Written Answers Nos. 1 - 76
56. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the terms of reference for the special forum of elected members of the four local authorities in Dublin to consider the options for the elected Mayor of Dublin. [46077/12]
View answer61. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the engagement and discussions that have taken place with relevant Departments to further devolve functions to local authorities; and the functions which will be devolved. [46076/12]
View answer64. Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the ratio of councillors per head of population that will be deployed in municipal districts; and the ratio that will be for Cork city, Cork county, Galway city and in the four local authorities in Dublin. [46079/12]
View answer80. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans for towns that straddle county boundaries as set out in Putting People First; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46168/12]
View answer91. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans for strengthening the reserved functions of elected members; the timeframe for these changes to be implemented; and if legislation will be required. [46078/12]
View answer92. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the functions that are being devolved from central government to local authorities (details supplied). [46075/12]
View answer98. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will outline the delegation of powers to local authorites in areas of environment, water, foreshore, local or community development, roads or traffic, housing and energy efficiency (details supplied) that will take place; the way this delegation will take place; and when it will take place. [46074/12]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 56, 61, 64, 80, 91, 92 and 98 together.
The questions tabled cover a range of issues related to the Action Programme for Effective Local Government: Putting People First which I published on 16 October 2012 following Government approval. This is available on my Department’s website www.environ.ie. The Action Programme sets out Government policy for reforms across all the main areas of local government including structures, functions, funding, operational arrangements, governance and the role of the executive and the elected council.
Strengthening the role of local government is at the core of the reform programme and Government policy in this regard is set out in the Action Programme with particular regard to three key areas, the operation of the local micro-enterprise support service through Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs); local authority oversight and planning of local and community development programmes; and an enhanced and clearer role in economic development. These decisions represent the most significant enhancement of the role of local government in many decades.
In addition, in the course of drawing up the reform programme, I requested Ministers to undertake an examination of functions and services in their areas of responsibility with a view to identifying further matters that could be devolved to local government. This process has identified a number of functions that are potentially suitable for devolution and initial proposals in this regard are detailed in the Action Programme. While the initial range of functions proposed for devolution by Departments is relatively limited, there will be further engagement with a view to identifying additional activities ahead of the development of legislation to implement reform measures. The scope to assign any additional functions to the new municipal district level will also be explored.
The proposals in the Action Programme regarding delegation of authority to local authorities in the areas of environment, water, foreshore, local or community development, roads or traffic, housing and energy efficiency, involve giving greater responsibility or discretion to local authorities in relation to various areas in which they already have a significant involvement and where there is scope for reducing the degree of central control. The particular changes involved will vary between the different areas and will be determined specifically in the course of implementation of the Programme.
The Action Programme also sets out a clear commitment that, in future, the functions of Government at local level will be performed through the local government system to the greatest possible extent and separate structures or organisations of public administration will not be established outside of the local government system unless, in exceptional circumstances, the need for this is clearly demonstrated. The Action Programme indicates that the establishment of an office of directly elected mayor for Dublin, with substantial powers, functions and budgetary capacity, would be likely to require significant changes in existing local government arrangements. The Government has decided, therefore, that a special forum or colloquium of the elected members of the Dublin local authorities should be convened to consider the options in this regard, including the introduction of a directly elected Mayor for a Dublin metropolitan area, which will be put for decision through a plebiscite in 2014. Terms of Reference for the forum will be published in due course.
Outside of Dublin, a radical restructuring of local government arrangements within counties has been approved by Government. This will involve a comprehensive territorial configuration of each county into municipal districts in which the elected members will perform a range of important local functions on a fully devolved basis. The districts will be designed, as far as possible, around existing municipal towns and large urban centres which do not currently enjoy municipal status. In all cases, the district should incorporate the relevant hinterland of each town, subject to the constraints imposed by county boundaries close to towns. I have made clear that the integrity and identity of counties will be maintained.
