Written Answers Nos. 138-45
138. Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the total amount of outsourcing that has been achieved in his Department since the letter sent by Secretary General of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in March 2012; the names of the outsourcing companies that have been involved; the total savings achieved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3297/14]
View answerMy Department operates a number of shared or outsourced services including:
- an ICT Shared service agreement with the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine (DAFM) which has been in place prior to March 2012;
- a payroll service outsourced to the Department of Finance which has also been in place prior to March 2012;
- the Head of Internal Audit Unit which is currently outsourced to Tierney & Associates with some audit processing work carried out by Capita consultants in a shared service contract with three other Government Departments;
- a shared Irish language translation function with An Post.
Certain HR functions within my Department are due to transition to the public service HR shared service, PeoplePoint, in June 2014. The Department is also part of the project team that is examining the case for shared financial management services in the public sector.
While it is difficult to identify and apportion elements of savings, these changes have supported my Department in achieving a reduction in its Administrative Budget Estimate from €26.8 million in 2010 to €23.8 million in 2014.
In addition, my Departmental remit includes complex policy areas, oversight of State regulation and service provision across key strategic services such as energy and public broadcasting and regulation of sectors such as mining and hydrocarbon exploration. Given the technical complexity, economic significance and community interest in these areas, my Department necessarily incurs expenditure on outsourced expert advice and service provision from time to time. Details of these projects have been set out in replies to a number of Parliamentary Questions, most recently 479 of 15 January, 186 of 16 January and 402 of 21 January.
139. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the number of new agencies and State bodies established since 9 March 2011 under the remit of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3343/14]
View answerThere have been no new State bodies established under the aegis of my Department since March 2011.
140. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the impact inadequate accommodation, lack of appropriate accommodation and overcrowding on sites is having on Traveller mental health. [3173/14]
View answerIn accordance with the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998, statutory responsibility for the assessment of the accommodation needs of Travellers and the preparation, adoption and implementation of multi-annual Traveller accommodation programmes, designed to meet the accommodation needs of Travellers, rests with individual housing authorities. My Department’s role is to ensure that there is an adequate legislative and financial system in place to assist the authorities in providing such accommodation.
Accommodation for Travellers is provided across a range of options including standard local authority housing which is financed from my Department’s Social Housing Investment Programme (SHIP), Traveller-specific accommodation such as group housing and halting site bays and funded by means of 100% capital grant, private housing assisted by local authority or voluntary housing bodies, private rented accommodation and through their own resources. It is open to Travellers to opt for any form of accommodation, including Traveller-specific accommodation, and local authority programmes are intended to reflect these preferences.
Local authorities are statutorily required to prepare and adopt multi-annual Traveller Accommodation Programmes for their areas. The most recent round of Traveller Accommodation Programmes for the period 2009 - 2013 was substantially completed in December, with some on-going works being carried into 2014. Local authorities are currently making arrangements for the next round of programmes which must be adopted by 30 April and which will run from 2014 to 2018 . Since the adoption of the third round of programmes in 2009, it is estimated that over 450 units of Traveller-specific accommodation had been provided by end 2012, supported by the provision of approximately €50 million in capital funding from my Department. My Department also provides funding for accommodation related supports which operate in tandem with the capital programme. This year some €6.250 million is being provided in respect of Traveller accommodation.
Local authorities are required to produce annual progress reports which measure the provision of Traveller accommodation in a given year against the target figure contained in their Traveller Accommodation Programme. As part of this process, housing authorities are requested to provide an explanation for any variations between targets and outputs. Local authorities cite various reasons for failing to meet targets and these include Traveller families refusing offers of accommodation, families only willing to live in certain areas where housing availability may be an issue, difficulties in obtaining Traveller agreement locally, planning and legal problems, difficulties in obtaining site access and anti-social behaviour by Traveller families which can delay development of projects. This information is circulated to, and discussed by, the statutory National Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee at its meetings during the year; the Committee advises me on a range of issues in relation to Traveller accommodation.
The 2012 Annual Count identified a total of 9,929 Traveller families in the State. In spite of the huge increase of 5,139 families between 1999 and 2012, only 3.32% of the 9,929 families were living on unauthorised sites in 2012. This reduction in the number of families living on unauthorised sites, despite a large increase in the overall number of families, is concrete evidence of the results of investment in Traveller accommodation over the last decade.
The National Traveller Management Advisory Committee (NTMAC) which falls within the remit of my colleague the Minister for Justice and Equality issued a report on Traveller mental health in 2013. This report was brought to the attention of the National Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee and it will be a matter for this Committee to make recommendations with regard to any policy changes needed in the light of the NTMAC report.
141. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide a list of all processes currently being undertaken within Government to determine climate change mitigation policy and the public participation opportunities incorporated in those processes. [3291/14]
View answer142. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide a list of all processes currently being undertaken within Government to determine climate change adaptation policy and the public participation opportunities incorporated in those process. [3325/14]
View answer143. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the research that has been commissioned by his Department on climate change mitigation and-or adaptation over the past year; and if he will supply a copy of the terms of reference for any such research. [3330/14]
View answer150. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the processes he is currently undertaking to determine climate change mitigation policy; and if he will detail the public participation opportunities incorporated in those processes. [3108/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 141 to 143, inclusive, and 150 together.
