Written Answers Nos. 382 - 396
382. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government when the pyrite resolution board will process applications for remediation and expedite the claims in view of the urgency and very serious deteriorating condition of a number of dwellings. [53685/13]
View answerThe second stage of the Pyrite Resolution Bill, which provides for the establishment of the Pyrite Resolution Board on a statutory basis and for the operation of the pyrite remediation scheme, was passed in the Seanad yesterday evening; the Committee and remaining stages of the Bill are scheduled to be taken in the Seanad later this evening with all stages of the Bill scheduled for debate in the Dáil on Thursday. I hope I will have the support of the House to ensure that the Bill passes all stages before the recess. The passage of the legislation will enable the Board to finalise the detail of its application and processing system and it hopes to be in position to commence accepting applications as early as possible in the New Year following the Bill’s enactment and commencement.
383. Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government with regard to a tourism based initiative (details supplied) in County Cork, the reason such a harsh penalty was imposed on this community co-operative when a less punitive solution was available; the involvement his Department has had to date regarding this application; the efforts made to resolve the current difficulties; the steps now available to resolve this current impasse and to bring about a vibrant busy tourism centre as originally envisioned; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53701/13]
View answerThe project in question was selected for on the spot control as required under the EU Regulations governing the Rural Development Programme, and, as part of that control process, issues regarding non-compliance with public procurement were discovered. The project has been subject to the full appeals procedure within my Department and a reduction was applied to the eligible amount due to non-compliance with public procurement guidelines. My Department is currently considering additional correspondence recently received in relation to the matter.
384. Deputy Derek Nolan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if the conditions contained in local authorities' taking in charge documents are law or policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53745/13]
View answerThe law in relation to taking in charge of estates is set out in section 180 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 as amended. Planning authorities’ taking in charge policies should have been developed in accordance with recommendations made to local authorities in circular letter PD 1/08 which were later incorporated into Chapter 8.8 of the Sustainable Residential Development in Urban Areas Guidelines 2009. These Guidelines were issued under section 28 of the Planning and Development Act and planning authorities are accordingly required to have regard to them.
385. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of persons on the social housing waiting list in Cork city on 1 December of each of the past six years. [53759/13]
View answerMy Department does not hold the information sought. However details on the number of households on all local authority waiting lists as at 7 May 2013 will be available this week under the 2013 Summary of Housing Needs Assessment carried out in accordance with the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2009. The last summary assessment carried out, at 31 March, 2011, found that there were 7,799 households on Cork City Council’s housing waiting list at that date. The full results of this assessment are available on my Department’s website www.environ.ie and the Housing Agency’s website www.housing.ie.
386. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government in relation to an area in County Kildare, if he will provide a full detailed breakdown of the cost of knocking two houses and each of the three houses (details supplied) to include builder's costs, demolition costs, security costs and landscaping and painting cost; and if he will provide each expenditure since 2011. [53762/13]
View answerKildare County Council submitted a proposal to my Department in 2008 seeking funding approval for a Remedial Works Scheme at St. Patrick’s Park, Rathangan, Co. Kildare. Following a detailed examination of the proposal my Department provisionally approved funding of €6.8 million for the scheme in July 2011 on condition that 10% of the cost would be met by the Council. This includes some €322,500 in respect of the demolition of 43 dwellings in the estate. To date a total of €1,767,780 has been recouped to Kildare County Council in respect of expenditure incurred on the scheme. Detailed information relating to demolition and associated costs for individual properties is not available in my Department.
387. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will endorse and provide the necessary funding to an organisation (details supplied) which has an application going before the ERG meeting this week; if he will take into consideration that this is a most important project for County Kerry that will be utilised by individuals and groups from all parts of rural south Kerry and has the full support of South Kerry Development Partnership Ltd.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53789/13]
View answerThe Eligibility Review Group under my Department’s Rural Development Programme examines eligibility issues upon request. I understand that such a request was made in this case and the case was deemed ineligible under the Programme’s Operating Rules.
388. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding the Local Government (Rates) Bill 2013. [53825/13]
View answerThe Local Government Act 1946 provides that where a property in a county council or urban local authority area is unoccupied on the date of the making of the rate the owner becomes liable for payment of rates. However, the owner is entitled to a 100% refund if the property is vacant for specified purposes. These are where the premises are unoccupied for the purpose of the execution of additions, alterations or repairs; where the owner is bona fide unable to obtain a suitable tenant at a reasonable rent; and where the premises are vacant pending redevelopment.
