Written Answers Nos. 301-312
301. Deputy Ruairí Quinn asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to build new social housing in the Dublin 2, 4, 6, and 8 areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29257/15]
View answerOn 1 April last I announced targets and provisional funding allocations out to 2017 for the delivery of social housing for all local authorities. The target for Dublin City Council is 3,347 social housing units, supported by €292m of investment. This funding is being invested in a combination of building, buying and leasing schemes by the Council to accommodate people on their housing waiting list.
The announcement I made on 5 May 2015 in respect of a major Social Housing construction programme, involving €312m of investment comprising some 100 projects and 1,700 housing units nationally, includes investment of over €35m in the Dublin City Council area.
The provision of social housing services is a matter for each local authority as the housing authority for its area. Each authority has responsibility for identifying their area’s social housing need and responding as required, including planning and undertaking new social housing developments and acquiring suitable built properties to meet this need.
With regard to the specific areas referred to, construction work on 9 new apartments at Maxwell Road, Dublin 6 is currently nearing completion, supported with capital funding from my Department. In addition, my Department is committed to the regeneration of Dolphin House and St. Teresa’s Gardens which will result in the provision of over 80 new social housing units in addition to the refurbishment of a number of existing units.
When I announced the major social housing construction programme in May, I stated that this was part of the first phase of direct-build projects under the Government’s Social Housing Strategy and that further assessments are being carried out which will result in the approval of additional projects. Local authorities, including Dublin City, are continuing to submit and refine proposals in respect of their social housing construction plans and further announcements will be made shortly, according as these are evaluated.
303. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the sanctions that are imposed on local authorities which failed to meet the national inspection plan's target of 1,000 inspections of septic tanks by July 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29259/15]
View answer304. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of septic tanks that have been registered in County Wexford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29260/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 303 and 304 together.
Neither I nor my Department have any direct role in monitoring the implementation of the EPA’s National Inspection Plan. Part 4A of the Water Services Act 2007 (as amended), a copy of which is available in the Oireachtas library, provides appropriate enforcement powers to the EPA, which is the supervisory body for the purposes of implementation of the National Inspection Plan.
The EPA has conducted a review of the implementation of the Plan for the period from 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014. The report contains a breakdown, by county, of inspections that have taken place and includes details relating to non-compliant treatment systems and advisory notices. It is available on the Agency’s website at the following link: http://www.epa.ie/pubs/reports/water/wastewater/Report%20National%20Inspection%20Plan%20Web.pdf.
The EPA’s review indicates that 99% of inspections targeted in the Plan’s first year were completed by the local authorities, with only two authorities not completing the number of inspections allocated to them. My Department has been advised that the outstanding inspections have since been completed.
The Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) was engaged by the local authorities to administer a central bureau (Protect Our Water) for the processing of registration applications on a shared service basis on behalf of the authorities. The Agency has advised my Department that the number of registrations for County Wexford, as at 1 4 July 2015, is 23,75 4. Census 2011, published by the Central Statistics Office, indicates that there were 21,242 septic tanks and 4,369 individual treatment systems in Wexford in 2011.
305. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his views on the plans for a waste-to-energy plant in Gortnadroma in County Limerick; if he is aware of the concerns of local persons in this regard, particularly in relation to the potential environmental and health impacts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29261/15]
View answerMy role as Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government and the role of my Department in relation to waste management is to provide a comprehensive legislative and policy framework through which the relevant regulatory bodies, such as local authorities and the Environmental Protection Agency, operate.
I have no function in relation to the provision or assessment of specific waste projects. Under section 60(3) of the Waste Management Act 1996, the Minister is precluded from exercising any power or control in relation to the performance by a local authority, in particular circumstances, of a statutory function vested in it.
