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Thursday, 4 Jul 2013

Written Answers Nos. 182-192

Local Authority Staff Issues

Questions (182)

Clare Daly

Question:

182. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the fact that in accordance with the provision of section 147 of the Local Government Act 2001, the tenure of the current Sligo county manager will expire on 3 November 2013; if he will confirm that in the first instance this is a matter for the county manager's employer; when the recruitment process will commence for the filling of the post; in the interests of openness and transparency, the amount of the gross lump sum, the gross severance gratuity and annual pension that will be paid to the county manager when they retire; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32793/13]

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Written answers

The selection and appointment of a County or City Manager is governed by primary legislation, including the Local Government Act 2001. Managers are selected following open competition conducted by the Public Appointments Service. I understand that the Sligo County Manager post will become vacant later this year and the Public Appointments Service has initiated the recruitment process to replace the outgoing County Manager.

In relation to the superannuation of the outgoing Sligo County Manager, I refer the Deputy to the reply to Question No. 424 of 25 June, 2013.

Local Authority Staff Issues

Questions (183)

Clare Daly

Question:

183. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide in tabular form, a list of the city and county managers who have retired since 1 January 2010; the local authority they retired from; their age on retirement; the number of added years they received on retirement; and the amount of the special severance gratuity payment received on retirement, lump sum received and annual pension payment. [32794/13]

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Written answers

The information requested is set out in the table below.

Local Authority Manager for

  

Retirement Date

Age on Retirement

Added Years

Annual Pension

Lump Sum Payment

Special Severance Gratuity Payments

North Tipperary

30/04/2010

61

Nil

€68,290.50

€204,871.50

€68,290.50

Donegal

07/07/2010

65

Nil

€73,422.50

€220,249.72

Nil

Cork City Council

31/08/2010

63

Nil

€78,983.50

€236,950.50

€78,983.50

Monaghan

30/11/2010

58

1.6658 Years

€68,290.50

€201,735.74

€68,290.50

South Tipperary

28/04/2011

65

Nil

€73,422.50

€220,267.50

Nil

Waterford County

19/09/2011

53

8.3754 Years

€63,335.64

€189,664.16

€66,255.50

Limerick City

28/02/2012

58

8.9945 Years

€73,422.50

€202,541.55

€91,222.50

South Dublin

02/04/2012

62

Nil

€75,899.50

€227,698.50

€75,899.50

Limerick County

08/04/2012

64

Nil

€67,548.70

€202,646.10

€67,548.70

Meath

03/09/2012

59

Nil

€72,664.82

€217,994.45

€72,664.82

Wexford

30/11/2012

64

Nil

€67,548.70

€202,646.10

Nil

Insurance Industry Issues

Questions (184)

Clare Daly

Question:

184. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the remedy open to a home owner who initiated a claim with a company (details supplied) in relation to pyrite before the ten year warranty expired, the tests revealed pyrite at a borderline level, which required further monitoring, and subsequent to that the ten years were reached and the company closed the file, disclaiming all liability. [32800/13]

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Written answers

The application of the terms and conditions of the warranty insurance scheme operated by Premier is a private contractual matter between the homeowner and the company concerned. Neither I nor my Department are privy to, nor have any responsibility in, such matters.

The Pyrite Resolution Board (PRB) is currently putting in place an application system for a pyrite remediation scheme for homeowners whose homes are affected by significant pyritic heave and who have no other viable avenue to seek redress to have their homes remediated. The eligibility criteria for the scheme are available on the PRB’s website, www.pyriteboard.ie. Affected homeowners will be able to apply to be included in a programme of pyrite remediation when the application system becomes available; the PRB are working towards having the system in place as quickly as possible. It will be a matter for the PRB to determine the admissibility of applicants having regard to the eligibility criteria for the scheme.

Commercial Rates Issues

Questions (185)

John Deasy

Question:

185. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of times an order has been made since the enactment of the Valuation Act 2001 requiring a rating authority to exercise its powers to make rates in such a manner that it does not exceed the amount of rates to be paid to it in the first year following a revaluation, except for any increase determined by the consumer price index. [32802/13]

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Written answers

Local authorities are under a statutory obligation to levy rates on any property used for commercial purposes , in accordance with the details entered in the valuation lists prepared by the independent Commissioner of Valuation under the Valuation Act 2001. The levying and collection of rates are matters for each individual local authority. The annual rate on valuation (ARV), which is applied to the valuation of each property, determined by the Valuation Office, to obtain the amount payable in rates, is decided by the elected members of each local authority in the annual budget and its determination is a reserved function.

The Commissioner of Valuation is conducting a programme of revaluation of all commercial and industrial properties throughout the State on a county by county basis. The purpose of the revaluation process is to provide for more consistent and up-to-date valuations for rating purposes and to assist in providing a more equitable distribution of valuations across those liable to pay rates.

