Written Answers Nos. 259-267
259. Deputy Jerry Buttimer asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government regarding the planning and development regulations, the definition of a "pond"; when such a definition came into effect; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10878/15]
View answerPond is not defined in the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, as amended.
Class 6 of Part 1 of Schedule 2, Part 1 (Exempted development – General) of the Regulations includes an exemption from the requirement to obtain planning permission for the construction of any path, drain or pond or the carrying out of any landscaping works within the curtilage of a house. The condition attached to this exemption is that the level of the ground shall not be altered by more than 1 metre above or below the level of the adjoining ground.
Works relating to the construction or maintenance of any gully, drain, pond, trough, pit or culvert, the widening or deepening of watercourses, the removal of obstructions from watercourses and the making or repairing of embankments in connection with any of the foregoing works is also exempted development under Class 3, Schedule 2, Part 3 (Exempted development – Rural) of the Regulations.
260. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans on issuing an instruction to Dublin City Council that 20% of all housing units under the docklands strategic development zone are to be designated as social housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10886/15]
View answerProvision of housing within Dublin’s docklands is a key part of its continuing development with the population of the area expected to increase by almost 6,000 in the coming years. Specific objectives have been included under Chapter 4 of the North Lotts and Grand Canal Dock Strategic Development Zone Planning Scheme to ensure that future housing provision meets the needs of the area, and is in line with the overall Dublin City Council Housing Strategy.
I am committed to the principle of a social housing gain from private development and I believe that the Part V mechanism under the Planning and Development Acts has the potential to be a significant contributor to achieving the targets set out in the Government’s Social Housing Strategy 2020 – Support, Supply and Reform in the context of a recovering housing market.
Under the existing Part V provisions of the Planning and Development Acts, developers are required to ensure that up to 20% of land zoned for residential, and other uses, shall be reserved for social or affordable housing. However, with the substantial fall off in private construction, very little social housing is currently being provided under Part V.
Informed by a recent review of the Part V provisions, which included a public consultation process, my Department has incorporated the required legislative changes into the General Scheme of the Planning and Development (No 1) Bill which was published in November 2014 and is available on my Department’s website at:
http://www.environ.ie/en/PublicationsDocuments/FileDownLoad,39512,en.pdf
The General Scheme of the Bill was the subject of pre-legislative scrutiny by the Joint Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht. The Bill is currently being drafted in consultation with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel with a view to publication in the coming weeks and enactment before the summer recess.
The General Scheme provides that, in future, the focus of Part V will be on the delivery of social housing, with a requirement for up to 10% social housing in developments in excess of 9 units. In the operation of these revised Part V arrangements, the priority will be to secure social housing units on-site; the making of cash payments in lieu of social housing is to be discontinued.
Under the revised Part V provisions, which will apply to permissions granted under SDZ planning schemes , it is estimated that in the region of 4,000 additional social housing units will be delivered by 2020. My Department has written to local authorities recently highlighting the importance of ensuring that Part V agreements are discharged in ways that maximise the potential for the immediate delivery of social housing units.
261. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if his Department has been apprised of the decision to transfer the Dublin city fire brigade ambulance services to the Health Service Executive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10895/15]
View answerOperational responsibility for the management and delivery of health and personal social services, including the National Ambulance Service, is a matter for the Health Service Executive, which is under the aegis of my colleague, the Minister for Health.
Dublin City Council’s Fire Brigade provides an emergency medical service on behalf of the Health Service Executive for a large part of the Dublin area. Emergency calls from the public for both fire and ambulance assistance are received currently in the Regional Communications Centre (RCC) operated by Dublin Fire Brigade in Townsend Street. My Department has been briefed by the City Council in relation to the implementation of recommendations for service improvement contained in the recently published Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) report on Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Services. In that context, while changes are proposed in the call-taking arrangements to deal with the HIQA recommendation, there are no proposals to change or remove the provision of the emergency ambulance service from Dublin Fire Brigade.
I understand that structures are being put in place to assist with implementation of the proposals. An inter-service implementation group is being established involving Dublin City Council and the HSE, and an internal Forum is to be convened within Dublin City Council, inclusive of DCC Management and SIPTU and IMPACT representatives, to address matters arising under proposals for the handling of emergency calls.
262. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to provide additional funding to Dublin City Council for the continuation of the intensive inspection programme of pre-1963 rental properties in view of the significant success of the programme to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10910/15]
View answerMinimum standards for rental accommodation are prescribed in the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2008, made under section 18 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992. These Regulations were updated by the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2009. All landlords have a legal obligation to ensure that their rented properties comply with these regulations. Responsibility for enforcing the regulations rests with the relevant local authority, supported by a dedicated stream of funding allocated by my Department. This funding is provided from 20% of Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) tenancy registration fee income.