306. Deputy Anne Ferris asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if his Department has reviewed the case of the Parknasillogue social housing development in Enniskerry in County Wicklow, including the departure from building standards during construction necessitating the retrofitting of wall insulation, the refitting of guttering, and other significant repairs, including internal remediation; if any financial bond was in place to compensate the local authority, taxpayer, and tenants for the costs associated with the lapses in building standards; if he will outline the remaining work to be completed; the timeframe for completion, including any proposals for damp proofing the dwellings; if a report has been compiled of the full financial implications of the failures associated with this development; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29276/15]
View answerThe management and maintenance of local authority housing stock is a matter for each relevant local authority. My Department has not been involved in post-build issues in relation to the development referred to. The issues raised by the Deputy are a matter for the local authority and I understand that Wicklow County Council has been addressing issues in relation to the development concerned.
307. Deputy John Lyons asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if his Department will investigate the case of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 9 and the location of a dangerously large tree in a neighbour's back garden; the steps that will be taken to ensure that the decision was followed through with; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29277/15]
View answerPlanning legislation places no specific restrictions on the height of trees, nor does it make any particular provision for remedy from any other nuisance which may be caused by trees in an urban residential area. However there is currently a civil remedy available concerning branches or roots of neighbouring trees encroaching on a person’s property. The previous Minister of State for Housing and Planning wrote to the Minister for Justice in June 2012 to explore the possibility of providing a broader civil law remedy for parties affected by high trees and hedges on adjoining properties. In this regard, advice was sought on the possibility of legislative provision being made whereby a person substantially deprived of the enjoyment of their property, such as the deprivation of light caused by high trees on a neighbouring property, could apply to the Courts for an order, and that the Courts could make an order as they see fit, e.g. to cut the trees back to an appropriate height.
The Minister for Justice responded in July 2012 suggesting that disputes of this nature between neighbours could perhaps be more appropriately dealt with through mediation – which is being increasingly used internationally as a tool for the resolution of civil disputes - rather than through the Courts. In this regard, I understand that the Minister for Justice proposes to publish a Mediation Bill later in 2015. Such mechanism, when introduced, should assist in speeding up the resolution of civil disputes of this nature, reduce legal costs and ameliorate the stress of contested court proceedings.
308. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to introduce legislation to clarify the responsibility of Irish Water with regard to local water pipelines, and the areas and fixtures which are the responsibility of households and businesses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29401/15]
View answerWith effect from 1 January 2014, Irish Water is responsible for public water services. Irish Water is responsible for water services infrastructure including water supply pipes or drainage pipes extending from a waterworks or wastewater works to the curtilage of a private property. Under sections 43 and 54 of the Water Services Act 2007, responsibility for maintenance and replacement of any water or wastewater pipes, connections or distribution systems which are located within the boundary of their property rests with the owner.
309. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will report on the current list of vacant local authority properties in the four Dublin local authority areas and in Counties Louth, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow; the persons and bodies managing these properties; the length of time they have been vacant for; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29402/15]
View answerStatistics on local authority housing stock are published by the Local Government Management Agency, including numbers of vacant social housing units and the average number of weeks for each local authority to re-let a unit from the date of vacation of the unit to the completion of repairs. The most recent statistics are the Service Indicators in Local Authorities 2013 which are available at the following weblink: http://www.lgma.ie/en/service-indicators-local-authorities-2013.
310. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the current list of vacant National Asset Management Agency properties in the four Dublin local authority areas and in Counties Louth, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow; the locations of these properties; the persons and bodies managing these properties; the length of time they have been vacant for; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29403/15]
View answerThe management of properties, including vacancies, associated with loans that NAMA has acquired is a matter solely between NAMA and the debtor involved. I understand from NAMA that it has an extremely low vacancy level. Properties are either actively on the market for sale or are currently let. Once a property is ready for occupation it is immediately made available to the market by NAMA or, in the case of properties being made available for social housing, is going through/completing the processes necessary to make it available for that purpose. Since December 2011, my Department and the Housing Agency have been engaged with NAMA identifying properties that might potentially be suitable for social housing purposes. It is important to remember that the properties under consideration in this process are part of the security for loans that NAMA has acquired. In the majority of cases properties remain in the ownership of the original borrowers. The remaining properties are controlled by receivers appointed by NAMA. Therefore, information on individual properties is commercially and legally sensitive and for that reason has not been released to my Department.
