Written Answers Nos. 313-324
314. Deputy Brendan Ryan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide details of financial savings achieved in each of the 31 local authorities in the first year after the abolition of the town councils and the amalgamation of a number of local authorities; if these details will be broken down for each individual council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29461/15]
View answerThe provisions of the Local Government Reform Act 2014 Act relating to the merger of local authorities in Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford, the dissolution of town councils and the establishment of municipal districts came into effect on 1 June 2014. Accordingly, 2015 will be the first full year of the operation of these and other significant changes in the local government system and, in the circumstances, it would be premature to attempt a comprehensive assessment of the financial or other impacts of these changes. Nonetheless, I have initiated an evaluation process on the operation of the new structures through a broadly based advisory group which my Department has recently convened together with a working group for engagement with the Association of Irish Local Government, both of which played an important role in the early stages of the local government reform process. The groups will examine how the new arrangements are impacting in relation to both non-financial and financial matters such as governance, strategic functions, organisational change, administrative savings, streamlining of operations and services and efficiency aspects generally. In this regard, it is important to view the benefits of structural reorganisation not only in terms of expenditure reductions but also having regard to the broader objectives of local government reform such as strengthening the sector, addressing issues and anomalies relating to boundaries and seeking greater efficiency and more productive use of resources.
Overall, the thrust of Government policy remains to strengthen local government and foster the potential for improved subsidiarity, coherence and efficiency, resulting in greater value for money for the taxpayer and, ultimately, improved service delivery for citizens. The review underway will provide a sound evidence base upon which to consider the operation to date of the revised structures and arrangements and the ongoing implementation of the reform programme including any further developments to local government and local democracy.
315. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will amend legislation to allow persons to extend planning permissions for a second term; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29466/15]
View answerIn accordance with section 40(3) of the Planning and Development Act 2000, the duration of a planning permission is 5 years, but under section 41 of the Act a longer duration may be agreed where the planning authority consider this appropriate, having regard to the nature and extent of the relevant development and any other material consideration.
Under section 42 of the Act a planning authority can, on application, extend the duration of the original permission for an additional period, not exceeding 5 years, to enable the development to which the permission relates to be completed, provided that certain requirements are complied with. These are:
- that substantial works were carried out during the duration of the original permission, or
- where substantial works were not carried out, or the development was not commenced, there were considerations of a commercial, economic or technical nature beyond the control of the applicant which substantially militated against either the commencement of the development or the carrying out of substantial works in accordance with the grant of permission;
- the development is still consistent with the development objectives of the county or city development plan, or regional planning guidelines, or other relevant planning guidelines issued by the Minister after the date of the original grant of permission; and
- where the development has not commenced, that an environmental impact assessment, or appropriate assessment (in accordance with the EU Habitats Directive), or both if required, was or were carried out before the permission was granted.
I consider these provisions regarding the extension of duration of permissions to be appropriate and adequate and I have currently no plans to amend these provisions.
316. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the net amount of subsidies provided by the State for funding to Raidió Teilifís Éireann. [29503/15]
View answerThe licence fee is distributed in accordance with Section 123 of the Broadcasting Act 2009, to both RTÉ and TG4 in order to facilitate the pursuit of their public service objectives which are also set out in the 2009 Act.
An Post pays the Department all TV licence revenues collected from sales and the Department of Social Protection currently pays a sum of €52m annually in respect of free TV licences issued. From these gross receipts, the Department deducts commission payable to An Post for their agency role and TG4 currently receives €9.245m.
In addition, 7% of the revenue goes towards the Broadcasting Fund, which is operated by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. The schemes established under this Fund provide funding in support of high quality programmes on Irish culture, heritage and experience, programmes to improve adult literacy, and archiving of programme material. Revenue from this fund can be applied for by independent producers and broadcasters for specific projects of a public service nature.
The remaining revenues are paid to RTÉ.