My Department has allocated almost €29m to housing authorities since 2005 for the purpose of carrying out their functions under the Housing Acts in relation to rented accommodation. Additional funding was provided in 2010 for once-off strategically-planned programmes of inspection known as “Intensified Inspection Projects”. Funding for Intensified Inspection Projects was awarded where housing authorities agreed to undertake additional, targeted inspection activity, over and above what they would conduct as part of their usual inspection programme.
A total of 20 applications were received and Dublin City Council was awarded €1,099,135 for their Intensified Inspection Programme which involved a commitment to carry out in excess of 8,500 inspections over a three year period. A recent report from Dublin City Council found that the majority of dwellings selected for inspection (which were pre-1963 multi-unit buildings and more likely to be in this category of accommodation) were non-compliant with the regulations on initial inspection. This programme of inspections has been extremely successful. According to the most recent data available, 70% of the non-compliant properties have already been brought into compliance. Enforcement action continues on the remainder, including legal action in certain cases. Dublin City Council commenced its intensified inspection programme in February 2012 and it is due to run until end March 2015.
The allocation of funding for Private Rented Inspections is reviewed annually and the allocation for 2015 will be approved shortly. In 2014, €2.5 million was allocated to local authorities to carry out their functions under the Housing Acts in relation to private rented accommodation and arrangements are being made for the payment of this funding in the coming months. The payments are based on actual inspection performance reported for the 12 months up to 31 December 2014. Funding in the amount of €300,000 was also allocated in 2014 to defray the cost of legal enforcement incurred by local authorities.
My Department is currently collating 2014 inspection data and will publish those online in due course. Data for previous years are available at http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/StatisticsandRegularPublications/HousingStatistics.
263. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if his Department has received information from Dublin City Council regarding the level of works that would be required to refurbish units at O'Devaney Gardens and Croke Villas within the north inner city to house homeless families, as considered under the Government's action plan to tackle homelessness; if he has made a decision on issuing a direction to Dublin City Council to undertake such works; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10913/15]
View answerLast month, approval issued from my Department to Dublin City Council for the refurbishment of a number of units in O’Devaney Gardens and Croke Villas to deliver short term accommodation for homeless persons.
It is a matter for the City Council to advance the planning of these works within the appropriate budgets.
264. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his views on a matter (details supplied) which is the subject of an inquiry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10915/15]
View answerMacCabe Durney Barnes Consultants were appointed in February 2014 to carry out an independent planning review on the performance of planning functions in six selected planning authorities (Carlow, Cork, Galway and Meath County Councils and Cork and Dublin City Councils) in accordance with section 255 of the Planning and Development Act 2000.
The planning review is being informed by the consideration of planning matters referred to the Minister by a number of stakeholder groups and individuals including the planning issue referred to by the Deputy in the Question.
I expect to receive the final report from the consultants shortly and I subsequently intend to publish it having considered its contents.
265. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide an outline of the many different types of waste water treatment systems in use that are approved by local authorities to meet current waste water standards nationwide; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10919/15]
View answerThe Building Regulations set out the legal requirements for the design and construction of buildings, including dwellings. Compliance with the Regulations is the responsibility of the owner or builder of a building or works.
Part H of the Second Schedule to the Building Regulations 1997 to 2014 sets out the requirements for the disposal of foul and surface water. The related Technical Guidance Document (TGD H 2010) provides guidance on how these requirements can be achieved in practice.
In relation to the use of septic tanks, in particular, TGD H states that “Septic Tanks must conform to I.S. EN 12566 Part 1 or 4 including their national annexes and comply with the EPA Code of Practice - Section 7”. The relevant national annexes are published by the National Standards Authority of Ireland and set out clearly the performance requirements for septic tanks when used in Ireland. TGD H also states that the design, installation and commissioning of wastewater treatment systems should be carried out and/or supervised by a suitably qualified person.
Public procurement and competition law preclude public bodies from advising or promoting the use of specific branded products or systems. Building Regulations and product standards, in this case I.S.EN 12566, typically set out the requirements in terms of performance standards which can be satisfied typically by a range of products or systems. The suitably qualified person required to oversee the design, installation and commissioning of wastewater systems will be best placed to advise on the most appropriate solution in a given set of circumstances.
266. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the consideration that has been given to amending the building regulations for one-off houses, as opposed to multiple developments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10953/15]
View answerI refer to the reply given in the Topical Issues Debate on this matter on 25 February 2015 which sets out the up-to-date position.
267. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government when the review of set-back distance for wind turbines is to be finalised and published in view of the urgency for such a decision and in view of impending planning applications for new wind farms. [10954/15]
View answerMy Department is currently conducting a targeted review of the 2006 Wind Energy Development Guidelines focusing on noise, setback and shadow flicker. Following an extensive public consultation, it is my intention that the revisions to the Guidelines will be finalised as soon as possible, taking into account the large number of submissions received during the public consultation on draft proposals last year. 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.
