Written Answers Nos. 533-546
534. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if allowances will be provided for each parent in cases of separation and divorce in view of the sharing of parental responsibilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45336/14]
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.
Capped annual charges are set at a rate of €160 for single adult households and €260 for all other households until end 2018, with all eligible households entitled to receive a water conservation grant of €100 per year. In the case of primary dwellings registered with Irish Water and where a meter is installed, a Children’s Water Allowance of 21,000 litres per annum will be provided in respect of each resident child under the age of 18 (irrespective of whether the child qualifies for Child Benefit). This allowance will be in respect of the residence where the child in normally resident and will only be claimable once in respect of an individual child. For unmetered dwellings with children, the capped charge to apply is based on the number of adults in a house (i.e. a single adult dwelling or a multi-adult dwelling).
If a dwelling is metered after 1 January 2015 and if a household’s usage for the first metered year is less than the relevant capped charge, the household will be due a once-off rebate on the difference between the charges paid for the unmetered period and the charge that would have been paid through metered usage. This will be automatically calculated by Irish Water after a full year of metered usage and normally applied as a once-off credit to the customer’s account.
It is not intended that the forthcoming legislation to reflect the new capped charges will alter the arrangements already approved by the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) which would permit the registered occupier to provide approval to Irish Water to transfer of the child’s water allowance, in certain circumstances.
536. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if his Department, or any agency of his Department, has awarded any contracts to a company (details supplied) since 9 March 2011. [45345/14]
View answerMy Department has not awarded any contracts to the company referred to.
Contracts awarded by agencies under the aegis of my Department are an operational matter for those agencies.
537. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the role he sees landlords playing regarding the collection of water charges; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45381/14]
View answerSince 1 January 2014, Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels.
The occupier of a property is liable to pay the water charges bill, and legislation provides that the owner is the occupier unless the contrary is proven. Irish Water is providing landlords with the opportunity to prove that they are not the occupier by providing the tenant's name. This will allow Irish Water to contact the tenant to complete the registration and to bill the tenant. The tenant will have to register with Irish Water to avail of the water conservation grant or to get lower charges than the default capped charge (€260), where they are single adult occupants or their metered usage is less than the maximum charge.
Draft legislation which I will be bringing forward will place certain obligations on landlords where the tenant has not paid charges. In the case of tenants in private rented accommodation, the legislation will seek to insert into all tenancy agreements/leases a deemed obligation on the tenant to discharge their liability for water charges. On the changeover of a tenancy, the registration of a new tenant with Irish Water would be conditional on all water charge arrears being discharged and, in the event of the former tenant not discharging those arrears, the landlord would be entitled to withhold the amount concerned from the tenant’s deposit and would be required to remit the amount involved to Irish Water.
In the case of local authority tenants, where deposit arrangements do not apply, and where a customer is in arrears for more than 12 months and a late payment fee has accrued, Irish Water, having firstly provided the customer with the opportunity to pay the arrears or enter into a payment plan, will advise the local authority concerned of the amount of the arrears. The legislation would provide for the local authority to recover the amount outstanding over a 12 month period and to remit the amount involved to Irish Water.
538. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government when the announcement will be made regarding the €2.2 billion investment in social housing provision; if he will provide a break down of the allocation and the number of new builds by council yearly to 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45382/14]
View answerSocial housing is a key priority for Government, as evidenced by the additional €2.2 billion in funding announced for social housing in Budget 2015, which will assist in increasing social housing delivery, including newly built units, in 2015, 2016 and 2017. The funding that is provided by my Department to local authorities for social housing on an on-going basis supports the development and acquisition of new social housing units based on the priorities set by the local authority.
For 2015, I expect that some 7,400 new social housing units will be provided under these initiatives. It is a matter for each local authority, as the housing authority for its area, to identify the social housing need and to respond as required and my Department is working with all local authorities regarding their targets for 2015 and beyond, within the context of the available funding nationally.
The soon to be published Social Housing Strategy will build on the provisions contained in Budget 2015 and will set out clear, measurable actions and targets to further increase the supply of social housing, through a range of delivery initiatives in order to continue to protect the most vulnerable and disadvantaged in our society.
539. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the safeguards there will be under the new housing assistance payment for persons with disabilities, including those with a mental health difficulty; if there will be flexibility in terms of the rent cap payable under the HAP in the same way that community welfare officers had discretion under the rent supplement scheme; his plans to ensure that persons with mental health difficulties do not have their recovery jeopardised by the threat of homelessness due to inflexible rent caps; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45383/14]
View answerThe Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 provides, inter alia, for the introduction of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP). HAP is currently being piloted in seven local authority areas. For the purpose of the pilot phase, the rent limits prescribed for the rent supplement scheme by the Department of Social Protection, have been prescribed as the rent limits for HAP purposes in the seven areas concerned. It is intended that Dublin City Council will shortly commence a HAP pilot for the Dublin region which focuses particularly on homeless households.
Under HAP, similarly to the situation that pertains in rent supplement, eligible households source their own accommodation within the private rented market. The local authority pays the rent directly to the landlord, on behalf of the household, and the household pays a rental contribution to the local authority based on the differential rent scheme for the relevant local authority.
The HAP pilot phase is being implemented by the local authorities concerned under the stewardship of the HAP Project Board, which includes representatives from my Department and the Department of Social Protection. During the pilot phase as issues arise, for instance in relation to particular categories or make-up of households that cannot be readily dealt with under the Scheme by local authorities, such cases are examined on a case by case basis by the Project Board. The learning from the pilot phase will in turn inform the full roll out of HAP to all local authorities, broadening the current range of social housing supports available to local authorities to meet housing need generally, including households or persons with a disability or mental health difficulty.
540. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the estimated average water usage rate per 1,000 litre for a two adult plus household and for a single adult household based on recent data; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45386/14]
View answer541. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the total number of two adult plus households expected to pay water charges; the total number of single adult households; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45387/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 540 and 541 together.
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.
Irish Water has carried out a project to understand water consumption patterns in Ireland. The Water Consumption Research Project (WCRP) figures are based on actual metered data and follow-on surveys with over 3000 houses, and confirm that the average consumption for a household is 66,000 litres per year for the first occupant and an average 21,000 litres increase for each additional occupant. However, many households will use less than this amount, and it is possible for households to reduce their consumption through simple conservation measures. Data on consumption patterns will be provided by Irish Water to the CER on a regular basis.
The Irish Water tariff model contains details of the estimated break-down of Irish Water customer numbers based on data prepared by the Central Statistics Office. This model and the findings of the WCRP are available on the CER website at: http://www.cer.ie/document-detail/CER-Water-Charges-Plan-Consultation/979.
Irish Water has established a dedicated team to deal with representations and queries from public representatives. The team can be contacted via email to oireachtasmembers@water.ie or by telephone on 1890 578 578.
542. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the impact the new revenue model will have on the Irish Water capital investment plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45388/14]
View answerSince 1 January 2014 Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels including the delivery of water services capital infrastructure. Irish Water has published its Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016 and this is available online at http://www.water.ie/news/proposed-capital-investme/Proposed-Capital-Investment-Plan-2014-2016.pdf.
Recent announcements regarding changes to the water charges regime will not impact on the delivery of water services capital infrastructure.
545. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will provide an update on the efficacy of the electric vehicle grant scheme; his views on the uptake levels of the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45313/14]
View answer546. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will provide an update on the success of the electric vehicle grant scheme; his views on the low uptake of scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45316/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 545 and 546 together.
The 2009 Renewable Energy Directive sets all Member States a binding target that at least 10% of the energy used in the transport sector must come from renewable sources by 2020. Ireland aims to meet this target mainly through the use of sustainable biofuels with electric vehicles also making a smaller contribution.
The Electric Vehicle Grant Scheme was introduced in April 2011 to incentivise and support, through grants of up to €5,000, the early deployment of electric vehicles in Ireland. These grants are in addition to the VRT reliefs of up to €5,000 which apply to electric vehicles.
To date, grant support has been provided for the purchase of 551 new vehicles of which 269 were grant aided in 2014. The grant scheme, subject to finalisation of the budgetary arrangements, will continue into next year.
The extent to which EVs are adopted in the short-to-medium term will depend on a range of factors including, inter alia, the strength of the economy, the overall numbers of new cars being purchased, the cost of purchasing and running electric vehicles compared to fossil fuel comparators, and the number of different electric vehicle models available to purchase. Overall within the EU, demand for EVs has been lower than originally anticipated.
