Written Answers Nos 201-220
201. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Skills her proposals to meet the post-primary requirements of the various scoileanna Gaeilge; if she has received submissions in this regard from the various school authorities; if she will be in a position to advance proposals in this regard; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38473/14]
View answerThe establishment of any new school is considered in the context of the overall need for additional school places to meet future demographic demands. New schools are then advanced in line with an objective process and criteria for determining patronage and language medium of instruction.
As part of the arrangements for establishing new post-primary schools, an initial decision is made by my Department, before seeking applications for patronage, on whether the schools will operate through the medium of Irish or English. This approach will apply for all new post-primary schools being established into the future.
My Department has received a small number of submissions from advocacy groups in relation to all-Irish post-primary provision in their areas. The information submitted will be considered in the context of the current analysis of demographic data being carried out by my Department on a nationwide basis to determine where additional primary and post-primary school accommodation might be needed from 2015 onwards.
202. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason her Department has not yet provided the board of management of a school (details supplied) in Dublin 15 a date for its stage 2A meeting concerning plans to rebuild the school. [38504/14]
View answerThe project referred to by the Deputy is currently at Stage 2(a) of Architectural Planning. My Department has recently written to the Board of Management authorising the project to complete Stage 2(a) and have agreed a date with the Board of Management for the Stage 2(a) Stakeholders meeting which is to be held on 22nd of October.
Due to competing demands on my Department's capital budget imposed by the need to prioritise the limited funding available for the provision of additional school accommodation to meet increasing demographic requirements it was not possible to include this project in the 5 year construction programme announced in March 2012.
School building projects, including the project for this school, which have been initiated but not included in the current five year construction programme will continue to be progressed to final planning stages in anticipation of the possibility of further funds being available to my Department in the future.
203. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Education and Skills her views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding the value of smaller class sizes which ensure a high quality delivery of education; the steps she will take to reduce the class sizes to an acceptable level in line with international standards; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38515/14]
View answerThe primary staffing schedule currently operates on the basis of a general average of 1 classroom teacher for every 28 pupils, with lower thresholds for DEIS Band 1 schools. Schools have autonomy in relation to the deployment of classroom teachers to individual classes. My Department's guidance to schools is that the number of pupils in any class is kept as low as possible taking all relevant contextual factors into account (e.g. classroom accommodation, fluctuating enrolment etc.). School authorities are also requested, where possible, to use their autonomy under the staffing schedule to implement smaller class sizes for junior classes. The Staffing Schedule includes the provision where schools experiencing rapid increases in enrolment can apply for additional permanent mainstream posts on developing grounds. The staffing appeals process has been extended for the current school year to include a new appeals criterion for those schools that make a significant contribution to the provision of school places which assists the response to demographic growth within their area and as a result are under significant pressure on their class sizes at infants level.
The context for any discussion about class sizes is that my Department, like all other Government Departments, is operating within a budgetary programme that is designed to return the Government finances to a sustainable basis. This budgetary programme has helped Ireland to return to a position where we are seeing some economic growth. It is a continuing improvement in our economic growth that will enable us to move to a point in future budgets where we can look again at providing for additional teacher resources in schools which could bring about an improvement in PTR and class size.
In the meantime, my Department's focus is on targeting any available resources to cater for the continued increase in student numbers across primary, post-primary and third level.
204. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding advice available to a student who wants to pursue a qualification in dance; if there is any establishment in the country providing such courses under the student grant scheme; if any assistance is available from any other agency to a student; if grant assistance is available if the student attends a course in a private college here or publicly in the UK and the reason do we not assist students wishing to pursue a career in dance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38517/14]
View answerMy Department's student grant scheme provides maintenance grants to Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) students pursuing approved PLC courses in the State and undergraduate students pursuing approved third level courses in the State or in other E.U. Member States.
In general, an approved PLC course is defined as a prescribed full-time course in an approved PLC centre while an undergraduate course is defined as a full-time, not less than two years duration pursued in an approved institution. Where a student is pursuing an undergraduate course in another EU Member State, the university or third level institution must be maintained or assisted by recurrent grants from public funds.
Where a grant application is made in respect of a course being pursued in an institution in the State or in an EU Member State, such as a Dance/ Theatre School, it is a matter for the central grant awarding authority SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland) to satisfy itself regarding the status of the institution and as to whether the course and institution meet the terms of the scheme.