The Action Programme indicates that, in cases where the environs of a town are located in more than one county, suitable agency arrangements or service level agreements should be implemented to ensure that one authority has responsibility for all functions and services throughout the entire area of the town, notwithstanding county boundaries. It is, of course, also open to local authorities to initiate boundary alteration procedures under local government legislation, but there is no mandatory requirement in this regard under the reform programme.
Regarding representational ratios, the areas of municipal districts will be drawn up for the purposes of the 2014 local elections, on the basis of a review by an independent statutory boundary committee under the local government acts. The Action Programme provides indicative information regarding the sort of factors that will be relevant to the configuration of districts, including population, membership, location of towns, geographic coherence and local identities and linkages. Relevant criteria will be specified in the terms of reference for the review which will be published shortly.
In relation to the reserved functions of elected members, a number of new reserved functions are specified in the Action Programme, for example, the adoption of economic development plans, service plans, and local and community plans. In addition, the scope for further extension of the reserved functions of elected members of local authorities will be fully reviewed in the context of further development and implementation of the reform programme. In particular, the potential role of the elected council in relation to additional functions being devolved to local government will be maximised. Moreover, the primacy of the elected council within the local government system will be reinforced by various measures set out in the programme.
The relationship between manager and members will be changed to one of chief executive and “board of directors”, appropriate to a modern system of administration. Consideration will be given to providing stronger and more explicit statutory expression in relation to the duty of the manager/chief executive to comply with policy as set down by the elected council and to strengthen the capacity of the elected council to oversee the business, finances and performance of the authority. The manner in which local authority functions are stated and structured in law, including the default provision which grants the manager power to act unless powers are specifically assigned to members, will also be addressed.
57. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government with regards to the recent Foreshore Licence granted to Providence Resources to drill an exploratory well just six kms from the Dublin coastline, if he has satisfied himself that there is no threat to the safety and welfare of the people of Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46181/12]
View answer75. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government with regards to the recent Foreshore Licence granted to Providence Resources to drill an exploratory well just six kms from the Dublin coastline, if he believes he complied with the rules of the Aarhus Convention; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46183/12]
View answer76. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government with regards to the recent Foreshore Licence granted to Providence Resources to drill an exploratory well just six kms from the Dublin coastline, if he is satisfied that no Environmental Impact Assessment was required under EU Directive 85/337/EEC; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46182/12]
View answer89. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government with regards to the recent Foreshore Licence granted to Providence Resources to drill an exploratory well just six kms from the Dublin coastline, if he is satisfied that no Environmental Impact Assessment was required under EU Directive 85/337/EEC; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46185/12]
View answer97. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government with regards to the recent Foreshore Licence granted to Providence Resources to drill an exploratory well just six kms from the Dublin coastline, if he believes he compiled with the rules of the Aarthus Convention; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46180/12]
View answer105. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government with regards to the recent Foreshore Licence granted to Providence Resources to drill an exploratory well just six kms from the Dublin coastline, if he has satisfied himself that there is no threat to the safety and welfare of the people of Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46184/12]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 57, 75, 76, 89, 97 and 105 together.
On 27 September 2012 a foreshore licence was granted to Providence Resources in respect of works to undertake site investigations and drilling of a single exploration well off the coast of Dalkey, Co Dublin. Information on the decision to grant the licence was published on my Department’s website on 3 October 2012. The information published includes the main reasons and considerations upon which the decision was based. I am satisfied that the arrangements made for participation by the public in the determination of the proposal, and the provision of information on access to justice, are fully in compliance with the requirements of the Aarhus Convention.
The Aarhus Convention was ratified by the State in June 2012 and entered into force on 18 September 2012. The three pillars of the Convention are access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice. Over 60 pieces of legislation have been used to implement the Aarhus Convention, including a number of amendments to the Foreshore Acts. I am therefore satisfied that the requirements of the Aarhus Convention have been fully complied with in terms of access to information and public participation. There was a significant number of submissions from the public as part of the public consultation process. With regard to the third pillar of the Convention, access to justice, information on how a review of the decision to grant the licence may be sought, is available on my Department’ s website www.environ.ie.
