Written Answers Nos. 586-601
586. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of agencies, quangos or other bodies within his Department funded by or established by his Department which have been scrapped, merged or reduced since this Government was formed; the amount saved in each case; the reduction in staff as a result; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18433/15]
View answerMy Department’s agency modernisation/rationalisation programme has seen a significant reduction in the number of agencies, with further reductions planned for 2015 with the dissolution of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority.
Details regarding the number of agencies under the aegis of my Department which have been merged or abolished and the associated savings are contained in the Report on the Implementation of the Agency Rationalisation Programme published by my colleague the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, which is available at http://per.gov.ie/wp-content/uploads/Agency-rationalisation.pdf.
The most significant savings arising in the Department’s group of agencies flow from the reduction in staff numbers, which have fallen to 676 by Q1 2015, the latest date for which figures are available, as compared to a peak of 951 at the end of 2008 – a reduction of 275 (29%).
587. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to address the discrimination against women who cannot avail of a postal vote when they are scheduled to give birth by caesarean section on polling day when obviously no such impediment exists for men; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18453/15]
View answerPostal voting is provided for in electoral law in respect of certain categories of person who are entered in the register of electors - whole-time members of the Defence Forces; members of An Garda Síochána; Irish diplomats serving abroad and their spouses or civil partners; electors living at home who are unable to vote because of a physical illness or a physical disability; electors whose occupation, service or employment makes it likely that they will be unable to vote in person at their local polling station on polling day and full-time students registered at their home who are living elsewhere while attending an educational institution in the State; certain election staff employed at the poll outside the constituency where they reside; and electors who because of the circumstances of their detention in prison pursuant to an order of a court are likely to be unable to go in person on polling day to vote.
While electoral law is subject to ongoing review, I have no proposals at present to extend existing arrangements for postal voting. In responding to the recommendation of the Constitution on the Convention in their fourth report that there should be greater access to postal voting, the Government proposed that an Electoral Commission be tasked in due course with considering the issue and advising in detail on the electoral and operational implications, including costs, of implementing change in this area. As regards the Electoral Commission, I published a consultation paper on 27 January 2015. I discussed the paper with the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht on 10 March 2015 as part of the pre-legislative process for an Electoral Commission Bill. The Committee is now engaging in a consultation process on the paper and will report their recommendations to me in due course.
588. Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the State boards, bodies or committees on which vacancies currently exist or on which vacancies are anticipated to arise up to and including 1 January 2016; the number of vacancies in each case; when the vacancy arose or will arise; if the vacancy relates to a chair or a member; if he will provide details of the appointment process in each case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18477/15]
View answerIn the case of certain appointments to State Boards, statutory selection procedures must be followed or nominations must be sought from independent nominating panels before appointments are made by the Minister or the Government, as appropriate. In addition, in the case of a number of boards, not all of the appointments to the body concerned are made by the Minister, and in some situations appointments are made by the Minister with the consent of another Minister. Furthermore, appointments to An Bord Pleanála and to the Board of the Environmental Protection Agency are of a full-time executive nature and are governed by statutory processes.
In line with a recent Government Decision, a Revised Model for Ministerial Appointments to State Boards, brought forward by my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, has been put in place, operating through the Public Appointments Service, and will govern relevant future appointments.
The table below outlines Board vacancies up to and including 1 January 2016. These include one position of Chair, that being the Chair of the Local Government Management Agency.
|
Board |
Name |
End Date for Term of Appointment |
|
Dublin Docklands Development Authority |
Ms. Lucy McCaffrey |
31/12/2015 * |
|
Mr. Charlie Murphy |
31/12/2015 * |
|
|
Mr. Michael Stubbs |
31/12/2015 * |
|
|
Ms.Rose Kenny |
31/12/2015 * |
|
|
Mr.Jim Keogan |
31/12/2015 * |
|
|
Mr.John W Flanagan |
31/12/2015 * |
|
|
Mr.Brendan Kenny |
31/12/2015 * |
|
|
Housing and Sustainable Communities Agency |
Ms. Clodagh Henehan, Head of Finance, South Dublin County Council |
23/03/2015 ** |
|
Private Residential Tenancies Board |
Mr. Tim Ryan |
30/05/2015 |
|
Ms. Tricia Sheehy Skeffington |
30/05/2015 |
|
|
Local Government Management Agency |
Mr. Pat Gallagher, Chief Executive, Westmeath County Council (Chair) |
22/10/2015 |
|
Mr. Owen Keegan, Chief Executive, Dublin City Council |
22/10/2015 |
|
|
Mr. Conn Murray, Chief Executive, Limerick City and County Council |
22/10/2015 |
|
|
Mr. Tim Lucey, Chief Executive, Cork County Council |
22/10/2015 |
|
|
Pobal |
Ms. Siobhan McLaughlin |
02/11/2015 *** |
|
Mr. Liam Keane |
02/11/2015 *** |
|
|
Mr. William Cotter |
08/10/2016*** |
|
|
Mr. Gerald Quain |
08/10/2016*** |
* These appointments will cease with the dissolution of the Authority later this year.
