPE Galway, which got the tender to deal with the issue there.
Of course, I am dependent on the local authorities and the voluntary bodies to provide the units of accommodation. I am providing funds to purchase some of those.
I am pushing to reach the target. I have great faith in the Homeless Agency, local authorities and voluntary bodies and, at the end of the year, we will see what they have done on that figure. One of the encouraging figures is that up to October this year, we had signed up 724 tenancies. A great deal of good work has been done and whatever the difficulties in this work, the people at the coal face are putting their shoulder to the wheel and I will continue to work with them.
With regard to the number of registered homeless adults in the State, is it correct that those who sleep rough cannot and will not be counted in the forthcoming census?
I have no information to that effect. I would be amazed that anybody would be discriminated against in this way. I will have that checked.
On a point of information——
There is no such a thing. Allow the Minister of State to reply.
I am not aware that is the case but I will have that checked. It is difficult to accept that any person would be discriminated against in that way. I worked in the health service and people have entitlements, irrespective of where they are. A number of people will not take up accommodation for mental health reasons and so on. They should not find themselves not being counted. They are counted in the surveys sent to my office by the local authorities.
I would be grateful if the Minister of State would check that.
In recognising the good work being done by the Department and local communities, does the Minister of State think it is wise to pursue a policy that does not have the support of local people and to force accommodation on communities that are not in full agreement with it, particularly where it is driven by an agency that is hostile towards those communities? Should the Minister of State not pursue a policy that has support because we will never solve this problem unless we have the support of local communities?
That is a general question on homelessness and does not relate to the specific questions. The Deputy might want to table a parliamentary question in this regard at some future date.
Many years ago I worked with the Dublin Health Authority and many people found it difficult to accept that I would relocate patients from the psychiatric service into communities. Thankfully, that is no longer the case. People who become homeless for whatever reason are entitled to be housed and to start new relationships. Communities that deal with organisations funded by my Department generally have discussions with the local authorities. I hope people understand that everybody is entitled to a home in this country and we aspire to that.
Will the Minister of State confirm that the trend in homeless numbers is upwards as a result of the recession? With regard to the 724 tenancies that have been signed, what was the Government's target?
There was an indication in recent months that there has been increase in the number of non-nationals who are homeless, particularly in Dublin. I do not have the figures but that is the indication from the outreach and homeless agencies.
I will not have the figures on the tenancies until the end of the year but to date in 2010, 724 tenancies have been signed, which is excellent progress.
Written Answers follow Adjournment Debate.
