Eamonn Maloney
Question:196. Deputy Eamonn Maloney asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide in tabular form the number of properties registered to individual landlords here. [3125/15]
View answerPrivate Residential Tenancies Board
Questions (196)
Written answers
The Residential Tenancies Act 2004 regulates the tenant-landlord relationship in the private rented residential sector and the Act provides that landlords in the sector must apply to the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) to register the tenancy of a dwelling within one month of the commencement of the tenancy. The published register lists the addresses of all tenancies registered with the PRTB. Details of the register on a county or, in the case of Dublin, a postcode basis are available on its website athttps://portal.prtb.ie/public_registrations.aspx. The published register does not contain any information that could lead to the disclosure of the identity of the landlord or tenant or the rent payable.
In 2014, the PRTB commissioned a study entitled the Future of the Private Rental Sector to explore the policy options to ensure a sustainable private rented sector into the future. The report was published in October 2014 and showed that there were 156,643 landlords who had 300,543 tenancies registered with the PRTB. The study found that 65% of landlords own just one property, 82% of landlords have two or less properties and almost 91% of landlords have three or less properties. The full report is available on the PRTB website at http://www.prtb.ie/docs/default-source/pdf-manuals/future-of-the-private-rented-sector.pdf?sfvrsn=0.
Tribunals of Inquiry Expenditure
Questions (197)
Bernard Durkan
Question:197. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the extent to which matters relating to the Mahon tribunal have been concluded and final bills in respect of costs to all parties agreed, discharged or pending; if the tribunal is still ongoing and the basis of same; if further costs to the Exchequer are being incurred; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3218/15]
View answerWritten answers
The Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments (the Mahon Tribunal) was established in October 1997 and published its Final Report in March 2012. The work of the Tribunal at present is largely focused on the settlement of the remainder of third-party and court costs incurred during the work of the Tribunal. It is anticipated that the day-to-day operations of the Tribunal will be completed during 2015.
My Department was advised by the Chairman of the Tribunal in May 2014 that the estimated final cost of the Tribunal would be approximately €159 million once all costs have been agreed and paid. This estimate was prepared in accordance with standard accounting practice and the agreed protocol on legal fees, on the assumption that all parties involved with the Tribunal, and who were entitled to apply for their costs, would receive all of their costs. The recent settlement (which was the subject of an order of the court) in relation to the successful Redmond challenge against the Tribunal will not have any impact on this estimate. Total expenditure at end 2014 in relation to the Mahon Tribunal amounted to €111.28 million, and it is expected that the majority of the outstanding expenditure will arise during 2015 and 2016.
The total estimate of costs includes settlement in relation to court cases. Along with third party costs claims, these are subject to agreement or settlement with legal cost accountants, the State Claims Agency or, where necessary, a Taxing Master of the High Court.
Housing Adaptation Grant Applications
Questions (198, 200)
Barry Cowen
Question:198. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide in tabular form his Department's allocation for the housing adaptation grant for people with a disability, mobility aids housing grant scheme and aid for older people from 2011 to date in 2015 by county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3093/15]
View answerBarry Cowen
Question:200. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide a breakdown by county of the number and total value of housing adaptation grants for persons with a disability, the housing aid for older persons and the mobility aids grant in 2010 to 2014, inclusive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3127/15]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 198 and 200 together.
Under the terms of the suite of Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability, which is administered by the local authorities, grants are available to assist households with specific needs to have necessary repairs or improvement works carried out to facilitate the continued independent occupancy of their homes. The schemes are generally 80% funded by my Department, with a 20% contribution from each local authority. The detailed breakdown of exchequer funding provided by my Department to each local authority over the period including the number of grants paid is available on my Department’s website at the following link: http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/StatisticsandRegularPublications/HousingStatistics/ and then select ‘Social and Affordable Housing’, ‘Housing Adaptation Grants by Area ’08 to date’. I expect to announce the 2015 capital allocations for the grant schemes to local authorities shortly.
Local Authority Services
Questions (199)
Willie Penrose
Question:199. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his views on letting local authorities provide reconstruction or house improvement loans to applicants who satisfy the appropriate criteria to obtain same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3104/15]
View answerWritten answers
The operation of local authority home improvement/reconstruction loans is a matter for each local authority. Local authority loans are available to owner-occupiers towards the cost of necessary works to improve, repair, extend or reconstruct their existing houses. The loan criteria and related information is available on local authority websites and the Citizen’s Information website:
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/housing/housing_grants_and_schemes/local_authority_home_improvement_loans.html.
The maximum loan amount is €38,000 (or €50,000 on offshore islands) where the loan is secured against the property, or €15,000 in other cases. I have no plans to alter the scheme at this time.