** This vacancy is in the process of being filled by a nominee from the Local Government Sector.
*** Article 33 of the Memorandum and Articles of Association of Pobal states “at each Annual General Meeting one-quarter of the Directors of the Company shall be required to retire with effect from the end of the meeting (or if their number is not four or a multiple of four then the number nearest one-quarter, subject to the term of office of any individual not exceeding 4 years)”. On that basis, it may be necessary for some Directors to retire prior to the end of their term of office.
The Board of the Housing and Sustainable Communities Agency is appointed by the Minister, including the following: Chairperson appointed by the Minister; One serving officer of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government; One serving officer of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform; Two members nominated by the County and City Management Association; One person nominated by the Irish Council for Social Housing; The CEO of the Agency; Not more than two other persons as the Minister considers appropriate.
The legislative basis for the appointments is set out in the Housing And Sustainable Communities Agency (Establishment) Order 2012.
The Board of the Private Residential Tenancies Board consists of not less than nine and not more than fifteen members appointed by the Minister. Members shall be persons who in the Minister’s opinion have experience in a field of expertise relevant to the Board’s functions. The legislative basis for the appointments is set out in the Residential Tenancies Act 2004.
Appointments of the Local Authority Chief Executive members of the Board of the Local Government Management Agency (between 6 and 8 members) are made by the County and City Chief Executives collectively. In addition, the Minister may appoint not less than one and not more than four members. Of these Ministerial appointments, at least one but not more than three must be serving officers of the Minister’s Department. The legislative basis for the appointments is set out in the Local Government Management Agency (Establishment) Orders 2012 to 2013.
In addition, although not a state Board in the traditional sense, appointments to the Board of Pobal, a not-for-profit company, fall to be made by the Government. The Board consists of 16 members appointed by Government. In making appointments, the Government shall have regard for persons with significant expertise and participation in local, urban and rural development, social inclusion, community development and equality issues; persons with significant expertise and participation in business, trade unions, financial management, social / economic policy, and appraisal of strategic plans/grant applications; gender equality; appropriate geographical spread covering both urban and rural communities.
In making appointments, the Government shall consider proposals from stakeholders and the Social Partners. The basis for making appointments is set out in the Memorandum and Articles of Association of Pobal.
590. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide the housing delivery targets for each local authority area giving the number of homes that will be supplied through new council-owned accommodation and the number that will be supplied through privately owned accommodation. [18499/15]
View answerThe Social Housing Strategy’s targeted provision of over 110,000 social housing units to 2020, 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 in full, with flexibility to meet potential future demand. The ambitious targets for each local authority to 2017, announced on 1 April 2015, combined with provisional funding of €1.5 billion, will see local authorities and approved housing bodies use a combination of building, buying and leasing schemes. These targets to 2017 include almost 7,500 units that will be capital-funded and 15,400 current-funded units, of which 11,400 will be delivered through the Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme (SHCEP) and 4,000 delivered through the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS). In addition, the Social Housing Strategy aims to support 28,000 households, to 2017, through the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP).
A breakdown of the social housing targets for each local authority, out to 2017, are available on my Department’s website at the following link:http://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/Housing/News/MainBody,41016,en.htm .
