Written Answers Nos. 140-149
141. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if landlords may refuse tenants on rent supplement; the notice a landlord must give to tenants to force them to leave; and if this is a Private Residential Tenancy Board issue. [4950/13]
View answerThe Residential Tenancies Act 2004 regulates the tenant-landlord relationship in the private rented residential sector. The Act sets out the law relating to the rights and obligations of tenants and landlords in the sector covering, inter alia, security of tenure and the termination of tenancies.
The maximum duration of a tenancy under the Act is four years, after which a new tenancy must be registered with the Board. Where a tenant has been in occupation of a dwelling for a continuous period of 6 months, and no notice of termination has been served in respect of the tenancy before the expiry of the period of 6 months, the tenancy continues in being for the remainder of the four year period and this is referred to in the Act as a Part 4 tenancy. A landlord may not serve a notice of termination on such a tenant except in very clearly defined circumstances such as a failure by the tenant to comply with his or her obligations in relation to the tenancy, where the landlord intends to sell the property within 3 months after the termination of the tenancy or where the landlord requires the dwelling for his or her own occupation or for that of a family member.
The employment status of a tenant, or whether the tenant is in receipt of rent supplement, has no impact on the tenant’s legal rights to remain in the tenancy for the remainder of the Part 4 tenancy and any changes in that status cannot be used by a landlord as grounds for termination of a Part 4 tenancy.
142. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the advice and support available to a person (details supplied). [4954/13]
View answerI have no function in the operational matters of the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB), an independent statutory body established under the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, and cannot therefore comment on the specifics of any individual case.
143. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív den Aire Comhshaoil, Pobail agus Rialtais Áitiúil an bhfuil sé i gceist aige deontas méadaithe 50% a chur ar fáil do dhaoine ar oileáin amach ón gcósta nach bhfuil ceangailte leis an mórthír le droichead chun uasghrádú a dhéanamh ar a gcuid córais eisiltigh de bharr an chostais bhreise a bhaineann le tógáil ar oileáin; agus an ndéanfaidh sé ráiteas ina thaobh. [5016/13]
View answerD'fhógair mé le déanaí go raibh sé ar intinn agam scéim deontais a chur ar fáil le cúnamh airgeadais a sholáthar do theaghlaigh lenar gá dóibh feabhsúchán nó ceartú a dheanamh ar a mhúnlaigh umair agus a gcórais chóireála fuíolluisce tar éis iniúchadh faoin Acht um Sheirbhísí Uisce (Leasú) 2012. Tá foráil le haghaigh na scéime á dhéanamh i Vóta mo Roinne do 2013. Bainfidh an scéim le córais cóireála atá cláraithe ag an dáta dlite, 1 Feabhra 2013, agus gur gá oibreacha feabhais a chur i gcrích mar gur theip ar an gcóras le linn iniúchadh a rinneadh faoin Acht 2012. Brathann an méad deontais a bheidh ar fáil ar chostas na feabhsúcháin a chaithfear a dheanamh agus ioncam an teaghlaigh lena mbaineann an córas. Beidh leibhéal níos airde tacaíochta ar fáil do theaghlaigh ar ioncaim íseal. Beidh sonraí iomlána na scéime leagtha amach i rialacháin nua a thabharfaidh mé chun críche sara thosnaíonn na hiniúchtaí níos déanaí i mbliana.
144. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of households estimated to be liable for the household charge in each county; the number who have paid; the percentage paid in each county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5054/13]
View answerThe Local Government (Household Charge) Act 2011 provides the legislative basis for the Household Charge. Under the Act, an owner of a residential property on the liability date is liable to pay the Household Charge, unless otherwise exempted or entitled to claim a waiver. It is a matter for an owner of a residential property to determine liability and pay the Charge. The Local Government Management Agency is administering the Household Charge system on a shared service/agency basis for all county and city councils.