In addition to information on the decision in the case, a range of other materials on the application was published on my Department’s website during the application process, including the application materials submitted by the applicant, submissions received from the public and prescribed bodies, the applicant’s responses to those submissions, and the report of the Marine Licence Vetting Committee (MLVC).
With regard to the EU Directive on Environmental Impact Assessment, the proposal was not of a class that required the submission of an environmental impact statement by the applicant or the performance of an environmental impact assessment under the Directive. However, the applicant submitted an environmental report and the proposal was the subject of an environmental assessment by the scientific and technical advisors on the Marine Licence Vetting Committee. Their assessment involved a detailed examination of the application materials, issues raised in submissions received from the public and prescribed bodies, and the applicant’s responses to those issues. The assessment carried out by the MLVC involved a consideration of the potential impacts of the proposal on any European Sites or species that could be affected by the works, sensitive species, other legitimate users in the area, and navigation issues.
In the event that there is an application in the future for commercial exploitation of the site, such an application would be the subject of further formal applications for consents from the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, the Commission for Energy Regulation with respect to safety, the Environmental Protection Agency should an Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control licence be required, An Bord Pleanála under the Planning Acts, and a full lease or licence under the Foreshore Acts, all of which will require both an Environmental Impact Statement and an Environmental Impact Assessment, including full public consultation, which may include a public inquiry.
58. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to introduce guidelines for local authorities to facilitate a transparent housing waiting list system in which applicants would have access to their own standing via a reference number. [46203/12]
View answerAs part of my role as Minister with responsibility for Housing and Planning I am overseeing a programme of social housing reform. I am currently finalising a review of the implementation of the social housing assessment regulations introduced in April 2011, the result of which I expect to publish as revised regulations and guidance in the coming weeks. I also intend to build on the Social Housing (Allocation) Regulations 2011 which came into force in May 2011. These regulations set out the conditions that housing authorities must take into account when making their allocation schemes. In my review of the policy, I expect to more closely align it with the new approach to the assessment of need and to put a greater emphasis on ‘time on the list’ as a criterion for allocating local authority housing. I believe that the ‘time on the list’ criterion will provide a much more transparent system for the operation of a waiting list than the current point based system operated by many authorities. It is a matter for housing authorities to communicate with both applicants for social housing support and current tenants, and I would expect such communication and access to information to be provided using all reasonable means to facilitate an efficient and effective service.
59. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he is considering any legislative changes that would permit citizens who occupy local authority housing to transfer between local authorities; if he is considering any legislative changes that would permit citizens who are on a housing waiting list to transfer to another local authority housing waiting list without generally affecting their relative position on the waiting list; if he will outline any potential changes he is considering to housing function in view of the package of reforms that he intends to make for local government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46188/12]
View answerIn the context of the Housing Bill currently being formulated in my Department, I will consider whether there is a need for legislation in relation to a household receiving social housing support from one housing authority that wishes to transfer to another housing authority area, a practice currently operated on an informal basis by agreement between housing authorities. Under the Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011, a qualified household entered on the waiting list of one housing authority on the basis of residency or local connection may be entered simultaneously on the waiting list of up to 2 other authorities in the same county . However, it is not possible for a household to apply to more than one housing authority for social housing support, or for a household on the waiting list of one housing authority to transfer its application to another authority and to carry forward to the new waiting list the time spent on the previous list. I have no proposals to change the position in this regard. As part of the programme of local government reform announced last week , I will examine the reserved functions of housing authorities to identify those appropriate for discharge at the new municipal district level and also the scope for greater discretion or responsibility at local level in relation to housing functions generally.
60. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his policy on traveller housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46178/12]
View answerIn accordance with the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998, statutory responsibility for the assessment of the accommodation needs of Travellers and the preparation, adoption and implementation of multi-annual Traveller accommodation programmes, designed to meet the accommodation needs of Travellers, rests with individual housing authorities. My Department’s role is to ensure that there is an adequate legislative and financial system in place to assist the authorities in providing such accommodation. The current round of Traveller Accommodation Programmes cover the period 2009 to 2013. My Department oversees the implementation, through the housing authorities, of these programmes. I am also advised by the statutory National Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee in relation to Traveller accommodation matters more generally.
Accommodation for Travellers is provided across a range of options including standard local authority housing, which is financed from my Department’s capital allocation for social housing, private housing assisted by the housing authority or voluntary organisations, private rented accommodation and through their own resources. Travellers are free to express a preference for any form of accommodation through the assessment of housing needs process. The March 2011 Housing Needs Assessment showed a very clear preference among Traveller families for standard housing. Notwithstanding this, Traveller specific accommodation, such as halting sites and group housing schemes, continues to be provided by many local authorities where required. My Department provides 100% capital funding for Traveller-specific accommodation and also provides funding for accommodation-related supports to operate in tandem with the capital programme. A total of €10 million was allocated for this purpose in 2012. While the position regarding capital funding for my Department’s housing programme in 2013 has yet to be decided, delivering on the housing needs of vulnerable groups such as Travellers will continue to be a priority.
The Government remains committed to meeting the accommodation needs of Travellers. Since 2005, over €187 million has been expended for the provision of new, and refurbishment of existing, Traveller-specific accommodation. This is in addition to expenditure on standard local authority housing and other housing supports. The results of this substantial financial commitment are reflected in the significant reduction in the numbers of Traveller families on unauthorised sites, down from over 1,200 families in 2000 to 327 families in 2011. This was achieved at a time when the overall number of Traveller families increased from 4,790 to 9,535 over the same period.
62. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the extent to which the full requirement in terms of local authority housing needs are being met at present with particular reference to the means of those who may have lost their jobs and their homes through repossession as a consequence; if he will review the procedures whereby such persons are admissible to the local authority housing waiting list; if it is anticipated that extra housing units can be accessed or provided directly by whatever means with the objective of ensuring that empty housing estates around the country are utilised to obviate the need for rent support; if he has quantified the extent of the requirement both in terms of the existing housing waiting list and those seeking to access this waiting list; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46186/12]
View answerThe Government’s housing policy statement, published in June 2011, clearly identifies that a key priority for Government is to meet the most acute needs of households applying for social housing support. I am determined to ensure that the social housing programme is framed in a manner which optimises the delivery of social housing and the return for the resources invested. To achieve this it is essential that we tailor the use of available Exchequer supports to prevailing conditions and explore the full range of solutions to address housing needs.
The social housing capital budget has been reduced from €1.535 billion in 2008 to just over €333.7m this year, and the financial parameters within which we will be operating for the coming years rule out a return to large capital funded construction programmes. Nevertheless, the Government is committed to responding more quickly and on a larger scale to social housing support needs through a variety of mechanisms, including through increased provision of social housing. In spite of our challenging circumstances, a tentative projection of 4,000 to 4,500 housing units is anticipated for 2012.
Delivery of social housing will be significantly facilitated through more flexible funding models such as the Rental Accommodation Scheme and leasing, but the Government is also committed to developing other funding mechanisms that will increase the supply of permanent new social housing. These will include options to purchase, build to lease and the sourcing of loan finance by approved housing bodies for construction and acquisition. The Housing Finance Agency has received seventeen applications for Certified Borrower status and awarded this status to five bodies. The Agency has approved four applications for 98 social housing units in total (at a valuation of €13.4 million). It is envisaged that further lending will be generated for the Agency in 2012 under this Scheme.
