Written Answers Nos 655-674
666. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the legislation under which the directive was provided to local authorities requiring them to provide the details of their tenants to Irish Water. [15766/15]
View answer667. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the reason the directive provided to local authorities requiring them to notify tenants in respect of their details being provided to Irish Water did not provide for a right of appeal for tenants. [15767/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 666 and 667 together.
Under the Water Services Acts 2007-2013, Irish Water has statutory powers to request its customers and certain specified persons or bodies to provide it with information so that the utility can perform its functions under these Acts, including the collection of data to develop its customer database. In particular, section 26 of the Water Services Act 2013 provides Irish Water with the power to obtain information on its customers from other third parties as listed in the section, including a local authority, the Revenue Commissioners, the Private Rented Tenancies Board, the Property Services Regulatory Authority, the Local Government Management Agency, the Minister for Social Protection or any other person or body to be prescribed by the Minister.
Irish Water is required to manage all personal data in accordance with the Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003. Irish Water has an on-going engagement with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner which has worked closely with Irish Water to agree the process for the capture, storage and usage of customer data.
668. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the amount of funds to be allocated to the housing assistance payment until 2020 that is new money; and the amount that is money previously allocated to the rent allowance scheme. [15784/15]
View answerThe Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) is a new social housing support being introduced by local authorities. HAP will replace Rent Supplement for those with a long-term housing need who qualify for social housing support. The introduction of HAP means that local authorities can now provide housing assistance for households with a long term housing need, including many long term Rent Supplement recipients. Funding for the scheme is provided by a transfer of monies from the Department of Social Protection’s Vote to the Vote of my Department. Monies are provided on an Exchequer neutral basis to meet the costs of persons transferring from the Supplementary Welfare Allowance Rent Supplement Scheme to the HAP scheme.
Voted expenditure in respect of HAP in 2014 amounted to just under €394,000, which was used to meet the cost of HAP payments to landlords, the administration costs of local authorities and the funding of information material on the scheme for dissemination to prospective landlords and tenants. At the end of 2014, 485 households were in receipt of a HAP payment across 7 pilot local authorities.
An Exchequer allocation of €23,200,000 has been made for HAP within my Department’s Vote in 2015. This amount is to meet the cost, primarily, of payments to landlords in respect of an additional 8,400 HAP recipients , as well as the on-going funding commitment associated with the 485 households in receipt of HAP at end 2014. This allocation will also meet the on-going administration costs of local authorities. There are now some 1,500 households in receipt of the HAP payment across the pilot areas.
It is intended to keep the above arrangements under review as HAP is rolled out to other local authorities including a full review of the statutory pilot phase when complete.
Exchequer allocations for the Rent Supplement Scheme are a matter for my colleague, the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection.
669. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if his Department has undertaken any analysis of the effect on rent increases in the private rental market of the scale of leasing and acquisitions by local authorities required to meet the social housing targets from 2015 to 2017, resulting in a removal of housing units from the private rental market; if he will provide the details of the analysis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15787/15]
View answerThe increases in rent that have been taking place in the market over the past two years, particularly in urban centres, are a result of a lack of supply. The implementation of the range of actions under the Government’s Construction 2020 strategy will support increased housing supply. New house completions in 2014 amounted to 11,016 units nationally, up 33% on the 2013 figure. In the third quarter of 2014, planning permissions were granted for 2,144 dwellings, compared with 1,409 units for the same period in 2013 - an increase of 52%.
In addition, the Social Housing Strategy 2020 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 just over 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 households on the housing waiting list in full, with flexibility to meet potential future demand.
During the preparation of the Social Housing Strategy, the Housing Agency carried out an analysis of the 89,872 households recorded by local authorities as being in need of social housing as of May 2013. The purpose of the analysis was to determine the minimum number of additional residential units required to meet the needs of those households qualified for social housing support. While there is no specific analysis of the potential impact on rents as a result of leasing and acquisition activity by local authorities per se, the methodology underpinning the calculation of the 35,000 new units required took cognisance of the dynamics in the market as between tenure types.