In relation to tuition fees, there is provision for tax relief, at the standard rate in respect of approved courses at approved colleges of higher education including approved undergraduate and postgraduate courses in other E.U. Member States. Further details and conditions in relation to this relief are available from the Revenue Commissioners.
206. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government when the fourth and fifth reports of the Constitutional Convention will be brought before Dáil Éireann; if this will be done without delay, in view of the fact that the deadline to respond has passed and in view of the importance of the recommendations contained in these reports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38313/14]
View answerThe Government has already responded to the recommendation in the Fourth Report of the Convention on the Constitution for the establishment of an Electoral Commission. The preparatory work on this task has commenced in my Department and the Government Legislation Programme provides for the publication of an Electoral Commission Bill in 2015.
The Government expects to respond to the remaining recommendations in the Fourth Report and to the recommendations in the Fifth Report of the Convention before the end of the current Dáil session.
207. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the legal protections that are in place to ensure that Irish Water does not sell or compromise persons' personal public service numbers. [38344/14]
View answer208. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if personal public service numbers are transferred from a relevant person or State body to Irish Water, from where and the means by which Irish Water gained consent for that transfer; and if explicit consent was not given for this data exchange if he will outline the criteria Irish Water is using to obtain this data. [38378/14]
View answer209. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government who is now storing personal data on behalf of Irish Water. [38379/14]
View answer210. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if Irish Water will be requesting personal data, including personal public service numbers, from the Private Residential Tenancy Board to trace tenants to their new addresses should they vacate a property and not pay their water charges. [38380/14]
View answer211. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the assurances Irish Water will provide that the transfer of personal data outside the European Economic Area will only be made to the EU commission's approved list of countries that provide an adequate standard of data protection; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38381/14]
View answer215. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the reason Irish citizens must entrust their personal data to Irish Water (details supplied); the reason citizens of this State should commit their personal data to an organisation with no independently verified information security system. [38345/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 207 to 211, inclusive, and 215 together.
Under the Water Services Acts 2007-2013, Irish Water may request its customers and certain specified persons or bodies, including the Minister for Social Protection, to provide it with information so that it can perform its functions under these Acts. The Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 provides that Irish Water is responsible for public water services and that it shall 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, the CER, which has been given statutory responsibility for protecting the interests of customers of Irish Water.
In advance of the introduction of domestic water charges, the Government made certain decisions on 6 May 2014 relating to the structure of water charges including, inter alia, a free allowance per household and an additional free allowance for children on the same qualifying conditions as the Child Benefit payment from the Department of Social Protection.
As these allowances are to be funded by Government, Irish Water needs to ensure it has the appropriate and sufficient information to reflect these entitlements. Irish Water is a specified body under the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, as amended by Section 20 of the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2014, and is therefore permitted to request Personal Public Services (PPS) numbers to authenticate the identity of the person being provided with an allowance.
Irish Water will treat applicants’ personal data in accordance with the Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003. In complying with these Acts, Irish Water must ensure that the data is only used for the purpose for which it was collected and must also ensure that any data collected is stored securely. The collection of PPS numbers allows Irish Water to confirm and validate the entitlement to allowances for each customer. This information will not be shared with any organisation other than the Department of Social Protection for the purpose of verification, to ensure that each household receives the allowances it is entitled to, be it the free allowance per household or any additional allowance for children in receipt of Child Benefit at that address. It will also allow Irish Water to provide lower charges to owners who have unoccupied dwellings. I understand that Irish Water and the Department of Social Protection are developing arrangements governing the sharing of PPS information. Any such arrangements will be subject to data protection requirements.
With charges effective from 1 October 2014 Irish Water is in the process of compiling the relevant data to ensure that customers can be billed accurately based on the tariff structure approved by the CER. Over the last number of weeks, Irish Water has been sending application packs to approximately 2 million households, which refer to the effective charging date and the fact that billing for domestic customers in receipt of public water services will start in January 2015. The application process will enable customers to confirm their details for billing and, by providing the relevant PPS numbers, claim the allowances that they are eligible for. Furthermore, Irish Water has advised my Department that it intends to initiate a further campaign after the 31 October deadline for return of application packs, to allow landlords provide proof that their property is occupied by a tenant and that they are not the occupant. Irish Water is currently working with the Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) in relation to the arrangements for how this will be done.
