Written Answers Nos. 120-30
120. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide in tabular form the total sum of car tax collected in the year 2012; and if he will provide a county breakdown of same. [6071/14]
View answerGross motor tax receipts for 2012 by local authority are set out in the following table.
|
County/City |
(€) |
|
Carlow |
14,873,328 |
|
Cavan |
16,281,688 |
|
Clare |
28,515,348 |
|
Cork |
129,206,502 |
|
Donegal |
35,005,868 |
|
Galway |
57,228,969 |
|
Kerry |
35,496,761 |
|
Kildare |
50,120,005 |
|
Kilkenny |
23,192,167 |
|
Laois |
16,998,593 |
|
Leitrim |
7,357,834 |
|
Limerick County |
34,853,870 |
|
Longford |
8,908,545 |
|
Louth |
24,087,574 |
|
Mayo |
30,626,109 |
|
Meath |
43,499,660 |
|
Monaghan |
15,049,525 |
|
Offaly |
16,916,968 |
|
Roscommon |
15,172,202 |
|
Sligo |
15,011,690 |
|
N. Tipperary |
18,595,704 |
|
S. Tipperary |
21,461,331 |
|
Waterford County |
16,610,087 |
|
Westmeath |
20,314,599 |
|
Wexford |
37,380,845 |
|
Wicklow |
34,524,878 |
|
Dublin City |
266,735,071 |
|
Limerick City |
10,575,808 |
|
Waterford City |
10,100,221 |
|
Total |
1,054,701,750 |
121. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the reason there is a delay in the project (details supplied) being approved by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5928/14]
View answerWork is currently underway in my Department on preparing the capital allocations under the various housing measures which comprise the Social Housing Investment Programme for 2014. I intend to announce details of these allocations as soon as possible. As part of this process, I am reviewing the existing levels of contractual commitments on approved housing projects and the potential to approve new projects to proceed to construction in 2014. Funding for the remediation of Buttercup estate is being considered in this context. To date, €833,000 has been recouped to Dublin City Council in respect of demolition and related works at Buttercup Park.
122. Deputy Eric Byrne asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if future rounds of the local community development programme or Leader programmes will be subject to a competitive tendering process; if so, will private for profit companies be eligible to tender; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5939/14]
View answerThe successor programme to the current Local and Community Development Programme (LCDP), to be commenced in 2015, will be procured by the Local Community Development Committees to be established in each local authority in line with the EU procurement Directive 2004/18/EC. Therefore a competitive process will be undertaken which will be open to local development companies, other not-for-profit community groups in general and commercial firms that can deliver the services under the programme. My Department has informed stakeholders of the position.
The LEADER elements of the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 are subject to European Regulations and in line with those, my Department will later this year be holding a call for submission of Local Development Strategies under which eligible groups submitting strategies must be composed of representatives of public and private local socio-economic interests in which, at the decision-making level, neither public authorities nor any single interest group represents more than 49% of the voting rights.
123. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if his Department retains data on contracts for tender entered into by local authorities; if this data is available publicly on his Department’s website; and the regulations that are in place in relation to the publication of a register of successful tenderers and prices each year for each local authority in the State. [6042/14]
View answerMy Department does not collect centrally the information requested. The procurement of products or services by a local authority is a matter for the authority concerned. Issues concerning compliance with procurement legislation and guidance are a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. Guidelines by the National Procurement service of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform apply to all public sector bodies, including local authorities.
Under the EU Directives on public procurement, public works, supplies and service contracts above certain thresholds must be advertised in the Official Journal of the EU and awarded on the basis of objective and non-restrictive criteria. For contracts below these thresholds, the general requirement is that they be advertised on the national public procurement website www.etenders.gov.ie or, depending on value, awarded on the basis of a competitive process of direct invitation to an adequate number of suitable suppliers.
Local authorities have been pro-active in achieving spend reduction and procurement efficiencies in the procurement area through the establishment of the Local Authority National Procurement Office at Kerry County Council. The local authority sector is also working closely with the Office of Government Procurement to implement the government’s Procurement Reform Programme.
124. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide a list of all NGOs in receipt of funding or grants from his Department in each of the past five years; and the NGOs in receipt of funding or grants from his Department over the past five years that are bound by a service level agreement. [6050/14]
View answerEach year my Department makes a large volume of payments to a wide range of organisations, including non-statutory bodies, across the relevant functional areas. The information requested, relating to an extensive number of organisations and payments over a five year period, is not readily available in my Department and its compilation would involve a disproportionate amount of time and work. If the Deputy wishes to put down a more specific question in the area of funding from my Department, I will endeavour to provide the information sought.
125. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government in view of his statement that he wants to keep 80% of the property tax for the purpose of setting up Irish Water, if it is his intention, when Irish Water is set up, to give 100% of the funding back to the local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6056/14]
View answerI did not state that I wished to retain 80% of property tax for the establishment of Irish Water. The local government funding model has changed considerably in 2014. For example, the establishment of Irish Water and its financial relationship with the local government sector will have a considerable impact on local authority financing. In addition, under the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012, the Minister for Finance, from 2014 onwards, is to pay into the Local Government Fund an amount equivalent to the Local Property Tax paid into the Central Fund during that year; this will contribute to a range of financial supports being provided to local authorities, including General Purpose Grants and funding, on the basis of Service Level Agreements, for water services which local authorities will be providing on behalf of Irish Water.
The Government has indicated an intention to move to 80% retention of all Local Property Tax receipts within the local authority area where the Tax is raised. Given the significant changes to local government financing already taking place in 2014, as outlined above, it has been necessary to defer defining a certain proportion of the proceeds of the Local Property Tax to be retained in each local authority until 2015. This approach allows maximum flexibility in allocating Local Property Tax in 2014 in the form of General Purpose Grants, with a priority to support those local authorities with weaker funding bases.
I expect the Local Property Tax to have multiple benefits, including a more sustainable and resilient system of funding for local authorities and therefore a sounder financial footing for the provision of essential local services; greater local scope for financial decision-making concerning service provision; and a strengthening of democracy at local level with a more active relationship between local authorities and local electorates. A stronger democratic relationship and clearer lines of accountability can only have a beneficial impact on service provision from the perspective of the service user.
126. Deputy Heather Humphreys asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will confirm that group water schemes will not be included in Irish Water; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6084/14]
View answer127. Deputy Heather Humphreys asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will confirm that the current free allocation for group water schemes will continue to apply following the introduction of Irish Water; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6085/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 126 and 127 together.
Irish Water are responsible for the delivery of services to customers on the public water and wastewater networks. My Department will remain responsible for the overall policy and funding, where appropriate, of the non-public water sector, including the group water sector. Over the past decade, substantial improvements have been made in the group water sector, reflected in improved infrastructure and management and leading to greater compliance with drinking water standards. This has been accomplished through a partnership approach between my Department, the local authorities and the group water sector itself, with the important involvement of the National Federation of Group Water Schemes. This co-operative approach will be maintained as the reform of water services provision is progressed.
The Programme for Government sets out a commitment to the introduction of domestic water charges based on usage above a free allowance. The Government will decide on the proposed approaches to be taken in relation to the free allowance in the near future.
128. Deputy Anne Ferris asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of applications for the Magdalen redress scheme that have been processed; the payments made and the contribution to date of the four religious orders implicated in that scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6032/14]
View answerI refer the Deputy to my reply to Parliamentary Question No. 15 on 5 February, 2014. To date, 680 applications have been received under the ex gratia scheme which was established by Government for the benefit of those women who were admitted to and worked in the Magdalen Laundries, St Mary's Training Centre, Stanhope Street and House of Mercy Training School, Summerhill, Wexford.
The applications are being processed as quickly as possible and over 280 letters of formal offer have issued to women at this stage. As soon as an applicant accepts the offer, payment will be processed quickly. So far, 144 women have accepted the formal offer and as at the end of January payments issued to over 100 applicants totalling €3.5 million.