Since the process began, up to end of June 2015, a total of 1,386 NAMA residential properties have been delivered for social housing use, comprising 1,083 completed properties, with a further 303 that have been contracted and where completion work is ongoing. A further 624 properties are active transactions whereby terms are agreed, active negotiation is ongoing with all parties concerned, or where a detailed appraisal (i.e. determining the most likely delivery mechanism) is being carried out.
In respect of the local authorities mentioned by the Deputy, the table below sets out the number of units that have been delivered/contracted to date and the number that are currently under active consideration.
|
Local Authority |
Units Completed/Contracted |
Units Under Active Consideration |
|
Dublin City |
363 |
- |
|
DLRD Co. Co |
93 |
- |
|
Fingal Co. Co. |
60 |
46 |
|
Kildare Co. Co. |
93 |
19 |
|
Meath Co. Co. |
29 |
9 |
|
South Dublin Co. Co. |
113 |
8 |
|
Wicklow Co. Co. |
- |
7 |
|
Louth Co. Co. |
27 |
- |
|
Total |
778 |
89 |
311. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to introduce the promised tenant purchase programme; if the conditions of that programme have been agreed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29404/15]
View answerPart 3 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 provides for a new scheme for the tenant purchase of existing local authority houses along incremental purchase lines, similar to the schemes currently operating for local authority apartments and certain new local authority houses. The Government’s Social Housing Strategy 2020 includes a commitment to make the Regulations necessary for the scheme’s introduction, setting out the full details involved. I expect that the new scheme will commence at the earliest possible date following the making of the Regulations which are at an advanced stage of preparation.
312. Deputy Anne Ferris asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if any guidelines to local authorities are in place regarding the taking in charge of roads and public utility infrastructure on private housing estates; if there is a consistent position nationally on the provision of grass cutting and other landscaping services by local authorities, in connection with the road verges and other green areas associated with roads taken in charge within housing developments; if, in the case of local authorities that implement policies of refusing to assume grass-cutting duties, there is consideration given to such long-term policies at planning approval stage, where ambitious high-maintenance landscaping plans are often approved by planning authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29431/15]
View answerThe taking in charge of residential estates by local authorities is provided for under section 180 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended. Section 180(1) provides, in relation to estates which have been completed to the satisfaction of the planning authority in accordance with the planning permission, that the planning authority must, if requested to do so by the developer or by the majority of the owners of the houses involved, initiate the procedures in section 11 of the Roads Act 1993 for declaring the road(s) to be public roads, for whose maintenance the local authority will then be responsible.
Section 180 also provides that where a planning authority, in complying with section 180, makes an order under section 11 of the Roads Act, it must also take in charge any open spaces, car parks, sewers, watermains, or drains within the attendant grounds of the development.
My Department issued updated policy guidance to planning authorities on 26 February 2008 on Taking in Charge of Residential Developments/Management Arrangements. This required each planning authority to develop or update, as appropriate, its policy on taking in charge by the end of June 2008, based on the following principles (among others):
- Certain core facilities/infrastructure to be taken in charge on request - public roads and footpaths, unallocated surface parking areas, public lighting, public water supply, foul and storm water drainage and public open spaces;
- The procedures for taking in charge to begin promptly on foot of a request by the majority of the residents in the development or by the developer, as appropriate. Protocols, including timeframes, must be set out by planning authorities to respond to requests for taking in charge.
Each planning authority’s policy on taking in charge is to be made available to the public and published on its website; it should continue to be reported on to the elected members on a regular basis, and at least once annually.