The methodology used to estimate the number of additional properties required to meet social housing demand can be found on the Housing Agency’s website at: http://www.housing.ie/Housing/media/Media/Publications/Methodology-to-Estimate-New-Property-Requirement-for-Social-Housing.pdf. Further analysis is due to be carried out in 2015.
670. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government when revised planning guidelines in respect of wind farms will come into effect; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15794/15]
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 February 21 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. 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.
671. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the measures his Department is taking to address the social housing crisis in County Tipperary; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15555/15]
View answerThe Social Housing Strategy targets the delivery of over 35,000 new social housing units over the period to 2020. Building on this, I recently announced ambitious targets for all local authorities out to 2017 which will have a major impact for those on the housing waiting lists, with a national reduction of 25% targeted over the period through these targets alone.
The target I announced in respect of County Tipperary out to 2017 was 832 social housing units, of which 287 units have been targeted for delivery under capital programmes and 545 units under current programmes. This breakdown has been notified to the local authority. Furthermore, proposals made by local authorities, including Tipperary County Council, for the development of social housing units are being assessed by my Department and a first phase of announcements of initial project approvals will be made shortly.
The delivery of the targets set for County Tipperary will reduce the housing waiting list in the local authority area by 42%.
672. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the criteria that determine the distribution of Pillar 2 funding for rural development projects, specifically the Leader initiatives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15554/15]
View answerThe Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, will be co-funded by the EU through the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the National Exchequer. While an EU allocation of €2,190 million is available to Ireland, €2,037 million of this is allocated to measures to be delivered by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The remaining €153 million of the EU funding is allocated to my Department for the delivery of LEADER measures. National funding has been allocated to bring the total funding under the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 to €4 billion.
The co-funding rate for the LEADER element of the programme is 65% (EAFRD) and 35% (National Exchequer) which brings the programme complement for the LEADER elements to €235 million. In addition to this, two Agri Foods schemes with a budget of €15 million will be delivered using the LEADER approach resulting in an overall programme complement for LEADER of €250 million.
Ireland is reconfiguring the way in which local and rural development interventions are implemented. This is in line with Government policy to ensure that local government is well positioned to support the effective and efficient delivery of local and rural development. In this context, €220 million of the overall programme complement for the 2014-2020 period has been allocated based on administrative or county boundaries to 28 sub-regional areas.
A further €10 million has been allocated to the cooperation element of the programme. €15 million has been allocated for the delivery of two agri-food schemes which will be managed jointly by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine and my Department. In addition, €5 million is being held in reserve for the purposes of supporting the Rural Economic Development Zones (REDZ) initiative, pending the successful outcome of a Pilot scheme as identified in the report of the Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Areas (CEDRA).
In determining the county allocations, three objective criteria were used, namely, minimum allocation, population density and a Resource Allocation Model (RAM). Each county was given a minimum allocation of €3 million to ensure that each received a viable allocation. However, Cork County was allocated €6 million as a minimum in order to ensure a viable allocation to each of the three administrative districts within the county, as the overall population outside of the city is almost twice that of any other county. The methodology used to calculate the allocations was designed to ensure that the available funding was weighted towards the most rural populations and those experiencing most rural disadvantage.
Using this methodology, which I am satisfied is fair and consistent, each county was allocated a proportionate share of the funding available through the LEADER elements of the programme.
673. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide, in tabular form, the number of retired public service pensions in payment, in each year from 2008 to 2014, under the aegis of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16052/15]
View answer674. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the total value of public sector pensions in payment and the average public sector pension in 2014 under the aegis of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16062/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 673 and 674 together.
Information regarding the number of pensions in payment in local authorities for each year from 2008 to 2014 is set out in the table below. The total cost of the pensions in payment in local authorities in 2014 was €239.91 million, giving an average pension of €12,406.
Information regarding the number of pensions in payments and the cost of these pensions in agencies under the auspices of my Department is not readily available.
Number of pensions in payment in local authorities
|
Year Ending |
Pensioners |
|
2008 |
16,400 |
|
2009 |
17,411 |
|
2010 |
17,908 |
|
2011 |
18,310 |
|
2012 |
19,035 |
|
2013 |
19,152 |
|
2014 |
19,338 |