The move from capital funded programmes of construction and acquisition by approved housing bodies to more revenue funded options presents challenges for AHBs and will take some time to be fully refined and deployed. I intend to develop a regulatory framework for the sector that will provide support and assurance both to the sector itself and to its external partners as it takes on the expanded role envisaged for it. To this end, on 8 August 2012 a draft voluntary code for the regulation of approved housing bodies was published on my Department’s website www.environ.ie for public consultation. This code will be a first step towards a statutory regulatory framework that will protect the very significant State investment in the sector over the last two decades and will provide assistance to those working in the sector to meet the challenges ahead.
There is also obvious potential, across a range of housing programmes, for the Government’s objective of sourcing and providing suitable residential units for use as social housing to be aligned with the commercial objectives of the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA). My Department and the Housing Agency are working closely with NAMA with the aim of ensuring that a significant number of housing units are made available in this way by NAMA in the current year. It is open to any person or household to apply to a housing authority for an assessment of their housing need. It is a matter solely for the housing authority concerned to determine whether an applicant for social housing support is eligible for and in need of that support. The authority must make its determination in accordance with the provisions of section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, and regulations made under that section, primarily the Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011, having regard to the particular circumstances of the case.
63. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide an update on the timeframe for the resolution process for Priory Hall, Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46109/12]
View answerThe resolution process, which I understand is ongoing, arose in the context of legal proceedings which were adjourned to afford relevant parties the opportunity to work together, under the chairmanship of Mr. Justice Finnegan (retired President of the High Court), to identify a way forward in relation to the complex problems at Priory Hall. Given that the matter is before the courts, it would be inappropriate for me to comment further other than to continue to urge all concerned to afford Mr. Justice Finnegan the opportunity to complete the task which he is undertaking.
65. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he intends launching any new programmes under the dormant accounts funds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46176/12]
View answerThe Disbursement Plan of 2009, put in place by the Dormant Accounts Board, will be replaced by a new disbursement scheme to be created in accordance with the Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Act 2012, which was enacted in July 2012. The 2012 Act, inter alia, amends Part 6 of the Principal Act, which relates to disbursement of monies from the Dormant Accounts Fund. Section 42 provides for the following: making by the Minister of a disbursement scheme no later than 12 months after the “appointed day” relating to programmes or projects for which moneys may be disbursed. The “appointed day” has been set at 31 December 2012; the scheme (or any subsequent amendment to it) must be prepared by the Minister having consulted with the Minister for Health, the Minister for Education and Skills and the Minister for Social Protection. The Minister may also consult with other Ministers or persons; the Minister must have regard to the policies and priorities of Government, the amount of moneys available or likely to be available, and the need to ensure value for money in setting out a scheme; the scheme must apply for a maximum period of 3 years, set out the objectives to be achieved by making disbursements and contain any other information considered appropriate by the Minister; the Minister may, from time to time, but must within three years of making a scheme and every three years thereafter, review a scheme or any part of a scheme; a scheme or an amendment to a scheme must be approved by Government; a scheme, including an amendment to a scheme, must be laid before each House of the Oireachtas, and the Oireachtas allowed 21 days to consider it.
The legislation also provides for the preparations of an action plan each year following the making of a scheme. The plan, which will also be subject to consultation, must indicate the programmes or types of projects that may apply for disbursement and the maximum funds available. Different amounts may be specified by the Minister in the plan in relation to a particular class or classes of programme or project. Once the plan is adopted, a copy must be laid before each House of the Oireachtas, where it may be considered within a 21 day period. The plan must also be published. Provision is made, in addition, for adopting or not adopting a plan and for not proceeding to invite applications under a plan, if appropriate in particular circumstances. Any decision not to proceed must be approved by Government.
66. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the progress that has been made on the remediation process for homeowners affected by Pyrite [46161/12]
View answer74. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide an update on the implementation of the recommendations of the Report of the Pyrite Panel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46108/12]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 66 and 74 together.