The attached table details, as of 28 January 2013, the total number of payments and waivers registered for the Household Charge by local authority area, the number of estimated liable properties, and the percentage of the properties registered per estimated number of liable properties.
|
County/City Council |
Properties registered (paid) |
Properties registered (waivers) |
Total Properties Registered |
Estimated No. of Liable properties |
Properties Registered as a % of Liable Properties |
|
Carlow |
12,515 |
322 |
12,837 |
18,257 |
70.31% |
|
Cavan |
16,683 |
1,153 |
17,836 |
25,611 |
69.64% |
|
Clare |
33,675 |
439 |
34,114 |
45,786 |
74.51% |
|
Cork City |
28,546 |
176 |
28,722 |
41,649 |
68.96% |
|
Cork County |
94,988 |
2,644 |
97,632 |
143,887 |
67.85% |
|
Donegal |
37,689 |
547 |
38,236 |
65,331 |
58.53% |
|
Dublin City |
140,046 |
1,212 |
141,258 |
190,685 |
74.08% |
|
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown |
63,981 |
406 |
64,387 |
74,390 |
86.55% |
|
Fingal |
61,707 |
2,309 |
64,016 |
90,286 |
70.90% |
|
Galway City |
21,191 |
59 |
21,250 |
27,086 |
78.45% |
|
Galway County |
42,541 |
747 |
43,288 |
62,851 |
68.87% |
|
Kerry |
44,079 |
330 |
44,409 |
58,792 |
75.54% |
|
Kildare |
45,623 |
1,786 |
47,409 |
68,215 |
69.50% |
|
Kilkenny |
21,973 |
535 |
22,508 |
32,067 |
70.19% |
|
Laois |
16,717 |
376 |
17,093 |
26,185 |
65.28% |
|
Leitrim |
9,243 |
204 |
9,447 |
13,069 |
72.29% |
|
Limerick City |
14,187 |
226 |
14,413 |
20,380 |
70.72% |
|
Limerick County |
32,065 |
714 |
32,779 |
46,473 |
70.53% |
|
Longford |
8,709 |
601 |
9,310 |
12,928 |
72.01% |
|
Louth |
25,329 |
1,018 |
26,347 |
41,176 |
63.99% |
|
Mayo |
39,721 |
998 |
40,719 |
51,363 |
79.28% |
|
Meath |
38,955 |
992 |
39,947 |
60,652 |
65.86% |
|
Monaghan |
14,075 |
294 |
14,369 |
20,176 |
71.22% |
|
North Tipperary |
18,043 |
536 |
18,579 |
24,839 |
74.80% |
|
Offaly |
15,603 |
413 |
16,016 |
25,224 |
63.50% |
|
Roscommon |
17,023 |
427 |
17,450 |
23,888 |
73.05% |
|
Sligo |
18,623 |
286 |
18,909 |
25,281 |
74.80% |
|
South Dublin |
53,528 |
414 |
53,942 |
81,822 |
65.93% |
|
South Tipperary |
21,100 |
327 |
21,427 |
30,368 |
70.56% |
|
Waterford City |
10,749 |
168 |
10,917 |
15,753 |
69.30% |
|
Waterford County |
16,781 |
157 |
16,938 |
24,777 |
68.36% |
|
Westmeath |
20,593 |
370 |
20,963 |
29,872 |
70.18% |
|
Wexford |
36,647 |
1,273 |
37,920 |
56,030 |
67.68% |
|
Wicklow |
32,294 |
495 |
32,789 |
45,665 |
71.80% |
|
National |
1,125,222 |
22,954 |
1,148,176 |
1,620,814 |
70.84% |
145. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if it is obligatory to register a private waste water system in a house that is currently uninhabitable; if the house is repaired and is made habitable and the owner then registers the waste water system will they be eligible for the new grant for the upgrade of waste water systems; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5056/13]
View answerThe Water Services (Amendment) Act 2012 requires that all owners of premises connected to domestic waste water treatment systems must register their system on or before 1 February 2013. This includes owners of premises which may for the time being be unoccupied, unless the treatment system serving the property has been emptied and de-commissioned. Septic tanks and other domestic waste water treatment systems which have not been emptied and de-commissioned will contain sludge and waste waters which may constitute a risk to public health or the environment.
