Written Answers Nos. 142 - 149
142. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his estimate of the costs involved in dealing with the abandonment of waste by diesel launderers to local authorities and environmental agencies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25001/14]
View answerEnforcement in relation to illegal diesel laundering activities is primarily a matter for the Revenue Commissioners from the point of view of avoiding loss of revenue to the Exchequer. My Department assists local authorities in carrying out their role as competent authorities under waste legislation, which is to take the necessary measures, on behalf of the State, to ensure that any waste generated and left abandoned by the diesel launderers is disposed of, without endangering human health and without harming the environment.
Approximately 900 incidents of diesel laundering waste dumping have been dealt with by local authorities to date and my Department has up to now reimbursed the costs associated with such disposal on a case by case basis. The majority of the clean-up operations have taken place in Louth and Monaghan but further incidents have been managed in Counties Cavan, Donegal, Offaly, Meath and Waterford. Details of the amount s provided by my Department since 2008 on a per county basis are set out in the table:
|
Year |
Louth County Council |
Monaghan County Council |
Offaly County Council |
Cavan County Council |
Donegal County Council |
Total |
|
2008 |
€448,460 |
€109,615 |
€558,075 |
|||
|
2009 |
€314,678 |
€45,632 |
€360,310 |
|||
|
2010 |
€246,211 |
€28,414 |
€29,270 |
€303,895 |
||
|
2011 |
€939,315 |
€89,588 |
€1,028,903 |
|||
|
2012 |
€1,452,267 |
€347,350 |
€23,458 |
€1,823,075 |
||
|
2013 |
€693,048 |
€150,946 |
€40,753 |
€884,747 |
||
|
Total |
€4,093,979 |
€771,545 |
€29,270 |
€23,458 |
€40,753 |
€4,959,005 |
This is a significant expenditure borne at present by the Environment Fund. My Department, as part of ongoing co-operation with the Northern Ireland authorities on repatriation of illegally deposited waste in Northern Ireland, has held recent discussions with the Northern Ireland Department of the Environment on the need to develop a mechanism for dealing with waste from cross-border diesel washings which would be factored into the overall discussions on waste repatriation. These discussions are on-oing.
I believe that a complete solution to this problem must necessarily involve effective and co-ordinated enforcement of the law from both a revenue and waste management perspective. In that context, my Department continues to liaise with representatives of the Office of the Revenue Commissioners, the local authorities concerned and the EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement to seek to identify more effective enforcement solutions and these engagements will continue.
143. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if his Department has sought to quantify the amount of unclaimed money sitting in financial products in the State including pension funds, investment accounts in financial institutions and insurance bonds, which may occur for a number of reasons, including the customers not being contactable, the financial service provider changing name or contact details, customers being deceased; if his Department or the Central Bank of Ireland is planning any initiative on the issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25111/14]
View answerThe Dormant Accounts Act 2001 (as amended by the Unclaimed Life Assurance Policies Act 2003, the Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Act 2005 and the Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Act 2012), provides for a scheme to transfer dormant funds in banks, building societies and An Post and the transfer of moneys payable under unclaimed life assurance policies to the care of the State, while guaranteeing a right of reclaim to those funds.
The period for determining dormancy is 15 years since the last customer-initiated transaction. In the case of life assurance policies with a specified term, it is five years after the end of that term. The financial institution at which the dormant accounts are held transfers the funds not later than 30 April each year to the National Treasury Management Agency as required by the Dormant Accounts legislation. The financial institution provides the NTMA with a statement in writing specifying the total amount of moneys transferred and the total number of the accounts transferred.
The NTMA is responsible, under Sections 17 and 18 of the 2001 Act, for establishing, managing and controlling the Dormant Accounts Fund. Since its establishment in April 2003 to the end of April 2014, the transfers to the Dormant Accounts Fund have totalled some € 776 m. Funds reclaimed in that period by account holders amounted to around €28 3 m, with just over €252m disbursed on projects designed to benefit the community over the same period. The net value of uncommitted funds in the account stands at approximately € 145 m. Further details on funding are provided in the community section of my Department’s website at :
.
http://www.environ.ie/en/Community/DormantAccounts/
I have no plans at present to expand the range of financial products covered by the Dormant Accounts legislation.
144. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government further to his announcement of an average annual household bill for water of up to €240, if he envisages that this figure will be inclusive of VAT; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24996/14]
View answerWith effect from 1 January 2014, Irish Water is responsible for public water services. The Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 provides that Irish Water can collect charges from its customers in receipt of water services provided by it.
The Act also provides that responsibility for the independent economic regulation of the water sector is assigned to the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) and that the water charges plan to be prepared by Irish Water is subject to the approval of the CER. The CER has recently completed a public consultation on the approach to the design of domestic water tariffs for both metered and unmetered properties. Further consultations are planned in relation to other aspects of the water charges plan to be submitted to the CER by Irish Water. Full details of the CER’s public consultation plans are available on its website: www.cer.ie.
The CER will be announcing the approved water charges in August 2014.
The Government recently agreed to the provision of an average annual operational subvention of €537m in 2015 and 2016 to Irish Water, on condition that such funding shall be used to ensure that the average annual tariff to end 2016 for the average household for combined water supply and waste water treatment does not exceed €240 per annum , subject to final assessment by the regulator CER.