Information for the period 2009 to 2014 is set out in the following table.
|
Year |
TV Licence Fee Net Proceeds €000 |
RTÉ €000 |
|
2009 |
226.2 |
204.3 |
|
2010 |
222.4 |
195.0 |
|
2011 |
217.8 |
182.4 |
|
2012 |
215.0 |
179.2 |
|
2013 |
216.4 |
181.5 |
|
2014 |
213.2 |
178.8 |
317. Deputy Regina Doherty asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the reason the nine requirements of a postcode from his Department's own postcode working group were not incorporated into the Eircode design; and the persons who and the body which specifically made the decision to exclude or ignore the nine requirements. [29262/15]
View answerThe design of the Eircode followed a public procurement process. During that process a range of options for the postcode structure were evaluated. That evaluation process, together with stakeholder engagement which preceded the procurement, helped inform the format of the Eircode design. The Eircode design chosen has been tailored to meet the needs of Ireland’s addressing structure in that approximately 35% of Irish addresses are non-unique and many properties can have multiple forms of address. The final design of the code was approved by Government on the recommendation of my Department.
318. Deputy Michael Colreavy asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the budget that has been proposed to implement the intervention strategy as part of the national broadband plan. [29270/15]
View answerThe National Broadband Plan (NBP) aims to ensure that every citizen and business, regardless of location, has access to a high quality, high speed broadband service. This will be achieved through a combination of commercial investments and a State led intervention in areas where commercial services will not be provided. The proposed State intervention under the NBP represents a potentially very significant capital investment project for the State and the Government is firmly committed to delivering this investment, as evidenced in the National Broadband Plan itself and in the Programme for Government, the Action Plan for Jobs and the Statement of Government Priorities.
The commercial telecommunications sector is currently investing approximately €2.5 billion in network upgrades and enhanced services. These very significant investments represent a step-change in the quality of broadband services available.
Last November I published a national high speed coverage map for 2016. This map is available at www.broadband.gov.ie. The map shows Ireland with two colours, BLUE and AMBER. The areas marked BLUE represent those areas where commercial providers plan to deliver high speed broadband services. The AMBER areas on the map show the target areas for the State intervention.
It is anticipated that speeds of at least 30Mbps will be delivered through the Government's intervention and the network will be designed to cater for future increased demand from consumers and business.
Under EU State Aid rules, public investment in a commercial market has to be targeted at areas where there is evidence of market failure. Therefore, the Government's proposed investment under the NBP will apply to those parts of the country that are unlikely to be served commercially.
Eircom recently announced an investment that may address a further 300,000 premises with fibre-to-the-premises technology. My Department will be rigorously examining the assurances from Eircom in relation to these new plans, which is a requirement for all operators, and will review how this impacts the proposed intervention area.
l published the draft Intervention Strategy for public consultation today and the draft strategy and relevant expert reports are available on the NBP website www.broadband.gov.ie. Following the consultation process over the summer, I hope to move to formal procurement phase towards the end of this year in order to select a preferred bidder or bidders.
I expect the physical build of the network to begin in late 2016, and it will take 3-5 years to fully complete – depending on the details of the bid or bids selected.
This complex national infrastructure project will definitively address the long-standing challenge of deploying a resilient and high-quality broadband network in rural parts of Ireland.
319. Deputy Michael Colreavy asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the number of megawatts of energy that has been created due to the Bord na Móna - Coillte merger. [29271/15]
View answerIn June 2014, the Government decided to streamline and refocus the commercial operations of Bord na Móna and Coillte, primarily in the bioenergy and wind energy sectors. The decision requires Bord na Móna and Coillte to proceed with a partial merger in four key areas: wind; biomass; tourism and recreation; and shared services. As part of the implementation of the Government decision, Bord na Mona and Coillte are in ongoing discussions regarding establishing a wind business and future development of the wind assets of both companies on a joint basis over time. At the present time both companies are discussing participation by Bord Na Mona in a wind farm project currently in the course of development by Coillte consisting of 58 MW. This is a complex transaction and it is expected that the discussions will conclude over the next few months.
320. Deputy Michael Colreavy asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the financial impact to the State from the Bord na Móna - Coillte merger. [29272/15]
View answerIn June 2014, the Government decided to streamline and refocus the commercial operations of Bord na Móna and Coillte, primarily in the bioenergy and wind energy sectors. The decision requires Bord na Móna and Coillte to proceed with a partial merger, by way of a joint venture, in four key areas: wind; biomass; tourism and recreation; and shared services. As the implementation of the Government decision is a matter for both companies, associated costs do not arise for the parent Departments or, consequently, the State. It was envisaged that harnessing the strengths of both companies would result in a financial benefit to the companies and their respective shareholders. While the implementation of the decision is being progressed by both companies, overseen by a Steering Group of senior officials from my Department, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and NewERA, it is too early in the process to determine the full extent of such financial benefits. However based on the information provided to date it is expected that the partial merger will deliver a positive financial outcome for the State on its completion.
321. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his plans to include a clause in contracts for commercial entities providing broadband roll-out services, which states that rural areas such as County Donegal will be prioritised as part of the national broadband plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29412/15]
View answerThe prospective bidder or bidders for the NBP contract are experts in network roll-out and each will bring different network architectures and technologies to bear on the project which will be capable of delivering the network in different ways. It is considered that they will be best placed to determine the sequencing of the network deployment to maximise efficiencies during network build. It is proposed, however, to engage with the winning bidder or bidders on the optimum roll-out strategy, having regard to business and consumer needs, areas of particularly poor service and areas of strong demand. These factors will need to be balanced against the most efficient network roll-out and will be agreed during the procurement process.
322. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will prioritise Cordal village and the surrounding community in County Kerry on the national broadband plan, and ensure it is listed on the tender list this year, given that download speeds in the growing community are deficient and are inhibiting all sectors of the general public in this area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29421/15]
View answerThe prospective bidder or bidders for the NBP contract are experts in network roll-out and each will bring different network architectures and technologies to bear on the project which will be capable of delivering the network in different ways. It is considered that they will be best placed to determine the sequencing of the network deployment to maximise efficiencies during network build. It is proposed, however, to engage with the winning bidder or bidders on the optimum roll-out strategy, having regard to business and consumer needs, areas of particularly poor service and areas of strong demand. These factors will need to be balanced against the most efficient network roll-out and will be agreed during the procurement process.
323. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív den Aire Cumarsáide, Fuinnimh agus Acmhainní Nádúrtha cad iad na céimeanna atá i gceist aige a ghlacadh chun a chinntiú go n-oibreoidh an córas Eircód le seoltaí Gaeilge chomh maith agus a oibreoidh sé le seoltaí Béarla; an bhfuil sé i gceist aige aird a thabhairt ar an litir a chuir Conradh na Gaeilge chuige ar an 25/6/15 i dtaobh na ceiste seo agus an réiteach a mhol siad; agus an ndéanfaidh sé ráiteas ina thaobh. [29459/15]
View answerNí éigeantach ach deonach atá sé úsáid a bhaint as Eircode agus ní bheidh aon cheanglas ann seoltaí atá ann cheana féin i nGaeilge nó i mBéarla a athrú. Ní dhéantar ach an t-éirchód a chur i ndiaidh an tseolta atá ann cheana féin bíodh sé as Béarla nó as Gaeilge. Tá an t-éirchód deartha sa chaoi is go bhfuil sé neodrach ó thaobh na teanga de, le tacaíocht ó na comhlachtaí Gaeilge, mar go meastar gur sonraí seachas teanga atá ann. Cé is moite de na cóid cheantair atá i mBaile Átha Cliath cheana féin, beidh gach éirchód neodrach ó thaobh suímh de sa Bhéarla agus sa Ghaeilge. Tá ábhar cur chun cinn agus litreacha fógartha postchóid curtha i dtoll a chéile ag Eircode i gcomhairle le Conradh na Gaeilge agus le Foras na Gaeilge agus cuirfear chuig gach seoladh poist sa Stát iad. Tá baill foirne dhátheangacha ar fáil i lárionad glaonna Eircode chun glaonna as Gaeilge ón bpobal a fhreagairt. Leanfaidh mé orm ag obair le heagraíochtaí Gaeilge lena chinntiú go mbeidh gach gné den tionscadal ag cloí le riachtanais ó thaobh na Gaeilge de.
324. Deputy Anne Ferris asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his Department's plans to re-surface the stretch of the Vevay Road in Bray in County Wicklow, beginning at Kate's Corner and ending at Saint Cronan's national school; the likely timeframe for such re-surfacing, given the deteriorating condition of the road; the risk of further deterioration over the autumn and winter months; the risk this poses to road users; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29432/15]
View answerThe improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads is the statutory responsibility of each local authority, in accordance with the provisions of Section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. Works on those roads are funded from local authorities own resources supplemented by State road grants.
The selection and prioritisation of works to be funded is a matter for each local authority.
Earlier this year I announced that €294 million was being allocated to local authorities under the regional and local road grants investment programme in 2015. Wicklow County Council was allocated €6.3m for regional and local roads in 2015.
It is important to reiterate that the role of Exchequer grants for regional and local roads is to supplement local authorities in their spending in this area.
