Written Answers Nos. 168 - 176
168. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if any directive has been issued to local authorities to refuse to pay local authority grade six workers the first hour of overtime worked during the week, Monday to Friday, and the reason workers are expected to work that hour for free, as is the case, for example, in Dublin City Council. [10801/13]
View answerDay to day operational matters in local authorities, including overtime arrangements, are a matter for individual local authorities. Information in relation to rates of overtime in local authorities is presented in the tables.
Overtime rates for the Clerical/Administrative grades are as follows:
Grades whose maximum salary does not exceed that of Staff Officer (€48,495):
|
Hours |
Time |
|
First 3 hours in week |
Time plus one-quarter |
|
Next 5 hours |
Time plus one-half |
|
Thereafter |
Double time |
Grades whose maximum salary does not exceed that of Administrative Officer (€61,418):
|
Hours |
Time |
|
First hour in week in excess of gross working hours |
Free |
|
Next 2 hours |
Time plus one-quarter |
|
Next 5 hours |
Time plus one-half |
|
Thereafter |
Double time |
Overtime rates for General Operatives and other grades, outside of normal working hours, generally apply as follows:
|
Hours |
Time |
|
Finishing time – 12.00 midnight |
Monday - Friday - Time plus one-half |
|
Midnight – Normal starting time |
Monday - Friday - Double time |
|
First 4 hours / Up to lunchtime |
Saturday - Time plus one-half |
|
All remaining hours |
Saturday - Double time |
|
All hours |
Sunday - Double time |
169. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide an update for the regeneration of St. Teresa's Gardens; if the funding for the new build units as part of the regeneration has transferred to Dublin City Council; and if he will provide an update on the overall situation with this regeneration project. [10802/13]
View answer170. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the position regarding funding for the regeneration of Dolphin House, Dublin; and the moneys available to rehouse senior citizens from Dolphin Park in a new complex on site, to refurbish the flats themselves and to build community facilities. [10803/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 169 and 170 together.
Notwithstanding the constraints on capital expenditure across all the various measures under my Department’s Social Housing Investment Programme, I will continue to support the National Regeneration Programme to the fullest extent possible. I am determined that there will be no loss of momentum in 2013 in progressing regeneration projects in Dublin City, including the Dolphin House and St Teresa’s Gardens projects, and the other priority projects in Limerick City, Cork City and in a number of regional towns around the country. I intend to announce details of the capital allocations under the housing programme for 2013, including allocations to agencies and local authorities in respect of their regeneration programmes, very shortly.
Draft schematic regeneration proposals were developed by Dublin City Council and submitted to my Department in March 2012. These documents explore a number of options for the redevelopment of Dolphin House and St. Teresa’s Gardens. My Department is currently liaising with the Council to further develop these proposals for incorporation into an overall Masterplan. As soon as this process is concluded it is expected that the City Council will be in a position to provide projected multi-annual funding requirements for the future regeneration of both areas. Funding for the various constituent elements of these schemes must await approval of the Masterplan.
In advance of the completion of detailed Masterplan, my Department approved a programme of social inclusion initiatives for both locations in 2012. In the case of Dolphin House this included funding for a community worker, an extension to the existing CCTV system and, in addition, some €1.5 million to support an interim programme of remedial and improvement works to the flats in order to improve living conditions and address issues relating to insulation, condensation and wastewater drainage. Further works are scheduled for 2013. In relation to St. Teresa’s Gardens my Department also approved a programme of social inclusion initiatives in 2012 in addition to funding for demolition works. A number of houses were also purchased by Dublin City Council in 2012 to facilitate the regeneration project.
171. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to retrofit inadeqately insulated local authority housing stock here. [10804/13]
View answerI refer to the reply to Question No. 458 of 12 February which sets out the position with regard to the insulation of local authority housing stock.
172. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide a breakdown of the number of local authority bedsits that there are in the State listing them by local authority area. [10816/13]
View answerMy Department collates and publishes a wide range of housing and planning statistics that inform the preparation and evaluation of policy and those data are available on my Department’s website www.environ.ie . Data on local authority housing stock broken down by dwelling type are included in this range. However, the dwelling type variables are house or flat/apartment. Data are not compiled on local authority bedsits specifically.
The Central Statistics Office collects detailed data at an aggregated national level on accommodation types and household characteristics and these data are available on www.cso.ie . The data show that in the 2006 – 2011 intercensal period there was a significant decline in the number of local authority bedsits.
The Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2008, which set down minimum accommodation standards for rented properties, came into effect on 1 February 2009, with certain provisions being phased in for existing rental properties over a four year period to allow time for the carrying out of the significant remedial work that may be involved in achieving compliance. Since 1 February 2013 the regulations are fully in force. Article 6 of the Regulations sets out that each rental property must have exclusive access to its own sanitary facilities, and that those facilities are contained within the habitable area of the house. This provision will have the effect of removing traditional bed-sit-type accommodation from the rental market. All landlords, including local authorities, have a legal obligation to ensure that their rented properties comply with these regulations. As responsibility for enforcing the regulations rests with the relevant local authority, supported by a dedicated stream of funding allocated by my Department, I expect that authorities will be to the fore in terms of compliance with the regulations.
173. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide a timeline for the rolling out of water meters and the implementation of water charges on households here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10838/13]
View answerThe Programme for Government and the Memorandum of Understanding with the EU, the IMF and the ECB provide for the introduction of domestic water charges. The Government considers that charging based on usage is the fairest way to charge for water and it has decided that water meters should be installed in households connected to public water supplies. The Government has also 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 metering programme.
It is expected that the installation of meter boxes and domestic water meters will begin in the middle of this year and will be rolled out as quickly as possible thereafter. The Water Services Bill 2013 will assign the necessary powers to allow Irish Water to undertake the metering programme.
The Bill also assigns to the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) the power to advise the Government on the development of a regulatory framework for water services. The Government intends assigning to CER a full range of regulatory powers before the commencement of domestic water charges. This will include powers to set tariffs as well as the establishment of customer protection measures. The framework for water charges will be developed and consulted on by CER as part of the regulatory process. It is not intended that domestic water charges will commence before 2014.
174. Deputy Nicky McFadden asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of properties in counties Longford and Westmeath that have been identified by the National Asset Management Agency for use as social housing; if he has communicated with the local authorities on the availability of NAMA property for the purpose of providing social housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10843/13]
View answerTo date, 31 housing units in County Longford and 32 housing units in County Westmeath have been identified by the National Assets Management Agency (NAMA) as being potentially available for social housing purposes. The Local Authorities and the Housing Agency are working systematically with NAMA to determine if there is a social housing demand for these properties. Currently demand has been confirmed for 18 of these units and negotiations are proceeding.
175. Deputy Nicky McFadden asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will defer signing new regulations for a mandatory building certificate system under the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations Act 2013 until the forthcoming report from the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and Gaeltacht is studied; if he has considered the architects alliance paper on self-certification; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10850/13]
View answerI refer to the reply to Questions Nos. 429, 430 and 434 on 26 February 2013 which comprehensively sets out the position in relation to this matter.
176. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will prioritise the application by Fingal County Council for funding for phase two of the Rush, County Dublin, sewerage upgrade, as a matter of urgency in view of the fact that raw sewerage is being pumped into the sea at Rush. [10855/13]
View answerThe Portrane/Donabate/Rush/Lusk Sewerage Scheme is included in my Department’s Water Services Investment Programme 2010 – 2013, with some elements to advance to construction and others to advance through planning during the lifetime of the Programme.
Some contracts of the scheme, including the new wastewater treatment plant, are being advanced or have been completed, while others, including works within the Rush catchment, are still at the planning stage. At the request of Fingal County Council, my Department is reviewing the priority of the Rush element of the scheme. This request is under consideration and a decision will be made as soon as possible.