Question No. 200 answered with Question No. 198.
Seniors Alert Scheme
Questions (201)
Michael McCarthy
Question:201. Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 915 of 14 January 2015, when funding will be made available to enable senior alert schemes to provide carbon monoxide alarms to the disabled and the elderly; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3144/15]
View answerWritten answers
I refer to the reply to Questions Nos. 911, 915, 929 and 883 of 14 January 2015 which sets out the position in this matter.
Private Rented Accommodation Standards
Questions (202)
Barry Cowen
Question:202. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide in tabular form a county breakdown of the number of inspections of private rented accommodation carried out by local authorities under the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2008 in 2010 to 2014, inclusive. [3146/15]
View answerWritten answers
Minimum standards for rented accommodation are prescribed in the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2008 as amended, made under section 18 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992. All landlords have a legal obligation to ensure that their rented properties comply with these regulations. Details of the number of inspections carried out by each local authority in 2010 to 2013 are available on my Department’s website at http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/DevelopmentandHousing/Housing/FileDownLoad,30202,en.pdf.
In relation to data for 2014, this information is being sought from the local authorities and will be published on the website as soon as it has been compiled.
Water Pollution
Questions (203, 205)
Brendan Smith
Question:203. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the actions that will be taken following reports (details supplied) of the pollution of waterways in the north east due to the criminal activities of persons involved in laundering diesel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3162/15]
View answer
Fergus O'Dowd
Question:205. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the actions he will take on foot of the report in a newspaper (details supplied) of 18 January 2015 that cancer causing toxins from illegal fuel laundering plants are being dumped into the Fane river Dundalk, County Louth, and also into Lough Muckno and Lough Ross; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3168/15]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 203 and 205 together.
The Local Government (Water Pollution) Acts carry a general prohibition on the entry of any polluting matter to waters. Any person causing or permitting polluting matter to enter waters is liable on conviction on indictment, to a fine of up to €15,000,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years, or both. The primary enforcement responsibility in relation to water pollution rests with local authorities, which are in turn supervised by the Environmental Protection Agency for this purpose. Local authorities issue a significant number of enforcement notices every year under the Local Government (Water Pollution) Act. These enforcement notices require respondents to carry out actions to prevent or remedy water pollution. These are followed up by prosecutions where necessary.
I understand that Louth County Council on behalf of Irish Water has contacted the Water Pollution Inspectorate in Northern Ireland to investigate this specific allegation. The Council itself carries out regular sampling at various properties throughout the water distribution system for Dundalk and drinking water sample results for 2014 are fully compliant with the Drinking Water Regulations.
Enforcement 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, in particular without risk to water.
Approximately 1,200 incidents of diesel laundering waste dumping have been dealt with by local authorities since 2008 and to date my Department has reimbursed all of the costs associated with such disposal on a case by case basis. Almost half of the clean-up operations have taken place in County Louth with 596 incidents having been dealt with at a cost of approximately €4.8 m.
This is a significant expenditure borne at present by the Environment Fund. My Department, as part of on-going cooperation on repatriation of illegally deposited waste in Northern Ireland, has held recent discussions with the Northern Ireland authorities 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-going.
While there is anecdotal evidence which suggests that a large proportion of such waste has its origins in Northern Ireland, it has not been possible to prove an explicit link. Following discussions with An Garda Siochana, the Revenue Commissioners and Monaghan County Council, who have also been seriously affected by this issue, my Department has agreed to fund a pilot sampling programme of abandoned laundering waste material in order to generate improved intelligence. This exercise may result in linking dump sites to particular laundering processes as well as the origins of the diesel based on the markers detected in the analysed material. The pilot will be carried out by a specialised contractor who will visit the sites, sample the waste, deliver these samples to the State laboratory and compile a report based on that analysis.
There is strong and active co-operation on this and other waste management issues between the relevant enforcement authorities on both sides of the Border, involving An Garda Siochana, the Police Service of Northern Ireland and other enforcement agencies. However, I will be writing to my counterpart in the Northern Ireland Executive, Minister Mark Durkan, to highlight again the problems being faced by border counties exposed to the consequences of environmental crime and will also raise the issue politically at the next meeting of the North South Ministerial Council.
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.
Renewable Energy Projects
Questions (204)
Anne Ferris
Question:204. Deputy Anne Ferris asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the quantity in megawatts of renewable energy generating capacity that has received final planning permission by local authorities or An Bord Pleanála since 2000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3163/15]
View answerWritten answers
The data requested are not available within my Department. I understand that relevant data of this nature is compiled and published online by the Energy Policy Statistical Support Unit of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (www.seai.ie), which is under the aegis of the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.