Written Answers Nos. 151-161
151. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the position regarding the possible sale of title or ground rent in respect of Old Canal Side, CIE Properties; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9433/13]
View answerI am advised that Waterways Ireland is responsible for the management, including ground rent and possible sale, of certain properties, including some of the Canal Lock houses to which the Deputy refers. The Deputy will appreciate that any plans to sell either title or ground rent in respect of such properties would be a matter for Waterways Ireland in the first instance.
152. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív den Aire Ealaíon, Oidhreachta agus Gaeltachta cad é an líon measta scoláirí a n-íocfar deontas ina leith sa mbliain 2013 faoi scéim na bhfoghlaimeoirí Gaeilge; agus an ndéanfaidh sé ráiteas ina thaobh. [9381/13]
View answerTá mé cinnte go dtuigeann an Teachta nach féidir meastachán cruinn a dhéanamh ag an tráth seo ar líon na scoláirí a dhéanfaidh freastal ar chúrsaí aitheanta faoi Scéim na bhFoghlaimeoirí Gaeilge sa Ghaeltacht in 2013.
Cé gur tháinig laghdú ar líon na bhfoghlaimeoirí le blianta beaga anuas – a bhuíochas sin don chúlú eacnamaíochta, ní foláir - tá CONCOS, an eagraíocht ionadaíochta do na coláistí Gaeilge, ag déanamh gach iarracht an meath seo a fhreaschur i mbliana le tacaíocht ó mo Roinnse. Mar Aire Stáit, ba mhaith liomsa, ar ndóigh, nach mbeadh titim ar na huimhreacha arís i mbliana agus tabharfaidh mo Roinn aon chúnamh gur féidir do CONCOS chun an sprioc sin a bhaint amach.
153. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív den Aire Ealaíon, Oidhreachta agus Gaeltachta cad é líon na scéimeanna teanga a daingníodh gach bliain ó tháinig Acht na dTeangacha Oifigiúla, 2003 i bhfeidhm go dáta; agus an ndéanfaidh sé ráiteas ina thaobh. [9382/13]
View answerTá an t-eolas atá iarrtha ag an Teachta sa tábla seo.
|
Bliain |
Líon céad scéimeanna daingnithe |
Líon dara scéimeanna daingnithe |
|
2004 |
1 |
- |
|
2005 |
22 |
- |
|
2006 |
18 |
- |
|
2007 |
29 |
- |
|
2008 |
15 |
- |
|
2009 |
14 |
8 |
|
2010 |
6 |
10 |
|
2011 |
- |
1 |
|
2012 |
3 |
6 |
|
2013 (go dáta) |
- |
1 |
|
Iomlán |
108 |
26 |
Mar is eol don Teachta, tá sonraí maidir leis na scéimeanna uilig atá daingnithe go dáta, mar aon leis na scéimeanna atá á n-ullmhú faoi latháir, ar fáil ar shuíomh gréasáin Oifig an Choimisinéara Teanga, www.coimisineir.ie.
154. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will confirm if any applications for an extension of the existing onshore licensing options have been received by his Department and the closing date for same. [9325/13]
View answerThe three onshore licensing options granted in February 2011 are for a two year period from 1st March 2011 to 28th February 2013. The licensing options confer upon the holders the first right, exercisable at any time during the period of the option, to an application for an exploration licence or licences over all or part of the area covered by the option. Under the terms of the licensing competition the duration of the licensing options cannot be extended. I can confirm that two of the companies concerned have recently submitted applications for follow-on exploration licences.
As I have confirmed to the House on a number of previous occasions, no decision will be made on any proposal for the use of hydraulic fracturing in exploration drilling in Ireland until there has been time to consider the outcome of further research to be commissioned by the EPA in this area.
155. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if the office of the Minister of State has been delegated powers to grant Onshore Exploration Licences. [9326/13]
View answerThe Energy and Natural Resources (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) (No.2) Order 2011, (S.I. 631 of 2011), delegates powers and duties under, inter alia, the Petroleum and Other Minerals Development Act 1960 (No.7 of 1960), to Deputy Fergus O’Dowd, Minister of State at my Department. This delegation confers the power to Minister of State O’Dowd to grant Exploration Licences.
The Deputy will appreciate that in accordance with Section 2(2)(e) of the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment)(No. 2) Act 1977 every statutory power or duty delegated continues to be vested in the Minister of the Government on whose request the delegation was made.
156. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his plans to create a mandatory registration scheme for oil technicians in order to ensure the highest safety standards in guarding against carbon monoxide poisoning; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9500/13]
View answerI am very conscious of the dangers posed by carbon monoxide gas to people in their homes and at their places of work.
In that regard I was pleased to launch the first Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week on the 24th September 2012. The Awareness Week saw a sustained, multi-media publicity campaign to alert people to the dangers posed by carbon monoxide and to give them advice as to what they should do to be safe. The issue was widely reported on television, on national and local radio and in both national and local press.
In addition to the Awareness Week, Bord Gáis has pursued a number of sustained media campaigns on the dangers posed by carbon monoxide. Such campaigns have been approved by the Commission for Energy Regulation and reported to the Commission’s Gas Safety Committee, in which my Department participates.