Last week the CER made a determination on the water charges plan submitted to it by Irish Water, which sets out the position if customers do not validate their details. In these circumstances, a default charge which does not include the free allowances will be applied to such customers. The relevant details of the determination are available on the CER website ( www.cer.ie).
Irish Water has an ongoing engagement with the DPC and has advised my Department that it has been asked to provide clarity on some aspects of the legal language of its data protection notice as published on its website, www.water.ie. It has confirmed that this notice was, and is, fully compliant with data protection requirements. However, by providing additional clarity, it will reassure customers that data is held securely, used properly and not shared with third parties, except where necessary for the delivery of water services such as contractors repairing leaks. Any advice given to Irish Water from the DPC will be further incorporated into its data protection notice.
Irish Water has confirmed that all its systems have undergone extensive independent quality assurance testing. In addition, the DPC has worked closely with Irish Water to agree the process for the capture, storage and usage of customer data. Furthermore, Irish Water has also confirmed that no data will be stored outside of the European Economic Area (EEA), and that it will not sell any customer data. There may be limited instances where Irish Water might need to share information with third parties with whom it has service agreements for operational reasons, e.g. ICT support for systems maintenance, and this will be done under full compliance with all Data Protection requirements.
Irish Water has established a dedicated team to deal with representations and queries from public representatives. They may be contacted via email at oireachtasmembers@water.ie or by telephone on 1890 278 278.
212. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will reverse the budget reductions and changes to the rules related to the housing adaption scheme. [38480/14]
View answerUnder the suite of Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability, every local authority received increased funding for 2014 compared to the 2013 allocations. An allocation to local authorities of €38.4m for 2014 was made for these grants on 16 January 2014.
Some changes to the terms and conditions governing these schemes were introduced following a review in 2013 by a group established by my Department, with the objective of ensuring that the benefits of the schemes were spread as widely as possible and to ensure fairness and value for money in their operation. The group included members of the Housing Practitioner Network, the County and City Managers’ Association, Local Authority housing personnel and my Department and it consulted with organisations working with older persons and persons with a disability. I have no plans at present to introduce further changes to the schemes.
213. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the steps he will take to restructure commercial vehicle road tax which is applicable here in line with that which applies in Northern Ireland (details supplied); if his attention has been drawn to the impact this will have upon jobs dependant on the sector if same is not addressed immediately. [38535/14]
View answerThe Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport has established an Inter-Departmental Working Group on issues relating to the Irish haulage industry which includes representation from my Department. The Working Group’s discussions are ongoing at present.
Any structural change to the basis of taxation for commercial vehicles to gross design vehicle weight, including factoring in the number of axles, would need to take account of the lack of correlation between gross design vehicle weight and unladen weight, upon which the taxation system currently in place in the State for these vehicles is based. If it was ultimately decided to change the basis of liability for motor tax for these vehicles, it would be necessary to make amendments to primary legislation and technological modifications to the National Vehicle and Driver File.
Any restructuring would also need to take account of the impacts on other motor tax payers as well as the impact on Exchequer finances.
214. Deputy Eoghan Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide a list of the commissions of investigation, inquiries and similar investigations established under his Department during the past 12 months or being considered for establishment during the next 12 months, and in each case the person or persons conducting the inquiry and the timeframe, including start and end date envisaged. [38333/14]
View answerMy Department engaged MacCabe Durney Barnes in February 2014 to commence an independent Planning Review, in accordance with section 255 of the Planning and Development Act 2000. This review is expected to be completed this month. No further reviews have been decided upon at this time.
216. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the grants that are available for persons seeking to drill for water wells on their own land. [38349/14]
View answerGrants of 75% of the approved costs or €2,031.58, whichever is the lesser, are available under my Department’s Rural Water Programme for the provision or necessary improvement of an individual water supply in a house.
Details of the conditions applying to the grants scheme, including the type of works that may qualify, can be obtained from local authorities, to whom responsibility for the administration of the Rural Water Programme has been devolved since 1997.
217. Deputy Derek Keating asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the reason apartment residents will be charged an average for their water usage; the basis this average is on as there is no information available concerning this issue; the reason persons on fixed incomes are not being given the option of paying their water charges by monthly standing order or by weekly payment through their local post office; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38360/14]
View answerThe Water Services Act 2013 provides for the establishment of Irish Water as an independent subsidiary within the Bord Gáis Éireann Group and assigns the necessary powers to allow Irish Water to undertake the water metering programme. The installation programme commenced in August 2013 and will be implemented nationally as quickly as possible.