A small number of urban local authorities have historically had separate legal provision enabling a refund of 50% of rates on vacant properties. While the same criteria for refunds apply, 50% of the rates paid is refundable to the owner of vacant premises in the cities of Dublin, Limerick and Cork. These legislative provisions are
- section 71 of the Local Government (Dublin) Act 1930;
- section 29 of the Limerick City Management Act 1934; and
- section 20 of the Cork City Management (Amendment) Act 1941.
The majority of local authorities are, currently, subject to the provisions of the 1946 Act and the 100% refund regime. Section 31(b) of the Local Government Bill 2013, as published, seeks to amend the Local Government Act 1946 by reducing the 100% refund regime to 50% for all local authorities, effectively reducing the refund rate to the same level as currently pertains in Dublin, Limerick and Cork cities.
In introducing the Bill into the Dáil in October I indicated that I am aware there are numerous factors to be considered when proposing an amendment to rates legislation including its effect on business sentiment and its impact on local government finance. I intend that the provision is not a further cost on business and will not have unintended consequences in practice. I have considered the debate on the provision that has taken place during the Bill’s passage through the Oireachtas to date. On foot of that, I propose to introduce an amendment to the Bill at Seanad Committee Stage to provide elected members with discretion in the operation of vacancy refunds, allowing members to respond to local economic circumstances.
389. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will undertake a study on the way the excessive numbers of take-away and fast food outlets operating in many urban and suburban areas can be curtailed. [53838/13]
View answerPlanning authorities may, when adopting the Development Plan for their areas, adopt policies to curtail an excessive concentration of takeaways in particular areas. Under planning legislation the change of use of any premises to a takeaway or fast food outlet would require planning permission. In deciding whether or not to grant permission for a development, the relevant planning authority or An Bord Pleanála must consider the proper planning and sustainable development of the area, having regard to the provisions of the development plan, and also any submissions or observations received, and relevant ministerial or Government policies, including any guidelines issued by my Department.
I published Local Area Plans Guidelines for Planning Authorities in June 2013. The Guidelines recognise the important role of planning in promoting and facilitating active and healthy living patterns for local communities. For example, the local area plan can promote active and healthier lifestyles by ensuring that, inter alia, exposure of children to the promotion of foods that are high in fat, salt or sugar is reduced through careful consideration of the appropriateness or location of fast food outlets in the vicinity of schools and parks.
390. Deputy John O'Mahony asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government when a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will receive a decision on their application for Leader funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53839/13]
View answerI can confirm that the file for the project, which is at an initial stage in the overall approval process, has been submitted to my Department for assessment. I understand that a report on the project will be forwarded to Mayo North East LEADER Partnership within the coming days. Once any queries arising from that report have been addressed, the Evaluation Committee of Mayo North East LEADER Partnership will then be in a position to consider a recommendation to its Board in regard to funding of the project.
391. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if any section of the various roads Acts can be used to circumvent a local authority's responsibility with respect to section 180 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 with respect to taking an estate in charge; if so, what section; if not, if he will issue guidance to planning authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53857/13]
View answerIn relation to residential estates which have been completed to the satisfaction of the planning authority in accordance with the permission, section 180 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000 provides that the planning authority must, if requested to do so by the developer or by the majority of the owners of the houses involved, initiate the procedures in section 11 of the Roads Act 1993 for declaring the road(s) to be public roads, for whose maintenance the local authority will then be responsible. Section 11 of the Roads Act empowers a local authority, by order, to declare any road over which a public right of way exists to be a public road. Before making an order the local authority must be satisfied the road is of general public utility, consider the financial implications of taking the road in charge and consult with the public/consider any objections received. The consideration of the objections and the making of the order declaring the road to be a public road is a reserved function, so that the decision whether to take the road in charge is ultimately one for the discretion of the elected members.
In relation to estates which have not have been completed to the satisfaction of the planning authority and where enforcement proceedings have not been commenced within the relevant period, section 180 also provides that the planning authority must, if requested to do so by the majority of the owners (but not the developer) initiate the procedures in section 11 of the Roads Act. However in this case the section provides that the provision in section 11 of the Roads Act requiring the authority to consider the financial implications of taking the road in charge is to be disregarded. I am not aware of an issue in relation to the above provisions of the Roads Acts 1993 to 2007, or any other provision of those Acts, being used to circumvent the provisions of section 180 of the Planning Act.
392. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government in view of the extent of unfinished housing estates nationally, some of which commenced construction more than a decade ago, if he will review the guidance to planning authorities on calling in bonds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53858/13]
View answerConditions attached to planning permissions for residential development must require the giving of sufficient security prior to commencement of development. The form of the bond, the amount and the terms attached are matters for the planning authority concerned and the arrangement entered into must enable the planning authority, without cost to itself, to complete the necessary services (including roads, footpaths, water mains, sewers, lighting and open space) to a satisfactory standard in the event of default by the developer.