With regard to a financial contribution being made by the four religious congregations concerned, the Deputy will be aware that I discussed this matter with representatives of the four religious congregations in June 2013. Having reflected on the matter, all four declined to make a contribution. Following a discussion of the issue at Government in July 2013, I wrote to the congregations expressing disappointment that they had decided not to make a financial contribution, pointing out that the Government was of the view that the congregations had a moral obligation to do so, and urged them to reconsider. The congregations responded reaffirming their position.
I wrote to the religious congregations again on this matter 2 weeks ago following a statement made by the Holy See to the United Nations Committee on the Right of the Child in relation to the Magdalen Laundries. I am awaiting responses to this letter. The four religious congregations are fully cooperating with the scheme and are providing all the available records and verifications as requested.
129. Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Minister for Justice and Equality his views on the deportation order for a person (details supplied) who supplied information to Irish Nationalisation and Immigration Service on 16 July 2013 that indicated they were not in the State a number of years prior to a deportation order being issued; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5910/14]
View answerI am informed by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service of my Department that the person referred to by the Deputy is the subject of a Deportation Order, made on 20 January 2012, following a comprehensive and detailed examination under Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended). Having submitted an application for leave to remain in the State under section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended) the person concerned did not engage further with my Department in the consideration of that application despite attempts being made to contact her at her last known address. The Deputy will appreciate that the onus is on such persons to make my Department aware of such a material change in their circumstances so that such information, backed up by documentary evidence, can be factored into the decision making process. Where, however, such information is not disclosed, a decision can only be reached on the basis of the available information. In cases where a Deportation Order is issued against a person who is outside the State it has the effect that the person is not permitted to re-enter the State.
However, if new information or circumstances have come to light, which have a direct bearing on their case and which have arisen since the original Deportation Order was made, there remains the option of applying to me for revocation of the Deportation Order pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (11) of the Immigration Act, 1999, as amended. The effect of a Deportation Order is that the person concerned must leave the State and remain thereafter outside of the State.
Queries in relation to the status of individual Immigration cases may be made direct to INIS by Email using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been specifically established for this purpose. The service enables up-to-date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek this information through the more administratively expensive Parliamentary Questions process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in cases where the response from the INIS is, in the Deputy’s view, inadequate or too long awaited.
130. Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Minister for Justice and Equality his views on the process of verification of deportation orders prior to them being issued; the process in place for revoking orders should information be supplied that indicates there was an error made in issuing an order; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5911/14]
View answerThe Deputy will appreciate that in every instance where a Deportation Order is made, due process is followed. First of all, a person against whom it is proposed to make such an Order is notified in writing of that proposal, the reason(s) for the proposal and of the options open to him/her as a result. Such options will invariably be to leave the State voluntarily, to consent to the making of a Deportation Order or to submit written representations setting out reasons as to why a Deportation Order should not be made.
All written representations submitted, together with all documentation on file, will be fully considered under all relevant headings before a final decision is made, with any such decision being to make a Deportation Order or to grant permission to remain in the State. No further verification process is carried out given the requirement to have regard for all documentation on file, as well as all legal obligations, both domestic and international, before such a decision is made.
Where a person the subject of a Deportation Order wishes to apply to have that Order revoked, the provisions of Section 3 (11) of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended) provide a legal mechanism under which such an application can be made. All such applications are considered on their individual merits with all information and documentation submitted in support of the application being considered in great detail before a decision is made to revoke or to affirm the existing Deportation Order.
In circumstances where a Deportation Order is made in error, immediate steps are taken by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service to have the Order revoked and the person the subject of that Order is advised of the revocation decision. Given the serious, immediate and long-term, consequences for the person involved, the Deputy will appreciate that any decision to make a Deportation Order is not made lightly. Such a decision is made only after all relevant factors have been considered in great detail, having regard for all legal obligations, both domestic and international.