Following receipt of the pyrite report in June, I requested the key stakeholders urgently to consider the relevant recommendations in the report and respond to me with their proposals by the end of September. While I have received the responses, they do not provide any definitive proposals that would lead to a voluntary solution for homeowners. I have now asked my Department to finalise arrangements and terms of reference for the establishment of the Resolution Board as envisaged in the pyrite report as quickly as possible and to engage with the relevant stakeholders in finalising these details. This will give a final opportunity for all those directly or indirectly involved to play a key role in the remediation programme and to contribute to the cost of its resolution. I am giving the stakeholders 10 days in which to respond and in the event that they do not respond positively in this timeframe, I will ask Government to sanction the necessary steps to impose the type of levy recommended in the pyrite report and in that way to provide finance for the resolution.
Work is progressing on the implementation of a number of other recommendations in the report. I have asked the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) to develop a testing and categorisation protocol to facilitate the categorisation of dwellings and a method statement for remediation work. I understand that this work is progressing. Recommendations in relation to the development of a mandatory certification system for buildings and a registration process for builders are currently being dealt with under the Building Control Reform programme.
68. Deputy John Browne asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if the criteria used to select Bord Gáis was based on its capacity to deliver the roll out of metering by 2014, their network operational strengths and audit capacity in comparison to Bord Na Móna; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46152/12]
View answerThe Government decided in December 2011, based on the recommendations in an independent assessment, to establish a public water utility company to take over the operational and capital delivery functions of local authorities in the water services area. The Government also decided that the question of whether the role of Irish Water should be assigned to an existing State Agency merited further analysis with a view to ensuring that existing resources and capabilities in the State sector were used to best effect.
This further analysis was undertaken by a team comprising my Department and NewERA, in consultation with the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. The process involved an assessment of the capacity and capabilities of a number of State agencies from amongst those identified in the independent assessment as having the potential to incorporate a new water utility. The process involved the making of detailed submissions and presentations by Bord na Móna and Bord Gáis Éireann based on identified capabilities required for the establishment and operation of Irish Water.
The outcome of the analysis was that Irish Water should be established as an independent state owned company within the Bord Gáis Group. Bord Gáis has key capabilities that can be brought to bear in the establishment of Irish Water, including experience in operating as a utility in a regulated environment and a track record in raising finance, and has specific skills from its own experience of transformation, customer relations, network management, metering and utility operation that can be quickly deployed to assist in the successful establishment and operation of Irish Water. The skills within the Bord Gáis Group will be paired with the experience and commitment to service in local authorities and the specific water and wastewater capabilities and expertise that exist in local government to build the new organisation.
69. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his proposals to rectify the situation facing residents whose homes are seriously defective, posing a major threat to health and safety, to ensure that remediation works are undertaken where the builder has gone out of business. [46126/12]
View answerI am chairing the National Co-ordination Committee on Unfinished Housing Developments to oversee implementation of the Report of the Advisory Group on Unfinished Housing Developments, together with the Government’s response to the recommendations. The Committee includes representatives from the Irish Banking Federation, local authorities, the Housing and Sustainable Communities Agency, NAMA and the construction sector. Real progress is being made with regard to the public safety works required to improve the living conditions of existing residents on some unfinished estates and the Committee is meeting on a regular basis to oversee this effort. Under the Public Safety Initiative for Unfinished Housing Developments my Department has made allocations totalling some €3.553 million to 21 local authorities from the funding made available to address immediate public safety issues. The types of works that have been approved to date include the fencing off of unsecured and hazardous areas, capping of pipes, installation of street lighting and other works to secure sites.
70. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will review the criteria covering the issuing of local authority mortgages and shared ownership schemes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45677/12]
View answerIn advancing loans for house purchase by lower income borrowers it is of critical importance that local authorities make such funding available on the basis of sound lending criteria. My Department and individual local authorities have a responsibility to ensure that the borrower may be reasonably expected to sustain the loan over the full term. Of equal importance, in view of recent developments in the domestic property market, is the imperative for a local authority to ensure that prudence and pragmatism are applied to all aspects of the management of its housing loans book. In a time of limited resources deploying those resources in a focused and effective manner ensures the management of its loans portfolio can be achieved as efficiently as possible.
