Written Answers Nos. 162-168
162. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will address concerns over the proposed full producer responsibility initiatives for waste tyres; his views that the proposed full initiative will lead to increased costs for consumers and retailers; and if he will provide details on the estimated extent of these costs. [15847/15]
View answerAs I indicated to the Deputy in my reply to Question No. 243 of 26 March 2015, the Producer Responsibility Initiative scheme for tyres will comprise the following main features:
- A single compliance scheme for end-of-life tyres to be operated by Repak,
- The ending of the option to “self-comply” under the Regulations,
- Formalisation of the existing recycling charge into a visible environmental management charge,
- The level of this visible environmental charge would be set by my Department and reviewed in two years,
- As part of the detailed design of the scheme, consideration by my Department, in consultation with the tyres and waste industry, as to whether the funding model is predicated upon a front-loaded or back-loaded model,
- A full audit and registration and reporting component (‘black box’) with a role for the WEEE Register Society, and
- An underpinning of the new regime, including enforcement and compliance measures, by a robust legislative base, including fixed penalty notices for certain breaches.
After almost a year of discussions with representatives of all sectors of the tyre industry in Ireland, my decision to introduce a full producer responsibility initiative in this waste stream is the appropriate response to the very serious problems which have been identified in the sector. This will require an overhaul of existing structures, but I believe that this can be achieved without distorting the tyres market in Ireland, without encouraging customers to buy tyres outside of the jurisdiction and without widespread job losses. Moreover, I believe that such a scheme could be provided for without introducing any new costs, but rather by effectively formalising the existing charge that is already applied to almost all tyre purchases.
My Department is continuing to work with industry to agree on the finer details of how the Producer Responsibility Initiative for Tyres will work. In order to bring additional focus to this work and the concerns which industry have raised, the Tyres Working Group, the industry stakeholder group working with my Department, recently decided to establish five sub-groups to examine and develop an approach and solutions on certain key issues. It is the intention of the Tyres Working Group to keep the wider tyre sector informed of both the progress and decisions made on an on-going basis.
163. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the position regarding an application under the mortgage to rent scheme in respect of a person (details supplied) in Cork city; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15878/15]
View answerUnder the Approved Housing Body (AHB) Mortgage to Rent Scheme (AHB-mortgage-to-rent) an AHB can acquire ownership of a property with an unsustainable private mortgage, enabling the household to remain in their home as a social housing tenant. To be eligible for the Approved Housing Body (AHB) mortgage-to-rent scheme a household must have had their mortgage position deemed unsustainable under the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process, agree to the voluntary surrender of their home, be in negative equity, and be deemed eligible for social housing in accordance with section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2009.
Under the revised protocol of the AHB-mortgage-to-rent scheme a single independent open market valuation is commissioned by the Housing Agency to determine the value of the property upon which the purchase price is based. Once a case comes within the above criteria and the householder has provided consent to the lender to share information, the Housing Agency seeks an Approved Housing Body to complete the transaction and prepares a submission to my Department for funding approval.
In relation to the specific case raised, my Department has not as yet received a submission for funding approval and I understand that the Housing Agency is awaiting the consent to share information.
164. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 559 of 27 May 2014, the contacts he has had with the Mica Action Group in County Donegal; if consideration will be given to the establishment of a redress scheme similar to that established under the auspices of the Pyrite Resolution Board; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15927/15]
View answerIn general, building defects are matters for resolution between the relevant contracting parties, i.e. the homeowner, the builder, the supplier and/or their respective insurers. I believe that the parties responsible for poor workmanship and/or the supply of defective materials should face up to their responsibilities and take appropriate actions to provide remedies for the affected homeowners.
In the event that the contracting parties cannot reach a settlement by negotiation, the option of seeking redress in the Courts can be considered. In this context, my Department understands that legal proceedings have been instigated in some of the cases relating to this problem; this is the appropriate course of action to pursue in the event that the responsible parties, i.e. the builder, the supplier and/or their insurers, do not face up to their responsibilities and provide a solution for the affected homeowners.
I fully appreciate and acknowledge the extremely difficult and distressing situations that certain homeowners in Donegal are facing on account of damage to the structural integrity of their homes and, consequently, my Department met with a number of the affected homeowners in early December 2014. At that meeting, my Department requested copies of test reports from accredited laboratories on the affected concrete blocks which had been commissioned by a number of homeowners, in order to provide a robust and scientific insight into the problems that have emerged. Following my recent visit to a number of the affected homes, copies of the requested test reports were provided to my Department. These test reports are currently being reviewed and a technical report is being prepared in the matter. It is anticipated that the technical analysis will be available for my consideration by the end of this month.
165. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the status of an application (details supplied) for funding from Kildare County Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15956/15]
View answerMy Department provides funding to local authorities for various social housing supports, including for adaptations and extensions to the social housing stock to meet needs of local authority tenants with a disability or to address serious overcrowding. Funding provided by my Department meets 90% of the cost of such works, with each local authority providing the remaining 10%. The administration of the grants is a matter for individual local authorities. My Department has received proposals in relation to this scheme for 2015 from each local authority which are currently being examined with a view to allocating funding to each authority as soon as possible.
166. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 788 of 15 April 2015, if his reference to BR 443 (2006) Conventions for U-value calculations supersedes the requirement to apply IS hEN ISO 13788 (2012) when calculating surface temperature factors for opaque elements; and if this now constitutes a countermanding national standard which designers of Irish buildings are required to apply in preference to the harmonised European standard published by the National Standards Authority of Ireland on 3 December 2013. [15980/15]
View answer167. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 788 of 15 April 2015, if he will confirm the date on which the requirements of IS hEN ISO 13788 (2012) to use a surface resistance of 0.25 m2W/K was revised to a surface resistance of 0.10 or 0.13 or 0.17 m2W/K as listed on page seven of BR 443 (2006 Edition) Conventions for U-value Calculations when calculating surface temperature factors (fRsi) for Irish dwellings. [15981/15]
View answer168. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 788 of 15 April 2015, wherein he advised designers of buildings to set aside the requirement to use a surface resistance of 0.25 m2W/K in accordance with IS hEN ISO 13788 (2012) and apply instead the surface resistances of 0.10 or 0.13 or 0.17 m2W/K in accordance with BR 443 (2006 Edition) Conventions for U-value Calculations when calculating surface temperature factors (fRsi) applies equally to dwellings and non-residential buildings here; and if the activation date for this change is the same for residential buildings covered by Part L 2011 and non-residential buildings covered by Part L 2008, of the Irish building regulations. [15982/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 166 to 168, inclusive, together.
I refer to the reply to Question No. 788 of 15 April 2015 which addressed the approach to calculating the temperature factor in the vicinity of thermal bridges at junctions and around openings in accordance with Appendix D of Technical Guidance Document L 2011. The surface resistance values given in IS EN ISO 13788 are consistent with those given in the Building Research Establishment Report BR 443 Conventions for U-Value calculations (2006 edition) for such details. A surface resistance value of 0.25 is only used in very specific situations as outlined in section 4.4 of the EN ISO 13788 standard which is of rather limited relevance in this context and, for that reason, it has not been referenced at Appendix D of TGD L 2011 or referred to in the reply to Question No. 788 of 15 April 2015. I.S. EN ISO 13788 is referenced elsewhere in TGD L 2011 - in relation to Appendix B, which provides additional guidance on fabric insulation for common constructions, in particular - and it may be relied upon to the extent to which it has relevance to the matters raised in TGD L. My Department is willing to assist further in relation to this matter by way of correspondence or meeting as appropriate. A dedicated email account - buildingstandards@environ.ie – is in place to facilitate such requests.