A further breakdown of these targets has been notified to the local authorities, the details of which are as follows:
|
- |
Local Authority Housing/ AHB delivery/ Return of vacant properties |
Local Authority Housing/ AHB delivery/ Return of vacant properties |
Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme |
Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme |
Rental Accommodation Scheme |
Rental Accommodation Scheme |
|
Local Authority |
2015/7 |
2015 |
2016/7 |
2015 |
2016/7 |
|
|
Carlow County Council |
€17.5m |
94 |
65 |
195 |
40 |
41 |
|
Cavan County Council |
€11.2m |
60 |
25 |
58 |
53 |
44 |
|
Clare County Council |
€22.9m |
124 |
75 |
215 |
57 |
58 |
|
Cork City Council |
€118.9m |
643 |
128 |
365 |
105 |
108 |
|
Cork County Council |
€74.0m |
401 |
170 |
494 |
75 |
77 |
|
DLR County Council |
€58.3m |
316 |
75 |
138 |
75 |
77 |
|
Donegal County Council |
€31.5m |
170 |
65 |
179 |
46 |
47 |
|
Dublin City Council |
€277.2m |
1498 |
425 |
1201 |
110 |
113 |
|
Fingal County Council |
€73.3m |
396 |
200 |
557 |
110 |
113 |
|
Galway City Council |
€25.2m |
136 |
90 |
251 |
20 |
21 |
|
Galway County Council |
€26.6m |
144 |
80 |
230 |
80 |
74 |
|
Kerry County Council |
€56.2m |
304 |
130 |
367 |
127 |
130 |
|
Kildare County Council |
€80.1m |
433 |
180 |
508 |
80 |
82 |
|
Kilkenny County Council |
€39.8m |
215 |
103 |
310 |
39 |
19 |
|
Laois County Council |
€29.4m |
158 |
35 |
145 |
15 |
13 |
|
Leitrim County Council |
€3.6m |
20 |
20 |
38 |
20 |
21 |
|
Limerick City and County |
€54.1m |
293 |
100 |
291 |
34 |
35 |
|
Longford County Council |
€6.3m |
34 |
35 |
79 |
30 |
32 |
|
Louth County Council |
€53.2m |
288 |
115 |
328 |
23 |
24 |
|
Mayo County Council |
€27.2m |
146 |
50 |
137 |
115 |
118 |
|
Meath County Council |
€24.8m |
134 |
75 |
209 |
50 |
51 |
|
Monaghan County Council |
€10.4m |
55 |
30 |
79 |
20 |
21 |
|
Offaly County Council |
€13.9m |
75 |
73 |
207 |
15 |
15 |
|
Roscommon County Council |
€4.7m |
25 |
15 |
3 |
55 |
54 |
|
Sligo County Council |
€18.7m |
101 |
20 |
48 |
65 |
67 |
|
Sth Dublin County Council |
€64.7m |
350 |
200 |
561 |
165 |
169 |
|
Tipperary County Council |
€52.9m |
287 |
90 |
252 |
100 |
103 |
|
Waterford City and County |
€30.3m |
164 |
120 |
336 |
69 |
71 |
|
Westmeath County Council |
€27.5m |
148 |
72 |
226 |
52 |
44 |
|
Wexford County Council |
€21.1m |
114 |
89 |
251 |
110 |
113 |
|
Wicklow County Council |
€28.9m |
156 |
50 |
142 |
45 |
45 |
Of the €1.5 billion funding to enable the delivery of the Social Housing Strategy targets, €312 million has now been assigned to specific housing projects, which will provide a kick-start to the direct-build local authority social housing programme. It is important to recognise that direct build is just one of a suite of delivery mechanisms and this is the first announcement, with further approvals to be announced in due course.
This first phase announcement of some 100 housing projects will deliver some 1,700 units across all 31 local authorities by 2017. The specific details, including funding and the number of units to be constructed in each local authority area are available on my Department’s website at the following link: http://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/Housing/News/MainBody,41340,en.htm.
Further project approvals will be announced on a phased basis throughout the year as further assessments are completed. It is my intention that all of the projects already announced will be completed by 2017, at the latest.
Local authorities are responsible for the detailed planning and social housing provision , at a local level, based on the identified need in their areas. It is a matter for each local authority, working with my Department, to identify and bring forward appropriate proposals to respond to the local housing need including consideration of options to acquire available properties, new building developments, leasing and the provision of housing supports through the private rental sector.
591. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of voters who have registered on the supplementary register of electors for each of the local authority areas for the upcoming referenda to be held on 22 May 2015. [18500/15]
View answerThe final date for receipt by registration authorities of applications for inclusion in the supplement to the register of electors was 5 May 2015. Registration Authorities have been asked by my Department to provide information by 13 May 2015 on the number of voters to be included on the supplement to the electoral register for the polls on 22 May 2015. I will arrange to have the information requested forwarded to the Deputy when it is available in my Department.
592. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if the Statute of Limitations applies to planning cases of non compliance-enforcement, where the local authority has contacted the offender, but has taken no further action; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18508/15]
View answerSection 157(4)(a) of the Planning and Development Act 2000 provides, in respect of unauthorised development, that no warning letter or enforcement notice may be issued by, and no proceedings for an offence may be commenced by, a planning authority - (i) in respect of a development where no permission has been granted, after seven years from the date of the commencement of the development; (ii) in respect of a development for which permission was granted, after seven years beginning on the duration of the permission.