To allay concerns that local authorities might gain a disproportionate increase in rates income in the year following a revaluation, a provision was included in the Valuation Act 2001 to limit the overall amount of income it could raise through rates in the year following a revaluation to the total amount of rates liable to be paid to it in the previous year, plus buoyancy (arising from valuations determined in the year of a revaluation of newly constructed property), adjusted for inflation as measured by the CPI.

Rate limitation orders have been made in each of the local authorities to have undergone a revaluation to date, namely, South Dublin County Council, Fingal County Council and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. Orders will be drafted for Dublin City Council, Waterford County Council, Waterford City Council and Dungarvan Town Council by year end to take effect from 1 January 2014.

International Bodies Membership

Questions (186)

Andrew Doyle

Question:

186. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will outline each international organisation, international agency or international body of which Ireland is a member and for which his Department or a State body or agency under the aegis of his Department is responsible or co-responsible; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32809/13]

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Written answers

The information requested, in respect of international organisations, agencies and bodies of which Ireland is a Member through my Department and /or bodies under its aegis, is set out in the following table.

Table

Council of Europe’s European Committee on Local and Regional Democracy

European Environment Agency

OECD environment policy committee and other OECD environment-related

groupings as relevant from time to time as the need arises

Climate and Clean Air Coalition

International Carbon Action Partnership and the Renewable

Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership

European Forum for Architectural Policy

UN International Atomic Energy Agency

OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA)

International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER)

European Repository Development Organisation (ERDO)

International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP)

European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG)

European ALARA Network

European Radiation Protection Authorities Network (ERPAN)

Heads of European Radiological Protection Competent Authorities (HERCA)

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Concerted Action on Energy Performance of Buildings

Concerted Action on Renewable Energy Sources

EU Standing Committee on Construction

Eurocode National Correspondents

WMO (World Meteorological Organisation)

EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites)

ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts)

EUMETNET (The European Meteorological Services Network)

Met Alliance (Alliance of Aeronautical Meteorological Service Providers in Europe)

EC-Earth

International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG)

ECOMET (European Co-operation in Meteorology)

HIRLAM (High Resolution Limited Area Model)

National Authorities on Public Libraries in Europe Forum

International Federation of Library Associations

Council of European Municipalities & Regions

Union Des Dirigeants Territoriaux De L’Europe (UDITE)

International Life Saving Federation (ILS)

International Life Saving of Europe (ILSE)

International Federation Swimming Teachers Association (IFSTA)

International Maritime Rescue Federation

Local Authority Funding

Questions (187)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

187. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if and when further funding in respect of a disabled person's grants will be made available to Kildare County Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32818/13]

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Written answers

On 22 February 2013 I announced capital allocations to local authorities under the suite of Grants for Older People and People with a Disability amounting to €42.750 million. This year I allocated local authorities the full amount of their contractual commitments, which in the case of Kildare City Council amounted to €1,723,752. The balance of the available funding was allocated on the basis of each authority’s share of the new applications on hand in January 2013. This brought Kildare County Council’s overall allocation to €2,025,000.

A small capital reserve was set aside to deal with any acute or particular difficulty which might arise in the operation of the schemes over the course of the year. Following requests from 13 local authorities for supplementary funding, I subsequently approved additional allocations totalling €1.2 million. Through active management of my Department’s overall housing budget for 2013, I am now in a position to allocate additional capital funding to the grants measure. All local authorities will benefit from the increased provision and I intend to notify authorities of their increased allocations by the end of the month.

Local Authority Staff Issues

Questions (188)

Brian Walsh

Question:

188. Deputy Brian Walsh asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of requests received in the period 1 March 2013 to 30 May 2013 from Galway City Council seeking sanction to fill positions at the local authority, the outcome of each of these requests, the nature of each of the positions, and the term of the contract in each case where the filling of the position was sanctioned. [32853/13]

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Written answers

My Department received 17 staff sanction requests from Galway City Council in the period 01 March 2013 to 30 May 2013. The information in relation to these sanction requests is set out in the table below.

Date of Staffing Request

Title of Post(s)

Number of Post(s)

Type of Contract sought

Outcome

If Approved, Type of Contract Given

03/04/2013

School Warden

1

Permanent

Approved

Permanent

03/04/2013

General Operative

1

Permanent

Pending

N / A

03/04/2013

Craftsman - Painter

1

Permanent

Approved

Permanent

03/04/2013

Education Outreach Officer

1

Permanent

Approved

Permanent

03/04/2013

General Operative

1

Permanent

Pending

N / A

21/05/2013

Staff Officer

1

Permanent

Pending

N / A

21/05/2013

Craft Foreperson

1

Contract

Pending

N / A

21/05/2013

Assistant Staff Officer

1

Permanent

Pending

N / A

21/05/2013

Stage Technician

1

Contract

Appeal

N / A

22/05/2013

Assistant Staff Officer

3

Acting

Pending

N / A

22/05/2013

Staff Officer

2

Acting

Pending

N / A

22/05/2013

Assistant Staff Officer

1

Permanent

Pending

N / A

22/05/2013

Senior Staff Officer

1

Acting

Pending

N / A

30/05/2013

Ganger

1

Permanent

Pending

N / A

Anti-Social Behaviour

Questions (189)

Willie Penrose

Question:

189. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will indicate if there are any proposals to strengthen anti-social behaviour provisions whereby persons renting are causing disturbance, annoyance and nuisance to their neighbours in both private and local authority estates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32854/13]

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Written answers

While action to deal with anti-social behaviour is primarily a matter for An Garda Síochána, there are a range of provisions in housing legislation to counter such activity in the residential sector.