I have indicated that I intend to use my powers under the Water Services (No.2) Act 2013 to issue a policy direction to the CER in relation to a number of matters relating to domestic water charges, including any conditions attached to the Government funding to be provided to Irish Water. As required by the Act, a draft of the policy direction has issued to the CER and the Joint Oireachtas Committee for the Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht, and has been published in Iris Oifigiúil. The draft direction is currently open for public consultation and details are available on my Department’s website: http://www.environ.ie/en/Environment/Water/WaterSectorReform.
The VAT exemption which previously applied for supplies of water by local authorities will also apply to supplies of water by Irish Water to both its domestic and non-domestic customers.
145. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will ensure that the existing Leader groups which have operated successfully as local action groups for the past 23 years, will be supported to draw up their community based local strategic plans for Leader submit them to the Department for approval, and be allowed implement and administer the delivery of all aspects of these plans; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25020/14]
View answer146. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will ensure that the criteria for selection of the local action groups to develop the local strategic plans will be drawn up so that the existing Leader groups are neither disadvantaged, constrained nor prevented from winning any Leader tender or selection process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25021/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 145 and 146 together.
The LEADER element of the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 (RDP) will be delivered using a Community Led Local Development approach as required under EU Regulations governing the implementation of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. Ireland is proposing to support the implementation of the LEADER elements of the RDP at local level through a more integrated and coherent approach to local development that will involve community and local government organisations in leadership roles, guiding a more integrated and coordinated delivery of all funding, both European and National, at a local level.
I expect that a draft Rural Development Programme will be submitted by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine, the Managing Authority for the Programme, to the European Commission for consideration and approval in the coming weeks.
Following this, my Department intends to conduct a two-stage process to select Local Development Strategies providing the opportunity to develop partnerships with full and comprehensive consultation thus maintaining the integrity of a Community Led Local Development approach.
My Department will issue an open call inviting all entities that meet the eligibility criteria to be considered as Local Action Groups (LAGs) to express an interest in being selected to develop Local Development Strategies (LDS) for the 2014-2020 Programme. The eligibility criteria will be drawn up in such a way to ensure that the best LAGs possible are selected to develop strategies including conformity with EU requirements in terms of LAG makeup, capacity to undertake the work and financial capacity to deliver the programme.
It is intended to select a single strategy in each area and therefore in cases where more than one strategy is submitted the groups involved will be asked to come together in partnership to jointly prepare and agree a single strategy in order to ensure that the most comprehensive and coherent strategies come forward for consideration and approval by my Department.
I have assured the current Local Development Companies on numerous occasions that they will be key partners in the proposed new architecture and I anticipate that they will participate fully in the upcoming Local Development Strategy selection process.
147. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide for each local authority, the number and total value of local authority home loans currently outstanding; the number of those loans in arrears and the overall value of the arrears; if he will provide an age profile of the arrears if possible; the steps that are being taken to address the arrears problem; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25029/14]
View answerMy Department publishes a wide range of housing statistics, including the number and value of local authority mortgages with a breakdown of those in arrears. The statistics are available on my Department’s website at:
http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/StatisticsandRegularPublications/HousingStatistics/FileDownLoad,15295,en.xls by clicking “Mortgage Data/Arrears in Local Authorities” under the Housing Loans contents.
My Department issued guidelines to local authorities for dealing with mortgage arrears within the local authority sector in August 2012. Dealing with Mortgage Arrears – A Guide for Local Authorities is available on my Department’s website at: http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/DevelopmentandHousing/Housing/FileDownLoad,30943,en.pdf.
148. Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the position regarding the sale of flats to local authority tenants; if there is any further primary or secondary legislation required; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25062/14]
View answerPart 4 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the associated Housing (Tenant Purchase) Regulations 2011 provide the legislative underpinning for the scheme for purchase of local authority apartments by tenants and I have no proposals to amend these provisions . I intend, later this year, to prescribe the form of, and the terms and conditions to be specified in, the transfer orders and charging order s for use by housing authorities in operating the new scheme. I will also issue to housing authorities models of the memorandum and articles of association for the management company to be established in each complex designated for tenant purchase and related guidance.
149. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to legislate in order to ensure that 80% of all local property tax receipts are retained within the local authority areas where the properties are based; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25065/14]
View answerThe Government has indicated an intention to move to 80% retention of all Local Property Tax (LPT) receipts within the local authority area where the tax is raised. The remaining 20% of LPT collected will then be applied to equalise the impact of this level of local retention between local authorities.
This year, the establishment of Irish Water presents local government with significant organisational and financial challenges. Service provision responsibilities are moving from the local authorities to Irish Water, infrastructure is being transferred, financing arrangements have altered and local authorities are operating on behalf of Irish Water under Service Level Agreements. These changes must be managed and, in this context, it was necessary to defer defining a certain proportion of the proceeds of the Local Property Tax to be retained in each local authority for 2014.
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.
In 2015, in addition to the changes in water services funding, local authorities will be required to implement changes to their budget process arising from EU obligations, which will require them to prepare draft budget strategies by the end of September 2014 and will also have the power to vary Local Property Tax rates by up to 15%. Together, these are further significant changes to the current local government funding model and it is essential that the impacts are fully assessed and that the effect on overall Exchequer funding is managed appropriately.
My Department is currently considering the local government sector funding model for 2015, including the legislative implications, if any, in consultation with all relevant Government Departments. We will continue to work with local authorities to ensure that they have an appropriate level of information in a timely manner that facilitates their budget process for next year.