These times limits do not, however, apply in respect of the enforcement of conditions concerning the use of land to which a permission is subject.
Longer time limits apply in respect of unauthorised development for quarrying or peat extraction purposes as set out section 157(4)(aa) and (ab) of the Act.
Similar time limits to those outlined in section 157(4)(a) apply in section 160 in relation to an application to the Circuit Court or the High Court by any person for an order in relation to unauthorised development.
593. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the section and subsection of legislation that sanctions the use of certain data sources by Irish Water to issue water bills; and if he will provide the complete list of these data sources as provided by legislation. [18509/15]
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.
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 Irish Water 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 Residential 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. An Post and Approved Housing Bodies were prescribed as relevant persons in March 2015.
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.
594. Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if funding has been approved for Cork County Council to purchase housing, under Part V of the planning process in respect of an estate (details supplied) in Youghal, County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18535/15]
View answerMy Department is in discussions with Cork County Council in relation to the purchase of social housing arising from the Part V provisions and a decision in this matter will be made as soon as possible.
595. Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the funding that has been approved for disability works on council houses in Limerick city and county; when Limerick City and County Council will be notified of this; the reason for the delay in notifying the Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18544/15]
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, including Limerick City & County Council, as soon as possible.
596. Deputy John Paul Phelan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to bring the Residential Tenancies (Amendment)(No. 2) Bill 2012 before the Houses of the Oireachtas; and the envisaged timeframe for its implementation to provide, inter alia, for the inclusion of the approved housing body sector within the remit of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004. [18545/15]
View answerThe Residential Tenancies Act 2004 regulates the landlord-tenant relationship in the sector and sets out the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants including in relation to rent, security of tenure and the termination of tenancies. The Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) was established as an independent statutory body under the Act to operate a national tenancy registration system and to resolve disputes between landlords and tenants.
The Residential Tenancies (Amendment)(No. 2) Bill 2012 is currently before the Oireachtas and will amend the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 to provide, inter alia, for the inclusion of the Approved Housing Body (AHB) sector within the remit of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004.
The Bill has passed all stages in the Dáil, together with second stage in the Seanad. The Bill will return to the Seanad for Committee Stage in the coming weeks with provision for a deposit protection scheme foremost among the amendments. Following enactment, the provisions of the Bill relating to the AHB sector will be commenced as soon as practicable, having regard to the administrative requirements of the PRTB.
597. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to bring forward amending legislation to the position of mayor of Limerick city and county in view of the fact that there are now two offices in County Limerick with the title Mayor of Limerick; and if he will provide details of the representations he has received from Limerick City and County Council in respect of this. [18546/15]
View answerI have received no representations in relation to this issue which is a matter reserved to elected members for decision in accordance with the provisions of sections 31 and 32 and Schedule 8 to the Local Government Act 2001, as amended by the Local Government Reform Act 2014.
Section 32(1A) of the 2001 Act provides that where, prior to 1 June 2014, Limerick City Council used the title of “Mayor” or “Deputy Mayor”, then the metropolitan district of Limerick may continue to use those titles. Alternatively, members may decide, by resolution, to use the title of Cathaoirleach or Leas-Chathaoirleach. In the case of Limerick City and County Council, members may, by resolution, give the alternative titles of “Mayor” or “Deputy Mayor” to the office of Cathaoirleach and Leas-Chathaoirleach, respectively, or revert to the latter titles, under section 32(4) of the 2001 Act, as amended by the 2014 Act.
While 2015 will be the first full year of the operation of changes in the local government system including those modifications relevant to civic aspects, it is essential to ensure that the new system is being operated effectively and as intended and I have initiated a review in relation to the operation of the new arrangements, to be undertaken by a broadly-based Local Government Advisory Group and a Forum for engagement with the Association of Irish Local Government.
The advice, views and proposals resulting from this process will provide a sound evidence base upon which to consider any adjustments, legal or otherwise, that may be warranted.
598. Deputy Michael Colreavy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the better energy rating that must be applied to current social housing; and the better energy rating that must be applied to future social housing. [18558/15]
View answerPart L of the Building Regulations set downs the statutory minimum energy performance standards that must be achieved by a new dwelling, including social housing units, when designed and constructed. Current Part L requirements which came into effect on 1 December 2011 provide that the regulated energy load for space heating, water heating, fixed lighting and ventilation for a typical newly built dwelling must equate to 59 kWh/m2/annum. In terms of energy performance certification, this will have the effect that new dwellings should be rated as B1 or better.