The Programme for the development of national climate policy and legislation, which I issued in January 2012 in response to a request from the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht, is the process under which national greenhouse gas mitigation policy and climate change adaptation policy are being progressed. In addition to the comprehensive open consultation undertaken by my Department in 2012, the Oireachtas Joint Committee facilitated a round of stakeholder engagement on the final policy analysis report from the Secretariat to the National Social and Economic Council and the outline Heads of the Climate Action and Low-Carbon Development Bill which I released in February 2013. I am now considering the Joint Committee's report, as well as a range of other issues, with a view to finalising the draft Heads of the Bill as soon as possible. Subject to the approval of Government, my intention is to publish the final Heads before Easter 2014.
In anticipation of the planned primary legislation, a National Low-Carbon Roadmap to 2050 is now being developed. At present, Departments with responsibility for the key sectors in the national transition agenda are currently preparing the sectoral elements for incorporation into the national roadmap. The key sectors are electricity generation, the built environment, transport and agriculture.
To ensure that the roadmapping process is inclusive, informed and transparent, the public has already been invited, by the Departments concerned, to input to the sectoral work on electricity generation, agriculture and transport. A public consultation paper on the built environment, which is being developed jointly by my Department and the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources is at an advanced stage and will be issued for consultation shortly. Feedback through these sectoral consultations will input into the key sectoral contributions to the first draft National Low-Carbon Roadmap which I intend to release, together with a draft Strategic Environment Assessment, for a substantial period of open consultation later this year. My intention is to ensure that the first draft national roadmap will be informed and technically sound, and provide a solid basis for a constructive, transparent and inclusive open debate.
In addition to a direct involvement in the sectoral element of the roadmapping process related to the built environment, my Department’s responsibility for overall coordination of national climate policy, both mitigation and adaptation, constitutes a major contribution to the development of national greenhouse gas emission reduction policies and actions. Having facilitated the comprehensive open consultation at the outset of the national policy development Programme, my Department will also lead and coordinate the open consultation on the draft National Low-Carbon Roadmap and Strategic Environment Assessment which will conclude the Programme later this year.
In parallel to the mitigation agenda, the National Climate Change Adaptation Framework which I issued in December 2012 provides for the development and implementation of sectoral and local adaptation action plans which will form part of a comprehensive national response to the impacts of climate change. Under the framework, sectoral plans will be developed by the relevant Government Department or Agency and adopted by the relevant Minister. Draft sectoral plans are due to be published by mid-2014, and details of the lead Departments and Agencies are set out in section 4 of the framework. On stakeholder consultation, the framework states that “Government Departments and bodies will adopt an open, transparent, and inclusive approach to sectoral adaptation planning, with interested organisations and stakeholders being given early and adequate opportunity to input to the process of preparing adaptation plans”.
Local adaptation action planning will be undertaken by local authorities. The national framework states that "the spatial planning process, with full engagement of key stakeholders, provides an established means through which to implement and integrate climate change objectives, including adaptation, at local level". On stakeholder consultation, the framework adds that "local authorities will continue to consult and encourage partnership with stakeholders when addressing adaptation matters at a local level, particularly through the open and participative process for making development plans, into which local adaptation planning is to be integrated".
My Department has not commissioned any research on greenhouse gas mitigation or climate change adaptation over the past year. However, my Department sought technical support from the Economic and Social Research Institute and University College Cork on low-carbon roadmapping, and on modelling in the context of the 2030 EU framework for climate and energy policies. This work relates generally to scenario modelling for the purpose of informing and bringing technical robustness to preparation of the first National Low-Carbon Roadmap for 2050, and Irish engagement in EU climate policy development for 2030. My Department's work, with the benefit of the technical support which it is receiving from ESRI/UCC, is key to finalising an informed and technically sound draft national roadmap for consultation later this year. In the interest of a transparent and inclusive debate on the draft National Low-Carbon Roadmap, I will consider releasing the technical background work on roadmapping for the purposes of the consultation.
144. Deputy Catherine Byrne asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government when Dublin City Council will receive its 2014 budget allocation for housing adaptations for persons with disabilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2977/14]
View answerI announced details of capital allocations totalling € 38.4 million to local authorities under the suite of Grants for Older People and People with a Disability on 16 January. I have increased the level of funding available for the grant schemes by 12% in 2014. Every local authority will receive increased funding for grants compared to the initial allocation in 2013.
Dublin City Council's overall allocation for 2014 is €5.821 million.
145. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of National Asset Management Agency properties that have been offered to Dublin City Council and Fingal County Council for use as social housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3005/14]
View answerMy Department, the Housing Agency and NAMA continue to work together with housing authorities and approved housing bodies towards identifying suitable NAMA housing units and bringing them into social housing use. It continues to be my Department's objective to maximise the delivery of social housing using all of the resources available.
By the end of December 2013, of the 4,374 units identified by NAMA as being potentially suitable, some 2,055 units have been confirmed by local authorities as being suitable for social housing. Completed housing unit transfers stand at 492, with a further 104 units contracted and where completion work on-going. This brings the overall total delivery of social housing from NAMA sourced units to 596 units (completed or contracted) since the process began.
In the Dublin City and Fingal County Council areas, NAMA have identified 628 and 203 units respectively as being potentially suitable. Of these, 247 units were available for consideration and confirmed as suitable for social housing by Dublin City Council, with 56 units similarly available and confirmed as suitable by Fingal County Council . At 31 December 2013, the number of units completed or contracted was 115 in the Dublin City Council and 44 in the Fingal County Council areas.
Further information in relation to the delivery of NAMA sourced units, including a full breakdown by county of units delivered by quarter, is available at the Housing Agency's website: www.housing.ie/NAMA.