Up to 300,000 households may not be metered in the initial metering programme due to either the high cost or the technical difficulty of doing so. Irish Water has commissioned a study on possible approaches to metering properties that are not part of the current metering programme, including apartments and properties with shared service connections. On the basis of this report, it has been agreed to incorporate 48,000 apartments, identified by the report as being easily metered, into the current metering programme. The advancement of any further phase of metering, including the individual metering of properties with a shared service connection, will be a matter for consideration by the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER), based on proposals from Irish Water.
The proposed approach to charging was outlined by Irish Water in a water charges plan submitted to the CER in line with the provisions of the Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013. In approving the plan the CER was required to take account of a Ministerial policy direction which issued to the CER in July 2014, in accordance with section 42 of the Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013. Against this background, the CER has approved the water charges plan which provides that properties not connected to a meter would be billed on the basis of a scheme of assessed charges based on occupancy. Full details of the CER decision are available on its website, www.cer.ie. The policy direction of July 2014 requires the CER to review assessed charges in the light of emerging data on metered consumption to ensure that the assessed charges remain as close a proxy for actual usage as possible.
A range of flexible payment options will be available to Irish Water’s customers. The company will facilitate bill payment through direct debit, cheque, credit/debit cards, over-the-counter payments (at paypoint and payzone outlets as well as post offices), and electronic funds transfer.
Irish Water has established a dedicated team to deal with representations and queries from public representatives. They may be contacted via email at oireachtasmembers@water.ie or by telephone on 1890 278 278.
218. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if Irish Water will be responsible for addressing problems caused within the sewage system on domestic premises in view of the fact that local authorities will only do so if the problem was located on a house rented from the local authority. [38375/14]
View answerSince 1 January 2014 Irish Water is responsible for the public water and wastewater systems and infrastructure. Individual householders have always been, and continue to be, responsible for the water distribution system and sewage drains within the boundary of their own property. In the case of local authority houses, works previously carried out, including repairs to sewage systems, were carried out by the local authority in their capacity as landlord.
219. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government in view of the establishment of Irish Water, the implications for members of group water schemes who are currently paying water charges to their local authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38395/14]
View answerI assume the Question relates to how Irish Water proposes to bill group water schemes which receive their water from Irish Water as distinct from schemes which have their own sources. Such schemes were previously customers of local authorities for the bulk supply of this water.
The group scheme is now a customer of Irish Water for the bulk supply of such water and the Commission for Energy Regulation is not proposing any changes at this stage to charges for non-domestic customers, including such group water schemes.
It is important to emphasise that the households on the group scheme are customers of the scheme and not of Irish Water.
220. Deputy Derek Nolan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if there will be provisions or reliefs introduced for farmers in respect of paying water charges, considering they use a large volume of water for feeding animals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38397/14]
View answerSince 2001, national water pricing policy has required local authorities to recover the costs of providing water services from all non-domestic users of these services, including farms. This policy provided for charges based on actual metered consumption and is consistent with the requirements of the Water Framework Directive.
With 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 the CER has been given statutory responsibility for protecting the interests of customers.
The proposed approach to charging was outlined by Irish Water in a water charges plan which it submitted to the CER in line with the provisions of the Act. The CER recently held a public consultation on this plan which covered a range of issues relating to water charges. Last week, the CER issued a determination on the water charges plan. Full details and associated documentation are available on the CER website ( www.cer.ie ).
Currently, any farm connected to a public water supply is liable for charges as a non-domestic customer, with an allowance provided for domestic use. Following the introduction of domestic water charges, farms connected to public water supplies will be charged by Irish Water for both non-domestic and domestic use, subject to the free allowances to be provided to households and qualified children by Irish Water.
It should be noted that the existing arrangements for all non-domestic customers are remaining in place with no changes for the time being. On this basis, the local authorities will continue to bill for non-domestic water services as agents of Irish Water. The CER will be reviewing all aspects of non-domestic water tariffs under a series of public consultations and will publish the time-line for this process before the end of 2014.
Irish Water has established a dedicated team to deal with representations and queries from public representatives. They may be contacted via email at oireachtasmembers@water.ie or by telephone on 1890 278 278.
