Written Answers Nos 81-100
81. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will arrange for the hardcore resurfacing of the access road, walkers path from the old monastic carpark at Glendalough up to the old mines at the Wicklow Gap (details supplied). [43709/13]
View answerMy Department has no function in relation to this road, which is a private access route shared by Coillte; the National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht; and the Catholic Youth Care group who have an interest in Youth Hostels in the area. I understand that in 2007 works were carried out on the road and were jointly funded by the three bodies with a shared interest in the route. I also understand that Coillte's use of the road has been limited to car traffic only on a sporadic basis and that the greatest use of this road is by the traffic linked to the Youth Hostels.
82. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the measures being taken by his Department to encourage a carbon reduction policy in the concrete industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43713/13]
View answerGreen Tenders – An Action Plan on Green Public Procurement was published in 2012 by my Department and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. The overall objective of the Plan is to assist public authorities successfully to plan and implement green public procurement (GPP) by highlighting existing best-practice and outlining further actions to boost GPP. With regard to the construction sector, which includes the concrete industry, the Plan acknowledges the importance of good choice of materials (including cement). In accordance with the Plan, all materials used in construction should be assessed for environmental impacts (including carbon reduction) over the appropriate appraisal period for the project. Public procurers should consider the impacts of the most commonly used materials including embodied energy (and associated CO2 and other pollutants) and should ensure that the environmental advantages claimed by material suppliers can be verified.
83. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will respond to issues raised in correspondence (details supplied) regarding water meters and operative procedures. [43732/13]
View answerI note the issues raised in the correspondence. Under existing legislation, the operation and maintenance of the water network is a matter for the water services authorities. However, the Water Services Bill (No 2) 2013, which is currently in preparation, will provide for the transfer of responsibility for the delivery of water services from the water services authorities to Irish Water. The Bill will also provide for the establishment of an economic regulator for water services within the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER). The primary role of CER will be to protect the interests of customers and to ensure that a consistent and appropriate level of service is provided to them. As part of the metering programme , my Department, in conjunction with Irish Water, is currently working on a proposal regarding customer-side leakage, implementation arrangements for which are not yet available.
84. Deputy John Lyons asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government in view of reports that Roscommon County Council spent approximately €739,000 on consultancy fees in 2012, if he will provide an itemised breakdown of the specific consultancy services engaged by each county council in the year 2012; and the amount spent on these consultancy services by local authorities. [43736/13]
View answerThe information requested is not available in my Department. It is a matter for each local authority to determine its own spending priorities in the context of the annual budgetary process having regard to both locally identified needs and available resources.
85. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of Bills his Department has published since March 2011; the number of regulatory impact assessments that his Department has published since March 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43814/13]
View answerMy Department has published 15 Bills and 16 Regulatory Impact Assessments (RIAs) since March 2011.
RIAs are generally undertaken within my Department at an early stage in the policy development process, as they are regarded as a valuable tool in deciding the best approach to take.
86. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide information on the new local housing allowances retractions and guidelines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43825/13]
View answer87. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if the new changes regarding rental assistance will impact on all payments immediately; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43826/13]
View answer88. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if there is additional help or support to those who are hardest hit and if there is any discretionary payment fund when it comes to the issue of rental assistance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43827/13]
View answer89. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the method that local housing allowances will be implemented in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43828/13]
View answer90. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if there are changes planned for the direct payment of local authority renter allowances to landlords; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43829/13]
View answer91. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if direct payments to landlords will be allowed in the social rent sector in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43830/13]
View answer93. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the way in which housing costs will be calculated in the future with regard to rental payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43840/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 86 to 91, inclusive, and 93 together.
I refer to the reply to Questions Nos. 237, 238, 239, 208 and 209 of 15 October, 2013 which sets out the position in these matters.
92. Deputy Seamus Healy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will reverse the reduction in section 10 homeless funding, notified to Waterford City Council in respect of the south east region for the provision of homeless services including the reduction at such a late stage in the financial year, to the budget of Suan Saoir, Clonmel, County Tipperary; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43831/13]
View answerMy Department provides funding to housing authorities towards the operational costs of homeless accommodation and related services under Section 10 of the Housing Act 1988; €45 million is being made available by my Department to housing authorities in 2013 for this purpose. This amount represents a decrease of 3.32% on the 2012 outturn and this reduction has been applied on a pro-rata basis to each of the 9 homelessness regional allocations for 2013. The table outlines the allocation for each region for 2013.
Funding in 2013 under Section 10 of the Housing Act 1988
|
Region |
€ |
|
Dublin |
31,322,223 |
|
South West |
4,272,197 |
|
Mid-West |
3,399,336 |
|
South East |
1,787,469 |
|
West |
1,528,951 |
|
North East |
879,963 |
|
Mid East |
811,275 |
|
Midland |
649,707 |
|
North West |
348,879 |
|
Total |
45,000,000 |
Under new funding arrangements as provided for under the National Implementation Plan for the Homeless Strategy, responsibility for rigorous assessment, appraisal and decision making in relation to proposals for funding of particular services within the current budgetary allocation rests with the homelessness statutory Management Group of the respective region. My Department has no function in regard to decisions on operational matters which in this instance are a matter for the South East Homelessness Management Group with Waterford City Council as the lead authority.
94. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if his Department has received any submissions from the County Managers' Association in relation to local authority loans; if any such correspondence, having been received, indicates an approach that might be adopted by local authorities to housing related loans; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43843/13]
View answerLocal authorities have long been the lenders of last resort servicing the housing loan needs of less affluent members of society. In the present economic circumstances it is understandable that the ability of some borrowers to service housing loans has become restricted and a number of loans have fallen into arrears.
Section 34 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 provides local authorities with powers to deal flexibly with distressed borrowers, and they have demonstrated sensitivity over the years in dealing with such cases. In March 2010 my Department issued guidelines to local authorities, based on the Central Bank’s first Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears, which continued the tradition of handling arrears in a manner that is sympathetic to the needs of the particular household, while also protecting the position of the local authority concerned.
To reflect the content of the Central Bank’s revised Code of Conduct – which replaced the previous code from 1 January 2011 and was informed by the deliberations of the Expert Group on Mortgage Arrears and Personal Debt – my Department issued updated guidance in July 2012 to local authorities in consultation with the County and City Managers Association. This has further enabled local authorities to provide a range of flexible repayment options for households in difficulty. Furthermore, my Department is currently reviewing the Central Bank’s most recent Code of Conduct which issued in July 2013, and will update the local authority code where appropriate.
In particular, the introduction of a Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP), which closely mirrors the suite of options available in the commercial sector, has presented borrowers in difficulty with a range of alternative payment agreements, which can be accessed to ease the particular circumstances of each case. This process features a standard set of options including, in cases of certain unsustainable mortgages, the facility of mortgage-to-rent. Local authorities have been restructuring loans for some time using their own internal practices. The introduction of these guidelines has standardised the approach across the whole sector, introduced a systematic structure to this area and provided borrowers with a transparent and accessible model for arrears resolution.
My department has no record of any recent submissions from the City and County Managers Association in this regard.
95. Deputy Michael Conaghan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of site inspections, audits and compliance monitoring of a recycling company (details supplied) in Dublin 10 carried out by the Environment Protection Agency to verify compliance with the requirements of the waste licence in 2013 and each year since 2003, when the licence was granted; and if he will provide details on what enforcement action it deemed necessary to ensure that the conditions of the licence are complied with. [43866/13]
View answerThe facility in question operates under waste licence granted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). I have no role in relation to the monitoring and enforcement of conditions attaching to waste licences. These are matters for the EPA and I am precluded from exercising any power in relation to the performance by the EPA of its licensing functions in specific cases under the Waste Management Act 1996. The Office for Environmental Enforcement (OEE) of the EPA is directly responsible for the enforcement of EPA licen c es granted to waste, industrial and other facilities. A wide range of data on the OEE’s audits and other enforcement activities in relation to such facilities are publicly available on the EPA’s website, at http://www.epa.ie/pubs/reports/enforcement/.
96. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the steps he is taking to ensure that more persons with disabilities have opportunities to gain employment (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43799/13]
View answerThe National Disability Strategy Implementation Plan, published in July this year, has as one of its actions the publication of a comprehensive employment strategy for people with disabilities. A second action is to ensure a coordinated approach to support persons with disabilities to progress into employment through this comprehensive employment strategy. The aim of these actions is to ensure that more people with disabilities can access work and that services at local level are coordinated and there is joined up access across agency boundaries to deliver more seamless supports to people with disabilities.
At my request, the National Disability Authority and Mr. Christy Lynch (founder member of the Irish Association of Supported Employment) have initiated the drafting of a comprehensive employment strategy. A draft framework for the Strategy was agreed by the Senior Official's Group on Disability on 30 July and subsequently issued for consultation with all relevant stakeholders in August. It is anticipated that the Strategy will be finalised in the first quarter of 2014.
97. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the reason charity lotteries no longer have the charitable lotteries compensation fund but still have a cap on the prize fund, as, in times of austerity, this decision is preventing charities from earning their own money; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43886/13]
View answerThe Charitable Lotteries Scheme was established in 1997 to provide assistance to the promoters of certain private charitable lotteries that have products similar to products sold by the National Lottery. This funding was originally drawn from the National Lottery surplus but, as with other National Lottery funded subheads, it is now drawn also from exchequer funds.
Because of the urgent need to make savings in Government expenditure, this Scheme cannot be sustained in the current circumstances. Beneficiaries were advised in October 2012 that it would be phased out on a gradual basis over a 3 year period, with the first reduction taking effect in late 2013. This is in order to give affected organisations as much time as possible to adjust to the change and to consider how they may increase the funding they receive through other fundraising projects. As the decision to phase out the Scheme is currently the subject of legal proceedings initiated by The Rehab Group and Rehab Lotteries, I am not in a position to comment further in relation to this issue, at this time.
