Written Answers Nos. 261 - 271
261. Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to introduce a scheme equivalent to the Living City Initiative to help sustain towns by encouraging persons to reside and invest in town centres; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5247/15]
View answerThe Living City Initiative was introduced by my colleague, the Minister for Finance, in Budget 2014 as a targeted pilot tax incentive scheme aimed at: - encouraging people to live in older buildings in the centre of our cities; and incentivising the regeneration of central business districts.
The Initiative provides tax incentives targeted at owner/occupiers rather than property developers or the rental sector for works undertaken to refurbish residential and retail buildings, either to bring them up to a habitable standard or to make improvements to buildings which are currently inhabited, all with a view to helping to improve the vibrancy of city centre areas.
In addition, my Department has taken a number of initiatives in recent years in this vein:
- local authorities were requested to exercise restraint, or where possible, to reduce commercial rates and local charges to assist local businesses in the current economic climate– the vast majority of local authorities have responded positively to this request;
- revised development contribution guidelines were introduced in 2013 requesting planning authorities to put in place reduced development contributions to support town centre development and incentivise activity in the areas prioritised for development in relevant core strategies;
- new guidelines on retail planning were published aimed at promoting and supporting the vitality and viability of city and town centres. These guidelines retained the previous caps on store size in less populated and smaller towns, and were aimed at striking the right balance to ensure that local monopolies are not created in smaller towns which would be detrimental to competition;
- the publication of 2 new Planning and Development Bills which include a provision for a vacant site levy as an integral part of the development planning process to incentivise the bringing into beneficial use of under-utilised urban land, vacant sites and buildings, thereby facilitating sustainable urban development and an efficient return on state investment in enabling infrastructure.
In terms of Government action other than by my Department in providing assistance to retail businesses and stimulating economic activity in local communities, a number of measures have been introduced since 2011, including:
- the introduction of the 9% rate of VAT on certain goods and services;
- the halving of the lower rate of employers’ PRSI;
- the introduction of the Microenterprise Loan Scheme and Credit Guarantee Scheme, both of which schemes have had take-up from the retail sector; and
- the extension of seed capital and the employment and investment incentive scheme to the retail sector.
My Department remains committed to working with other Government Departments, with local government and with other community development and enterprise stakeholders with a view to providing a clear framework for addressing urban centre decline and its impacts on the retail sector, and will continue to explore appropriate options for further action in this regard.
262. Deputy Joanna Tuffy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide an update on the funding of community based women’s networks which does valuable work in supporting disadvantaged women at national and local level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5254/15]
View answerMy Department’s Local and Community Development Programme (LCDP) is the largest social inclusion intervention of its kind in the State. The current Programme officially finished at the end of 2013 having operated for four years with funding of €281 million over that period. It is being implemented on a transitional basis until March 2015, pending the roll out of the new Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) in April 2015 .
In accordance with the Public Spending Code, legal advice, good practice internationally and in order to ensure the optimum delivery of services to clients, SICAP is subject to a public procurement process, which is currently underway.
The public procurement process is a competitive process that is open to Local Development Companies, other not-for-profit community groups, commercial firms and national organisations that can provide the services to be tendered for to deliver the new Programme. In Stage one, joint applications were encouraged and organisations of varying sizes (for example smaller organisations working in consortia with larger organisations) were invited to submit joint applications. That said, I understand that some small groups, such as the groups under the remit of the National Collective of Community Based Networks (NCCWN) faced a number of challenges in competing in the Stage one process. The results of Stage one were released on 24 September 2014 and I can confirm that none of the NCCWN groups expressed an interest either as lead applicants or as part of a consortium. I am now considering the implications of that for NCCWN and my Department is liaising with other relevant Departments to find a workable solution. My Department will be meeting the NCCWN shortly.
I should say that all groups who received LCDP funding in 2014 are being funded through LCDP interim arrangements until 31 March 2015, pending the outcome of the SICAP competitive process. I can confirm that interim LCDP funding, based on a small budgetary reduction in the order of 6.5%, on 2014 levels, is being provided to NCCWN up to end March 2015. In addition, my Department also supports a number of Women’s Projects under the Scheme to Support National Organisations (SSNO). This funding scheme, which supports national organisations in the community and voluntary sector, aims to provide multi-annual funding towards core costs associated with the provision of services. A new round of funding under this scheme commenced on 1 July 2014, under which the NCCWN was allocated some €160,122 for the period 1 July 2014 – 30 June 2016.
263. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government when the housing adaptions for people with disabilities and housing aid for older person's funding will be made available to Meath County Council; and if he will provide details of the 2015 allocation for Meath. [5258/15]
View answerAllocations to all local authorities in respect of Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability, including to Meath County Council, will be made in the next few weeks. Funding of over €37 million was provided for these grants last year and I am pleased to confirm that amount will increase by some 10% in 2015 to €40.4 million, comprising both my Department’s funding and a further amount being provided by certain local authorities themselves.
264. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of social houses which will be built this year in County Louth by location; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5263/15]
View answerSocial housing is a key priority for Government, as evidenced by the increased provision made for the area in Budget 2015. The Social Housing Strategy 2020: Support, Supply and Reform builds on the provisions contained in Budget 2015 and sets out clear, measureable 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, with flexibility to meet potential future demand. In committing to provide these 35,000 new social housing units, at a projected cost of €3.8 billion, the Strategy marks a fresh start for social housing in Ireland.
Actions 1 and 4 of the Strategy require the agreement of national targets for delivery of social housing across local authorities in 2015 and in subsequent years. The Project Board responsible for oversight of the delivery of actions and targets under the Social Housing Strategy, has agreed a process on setting social housing delivery targets and consultation with individual local authorities in this regard is currently taking place. As always, the specific plans and locations under which social housing provision will be made in County Louth will be a matter for Louth County Council as the housing authority for the area. Each local authority has responsibility for identifying their area’s social housing need and responding as required, including planning and undertaking new social housing developments to meet this need.
265. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide a breakdown of the numbers of local authority dwellings by building energy rating in each local authority area in the State in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5271/15]
View answerMy Department does not maintain a statistical database of the Building Energy Ratings of dwelling units owned by local authorities. The national database of building energy ratings is maintained by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. I understand that the software used to maintain the database was modified in July 2012 to allow for the identification of BER certificates relating to dwellings used for social housing purposes.
I am advised that BER certificates will have been obtained by local authorities in respect of new dwellings commissioned since 1 January 2007 and in respect of dwellings offered for letting since 1 July 2009. In addition BER certificates are obtained when energy efficiency upgrade works are undertaken on existing units. Local authority dwellings falling outside of this set of circumstances are unlikely to have a BER certificate. BER Certificates also have a validity period of 10 years and will cease to be represented on the national database once this period has expired.
My Department continues to pursue an ongoing programme of investment in improving the energy efficiency of the existing stock of social housing owned by local authorities and has published the best practice design guidelines Quality Housing for Sustainable Communities which, among other things, promote higher standards of energy efficiency in new social housing. Local authorities are undertaking an ambitious programme of insulation retrofitting, with the support of my Department, 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, and therefore BER ratings, in 25,000 local authority homes.
266. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide, in tabular form, the numbers of grant applications for home energy retrofit of local authority dwellings approved in each local authority area in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014; the total amount spent in each year towards these grants; the total contribution in each year from local authority resources; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5273/15]
View answerThe information requested is being compiled and will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as possible.
267. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide in tabular form the most recently available numbers of whole-time equivalent staffing in each local authority in the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5274/15]
View answerMy Department gathers quarterly data on staff numbers in local authorities. The most recent data collected at the end of December 2014, are set out in the following table on a whole time equivalent basis (WTE).
|
LOCAL AUTHORITY |
December 2014 Quarterly Return (Total WTE) |
|
Cork City |
1210.06 |
|
Dublin City |
5445.70 |
|
Galway City |
410.10 |
|
Limerick City & County |
1008.14 |
|
Waterford City & County |
773.13 |
|
Carlow |
264.86 |
|
Cavan |
360.55 |
|
Clare |
712.81 |
|
Cork |
1947.31 |
|
Donegal |
832.33 |
|
Dun Laoghaire / Rathdown (DLR) |
951.00 |
|
Fingal |
1250.66 |
|
Galway |
752.08 |
|
Kerry |
1050.34 |
|
Kildare |
793.70 |
|
Kilkenny |
486.86 |
|
Laois |
348.57 |
|
Leitrim |
253.09 |
|
Longford |
272.85 |
|
Louth |
606.05 |
|
Mayo |
927.01 |
|
Meath |
621.98 |
|
Monaghan |
362.74 |
|
Offaly |
376.00 |
|
Roscommon |
408.89 |
|
Sligo |
414.44 |
|
South Dublin |
1055.69 |
|
Tipperary |
1002.33 |
|
Westmeath |
458.54 |
|
Wexford |
699.90 |
|
Wicklow |
678.65 |
|
OVERALL TOTAL |
26735.36 |
268. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government using the most recently available data, if he will provide, in tabular form, the total number of local authority dwellings in each local authority in the State; the proportion of such dwellings in each area which are single bed, two-bed, three-bed, four-bed or more than four-bed; the proportion of such dwellings in each area which are detached, semi-detached, terraced, apartment or other; the proportion of such dwellings in each area which were built prior to 1930, between 1930 and 1949, between 1950 and 1969, between 1970 and 1989, between 1990 and 2000 and after 2000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5275/15]
View answerMy Department publishes a wide range of housing and planning statistics, which includes aggregate data relating to local authority housing stock broken down by county. The statistics are available on my Department’s website at: http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/StatisticsandRegularPublications/HousingStatistics/FileDownLoad,15295,en.xls by clicking “L.A. rented houses units by area 2003+” under the Social Housing Supports contents.