The current credit policy has been in place since 2009. It was deemed appropriate at that time to update the elements associated with local authority lending and to have a homogenous regime in place that ensured best practice was followed across the sector. All applicants are now assessed according to the same criteria, and their applications subjected to the same independent scrutiny. It is desirable to make adequate lending provision available to local authority tenants who wish to avail of the tenant purchase schemes, while also adhering to prudent lending practices, and the current guidelines achieve equitable consideration of all applications. While the rate of refusal of applications has increased it is also clear that the loans issued since the introduction of the revised credit policy are more likely to be fully performing. I am happy that the current mortgage loan model is fair, adequately meets the needs of prospective borrowers and facilitates participation in housing acquisition initiatives such as the tenant purchase schemes.
71. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to make the mortgage to rent scheme more accessible for persons struggling to keep their home. [46201/12]
View answerOn foot of the recommendations of the Keane Report on mortgage arrears, the Government launched a mortgage to rent scheme on a pilot basis in February 2012. This scheme was extended nationally in June 2012, targeting those low income families whose mortgage situation is unsustainable and where there is little or no prospect of a significant change in circumstances in the foreseeable future. The scheme ensures that the family remains in their home, while ownership is transferred to an approved housing body who in turn rent it to the original owners.
Householders seeking to avail of the mortgage to rent scheme must meet the following criteria:
- have had their mortgage deemed unsustainable under a Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process as provided for under the Central Bank’s Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears;
- agree to a voluntary repossession of their home;
- be eligible for social housing support; and
- not have significant positive equity in the property.
Additionally applicants must own the property, and it must have a current market value of less than €220,000 in the Dublin area or less than €180,000 in the rest of the country.
The property must be in good condition, be in a suitable location and must suit the household’s needs. In addition applicants must not own any other property or have assets in excess of €20,000 and the net household annual income must not exceed a maximum of €35,000, depending on its location. The terms of the scheme are deemed adequate to address the target group of borrowers for whom it was devised and there are no plans to amend those terms currently.
72. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the progress made by Irish Water to date in progressing Government policy on water; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46154/12]
View answerThe establishment of Irish Water is a key element of the Government’s policy for the water sector and the series of reforms designed to provide a better organisational and funding model for the sector to address the challenges of the future. There are essentially three inter-related components to the reform programme and to date decisions have been taken by Government to:
- establish Irish Water as an independent state owned company within the Bord Gáis Group based on a public utility model;
- introduce a sustainable funding model to support much needed investment in the sector, which will include the introduction of water charges for domestic users, and
- establish an independent economic regulator for water services, a function being assigned to the Commission for Energy Regulation.
These inter-related reforms will provide the platform to significantly improve the quality of service, increase the cost efficiency associated with water services provision and accelerate investment in the sector. Intensive work on the development of an implementation strategy for the establishment of Irish Water is nearing a completion. The strategy will focus on maintaining the delivery of a critical public service during and following the restructuring process. The Government has recently approved the preparation of legislation to assign the necessary powers to allow Irish Water to undertake a number of functions including in relation to the water metering programme. The objective is to have the Bill enacted by the end of this year.
73. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the funding priorities for his Department Budget 2013; and if he will continue to oversee cuts to funding in respect of local authority housing. [46200/12]
View answerExpenditure provisions for my Department will be published as part of Budget 2013. These provisions, consistent with the allocations decided by Government in the context of the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure in 2011 and the associated capital spending review process, will reflect the critical need for further reductions in public expenditure in order to address the major imbalances in the public finances and meet required fiscal targets. Within this framework, the priority will be to ensure that the funding available is used to achieve the maximum progress possible across the range of programmes for which my Department is responsible, including housing, water services, community development, environmental protection and local government services.
