Written Answers Nos. 207-213
207. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 854 of 14 January 2015, if she will provide a copy of the nationwide demographic review on primary school places; if she will share the data with regard to north Kildare and the reasoning by which the Department has come to the conclusions that it has; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3008/15]
View answerI am arranging to have the requested data for north Kildare supplied directly to the Deputy.
208. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Education and Skills her views on re-opening the qualification allowance for post-primary teachers to new entrants, in view of the unfairness of two teachers being paid at different rates simply because one commenced employment later than the other and the fact that many new teachers are struggling financially as they cannot obtain full-time work. [3011/15]
View answerDue to the worsening economic circumstances, the Government reduced the salaries and allowances payable of all new entrants to public service recruitment grades (including teachers) by 10% with effect from 1 January 2011 and required that such new entrants would start on the first point of the applicable salary scale.
Subsequently, arising from the public service-wide review of allowances and premium payments, the Government decided to withdraw or modify allowances for new beneficiary public servants with effect from 1 February 2012. As part of this, certain allowances were withdrawn for new beneficiary teachers, including qualification allowances. However, the Government partially compensated for this by deciding that new entrant teachers would henceforth commence on a new salary scale which had a starting point higher than the starting point of the old scale.
Under the Public Service Stability Agreement 2013 – 2016 (Haddington Road Agreement), revised pay scales for post-1 January 2011 and post-1 February 2012 entrants to teaching were agreed and implemented with effect from 1 July 2013.
The Haddington Road Agreement further provided that the salary imbalance between those who entered the public service since 2011 and those who entered before that date would be addressed. In that regard, my Department implemented a further revised incremental salary scale for teachers who entered teaching between 1 January 2011 and 31 January 2012 with effect from 1 November 2013. Allowances payable to post-1 January 2011 entrants and such allowances as remain payable to post-1 February 2012 entrants were restored to pre-2011 levels as part of this measure.
In addition, the Haddington Road Agreement provided for the establishment of an Expert Group to consider and report on the level of fixed-term and part-time employment in teaching, having regard to the importance for teachers of employment stability and security and taking account of system and school needs and Teaching Council registration requirements.
The independent chairperson of the Group (Peter Ward SC) presented his report to me on 17 September 2014, following extensive consultation with all stakeholders and interested parties. The report recommends a suite of measures which will allow fixed-term teachers to acquire permanent positions more easily and quickly and enable part-time teachers to gain additional hours. The report also provides for extended redeployment arrangements in the event of mismatch between teacher qualifications and the curricular needs of schools, giving school management increased flexibility.
The report recommends that seven changes should take place from the commencement of the 2015 school year and I intend to proceed with the implementation of those recommendations with effect from that date. These reforms will represent a significant improvement in the job security and stability of employment for existing and future young teachers.
209. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he has received correspondence from the north-west homeless region in which it was advised that section 10 funding be retained for a rehabilitation centre (details supplied) in County Donegal; if he has responded to this correspondence; the action he will take following this recommendation from the north west homeless region; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2933/15]
View answerMy Department recently received and responded to correspondence from Donegal County Council regarding the provision of funding, under Section 10 of the 1988 Housing Act, to the White Oaks Rehabilitation Centre.
My Department’s role in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of housing authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of accommodation and related services for homeless persons rests with the housing authorities, in this instance Donegal County Council.
The purposes for which housing authorities may incur expenditure in addressing homelessness are prescribed in Section 10 of the Housing Act 1988. Under the delegated arrangements for Section 10 funding, the responsibility for rigorous assessment, appraisal and decision making in relation to proposals for funding of particular services within the budgetary allocation rests with the statutory Homelessness Management Group of the respective region, which includes representation from Donegal and Leitrim County Councils and the Health Service Executive, and is led by Sligo County Council.
My Department has no function in regard to, nor is it involved in, decisions on operational matters.
210. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his views on introducing a deposit retention scheme for the private rented sector; and if so, the timeframe; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2952/15]
View answerDeposit retention and rent arrears are the main categories of dispute from applicant parties for dispute resolution according to the annual report of the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) for 2013. The Programme for Government includes a commitment to establish a tenancy deposit protection scheme.
On foot of this commitment the PRTB commissioned research on such a scheme and reported back to my Department with recommendations in that regard. The subsequent report assessed a number of different options for delivery of a scheme ranging from one where all elements are delivered by the PRTB to one where all elements are outsourced to a private operator. The report examined each option in terms of both insurance and custodial type schemes.
All of the options presented in the report were considered and Government approval was secured for the establishment of a tenancy deposit scheme based on a custodial model. In a custodial scheme, tenancy deposits are transferred to the scheme for the duration of the tenancy. They are then repaid by the scheme operator following agreement between the landlord and tenant or following the outcome of a dispute resolution process in cases where there is no agreement.
It is my intention to introduce the legislative amendments in relation to the scheme at Committee Stage of the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012 in the Seanad in the first quarter of 2015.
211. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to make available funding for local authorities to carry out insulation of the older, solid brick local authority housing; if so, when this funding will be made available; the criteria to apply for this funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2955/15]
View answerSupported by funding from my Department, local authorities are undertaking an ambitious programme of insulation retrofitting on the least energy efficient social houses over a 3 year period. Funding of €50 million is being provided over the period 2013-2015 for improving the energy performance of older local authority housing stock. This programme will improve energy efficiency and comfort levels in 25,000 local authority homes. The details of the 2015 programme are currently being finalised with local authorities.
Phase 1 commenced in June 2 013 and is focused on providing attic/roof insulation and cavity wall insulation in all relevant properties. Once a local authority confirms that all houses requiring attic/roof and cavity wall insulation have been dealt with, my Department will allocate funding for Phase 2 works which will include external insulation or dry lining of houses with solid wall or hollow block construction.
212. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans for the delivery of 5,386 social houses in 2015 as promised in his Social Housing Strategy 2020, including the breakdown of these units by local authority; the number of these units that will be covered by existing planning permissions held by local authorities across the State; the number of these units for which new planning permissions will have to be sought; if he will provide a breakdown of the units by proposed funding stream (details supplied). [2958/15]
View answer213. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his views that the 5,386 social houses as detailed in his Social Housing Strategy 2020 will be built and tenanted in 2015. [2959/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 212 and 213 together.
Social housing is a key priority for Government, as evidenced by the additional €2.2 billion in funding announced for social housing in Budget 2015 and the publication of the Social Housing Strategy 2020 in November 2014, which builds on the provisions contained in Budget 2015 and sets out clear, measurable actions and targets to increase the supply of social housing, reform delivery arrangements and meet the housing needs of all households on the housing list.
The total targeted provision of over 110,000 social housing units, through the delivery of 35,000 new social housing units and meeting the housing needs of some 75,000 households through the Housing Assistance Payment and Rental Accommodation Scheme, will address the needs of the 90,000 households on the housing waiting list in full, with flexibility to meet potential future demand.
Action 1 of the Strategy requires the agreement of national targets for delivery of social housing on a local authority by local authority basis this year and in subsequent years. Action 4 of the Strategy requires the 4 Dublin local authorities to agree similar targets. Action 1 will be delivered by the Project Board while Action is the responsibility of the Dublin Social Housing Delivery Taskforce. Both actions will be delivered in quarter 1 2015 and to this end both Groups have recently met and have agreed the process on setting targets for each local authority. Consultation with individual Local Authorities is now taking place.
In 2015, I expect that some 7,400 new social housing units will be provided - 3,000 units through the leasing initiative; 1,000 vacant local authority units will be returned to use through a programme of refurbishment; a further 1,400 units to be built or acquired by local authorities and approved housing bodies through the Social Housing Investment Programme and the Capital Assistance Scheme; and a further 2,000 new Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) units will be delivered. In addition, 8,400 households will be assisted through the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP).
The planning status of units of social housing to be provided through the various mechanisms outlined is not held in my Department.