I recently announced my intention to introduce a grant scheme to provide financial assistance to households whose septic tanks and other domestic wastewater treatment systems require remediation or upgrading following inspection under the Water Services (Amendment) Act 2012. The scheme will apply to treatment systems which have been registered by the due date of 1 February 2013 and which are deemed to require remediation having failed an inspection carried out under the 2012 Act. Full details of the scheme will be defined in regulations which I will make in advance of inspections commencing later this year.
146. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 75 of 6 December 2012, the reason the information promised has not been provided; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5057/13]
View answerThe majority of CLÁR measures were closed to applications in 2008. While some measures accepted applications in 2009 and 2010, all were subsequently closed to new funding requests.
All of the remaining commitments under the CLÁR Programme relate to already approved Sports Capital projects. The lead Department for these projects and the source of the majority of funding for the sports clubs and community groups involved is the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport.
In the years 2002-2012, some €137m was expended under the CLÁR Programme and provision was made for €0.3m for this year to meet existing commitments.
The information requested in Question No. 75 of 6 December 2012 was not available in the format requested at that time. It has since been compiled by my Department and the table below details the breakdown on a county basis for the period 2002 to 2012.
Table CLÁR Expenditure By County by Year 2002 to 2012
|
COUNTY |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2,010 |
2011 |
2012 |
|
|
€ |
€ |
€ |
€ |
€ |
€ |
€ |
€ |
€ |
€ |
€ |
|
Carlow |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
96,633 |
133,935 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Cavan |
862,755 |
808,301 |
704,741 |
1,283,033 |
1,348,860 |
1,044,001 |
721,885 |
243,889 |
25,178 |
1,818 |
0 |
|
Clare |
987,591 |
544,665 |
1,270,569 |
1,630,756 |
1,494,120 |
1,010,826 |
2,112,053 |
1,555,134 |
239,401 |
33,477 |
0 |
|
Cork |
1,230,440 |
589,760 |
769,792 |
670,102 |
2,238,509 |
1,740,706 |
2,563,897 |
1,537,062 |
299,807 |
25,460 |
6,673 |
|
Donegal |
1,073,862 |
946,670 |
984,888 |
1,399,037 |
1,691,605 |
1,974,963 |
1,669,663 |
2,535,214 |
332,812 |
22,659 |
2,955 |
|
Dublin |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5,058 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Galway |
976,307 |
159,333 |
1,756,410 |
1,369,626 |
970,561 |
1,195,531 |
2,399,487 |
1,277,348 |
273,146 |
40,887 |
27,406 |
|
Kerry |
1,468,524 |
638,618 |
931,777 |
1,003,080 |
1,819,936 |
1,671,758 |
2,125,042 |
868,204 |
1,820,310 |
94,594 |
1,491 |
|
Kildare |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
266 |
0 |
|
Kilkenny |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
20,038 |
216,171 |
51,294 |
0 |
6,932 |
0 |
0 |
|
Laois |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
206,706 |
109,067 |
149,763 |
26,000 |
3,040 |
0 |
0 |
|
Leitrim |
1,882,397 |
1,083,257 |
1,581,902 |
595,841 |
2,782,131 |
1,587,227 |
1,514,200 |
1,257,700 |
276,684 |
20,578 |
18,840 |
|
Limerick |
90,000 |
38,000 |
25,601 |
15,000 |
290,775 |
264,997 |
443,205 |
89,861 |
31,750 |
5,000 |
0 |
|
Longford |
335,793 |
221,577 |
175,184 |
239,383 |
542,396 |
563,691 |
277,894 |
50,219 |
3,360 |
1,524 |
18,704 |
|
Louth |
287,034 |
330,421 |
379,532 |
168,951 |
204,398 |
220,943 |
110,590 |
8,000 |
630 |
0 |
0 |
|
Mayo |
2,326,138 |
1,280,046 |
1,631,275 |
2,474,475 |
4,911,704 |
5,434,527 |
4,297,181 |
2,290,648 |
1,870,430 |
30,564 |
481 |
|
Meath |
87,170 |
10,000 |
34,049 |
25,284 |
36,770 |
71,249 |
102,435 |
16,100 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Monaghan |
200,666 |
154,936 |
200,482 |
266,812 |
734,841 |
817,112 |
1,022,568 |
167,114 |
200,123 |
1,414 |
0 |
|
Offaly |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
104,755 |
35,244 |
294,234 |
47,300 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Ros-common |
1,121,942 |
951,788 |
590,674 |
1,103,716 |
1,492,704 |
1,993,496 |
2,309,019 |
1,101,104 |
146,217 |
53,284 |
4,102 |
|
Sligo |
854,428 |
523,049 |
642,272 |
752,065 |
1,554,607 |
459,783 |