It is envisaged that Part L requirements will be further upgraded on a date to be determined between 2016 and 2020 to provide that the regulated energy load for a typical newly built dwelling will equate to 45 kWh/m2 /annum. In terms of energy performance certification, this would have the effect that all new dwellings would be rated as A3 or better.
My 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. The BER ratings of these social housing units will vary from unit to unit having regard to the age and unique characteristics of each individual unit. 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.
599. Deputy Anthony Lawlor asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide a detailed breakdown in tabular form of public funding used to date for the establishment and running of Irish Water broken down by year and source of funding. [18573/15]
View answerNo Exchequer funds have been provided for the establishment costs of Irish Water. The only Exchequer funding provided to Bórd Gáis or Irish Water in 2012 or 2013 was a grant of €0.57m to Irish Water in 2013 to fund the cost of a pilot study in relation to Phase 2 of the Water Metering Programme which is targeted at metering those properties that were not meterable in the Phase 1 Programme.
In terms of its operations, Irish Water receives funding for capital investment purposes and towards its operating costs. In that context, in 2014, Irish Water received €239m for capital purposes – this was provided by way of €185m capital contribution from the Minister for Finance and a further €54m in the form of a convertible loan. This is broadly equivalent to the €240m in Exchequer resources devoted to the Water Services Investment Programme in 2013. A further capital contribution of €222m in respect of 2015 has also been provided to Irish Water by the Minister for Finance.
Irish Water received a subvention of some €439 million in 2014 for operational expenditure, to fund water-related expenditures incurred heretofore by local authorities and which would, historically, have been met by local authorities from their own resources, non-domestic water charge revenues and general purpose grants from the Fund. An amount of €399m has been earmarked in 2015 in respect of operational subvention. This subvention will be paid in respect of the child allowance (21,000 litres per child per annum), a product subsidy and capping domestic water charges. In addition, provision has been made for the provision of a working capital loan to Irish Water of up to €96m in 2015.
600. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide figures on a local authority basis on the number of empty housing units owned by local authorities that have been refurbished and made available for social housing in 2014. [18574/15]
View answerThe number of vacant social housing units returned to productive use in 2014 with support from my Department was 2,333. The breakdown of the units per local authority was as follows -
|
Local Authority |
Returned Units |
|
Carlow |
42 |
|
Cavan |
23 |
|
Clare |
65 |
|
Cork City |
212 |
|
Cork County |
155 |
|
Donegal |
167 |
|
Dublin City |
467 |
|
Fingal |
165 |
|
South Dublin |
92 |
|
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown |
5 |
|
Galway City |
24 |
|
Galway County |
76 |
|
Kerry |
79 |
|
Kildare |
49 |
|
Kilkenny |
25 |
|
Laois |
43 |
|
Leitrim |
15 |
|
Limerick |
98 |
|
Longford |
16 |
|
Louth |
18 |
|
Mayo |
80 |
|
Meath |
59 |
|
Monaghan |
21 |
|
Offaly |
35 |
|
Roscommon |
34 |
|
Sligo |
29 |
|
Tipperary |
86 |
|
Waterford |
42 |
|
Westmeath |
56 |
|
Wexford |
20 |
|
Wicklow |
35 |
|
2,333 |
601. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to introduce an affordable housing mortgage scheme to assist families in negative equity who are in accommodation which is too small for their needs in order to enable them to move to more suitable accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18613/15]
View answerCurrently, there are two types of house purchase loans available from local authorities: standard annuity loans targeted at lower income first time buyers and those under the Home Choice Loan scheme which are available to qualifying middle income first time buyers. The terms and conditions governing the operation, including eligibility terms, of annuity mortgages and the Home Choice Loan are set out, most recently, under the Housing (Local Authority Loans) Regulations 2012 and under the Housing (Home Choice Loan) Regulations 2009. These are available on my Department’s website at the following link : http://www.environ.ie/en/Legislation/DevelopmentandHousing/Housing/.
To ensure effective targeting of limited resources, local authority loan finance continues to be available to first time buyers only. As regards the specific scenario referred to in the question, I am aware that some homeowners who purchased properties prior to 2008 now find themselves in negative equity with a home that no longer suits their needs. Understandably, some would wish, for example, to move to a larger home. The option currently available for such buyers is to seek home loan facilities in the private sector.
The State provides a wide range of supports to assist households in meeting their housing need ranging from income support and rent supplement, provided through the Department of Social Protection, to social housing supports provided by my Department, local authorities and approved housing bodies.