In the case of local authority housing, councils have the power to refuse to allocate, or to refuse to sell, a dwelling to a person engaged in anti-social behaviour and the power to seek a court order excluding such a person from entering a local authority dwelling or estate for a period of up to 3 years. Every housing authority has a statutory duty to adopt and review an anti-social behaviour strategy for the prevention and reduction of anti-social behaviour in its housing stock, which must provide for co-operation with other relevant bodies, notably the Gardaí . Proposals for a new Housing Bill currently being developed in my Department include a revised procedure to replace section 62 of the Housing Act, 1966, which will enable housing authorities to recover possession of their dwellings from households in serious breach of their tenancy agreements, including engaging in anti-social behaviour. I am also examining the scope in the forthcoming Bill for strengthening the excluding order powers of housing authorities.

Insofar as private rented accommodation is concerned, the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 prohibits a tenant in a private residential tenancy from engaging in anti-social behaviour in, or in the vicinity of, a dwelling to which the Act applies and allows a landlord to terminate a tenancy at short notice where the tenant is engaging in, or allowing others to engage in , such behaviour. The 2004 Act also empowers a third party adversely affected by anti-social behaviour to make a complaint to the PRTB against a landlord who has failed to enforce tenant obligations. The Act allows the Board to furnish the name and address of the landlord concerned to a person who proposes to make such a complaint. However, the third party complainant must have taken reasonable steps to resolve the matter by communicating or attempting to communicate with the parties to the tenancy concerned before making the complaint to the Board.

Asylum Applications

Questions (190)

Brendan Griffin

Question:

190. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the average time it takes to process applications for subsidiary protection; the plans there are in place to improve the waiting times for these applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32612/13]

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Written answers

In relation to the determination of existing and future applications for subsidiary protection, the High Court Judgment in the MM case has had a very significant impact on the ability of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) to process such applications. Arising from this Judgment, the INIS, in conjunction with the Offices of the Attorney General, is working on the development of a framework, legislative and administrative, under which such applications will be determined into the future. Once the necessary legislative provisions have been completed, the new arrangements will be put into operation as soon as possible thereafter. This framework will also lay some of the foundations for what is proposed in the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill, which I hope to re-publish later this year, under which it is envisaged that applications for asylum, subsidiary protection and 'leave to remain' will be dealt with as a single procedure.

The legislative provisions referred to above are being given priority attention. Once the new arrangements are in place, steps will be taken to have all outstanding applications for subsidiary protection processed to completion in a timely manner.

The processing of an application for Subsidiary Protection is often extremely complex requiring detailed consideration of the individual merits of each case. In addition, cases can often be held up for a number of reasons such as legal proceedings. In other instances, for example where applications are made for EU Treaty Rights or under the Zambrano judgement, these applications will often be processed first. In the circumstances, mean waiting times for processing cases would be highly misleading and not reflective of the actual position having regard to the factors as outlined above which are often outside by Department's direct control.

Sexual Offences

Questions (191)

Dominic Hannigan

Question:

191. Deputy Dominic Hannigan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he expects legislative action to be taken on the issue of admission of counselling notes in sexual abuse cases within the lifetime of this Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32615/13]

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Written answers

It is my intention that this issue will be addressed in the forthcoming Sexual Offences Bill, which is at an advanced stage of preparation in my Department.

Prison Building Programme

Questions (192)

Ciaran Lynch

Question:

192. Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the improvements that have been implemented since the Committee for the Prevention of Torture which visited Cork Prison in 2010 found visiting conditions at the prison to be wholly unsuitable; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32617/13]

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Written answers

As the Deputy will be aware, legislation to give development consent for a new prison facility for Cork city was recently approved by this House and is now awaiting consideration by the Seanad.  The main purpose of the new prison facility is to replace the substandard prison accommodation in Cork and to provide a modern prison designed on the principles of rehabilitation and resettlement. The visiting  arrangements in the new prison will reflect that design philosophy.

I am advised by the Director General of the Irish Prison Service that four small visiting boxes were installed in Cork Prison in 2011. These visiting boxes cater for professional visits as well as general visits to prisoners. In addition, the Irish Prison Service is currently reviewing the visiting facilities across the prison estate to see what measures can be taken to improve the visiting arrangements having regard to operational and security requirements and available resources. I can assure the Deputy that Cork Prison is being  given priority in that regard.

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