1,088,932 |
277,124 |
76,146 |
14,682 |
10,425 |
|
Tipperary North |
134,234 |
53,299 |
194,436 |
89,991 |
256,770 |
195,832 |
109,882 |
62,824 |
31,300 |
1,200 |
0 |
|
Tipperary South |
120,000 |
79,013 |
37,398 |
22,553 |
154,343 |
168,955 |
197,173 |
57,339 |
70,500 |
0 |
0 |
|
Westmeath |
100,040 |
21,459 |
65,065 |
69,292 |
71,194 |
126,118 |
177,539 |
126,660 |
14,150 |
350 |
0 |
|
Waterford |
0 |
178,408 |
140,318 |
281,422 |
82,667 |
310,474 |
277,351 |
3,401 |
0 |
508 |
0 |
|
Wicklow |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
15,000 |
29,247 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Total |
14,139,318 |
8,612,597 |
12,116,365 |
13,460,419 |
23,010,390 |
21,329,362 |
24,178,470 |
13,598,246 |
5,721,918 |
348,265 |
91,077 |
147. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide in tabular form the number of organisations or agencies under the aegis of his Department that have vacancies on their board; the length of time any such vacancies have been unfilled; the number of vacancies that have been advertised; the number of applications to fill such vacancies that have been received; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4863/13]
View answerI wish to inform the Deputy that the information sought regarding vacancies on the Board of organisations and agencies under the aegis of my Department is detailed below.
The Private Security Authority (PSA), an independent agency under my remit, is the regulatory body with responsibility for regulating and licensing the private security industry in the State. There are 11 vacancies on the Board, four of these will be nominated representatives from my own Department, the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, An Garda Síochána and the PSA itself.
|
Board |
Number of Vacancies to be filled |
Date from which Vacancies remain unfilled |
Number of Vacancies advertised |
Number of Applications received |
|
Private Security Authority (PSA) |
11 |
03/12/2012 |
7 |
29 |
The Deputy may also wish to note that the General Scheme of a Bill to replace the Equality Authority and the Human Rights Commission with a new Irish Human Rights Equality Commission was published on the 5th June 2012. There are currently no serving members on either body. As the Deputy will be aware, an independent Selection Panel was set up to select the members of the new Commission. It is expected that the selection process for Commission members will be completed shortly. Once the selection panel have made a decision on their recommendation and communicated that decision to me, the intention is that the successful applicants will be appointed to the two existing bodies, the Equality Authority and the Human Rights Commission, pending enactment of the necessary legislation to effect the merger. It is also intended that the successful applicants will meet with the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality.
148. Deputy Heather Humphreys asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the amount of funding allocated to the free legal advice centres and the proportion spent on promotional material; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4884/13]
View answerI am to advise the Deputy that this year my Department will make available a grant of €98,000 to Free Legal Advice Centres. I can also advise the Deputy that FLAC (Free Legal Advice Centres) is an independent human rights organisation and is not under the aegis of my Department. Consequently I am not in a position to advise on the proportion of funding that is spent on promotional material.
149. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding an application in respect of a person (details supplied). [4904/13]
View answerThe person concerned has requested a right of residency in the State, accompanied by a right to work, based on the principles of the European Court of Justice Judgment in the Zambrano case. However, given that all information and documentation required to make a decision is not on file at present, a representative of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service has written to the person concerned, by letter dated 8th August, 2012, requesting clarification and further documentation. Upon receipt of the requested clarification and documentation, the case of the person concerned will be further considered.
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.