My Department provided updated guidance to local authorities earlier in 2013 in relation to bonds. This included, inter alia, guidance on:
- Purpose of securities;
- Types of securities;
- Requirements for securities;
- Default events;
- Securities in phased developments;
- Assessment of security mechanisms;
- Computation of bonds; and,
- Release of bonds.
This guidance is available on my Department’s website at www.environ.ie.
In respect of existing development bond-related issues, l ocal authorities are continuing to pursue developers and others to comply with their obligations under planning regulations. Predominantly developer/funder/receiver-funded site resolution processes will remain the main vehicle to tackle unfinished developments. According to the 2013 Progress Report on Resolving Unfinished Housing Developments, which I published in November, some 553 developments have been brought to a resolution point in this way over the past 12 months alone. I expect that such processes will continue to make significant inroads into the remaining 992 inhabited unfinished developments.
Additionally, my Department has available a Special Resolution Fund of €10million, provided in Budget 2014, to address the completion of infrastructure on developments which could not be resolved because of absences of, or inadequacies in, planning securities and other unforeseen cost and risk issues. The fund will be operated by the local authorities and will be carefully targeted mainly to address difficulties in public infrastructure that have arisen on certain developments included in my Department’s 2013 Survey.
393. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will conduct a review on the extent of development bonds that have lapsed in advance of housing developments being completed, to include the level of exposure to planning authorities; his plans to introduce new legislation or regulation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53860/13]
View answerWhile my Department does not gather regular statistical information on the management of development bonds by local authorities, the Unfinished Housing Development Survey 2013 Progress Report, which I published in November, provides an analysis of bonds and securities associated with housing developments. This report can be found on my Department’s website, www.environ.ie. In order to ensure the appropriateness and security of development bonds on new developments, my Department also provided updated guidance in relation to development bonds to local authorities earlier in 2013. This included, inter alia, guidance on:
- Purpose of securities;
- Types of securities;
- Requirements for securities;
- Default events;
- Securities in phased developments;
- Assessment of security mechanisms;
- Computation of bonds; and,
- Release of bonds.
This guidance can also be found on my Department’s website.
In addressing the wide variety of challenges posed by unfinished housing developments, my Department has also played a coordinating role for local authorities, developers and receivers, and the banking sector. The National Coordination Committee on Unfinished Housing Developments, which I chair, was established as a response to the report of the advisory group on unfinished housing developments and has harnessed the expertise and goodwill of the construction and banking sectors, local authorities, residents’ representatives and NAMA. As the 2013 Unfinished Housing Developments Progress Report shows, this coordinated response is producing results, and I am satisfied that no further legislative responses are required at this time.
394. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if an application has been received for funding for a project (details supplied) in Dublin 2; when it will be awarded; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53887/13]
View answerIn January 2011, my Department approved a proposal by Dublin City Council to proceed to tender stage with an energy retrofitting project at Glovers Court. It is a matter for the City Council to determine the projects to be advanced to implementation stage and funded out of the capital allocations provided by my Department.
In line with overall national policy which promotes a reduction in energy use, the enhancement of energy efficiency standards remains a priority within my Department’s overall strategy for the improvement of local authority housing. This year, my Department is providing funding of over €62 million to Dublin City Council in respect of the 2013 social housing programme. This includes over €9.7 million for remedial works to housing estates and flat complexes in Dublin City and almost €3 million for energy retrofitting works, including works to a number of flat complexes. My Department has submitted a proposal under the EU Structural and Investment funds 2014 -2020, as part of the South and East Regional Operational Programme, for the deep retrofitting of some 2,000 apartments and flats, some 1,500 of which are located in Dublin. Glovers Court is included as part of this proposal. A decision on this application is awaited.
395. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if the next round of local and community development and Leader programmes will continue to be delivered by local development companies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53917/13]
View answer396. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if the next round of local and community development and Leader programmes will be delivered by staff currently delivering such programmes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53918/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 395 and 396 together.
The Local Government Bill 2013 provides, inter alia, for the establishment of Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs) for the purpose of developing, co-ordinating and implementing a coherent, area-based approach to local and community development within each local authority administrative area. The approach and structure envisaged for these Committees is consistent with the provisions for Community-led Local Development as set out in the draft Common Provisions Regulation for European Structural and Investment Funds 2014-2020. Given that detailed regulations for the management and control of such funds are not yet published, it would be premature to determine the funding distribution model to be used; however, any distribution model used will be consistent with all EU regulations.