It is also important to note that significant efforts have been made by the gas industry to raise safety standards. The industry has worked with the Commission for Energy Regulation to establish a register of approved gas installers. This has been an important development in improving quality control in gas matters, including reducing the risk posed by carbon monoxide in gas installations.
In respect of the possibility for a mandatory registration scheme for oil technicians I have asked my officials to meet with industry representatives to discuss the matter and I await the outcome of such discussions.
157. Deputy Michelle Mulherin asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the status of a grant application to Mayo North East LEADER Partnership Company Teoranta by an enterprise (details supplied) in County Mayo; when a decision will be made; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9286/13]
View answerMayo North East Leader Partnership is the Local Action Group contracted by my Department to deliver both the Rural Development Programme and the Local Community Development Programme to the North Mayo area.
On foot of correspondence received in 2011 regarding a possible governance issue at Mayo North East LEADER Partnership Company, a comprehensive investigation into the issues outlined was undertaken. This proved to be a very complex investigation and, on foot of its initial findings and in the context of the Department’s responsibility to ensure that RDP funding is delivered in an efficient and effective way, a decision was made to suspend project approvals by the Partnership on 7 March 2012.
The project referred to in the question had not been approved for funding prior to 7 of March and could not therefore be progressed any further at that time. The investigation has been completed and a Final Report has been provided to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine as Managing Authority for the RDP. That Department has subsequently reported the findings to the European Commission and the external accreditation auditors (Deloitte). The Report has been considered in my own Department also and an Action Plan has been agreed with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. My Department has also agreed a series of actions to be taken by Mayo North East LEADER Partnership Company, and these actions are at an advanced stage of implementation. Accordingly I expect to be in contact with Mayo North LEADER Partnership shortly in regard to resumption of project approvals.
158. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if there is an obligation upon local authorities to comply with the provisions set out in Department Circular PL07/12 regarding telecommunications antennae and support structures guidelines; if so, the penalties that exist for non-compliance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9307/13]
View answerThe circular letter in question was issued under section 28 of the Planning and Development Acts 2000-2012 to update certain sections of the Telecommunications Antennae and Support Structures Guidelines (1996).
Section 28 provides that Planning authorities and An Bord Pleanála must have regard to such guidelines in the performance of their functions and must demonstrate how they have implemented the policies and objectives of the Minister in applying the guidelines to their functional area.
159. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will outline the training and qualifications required to install water meters when the water charges scheme is rolled out; and if he will clarify if persons hired for the positions by the sub contractors must be qualified plumbers. [9320/13]
View answerThe Government has decided that Irish Water, a new State-owned water company to be established as an independent subsidiary within the Bord Gáis Éireann Group, will be responsible for the domestic water metering programme. It will be a matter for Irish Water, and any contractors employed by it, to recruit suitable qualified personnel for the relevant works. The approach being adopted for the procurement of sub-contractors and regional main contractors for the metering programme is set out in the reply to Question No. 696 of 16 January 2013.
160. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide an up to date list of the number of people on local authority waiting lists for each local authority broken down by the length of time spent on each list according to the following time patterns: up to three months, three to six months, six to twelve months, one to two years, two to three years, three to four years, four to five years, five to seven years and more than seven years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9336/13]
View answerMy Department does not hold information on the number of households on local authorities’ waiting lists. This figure continuously fluctuates as households are allocated housing and new households apply for housing support.
Detailed information on the latest statutory assessment of housing need carried out in March 2011, including a breakdown by housing authority, is available on my Department’s website – www.environ.ie or on the Housing Agency’s website at www.housing.ie
Section 21 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 requires each housing authority to prepare a summary of the social housing assessments carried out in its administrative area. This summary is to be prepared on 30 April 2013. A report on the summary will be available in the Autumn.
161. Deputy Dominic Hannigan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the action a householder may take when their house was once declared fully compliant with building regulations but it is then deemed not to be and the builder has gone into receivership so is not in a position to fix it; if there are avenues they can go down to receive funding to repair the home and bring it up to standard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9349/13]
View answerFirstly I acknowledge the distressing and stressful situations which individuals face when building works are not completed to the required acceptable standard.
The Building Control Act 1990 clearly places responsibility for compliance with the Building Regulations on the owner of the building concerned and on the builder or developer who carries out the works.
The Building Regulations set out the legally enforceable minimum standards which a new building must achieve. Enforcement of the Building Regulations is primarily the responsibility of the 37 local Building Control Authorities who have strong powers to serve enforcement notices for non-compliance or to institute proceedings for breaches of regulatory requirements within a period of five years from the date the building has been completed. Homeowners should be advised to report any concerns about non-compliance with the Building Regulations to the local Building Control Authority.
There is no indication in the case in question as to whether the builder-developer was a member of any structural guarantee-warranty scheme, such as that provided by HomeBond, and this should be ascertained and pursued if relevant.
Remediation of defects is a matter between the parties concerned, the owner and the builder-developer and their insurers. In the case where a receiver has been appointed by a financial institution, it is a matter for that receiver and institution to consider what steps are appropriate to be taken in relation to liabilities facing the building firm concerned. Any claims against such a firm should immediately be brought to the attention of the receiver and the financial institution.
