Written Answers Nos. 165-173
165. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the amount that has been budgeted for Dublin City Council to fund the Dublin Region Homeless Executive each year since 2008; the amount his Department has contributed to the Dublin Region Homeless Executive each year since 2008; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51796/12]
View answerThe Homeless Agency was established in Dublin in 2001, in response to the higher levels of homelessness experienced in the city than elsewhere in Ireland at that time. The Homeless Agency formally became the Dublin Region Homeless Executive in 2011. It is now responsible for providing support and services to the Dublin Joint Homelessness Consultative Forum and the Statutory Management Group. This service is provided by Dublin City Council as the lead statutory local authority and it adopts a shared service approach across the other 3 Dublin local authorities - South Dublin County Council, Fingal County Council, and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. The Dublin Region Homeless Executive is responsible for the planning, co-ordination and administration of funding in relation to the provision of quality services to people who are homeless in the Dublin area, and for the development of responses to prevent homelessness.
Under Section 10 of the Housing Act 1988 , my Department recoups to local authorities 90% of their expenditure on the provision of accommodation and related services for homeless persons. The local authority provides a further 10% from their own resources.
The amount recouped to Dublin City Council for the years 2008 to 2011 is outlined in a table. The administration costs of the Homeless Agency/Dublin Region Homeless Executive as recouped to Dublin City Council are identified separately. These figures are exclusive of the 10% contribution of the local authorities.
|
Dublin City Council |
2008 € |
2009 € |
2010 € |
2011 € |
|
Homeless Agency/Dublin Region Homeless Executive |
940,894 |
934,484 |
934,484 |
934,484 |
|
Other payments to Dublin City Council for accommodation and related services |
34,982,789 |
35,370,460 |
36,965,887 |
3 2 ,6 98 , 775 |
|
Total for Dublin City Council |
35,923,683 |
36,304,944 |
37,900,371 |
33,633,259 |
166. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the sums being received by local authorities to carry out inspections of compliance with regulations governing standards for private rented accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51799/12]
View answerMinimum standards for rental accommodation are prescribed in the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2008, made under section 18 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992. All landlords have a legal obligation to ensure that their rented properties comply with these regulations. Responsibility for enforcing the regulations rests with the relevant local authority, supported by a dedicated stream of fun ding allocated by my Department from the monies set aside from the registration fees income received under section 137 of the Residential Tenancies Act and held by the Private Rented Tenancies Board (PRTB) in a fiduciary capacity.
A revised Ministerial Direction on 7 July 2010 directed that four-fifths of the proceeds of any fees should be used to defray the expenses of the Board in the performance of its functions and one-fifth should be transferred by the Board to local authorities for the purpose of the performance of their functions under the Housing Acts in relation to private rented accommodation.
The allocations of funding to local authorities increased significantly between 2005 and 2011, rising from €1.5m to €4m and in general local authorities have significantly expanded their inspection activity with the number of inspections more than doubling - from 6,815 in 2005 to 19,820 in 2011. Funding levels are reviewed annually and annual payments at the level of recent years may not be sustainable in the long term unless there is a significant increase in the level of tenancies registered with the PRTB. In 2012 my Department allocated a total sum of €2.4 m to housing authorities for the purpose of carrying out their functions under the Housing Acts in relation to rented accommodation. This brings total funding allocated for this purpose since 2004 to over €26 m.
Details of the amounts paid to each local authority in respect of the years 2004 to 2011 are available on the private rented accommodation section of the Department’s website at www.environ.ie.
167. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide details of the number of semi-State and State agency executives and employees on an agency by agency basis that have salaries of more than €100,000 per year; if he will provide this information in tabular form, detailing any additional allowances, bonuses and the annual cost to the Exchequer of any pension packages to such employees, in terms of tax reliefs or other costs; if he will provide this information for the past three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52130/12]
View answerThe information requested is being compiled and will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as possible.
168. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide details of the number of former semi-State agency executives or employees, on an agency basis, in receipt of pensions in excess of €90,000 per year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52144/12]
View answer169. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide details of the number of former semi-State agency executives or employees, on an agency basis, in receipt of pensions in excess of €90,000 per year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52156/12]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 168 and 169 together.
Three former employees of An Bord Pleanála are in receipt of pensions in excess of €90,000. No other former employees of other State agencies under the aegis of my Department are in receipt of pensions in excess of €90,000.
170. Deputy Ciara Conway asked the Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to produce a register similar to the residential property price register detailing information regarding the sale of land or sites; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51658/12]
View answerArising from concerns in relation to lack of transparency in relation to residential property sales prices and the terms of commercial leases, the Property Services (Regulation) Act 2011 provides for the establishment and maintenance by the Property Services Regulatory Authority of a Register of Residential Sales Prices and a Commercial Leases Database. The Residential Sales Prices Register was published by the Authority on 30 September 2012. The Authority has indicated that it expects to publish the Commercial Leases Database by the end of the first quarter of 2013.
There is no provision in the legislation for the development of a Register of sale prices for land including sites.