The current Local and Community Development Programme (LCDP), which is implemented through the Local Development Companies, comes to an end at the end of 2013. A successor programme to the LCDP is currently being designed based on, inter alia, the main findings of the d-Term Review of the Programme. To facilitate the redesign of the programme and to allow for the establishment of the LCDCs in line with enhancing the role of local government in local and community development, transitional arrangements will apply for the first six months of 2014, which will entail the current LCDP framework being extended to 30 June 2014, on the same basis as the present arrangement. From 1 July 2014 the LCDCs will have oversight and management of the LCDP, based on the current programme framework. A new programme will roll out, through the LCDCs, from January 2015.
397. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if a local authority may insist on a particular template to be followed where residents seek to petition to have their uncompleted estate taken in charge under section 180(2)(a) of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended by section 59 of the Planning and Development Act 2010 and if so, if the local authority must make this template available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53966/13]
View answerSection 180(1) and (2) of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, which refers to a planning authority being “requested” by a majority of the owners of the houses in an estate to take the estate in charge, does not make a reference to a request being in a particular form or template. The interpretation of the Act in this regard is a matter for the relevant planning authority in the first instance and would be a matter for the Courts in the event of a dispute.
398. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if international best practice was met when deciding that exercises involving the principal response agencies are sufficient mitigation work to warrant the possibility of not classifying areas with Seveso sites as high risk or very high risk as proposed in Keeping Communities Safe, pages 59, 93 and 115, and his views that this adequately reflects the provisions of the new Seveso directive, Directive 2012/18/EU. [53967/13]
View answerIt is a statutory function of each individual fire authority, under Section 10 of the Fire Services Act 1981, to provide a fire service in its functional area, including the establishment and maintenance of a fire brigade, the assessment of fire cover needs, the provision of a premises and the making of such other provisions as it considers necessary or desirable.
The Keeping Communities Safe (KCS) policy document, which I published as national policy in February 2013, sets out standards and norms for developing and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of fire safety and fire services in Ireland. KCS is based on the international paradigm of Risk Management which addresses the critical elements of fire prevention and fire protection as well as response. The Risk Management approach, which is described in Chapter 2 of KCS, generally involves five stages including identifying hazards and evaluating the risks these hazards pose; mitigating these risks by trying to reduce the probability of the event occurring and/or its consequences if it does occur; planning and preparing to deal with the risk; responding to an event; and reviewing events with a view to learning for the future.
The use of an ‘area risk categorisation’ system is central to the approach in KCS which is being applied across the country by all fire services. This will result in fire station areas being graded across five bands from very high to very low risk categories. The fire service approach to risk management in an area, including response capacity in terms of numbers of fire appliances and fire crews, is reviewed on the basis of this risk categorisation. It is the predominant risk in an area that defines the risk categorisation. However, KCS provides that in some cases with extensive or widely varying station grounds, it may be appropriate to sub-divide the station area and have different risk categories.
KCS sets out the approach and criteria for use by local fire service management in arriving at decisions on the risk category to be assigned to a station area, one of which is: "Extent of Individual Special Hazards (e.g. Institutional, Educational, Industrial, Lar ge Scale Retail/Commercial, SEVESO, Places of Public Assembly etc.)”. The overall approach to undertaking the Area Risk Categorisation Process relies on available data including census data and Risk-Based Approach Reports based on actual fire service activity, the use of local knowledge and operational intelligence, previously undertaken Major Emergency Risk Assessments and other available sources. KCS notes that specific hazard sites, such as SEVESO plants, are closely regulated and already the focus of significant risk mitigation work which includes external site response plans and exercises involving the principal response agencies. Buildings or sites which are of special interest because of their scale and importance to a community or region may not therefore of themselves be high risk, and the presence in an area of such facilities would not necessarily raise an area to high risk or very high risk category in the KCS area risk categorisation process.
In accordance with the Framework for Major Emergency Management, which was adopted by Government in 2006, the relevant divisions of An Garda Síochána, the Health Service Executive and the Local Authorities have carried out both individual and joint risk assessments for their functional areas and have prepared Major Emergency Plans, undertaken inter-agency training and carried out exercises on potential emergency scenarios. As part of this process, they have worked collaboratively with SEVESO site operators in accordance with a guidance document which was prepared specifically for this purpose. The central competent authority for the enforcement of the Seveso II Directive is the Health and Safety Authority, while responsibility for the transposition into Irish Law of the new SEVESO Directive (Directive 2012/18/EU) lies with the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.
