Written Answers Nos. 162-170
162. Deputy Anthony Lawlor asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if his Department has explored alternative ways in which local authorities can acquire land, as a consequence of the McHugh v. Kildare County Council, 2005 IEHC 356 (2005) Supreme Court decision, and the proposals in place to deal with the lack of housing stock within local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8662/14]
View answerThe housing and budgetary landscape has changed dramatically since 2005. That is why the Government, in its housing policy statement published in 2011, presented a new approach to the provision of social housing. The financial parameters in which we will be operating for the coming years rule out a return by local authorities to very large capital funded construction programmes of the kind requiring extensive land.
The priority in terms of supports provided by Government must be on meeting the most acute needs, responding through a variety of mechanisms, and using more flexible funding models. To maximise the social housing gain from constrained resources, the social housing leasing initiative and the Rental Accommodation Scheme each play their part as long term social housing supports. Alongside expanding the role of the Approved Housing Bodies in terms of acquisitions and construction, other mechanisms will include options to purchase within the leasing model and build to lease. Through these and other approaches, I expect that in the region of 5,000 social housing units will be provided this year. I am committed to continuing to develop innovative and sustainable approaches to the provision of social housing in the future.
The Housing Agency is developing a strategy, in collaboration with my Department, for the utilisation of lands in its ownership which will support Government policies in developing sustainable communities. This will involve consultation with the relevant local authority and other appropriate parties. The proper management of all State land is critical; accordingly, both lands that have been transferred to the Housing Agency and lands suitable for development but not transferred to the Agency will be the first sites considered in any targeted social housing building programme developed in the years ahead.
163. Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will outline the salaries paid to, and salary structures of, the members of the board of Uisce Éireann and the head of the transition office. [8667/14]
View answerThe Water Services Act 2013 provided for the establishment of Irish Water as a subsidiary of Bord Gáis Éireann (BGÉ) and that the new company should be formed and registered under the Companies Acts. The Memorandum and Articles of Association, which were adopted by Irish Water on its incorporation in July 2013, provide that the appointment of directors to the Board of Irish Water is the responsibility of the Board of BGÉ with the approval of the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government and the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. Twelve directors have been appointed to the Board of Irish Water by BGÉ and these appointments were approved in advance by me, as Minister, and by my colleague, Minister Pat Rabbitte.
The fee payable to the Chairman of Irish Water is €30,000 per annum and the fee payable to the non-executive directors is €15,000 per annum as approved by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and in line with Board remuneration in the semi-state sector. The two executive directors are not in receipt of any fee.
The Chairman was appointed on 17 July 2013 and the amount of the fee paid to the Chairman in 2013 was €13,769. One non-executive director who was appointed has waived the Board fee payable. The total fees paid to the other non-executive directors in respect of 2013 amounted to €20,000. Therefore, the total amount paid in Board fees to the directors of Irish Water to the end of 2013 was €33,769.
The Water Services Transition Office (WSTO) was established by the County and City Managers’ Association to assist with the implementation of the water sector reform process. The role of the WSTO is to support the delivery of the water sector reform programme on behalf of the local government sector, by co-ordinating the involvement of the 34 County and City Councils on a range of matters including standardised data gathering, financial analysis, HR negotiations, negotiation of SLAs and transition planning, all of which were required while daily water services operations were being maintained.
The annual fee payable to the Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) for the WSTO, as approved by my Department, is €36,000. A total of €29,520 was paid to the SRO in 2013.
164. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will indicate, in respect of each wastewater treatment plant around the State, the total volume of waste processed in 2013 compared to 2012; if increases in volume can be attributed to the new septic tank regulations; if the monetary gain accrued from the new regime has offset the increased costs of waste processing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8732/14]
View answerI have no responsibility for, or role in relation to, the operation of water services infrastructure.
The Waste Water Discharge (Authorisation) Regulations 2007 provide for the authorisation by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of discharges from public waste water treatment works and collection systems that are released to all types of receiving waters. The EPA reports on the operation of waste water treatment plants at all urban areas that are subject to the waste water discharge licensing regime and the latest Report is available on the EPA website.
From 1 January 2014 Irish Water is responsible for the operation and maintenance of water services infrastructure. My Department has asked Irish Water to put in place specific arrangements to address the queries which public representatives may have in relation to matters pertaining to the operation of water services under the new utility. I understand that Irish Water is in contact with Oireachtas members this week to outline the arrangements for addressing such queries in a timely manner.
165. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the way funding was allocated to the Irish Water Transition Office in both 2013 and 2014, including a breakdown of each category and heading under which money was spent and is projected to be spent until the wind-up of the office; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8733/14]
View answerThe Water Services Transition Office (WSTO) was established by the County and City Managers’ Association to assist with the implementation of the water sector reform process. The role of the WSTO is to support the delivery of the water sector reform programme on behalf of the local government sector, by co-ordinating the involvement of the 34 County and City Councils on a range of matters including standardised data gathering, financial analysis, HR negotiations, negotiation of SLAs and transition planning, all of which were required while daily water services operations were maintained. The WSTO prepared a detailed business case setting out its proposed role, functions and funding requirements. A Memorandum of Understanding was agreed between my Department and the WSTO setting out the common understanding between the parties in relation to the role and functions of the WSTO during 2013 and 2014 and the agreed funding mechanism. The approved WSTO budget for 2013 was €5.7m. A budget of €1.6m was approved for 2014; however, the likely outturn will be closer to €1.3m.
