Written Answers Nos. 153-161
153. Deputy Michael Colreavy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government when an application for a licence to allow Sligo County Council to begin dredging work at Sligo Port will be issued as dredging is needed at two jetties and for a turning circle; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8623/14]
View answerThe application by Sligo County Council for a licence under the Foreshore Act 1933 to carry out dredging works at Sligo Harbour is currently being assessed by my Department. The application is being assessed in the context of the relevant regulatory framework including obligations arising under the EU Birds and Habitats Directives. Following the conclusion of that assessment and the subsequent agreement of the applicant to any recommended site specific conditions and financial considerations, I will be in a position to make a determination on the application. It is anticipated that it will take approximately 4-6 weeks for the application to reach determination stage.
154. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the reason no application was made to the EU Emergency Response Co-ordination Centre for assistance in establishing the scale of flooding and coastal damage caused by the storms that have affected the country since December 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8726/14]
View answerThe EU Emergency Response Co-ordination Centre (ERCC) is operated by DG ECHO of the European Commission under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. The objective of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism is to have arrangements in place to co-ordinate the provision by Member States of mutual aid to another Member State or Third Country in the event of an emergency which has overwhelmed that State’s own response capacity. The function of the ERCC is to liaise with the affected country which requests assistance, to co-ordinate the dispatch of assistance from other Member States and to share any relevant information. The Mechanism operates under the principle of subsidiarity and can only be initiated with a formal request for assistance from an affected Member State. In view of the fact that our national response resources were not overwhelmed during the period of severe weather, and the response was effectively managed at local level, no request was made to the ERCC for assistance. I understand that under a mutual agreement, UK and Northern Ireland electricity have been assisting the ESB with power restoration since 17 February.
155. Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he has sought EU funding for repairs to infrastructure following recent storm damage; the prospects for such funding; the threshold requirements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8728/14]
View answerMy Department and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform have had initial discussions with the European Commission on possible EU funding under the Solidarity and Regional Support schemes. The purpose of the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) is to allow Member States to request financial aid in the event of major natural disasters. There is a damage threshold per Member State which is set at 0.6% of GNI. The estimated costs of damage caused by the storms between 13 December 2013 and 6 January 2014 of €61.472 m, plus other costs estimated at €10 m, are well below the non-negotiable GNI threshold of 0.6% (€770m in the case of Ireland) of the Solidarity Fund. Assistance from the Fund is limited to financing emergency operations undertaken by the public authorities alleviating non-insurable damages. The possibility of a regional application has also been considered. This is also subject to a series of impact criteria, (including 50% of population of an affected region) which this situation does not appear to meet.
156. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if the transfer of contracts from local authorities to Irish Water has resulted in any late payments to contractors on behalf of Irish Water, in any cases where late payments have occurred the steps being taken to expedite payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8614/14]
View answer157. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the formal notification of the transfer of contracts from local authorities to Irish Water that has been issued to contractors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8615/14]
View answer158. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of contractors who have had contracts transferred from county councils or local authorities to Irish Water and a numerical breakdown of contractors per local authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8616/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 156 to 158, inclusive, together.
The Water Services (No.2) Act 2013 provides for the transfer of water services functions from the 34 water services authorities to Irish Water. Section 14 of the Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 provides that the Minister may, from time to time, designate the transfer of rights and liabilities from a water services authority to Irish Water. This would include contracts entered into by local authorities for the provision of water services. This morning I signed an Order to provide for the transfer of 642 Design-Build-Operate and capital project contracts to Irish Water. Details of the contracts to transfer will be contained in the Order, which will be published in Iris Oifigúil in the coming days. I understand that Irish Water will be writing to the contractors in question notifying them of the transfer. Neither I nor my Department are aware of any instances of late payments to contractors.
159. Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will clarify exactly the treatment of retirement gratuities in the case of an incumbent town councillor who seeks re-election; and the situation thereafter if said incumbent is successful or fails to be re-elected. [8644/14]
View answerSection 142 of the Local Government Act 2001 and the Local Authority Members (Gratuity) Regulations 2002 to 2006 provide that, subject to certain conditions, a councillor who ceases to be a member of a local authority is entitled to receive a gratuity at, or after, the age of 50. Where a person ceases to be a member before age 50, whether voluntarily or as a result of failure to be re-elected, the gratuity will be paid when the person reaches age 50 and will be based on the representational payment applicable at that point. The Local Authority Members (Gratuity) (Amendment) Regulations 2006 provide for the gratuity to be paid before age 50 where retirement is due to permanent infirmity or where the member dies in office. The amount of the gratuity is calculated on the basis of 4/20ths of a Councillor’s Representational Payment for each year of service from 4 May 2000, subject to a maximum twenty years’ service (i.e. four times the amount of the Representational Payment at the time of retirement).
An additional ex-gratia payment may be made to Councillors serving on or after the date of the making of the 2006 Regulations in respect of service before 4 May 2000. The rates to be applied are dependent on the number of years’ service and the category of local authority in which the Councillor served. Circular Letter S.3/2007 of 22 January 2007, issued by my Department, set the rate of payment of the ex-gratia payment at €714.23 for each year of service up to 20 years’ service with a County Council or what was at the time a County Borough Corporation, at ½ this rate for service with what was at the time a Borough Corporation or an Urban District Council, and at ¼ this rate for service as a Town Commissioner. For service in excess of 20 years prior to 4 May 2000, the foregoing rates are reduced by 1/3rd for each additional year of service up to a further 20 years. However, where a person was a member of more than one local authority (e.g. a county council and an urban district council), at the one time, only one of those periods may be reckoned in calculating the ex-gratia payment and that will be in respect of the membership which is most favourable.
There is an overall limit of 40 years’ service for the gratuity and ex-gratia payment combined, with the service reckoned for the purposes of a gratuity calculated first and the residual number of years being used to calculate any ex-gratia payment. Where an outgoing councillor seeks election to a County Council and is successful, service as a county or town councillor is held on record for calculating the gratuity when that elected member retires or fails to be re-elected at a later stage. Where an outgoing councillor, including a town councillor, seeks but is not successful in being elected to a county or city or city and county council, a gratuity will be payable in accordance with the arrangements set out above.
160. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if a court repossession order is sufficient proof that a home loan is unsustainable, therefore bestowing eligibility with regard to that issue for inclusion on the social housing list; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8654/14]
View answerIn order for a household to qualify for social housing support, a housing authority must carry out an assessment to establish whether the household meets specified eligibility requirements and has a housing need. One of the housing need criteria prescribed in the Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011 is that the household has a mortgage that is deemed to be unsustainable under the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process. Qualification under this criterion is not dependent on the making of a possession order as my Department has advised housing authorities that, upon receipt of written confirmation from the lender that a household’s mortgage has been deemed unsustainable, an authority may consider the household to have a housing need, even though the household may, at that time, remain the legal owners of the dwelling concerned.
161. Deputy Anthony Lawlor asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if there is a proposal to bring forward legislation to deal with the Supreme Court's decision in the McHugh v. Kildare County Council, 2005 IEHC 356 (2005), case; his views on the implications to date of this decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8661/14]
View answerSection 47 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (Section 38 of the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act 1963 which was the subject of the Supreme Court Judgment referred to in the Question), provides that a planning authority may enter into an agreement with any person for the purposes of restricting or regulating the development and use of land permanently or for a specified period e.g. regulating development in rural areas under urban pressure. The agreement which was the subject of the Supreme Court Judgment was not an agreement for the purposes of restricting or regulating the development and use of land permanently or for a specified period. Therefore there are no implications arising from the Judgment for the Planning and Development Act 2000, and there is no reason to bring forward legislation in this regard.