The Deputy may be interested to know that provision for an increase in the prize fund limits applicable to private charitable lotteries is included in the National Lottery Act 2013 which is the responsibility of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. I understand that it is the intention of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to commence this provision shortly. This will update the total prize fund limit for lotteries held under section 27 of the 1956 Gaming and Lotteries Act from £3,000, where it has stood since 1987, to €5,000. For lotteries held under section 28 of the 1956 Act, the limit will increase from €20,000 (set in 2002) to €30,000.
Separately, in July 2013, the Government approved the General Scheme of a Gambling Control Bill, which will update our laws on gambling, and will involve the repeal of the 1956 Gaming and Lotteries Act. This legislation will cover lotteries, but will exclude the National Lottery. The General Scheme, which is available on my Department's website, sets out the proposed increases in prize fund limits for lotteries that fall within the remit of this proposed legislation. The General Scheme has been referred to the Attorney General's Office for formal legal drafting. It is anticipated that this will be a lengthy process, given the complexities of the issues involved.
98. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Justice and Equality when it is intended to build a new courthouse in County Galway; when it is intended to build a new Garda station on the east side of the city; the progress made to date with these projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43693/13]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, under the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998, management of the courts, including the provision of accommodation for court sittings, is the responsibility of the Courts Service which is independent in exercising its functions. In order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have had enquiries made and I am informed that, while attempts by the Court Service over a number of years to find a suitable site have been unsuccessful, it remains an objective of the Courts Service to provide a new courthouse in Galway city. The Courts Service is continuing to consider possibilities within the limits of its capital budget and will continue to do so should other opportunities present in the future.
The provision of a new Garda Divisional Headquarters in Galway was included in the special Government stimulus package announced in July 2012. It is intended that this project will be delivered by means of a Public Private Partnership and the necessary work involved is being undertaken by the relevant agencies. As the arrangements to be put in place for Public Private Partnerships are complex, it is not possible at this stage to indicate when the specific elements of the project will be completed. However, I can assure the Deputy that they are being treated as a priority.
99. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Justice and Equality when Garda vetting clearance will be provided to a person (details supplied) in County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43702/13]
View answerI am informed by the Garda authorities that a vetting application on behalf of the individual referred to by the Deputy was received by the Garda Central Vetting Unit (GCVU) on 10 October, 2013. The application is currently being processed and once completed will be returned to the registered organisation concerned.
The Deputy may wish to note that the number of vetting applications received by the Garda Central Vetting Unit (GCVU) each year has risen from 187,864 in 2007 to 327,903 in 2012 and it is expected that there will be upwards of 350,000 applications this year. I am informed by the Garda authorities that the current average processing time for applications is now approximately 9 weeks from date of receipt. However, seasonal fluctuations and the necessity to seek additional information on particular applications can result in this processing time being exceeded on occasion. Nonetheless, this is a significant improvement on the processing time of 14 weeks which existed in July this year. This improvement reflects the fact that I have given this matter particular priority as it is essential that the GCVU has the resources required to perform this most critical of roles effectively and efficiently.
In that context, I have been actively engaged on this issue with my colleague the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. As a result of that engagement, I am pleased to say that the Garda Commissioner has confirmed to me that there are now 136 whole time equivalent staff assigned to the GCVU, some 41 of whom have been redeployed from elsewhere in the public service since the end of March 2013. Some of these redeployed staff have only recently completed their training in the vetting process, and the full impact of their work will be seen in the coming weeks. Furthermore, I have also recently received sanction for the redeployment of 40 additional staff to the GCVU. This brings the total number of staff in that service to over 170, more than double that of the average allocation of 78 staff at the Unit over the past two and a half years.
The Deputy may also wish to note that the development of an e-Vetting solution is also underway. This will facilitate the processing of all applications in an e-format, thus removing the time-consuming current process of manually managing all applications received . The initial phase of testing this e-vetting system will take place during late 2013. When this is achieved, this system will streamline the overall vetting process in this jurisdiction, and further contribute to reductions in processing times for all vetting applications.
100. Deputy Gerald Nash asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the reasons an organisation (details supplied) in County Louth was denied funding from his Department to participate on a court accompaniment training programme funded by the Department [43708/13]
View answerThe Organisation in question applied to the Commission for the Support of Victims of Crime for funding under their 2011 and 2013 Funding Schemes. The Commission is an independent body operating under the aegis of my Department. The Commission provides funding to non-governmental organisations that provide support and assistance to victims of crime. It examines each application on its own merits and is entirely independent in its decisions. I understand that the Commission was of the view that the organisation concerned was more appropriate to be funded by the health sector, as it dealt with patients.
The Commission provides funding to the Rape Crisis Network Ireland (RCNI) towards the cost of running a court accompaniment training programme for rape crisis centres. I understand that the RCNI sometimes offers spare places on their training sessions to other organisations funded by the Commission.
