Written Answers Nos. 250-9
250. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide an update on the refurbishment of vacant council houses under the Government's housing strategy, including the number under refurbishment, planned for refurbishment, completed and remaining vacant; and the local authority in which they are situated. [25347/15]
View answer251. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide a detailed breakdown of the average costs incurred in the refurbishment of local authority housing in the years 2013 and 2014 and to date in 2015. [25348/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 250 and 251 together.
The Social Housing Strategy 2020 states that funding for local authorities to return vacant social housing units to productive use in 2015 and onwards will be linked to local authorities putting in place on-going maintenance programmes. In 2014, a national programme was rolled out with up to €30,000 funding available per unit. 2,333 vacant social housing units were returned to productive use at an average cost of €11,278 per unit. The 2015 programme has just been announced and allocations have been made for 1,119 units at an estimated average cost of €18,039. There was no centrally funded programme in place in 2013.
General statistics on local authority housing stock, including vacant social housing units, are published annually by the Local Government Management Agency. The most recent statistics are the Service Indicators in Local Authorities 2013 which are available on the Agency’s website at the following link: www.lgma.ie/en/serviceindicators/2004to2013.
252. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide a breakdown of costs paid by the State or local authorities to private owners of property leased under social leasing agreements, such as for wear and tear, refurbishment, and other miscellaneous costs, for the years 2011 to 2014 and for 2015 to date. [25349/15]
View answerUnder the Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme (SHCEP), previously referred to as the Social Housing Leasing Initiative, approved housing bodies and local authorities can lease properties from private owners on a long term basis (between 10 and 20 years). In respect of these units approved housing bodies and local authorities can, subject to Departmental approval, recoup up to 50% of the costs of repairs, beyond fair wear and tear, from my Department at the end of the agreement period. To the end of May 2015, no such costs have been recouped.
253. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the annual cost of introducing a living wage or minimum-threshold gross salary of €11.45 per hour in his Department and the bodies under his aegis. [25356/15]
View answerPayment of salaries to staff of my Department is made in line with pay scales approved by the Department for Public Expenditure and Reform. If a minimum payment of €11.45 an hour were introduced, the additional costs are estimated to be in the region of €13,170 (not including Employer’s PRSI). Material in respect of bodies under the aegis of my Department is a matter for the bodies concerned and is not available in my Department.
254. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he is familiar with the Riverwalk Court development (details supplied) in Ratoath, County Meath, and the fact that residents have had to vacate the property due to fire and safety risks; the process for ensuring that a building does not pose a fire or health and safety risk to residents, workers and visitors; and the options available to property owners at Riverwalk Court. [25424/15]
View answerPart B (Fire safety) of the Building Regulations, and the accompanying Technical Guidance Document B, sets down clearly the statutory minimum standards of fire safety provision which must be achieved when a new building or dwelling is designed and constructed. A Fire Safety Certificate (FSC) is also required before construction work commences on new non-domestic buildings and apartment blocks and extensions to, or material alterations/changes of use of, existing buildings. The FSC is issued by the Building Control Authority and certifies that the building, if constructed in accordance with the plans and documentation submitted, will comply with the requirements of Part B of the Building Regulations. Compliance with the statutory requirements that apply to a building, or works in relation to a building, is first and foremost a matter for the owners, designers and builders concerned. Remediation of defects is a matter between the parties concerned, the owner and the builder/developer and their insurers. Where problems cannot be resolved through dialogue or mediation it may be necessary to seek enforcement through the courts.
Local authorities have extensive powers of inspection and enforcement under the Fire Safety Act 1981, the Building Control Act 1990 and the Housing Acts and the Planning and Development Acts, all of which may be relevant in relation to fire safety concerns in apartment blocks.
I understand that Meath County Council is aware of the concerns that have arisen in relation to the multi-unit complex at Riverwalk Court. I would advise all owners to engage with the Local Authority in carrying out its statutory functions. Neither I nor my Department have any function in assessing, checking or testing compliance, or otherwise, of specific works or developments, nor can I or my Department influence or interfere in the handling of specific cases by local authorities who are at all times independent in the use of their statutory powers.