Of the €5.7m funding provided to the WSTO in 2013 some €1.7m was paid in respect of the staff from local authorities seconded to work in the dedicated transition office in two locations - Dublin and Waterford. During 2013, the average monthly WSTO staff complement across both locations was 17.7 staff, ranging from 21.1 staff at its highest (August 2013) and 5 staff at its lowest (January 2013). At year end there were 13.6 staff assigned to the WSTO.
Some €3.5m was paid in 2013 for the recoupment of costs for an average of 2-3 staff in individual local authorities who liaised with the transition office in collating and analysing the information necessary to support the transfer of functions, assets and liabilities to Irish Water.
The balance of approximately €0.5m was incurred by the WSTO on non-pay related costs. Of this €278,285 was paid to a variety of companies who provided specialist advice on legal, financial, health and safety and IT aspects of the transition as it impacted on local authorities. The balance of €213,252 was incurred on general office running costs for services including rent, utilities and security.
166. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide a detailed description of the eight ICT systems purchased from IBM by Irish Water to date, indicating the costs associated with each contract in terms of licensing, hardware, software, programming and design, expertise, installation, transport, testing and so on; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8734/14]
View answerAs Irish Water is a commercial utility and a subsidiary of Bord Gáis Éireann, formed and registered under the Companies Act, I have no role in relation to the procurement by Irish Water of external resources. This is an operational matter for the company.
However, my Department has asked Irish Water to put in place specific arrangements to address the queries which public representatives may have in relation to matters pertaining to the operation of water services under the new utility. I understand Irish Water is in contact with Oireachtas members this week to outline the arrangements for addressing such queries in a timely manner. In this regard my Department has asked Irish Water to compile the information requested and to issue it directly to the Deputy.
167. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he has established an information officer, if this person is in charge of developing and implementing data protection in his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8743/14]
View answerMy Department is fully committed to the protection of data. There is an Officer in charge of developing and implementing a data protection policy in my Department and registration details are available on the website of the Data Protection Commissioner, www.dataprotection.ie.
168. Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to ensure that areas of tourist attraction and tourist-related business that were damaged by the recent floods will be fully functioning by Easter in order to ensure the successful tourist season of 2013 is continued. [8088/14]
View answerFollowing consideration of a report from me on the severe weather that has affected Ireland, the Government decided on 11 February that a sum of up to €70 million will be made available for a programme of repair and remediation works. This will enable local authorities in the areas worst affected by the storms, including the most recent flooding, to help affected communities by restoring roads, coastal protection, harbours and piers, amenities and tourism and community infrastructure. The Government decision was based on estimated costs from local authorities. The arrangements for the drawing down of the funds by local authorities are being finalised following discussions between local authorities, my Department, the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, the Office of Public works, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, the Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, with the intention that it will be done as speedily as possible to enable local authorities to continue to help affected communities in the areas worst impacted by the storms, and have as much work completed as feasible in advance of the tourist season.
This funding is in addition to the €25 million which Government has already announced for the Department of Social Protection’s Humanitarian Assistance schemes and €1m of this will now be channelled through the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and the Irish Red Cross to assist families affected by the storms and flooding.
169. Deputy Heather Humphreys asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the work that has been done or is being planned by Irish Water in the area of rainwater harvesting; his views on the potential benefits of rainwater harvesting in view of the huge amount of rainfall in recent times; his views that increased efficiency in this area could help to reduce utility bills for consumers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8766/14]
View answerI am fully supportive of all technologies which contribute to the conservation of water. Rainwater harvesting has the potential to contribute to reducing the cost of water services for certain uses as well as benefiting the environment.
Irish Water has an overall remit to promote water conservation. The use of water meters whereby the household will be charged for the amount of water they use will encourage greater efficiency and water conservation. On this basis, using rainwater collected via a rainwater harvesting system for some 30% of water usage where drinking water quality is not required such as flushing toilets, watering gardens, etc. should assist in reducing utility bills for consumers.
The cost of installing a rainwater harvesting system to a property is dependent on the roof, guttering and downpipe layout and on the level of alterations required to internal plumbing. It will be a matter for the property owner to decide, once the tariff structure for water charges is known later this year, how cost-effective such installations would be.
170. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the position regarding a proposal by Monaghan County Council (details supplied); if urgent consideration will be given to the finalisation of this application and the approval of funding for this particular project which is long awaited; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8803/14]
View answer177. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the position regarding a proposal by Monaghan County Council (details supplied); if urgent consideration will be given to the finalisation of this application and the approval of funding for this particular project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8878/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 170 and 177 together.
I understand the questions relate to a proposed Group Sewerage Scheme included in Monaghan County Council’s recently submitted request for funding under the 2014 Rural Water Programme. Responsibility for the administration of the Rural Water Programme, which includes group sewerage schemes, has been devolved to local authorities since 1997.
In December 2012, I announced an increase in the grant for group sewerage schemes to €6,500 per house or 75% of the cost of the scheme, whichever is the lesser. The previous rate of grant available was €2,031.58 per house or 75% of the cost, whichever was the lesser.
I proposed, in the first instance, to carry out a number of pilot schemes based on the increased grant level. My Department asked local authorities to include in their requests for funding under the 2013 Rural Water Programme proposals for pilot group sewerage schemes which might be viable based on the increased grant.
Following an examination of the proposals received, with particular regard to the environmental justification provided and the estimated costs, I approved grant assistance towards pilot schemes in nine different counties in 2013.
A review of progress on the selected pilot schemes will be completed as soon as possible with a view to deciding how best to proceed with the grant scheme.