However, the detailed information requested on bedroom number, house type and year of construction is not available in my Department. It may be identified using the CSO 2011 Census data and can be found here: http://www.cso.ie/en/census/index.html.
269. Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Minister for the Environment; Community and Local Government the persons who attended all meetings of the Irish Water consultative group SLA sub-group, including not just members of this group but also non-members; and if he will provide minutes of all these meetings. [5277/15]
View answer270. Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Minister for the Environment; Community and Local Government the organisation that took the decision to extend the Irish Water SLA beyond 2017 that is Irish Water; Bord Gáis or his Department. [5278/15]
View answer280. Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Minister for the Environment; Community and Local Government the names of all persons present at the 18 April 2013 meeting of the Irish Water consultation group; if he will confirm that the extension of the service level agreements with councils was a pre-condition for the councils to undertake the necessary fact finding mission as suggested in the memo for the 18 April 2013 meeting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5347/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 269, 270 and 280 together.
The meetings of the Service Level Agreement (SLA) sub group of the Irish Water Consultative Group was part of an industrial relations process to facilitate an exchange of views on issues surrounding the SLA. As was the agreed procedure for such meetings, minutes were not taken with the agreed outcome being communicated to the relevant parties by the Chair of the Irish Water Consultative Group, Mr Kevin Foley. This approach is adopted generally to meetings facilitated by the Labour Relations Commission. The agreed framework for SLAs is available on the Department’s website at the following link http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/Environment/Water/FileDownLoad,35139,en.pdf.
On the management side, my Department was represented along with the Local Government Management Agency, Local Authority Management, Irish Water and the Water Services Transition Office. The staff side was represented by ICTU and member unions.
The concept of a service level agreement (SLA) was an essential ingredient of the transition plan proposed by the Independent Assessment conducted by PWC in 2011 on the question of establishing Irish Water. PWC recommended this approach over a “big bang” transfer of all staff and functions, taking account of relevant labour laws, as this would allow Irish Water to implement a fit for purpose organisation structure without the constraints of the existing local authority system. The Service Level Agreement would ensure continuity of service based on the local authority knowledge of assets and operations and would be most likely to deliver efficiencies earlier, reduce the risk of failure and maintain security of supply during the transition.
The unwinding of these interim arrangements were, in PWC’s view, a matter to be determined by Irish Water in consultation with my Department and local authorities. While they recommended that the SLA would conclude by the end of 2017, they acknowledged that Irish Water might wish to enter into longer term agreements with local authorities for specific purposes.
Following public consultation on this report, the Government agreed and published the implementation strategy for the water sector reform programme. This implementation strategy acknowledged the potential scope for local authorities to continue to act as agents of Irish Water beyond 2017. The strategy identified the need for engagement with staff on the reform programme, given its scale and complexity, and the implications for the staff concerned.
All discussions at the Irish Water Consultative Group were set in this context and were reflected in the positions adopted by the management side. The management side would not have agreed to the framework, unless the management side was satisfied that it would provide an appropriate mechanism to meet the Government’s objectives in reforming the water sector by improving its efficiency and effectiveness and increasing capital investment would be achieved.
The final proposition of a 12 year SLA was considered important in delivering on these aims and was balanced with providing greater certainty to local authority staff. The SLA term, within a broader framework, was an important backdrop to local authorities embracing the change required and investing time and effort in underpinning an enduring relationship with the new utility, whilst ensuring that accompanying measures provide for the establishment of a high performing water utility on a timely basis with benefits accruing to the customer. The SLA provides for the agreement of annual service plans which deal with issues such as transformational change and headcount. The number of staff employed under the SLA has decreased by 10% in the first year of operation of Irish Water.
271. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 224 of 15 January 2015 with regards to the awarding of medical priority for local authority housing lists and further to the reply received from Dublin City Council that priority status is only awarded in extreme circumstances and only if an applicant’s medical difficulty will be alleviated by a change in their current housing circumstances, therefore, many applicants have indeed serious medical problems but do not merit medical priority, as a change in their housing will not improve their health, the way it is determined that an applicant’s housing will improve their health, and the types of medical conditions that have merited being awarded medical priority. [5280/15]
View answerAs I indicated in my reply to the Question referred to by the Deputy, decisions on granting priority to households in the allocation of dwellings are a matter for the housing authority concerned, in accordance with section 22 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the associated Social Housing Allocation Regulations 2011 .