171. Deputy Michelle Mulherin asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding an asylum application in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Meath; the reason for this delay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51687/12]
View answerThe persons concerned are a family unit comprising a father, a mother and two minor children. The father and mother lodged asylum applications on 4th November, 2008. The two children were included in their mother's application meaning that any determination or decision made in her case applied equally to the two children. The asylum applications were considered by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner and, on appeal, the Refugee Appeals Tribunal, both of whom concluded that the persons concerned did not meet the criteria for recognition as refugees.
Arising from the refusal of their asylum applications, and in accordance with the provisions of Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended), the persons concerned were notified, by separate letters dated 12th March, 2010, that the then Minister proposed to make Deportation Orders in respect of them. They were given the options, to be exercised within 15 working days, of leaving the State voluntarily, of consenting to the making of a Deportation Order or of making representations to the Minister setting out the reasons why a Deportation Order should not be made against them. In addition, they were notified of their respective entitlements to apply for Subsidiary Protection in accordance with the provisions of the European Communities (Eligibility for Protection) Regulations 2006.
The persons concerned submitted applications for Subsidiary Protection. When consideration of these applications has been completed, the persons concerned will be notified in writing of the outcomes.
In the event that the applications for Subsidiary Protection are refused, the position in the State of the persons concerned will then be decided by reference to the provisions of Section 3 (6) of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended) and Section 5 of the Refugee Act 1996 (as amended) on the prohibition of refoulement. All representations submitted will be considered before final decisions are made. Once decisions have been made, these decisions and the consequences of the decisions will be conveyed in writing to the persons concerned.
The cases of the persons concerned are amongst a high volume of such cases which are awaiting decision in my Department at present. However, the Deputy can be assured that there will be no avoidable delay in having the cases of the persons concerned processed to completion.
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the INIS by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Questions process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in cases where the response from the INIS is, in the Deputy’s view, inadequate or too long awaited.
172. Deputy Seamus Kirk asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he has studied the presentation by the former Assistant Garda Commissioner Tony Hickey at the Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation on 15 November 2012 relating to the scale of the problem from the smuggling of tobacco and the laundering of fuel and the stated involvement of criminal gangs in this area and the incredible sums of money that these criminal gangs are defrauding the State of on a weekly basis; his views on whether enough is being done in this area to tackle the problem; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51697/12]
View answer173. Deputy Seamus Kirk asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if his attention has been drawn to the contents of the Retail Ireland report Tacking the Black Market and Retail Crime, which sets out proposals to protect legitimate retailers from the activity of criminal gangs involved in the smuggling of cigarettes, fuel and counterfeit goods, which according to the report costs the taxpayer €861 million per annum; if he shares the concerns relating to the need to increase penalties for those involved in the smuggling of cigarettes and the laundering of fuel; if he has prioritised this area for immediate action; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51701/12]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 172 and 173 together.
I wish to advise the Deputy that I am aware of both the recent presentation by the former Assistant Commissioner Tony Hickey at the Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and the report from Retailers Ireland entitled "Tackling the Black Market and Retail Crime".
I believe we, in this House, are well aware that tobacco smuggling and the laundering of fuel has serious repercussions for the State and that these activities can not be tolerated. The loss of revenue to the State through these illicit activities has implications for the funding of our public services. The involvement of organised crime also presents a further challenge to the State in targeting these activities.
Of course, the lead role in combating cigarette smuggling, fuel laundering and counterfeit goods in this jurisdiction rests with the Revenue Customs Service, in the context of the investigation of revenue offences which occasion significant financial losses to the Exchequer.
Having said that, both the Revenue Customs Service and An Garda Síochána do continue to make significant efforts, separately and together, to disrupt the activities of those involved.
With regard to the role of An Garda Síochána in this area, the Policing Plan for the year 2012 sets out the continued commitment of An Garda Síochána to pro-actively target groups and individuals engaged in criminal activity, including organised crime activity. In this regard, An Garda Síochána continues to target groups and individuals engaged in organised criminal activities, including those involved in the smuggling of cigarettes and the laundering of fuel. In particular, An Garda Síochána continues to provide ongoing support to the Revenue Commissioners in tackling this criminal activity.
In addition, multi-disciplinary approaches are applied to ensure the activities of individuals and groups involved in criminal enterprise are effectively targeted, including through the use of the proceeds of crime legislation, money-laundering legislation and the powers of the Criminal Assets Bureau.
As highlighted in the Cross Border Threat Assessment for 2012, fuel laundering and tobacco fraud continues to be a serious concern for authorities, North and South. Recognising these shared concerns, both a Cross-border Fuel Fraud Enforcement Group and a Cross Border Tobacco Enforcement Group Task Force have been established to target these activities on an all island basis.
These Groups comprise representatives from the Police Service of Northern Ireland, HM Revenue Customs, the Serious Organised Crime Agency (UK), the Revenue Commissioners, An Garda Síochána and the Criminal Assets Bureau and have had many successes in tackling these forms of criminality.
I would like to take the opportunity to commend the law enforcement agencies, North and South, in their continued commitment to this form of enhanced joint cooperation.
For my part, I will continue to support An Garda Síochána in all their efforts to bring about the successful disruption and dismantling of those involved in these organised crime activities.
The Deputy also raised the issue of increasing the penalties for offences relating to these activities. The applicable penalties for such offences are provided for in the Finance Acts. Any amendment to the penalty provisions contained in those Acts is, of course, a matter for my colleague Mr. Michael Noonan TD, Minister for Finance.