255. Deputy Bobby Aylward asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if an independent committee is being set up with the purpose of examining the boundary between counties Kilkenny and Waterford; if such a committee is to be established, the way he plans to ensure absolute independence and transparency with regards to its membership; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25429/15]
View answerI announced the establishment of statutory committees on 19 June 2015 to review local government boundaries in Athlone, Carlow, Drogheda and Waterford. The groups were established under Part V of the Local Government Act 1991 and are independent in the performance of their functions in accordance with section 28(3) of the 1991 Act. Full details in relation to the committees, including membership and terms of reference, are available on my Department’s website at the following link:http://www.environ.ie/en/LocalGovernment/LocalGovernmentReform/News/MainBody,41934,en.htm.
256. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the revenue that would be raised for the Exchequer by extending the findings of the Wood Mackenzie report, which the Government plans to apply to new licences issued, for example, for exploration and resource drilling. [25262/15]
View answerIn March 2014 international sectoral experts Wood Mackenzie were engaged to provide independent expert advice on the "fitness-for-purpose" of Ireland's fiscal terms, such advice to focus on what level of fiscal gain is achievable for the State and its citizens and, equally important, on the mechanisms best suited to produce such a gain. Having received and considered Wood Mackenzie’s comprehensive and detailed report the Government agreed that Ireland's oil and gas fiscal terms should be revised along the lines recommended.
The principal recommendations made by Wood Mackenzie were as follows:
- For now Ireland should maintain a concession system, with industry rather than the State bearing the risk associated with investing in exploration;
- Going forward a form of production profit tax should continue to apply in Ireland, but for discoveries made under future licences the form of this tax should be revised;
- The tax should be charged on a field-by-field basis with the rate varying according to the profitability of the field and charged on each field’s net profits;
- That the revised tax should include a minimum payment at a rate of 5% which would function like a royalty and would result in the State receiving a share of revenue in every year that a field is selling production;
- That the revised tax rates should be higher than the Profit Resource Rent Tax currently in place, thereby ensuring a higher share for the State from the most profitable fields. This would result in a maximum rate of 55% applying in the case of new licences, compared with a maximum rate of 40% under the current fiscal regime;
- That the corporation tax rate applying to petroleum production should remain at 25%; and
- there should be no retroactive change to the fiscal terms applying to existing authorisations.
The recommendation that there should be no retroactive change in respect of existing licences is consistent with both Government policy and the view of the former Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Natural Resources and Agriculture, as expressed in their May 2012 report on Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration.
For future prospective licence holders a clear regime is being set out and the rationale for that regime has been explained. This should further engender industry confidence in the stability and predictability of Ireland’s oil and gas fiscal terms and allow the industry to focus on effective and timely exploration effort.
There have been four commercial natural gas discoveries since exploration began offshore Ireland in the early 1970s, namely the Kinsale, Ballycotton and Seven Heads (Kinsale area) producing gas fields off the coast of Cork fields and the Corrib gas field off the coast of Mayo. There have been no commercial discoveries of oil to date.
In terms of the direct financial contribution to the State, profits from the three Kinsale area gas fields are taxed at a rate of 25%. In addition royalties from the Kinsale and Ballycotton gas fields are payable to the State at a rate of 12.5% of the fair market value of the gas at the well head. The combination of tax, royalties and rental fees currently provides for a State take of 40% of net income from these two fields. Royalties are not payable on production from the Seven Heads Gas field or from future production from the Corrib gas field as Ireland moved away from a royalty based payments system to a tax based system in 1987. Profits from the Corrib gas field will be taxed at 25% when the field goes into production, which is expected in 2015.
The rate of tax that will apply to profits arising from any future commercial discoveries made under an exploration licence granted to December 2006 will be 25%. The rate of tax that will apply to profits arising from any future commercial discoveries made under an exploration licence or licensing option granted from January 2007 to May 2014 will be between 25% and 40% depending on the profitability of the field.
The operation of the taxation system and the receipt of taxation are matters for the Revenue Commissioners. As a consequence I am not in a position to provide the Deputy with the current position as regards tax paid or due to the Exchequer in respect of the Kinsale, Ballycotton and Seven Heads (Kinsale area) fields, nor to provide estimates of how such a position might alter under hypothetical increased tax rates.
In the case of existing exploration licences where exploration is ongoing, while we hope for more commercial discoveries, there is little point in speculating about potential revenues from oil or gas fields that have yet to be discovered.
257. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources when Eircode will be operational; the efforts that are being made to assist businesses and households with the transition involved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25327/15]
View answerCapita Business Support Services Ireland were awarded a 10 year contract in December 2013 to develop and implement the National Postcode System. The design for the System was approved by Government in April, 2014 and the 'Eircode' brand was also launched at that stage. The project is currently in the implementation phase and due to go live this July. The dissemination phase will then commence with the delivery by post of a unique eircode to every address in Ireland.
The Eircode website, www.eircode.ie, was launched in April 2014. This website has information on Eircodes for both residents and businesses. The Eircode team has briefed businesses through a series of seminars and are continuing to work with them to prepare for Eircodes.
A national information campaign has commenced to inform the public about Eircodes and promote their usage. This campaign will include advertisements in the national media, including TV, radio and newspapers. Television and radio ads will focus on the benefits to the public including the fact that Eircodes make it easier to find addresses. Regional press ads will provide information on Eircodes and advise locally when people can expect to receive their Eircode letter.
An integral element of the communications strategy is a Community Outreach Programme for Eircodes using networks of community and voluntary organisations, in conjunction with the Wheel and Irish Rural Link. The aim of this programme is provide information on Eircodes and their benefits to people and groups that mainstream communications might not reach. This approach will allow local concerns to be addressed locally in a timely manner.
258. Deputy Michael Colreavy asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources further to Parliamentary Question No. 61 of 25 March 2015 and in view of the findings made by the European Commission, dated 16 October 2013 and 20 November 2013, if he remains of the view that the postcode procurement process was conducted in accordance with public procurement requirements, and other criteria; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25433/15]
View answer259. Deputy Michael Colreavy asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources in view of the finding made by the European Commission, dated 16 October 2013 and 20 November 2013, to the effect that the postcode procurement process was not conducted in accordance with public procurement requirements (namely Article 47(3) of EC Directive 2004/18/EC and Department of Finance Circular 10/10), the steps which he now proposes to take to address the fact that the postcode procurement process failed to comply with the terms of his statutory consent for the contract; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25434/15]
View answer266. Deputy Michael Colreavy asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the steps he proposes to take in order to rectify the shortcomings in the postcode tendering process, as identified in the investigation reports of the European Commission, dated 16 October 2013 and 20 November 2013, in particular, the Commission confirmation that his Department made an error in the use of certain selection criteria of the postcode tender process, the effect of which was to deny certain sized firms the opportunity to participate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25435/15]
View answer267. Deputy Michael Colreavy asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if, in respect of the postcode tendering process, he accepts the finding made by the European Commission, dated 16 October 2013 and 20 November 2013, to the effect that his Department did not follow best practice in the design of the tender, specifically by failing to split the contract into suitable lots, and by providing adequate information in the prior information notice, to allow small and medium-sized enterprises prepare for the tender, as recommended in Finance Circular 10/10; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25436/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 258, 259, 266 and 267 together.
My Department commenced a procurement process for a National Postcode System in 2011. An open and competitive procurement process was conducted in accordance with Department of Finance and EU procurement frameworks.
A pre-qualification questionnaire was issued on www.etenders.gov.ie on January 2011. This invited interested parties to tender for the contract as a postcode management licence holder for a period of 10 years to design, provide, disseminate and maintain a National Postcode System. A number of companies participated in the procurement process. Three parties qualified following Stage 1 of the process. My Department subsequently received two final bids from consortia led by Capita and An Post. In October, 2013, the Government approved the award of a contract to Capita Business Services Ireland Limited.
My Department received correspondence from the EU Commission in August, 2012 regarding certain aspects of the procurement process. The case was fully examined by the Commission which informed the Department in November, 2013 that the matter had been closed on the basis that the Commission could not establish any breach of EU procurement law that would justify the opening of an infringement procedure. The Irish authorities, however, were requested to take measures in relation to the clarity of language to be used in relation to bids by consortia in future procurements.
In reply to a question from the European Parliament on the procurement process for the postcodes project, the then European Commissioner for the Internal Market stated on 14 May 2014 as follows:
The Commission received a complaint regarding the tendering procedure in question, it conducted an investigation into the matter.
After having received the requested clarifications from the Irish authorities, the Commission closed the file. Based on the available information, the Commission departments could not establish any violation of EU public procurement law that would justify the opening of an infringement procedure.
In April, 2015 in further correspondence, the EU Commission asked for additional information on the measures that have been adopted by the Irish authorities to avoid the possible misinterpretation of the language which arose in the pre-qualification questionnaire. My Department have responded to this request having consulted with the Office of Government Procurement.
