Written Answers Nos. 241-249
241. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will address a matter (details supplied) regarding water charges; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10770/15]
View answerThe overall package of measures on Irish Water financing announced by Government last November is designed to make water charges more affordable for customers. The charges structure was revised with a view to making it simpler and fairer, providing more clarity and certainty to households. The overall cost for those who register with Irish Water, net of the €100 water conservation grant, is either €1.15 a week for single adult households or €3 a week for all others. Water supply will not be reduced under any circumstance. When it comes to payment, a range of easy pay options will be in place, including direct debits, electronic funds transfer, payment by cash at any retail outlet with a paypoint or payzone sign or a post office where a bill can be paid in full or part payments of a minimum of €5 can be made. Irish Water also intends participating in the Household Budget scheme. This facility, operated by An Post on behalf of the Department of Social Protection, provides customers with a facility to have their household utility bills and social housing rents deducted directly from their weekly social welfare payment.
242. Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if discussions undertaken by An Bord Pleanála in assessing an appeal are minuted; and if such minutes are subject to freedom of information access; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10867/15]
View answerAn Bord Pleanála is required by section 34(10) of the Planning and Development Act, 2000, as amended, to state the main reasons and considerations on which its decisions on planning appeals are based, including reasons for the imposition of any conditions. An Bord Pleanála is required to also indicate the main reasons for not accepting any recommendation to grant/refuse permission by an inspector engaged by it to report on a planning case. An Bord Pleanála has advised my Department that the main reasons and considerations, referred to above, are stated on the face of the Board decision order in each case and also on the Board direction sheet which precedes the making and signing of the formal Board order and records the outcome of the Board meeting at which the relevant case was discussed/decided. These documents are publicly available for inspection on the website of An Bord Pleanála and at its offices within 3 days following the making of the Board decision.
No record of the discussions of An Bord Pleanála at a meeting at which cases are decided, other than the above Direction sheet and Decision Order, are made. An Bord Pleanála does however produce a minuted record of the attendees and the cases discussed at each of its meetings and in relation to each case so discussed this minute also records the nature of the substantive decision made in relation to each case discussed at that meeting. This minute is made available by An Bord Pleanála on request.
243. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government when guidelines in respect of wind farms will become applicable; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11047/15]
View answerIn December 2013, my Department published proposed “draft” revisions to the noise, setback distance and shadow flicker aspects of the 2006 Wind Energy Development Guidelines. These draft revisions proposed:
- The setting of a more stringent day and night noise limit of 40 decibels for future wind energy developments,
- A mandatory minimum setback of 500 metres between a wind turbine and the nearest dwelling for amenity considerations, and
- The complete elimination of shadow flicker between wind turbines and neighbouring dwellings.
A public consultation process was initiated on these proposed draft revisions to the Guidelines, which ran until 21 February 2014. My Department received submissions from 7,500 organisations and members of the public during this period. It is intended that the revisions to the 2006 Wind Energy Development Guidelines will be finalised as soon as possible. In this regard, account has to be taken of the extensive response to the public consultation in framing the final guidelines. Further work is also advancing to develop technical appendices to assist planning authorities with the practical application of the noise measurement aspects of the Wind Guidelines.
The revisions to the Wind Energy Development Guidelines 2006, when finalised, will be issued under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended. In the interim, the 2006 Guidelines continue to apply to existing planning applications. Planning authorities, and, where applicable, An Bord Pleanála must have regard to guidelines issued under Section 28 in the performance of their functions under the Planning Acts.
244. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the extent to which he expects to be in a position to meet carbon reduction targets now and in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11055/15]
View answerI refer to the replies to Questions Nos. 128 and 131 of 28 January 2015 which sets out the position in this matter.
245. Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if there has been consultation with community councils regarding proposed changes to the seniors alert scheme; if not, the reason; if he will endeavour to ensure proper consultation with all stakeholders; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10754/15]
View answerFollowing the review of the Community Support for Older People (CSOP - the forerunner for the Seniors Alert Scheme) in 2009, which involved extensive consultation with all stakeholders, one of the key recommendations was that a centralised procurement process would simplify the scheme. By decreasing the level of administration for groups, this would allow them to spend more time on the key aim of the scheme, which is more and better interaction with older persons. The operational handover of the Seniors Alert Scheme between my Department and Pobal should be completed by mid-year. In the meantime, Community and Voluntary Groups wishing to participate and draw down grant support under the Seniors Alert Scheme should continue to apply to my Department in the usual way.
My Department has written to over 900 community and voluntary groups registered with the Scheme on several occasions to keep them apprised of developments. The most recent correspondence, which issued on 6 March 2015, advised the groups that Pobal will be holding regional meetings over the coming period to assist the groups in the transition to the new arrangements. These sessions will give local groups an opportunity to engage with Pobal and to address any concerns they may have.
246. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government when Clare County Council will receive its 2015 budget for housing grants for older people and people with disabilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10765/15]
View answerExchequer funding of over €37 million was provided by my Department to local authorities in 2014 for the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability. Combined with an additional 20% contribution by individual local authorities, there was an overall spend last year of €46.3 million in this area. I am pleased to confirm that the 2015 amount will increase by some 10% to give a combined spend of €50.5 million. Individual allocations to local authorities will be made shortly.
247. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide in tabular form the amount spent by local authorities on outsourced services per local authority in the past five years; and if he will provide in tabular form the amount paid by local authorities to third parties for maintenance on local authority vehicles and machinery. [10773/15]
View answerThe information requested is not available in my Department.
248. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the amount spent by his Department and local authorities on homeless services from 2010 to 2014. [10777/15]
View answerMy Department does not fund any homeless services directly but provides funding to housing authorities towards the operational costs of homeless accommodation and related services under Section 10 of the Housing Act 1988. Under Section 10 funding arrangements, housing authorities must provide at least 10% of the cost of such services from their own resources. Furthermore, housing authorities may also incur additional expenditure on homeless related services outside of the Section 10 funding arrangements. Therefore, the exact amounts spent by housing authorities on homeless services are a matter for those authorities. My Department provides Section 10 funding to lead housing authorities on a regional basis and a breakdown of such funding for the years 2010 to 2014 are set out in the following table:
Funding Provided under Section 10 of the Housing Act 1988
|
Region |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
|
Dublin |
€40,521,375 |
€35,732,525 |
€32,398,290 |
€31,322,223 |
€35,322,223 |
|
Mid-East |
€906,842 |
€697,665 |
€839,146 |
€811,275 |
€928,489 |
|
Midlands |
€666,344 |
€624,897 |
€672,027 |
€649,707 |
€649,707 |
|
Mid-West |
€3,435,607 |
€2,905,457 |
€3,516,119 |
€3,399,336 |
€3,405,060 |
|
North-East |
€1,037,617 |
€912,250 |
€910,194 |
€879,963 |
€879,963 |
|
North-West |
€423,355 |
€406,335 |
€360,865 |
€348,879 |
€348,879 |
|
South-East |
€1,742,886 |
€2,110,476 |
€1,848,877 |
€1,787,469 |
€1,818,969 |
|
South-West |
€4,270,143 |
€3,505,749 |
€4,418,967 |
€4,272,197 |
€4,307,772 |
|
West |
€1,699,288 |
€1,227,696 |
€1,581,478 |
€1,528,951 |
€1,544,712 |
|
Total |
€54,703,457 |
€48,123,050 |
€46,545,963 |
€45,000,000 |
€49,205,774 |
249. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government for his views on a matter (details provided) regarding funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10825/15]
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. 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 578 578.
