Written Answers Nos. 141-147
141. Deputy Emmet Stagg asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the way his Department and the Environmental Protection Agency define near real-time reporting in relation to the monitoring of ambient air quality here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32370/15]
View answerAir quality monitoring in Ireland is carried out to meet the requirements of EU Directive 2008/50/EC on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe, also known as the CAFE Directive. The instruments at the monitoring stations calculate hourly average values for each pollutant. These values are picked up by the telemetry system at between one minute and thirty five minutes past the hour.
142. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the regulations surrounding the construction and renovation of buildings to use for emergency accommodation. [32379/15]
View answerThe Building Control Act 1990 places a statutory obligation on owners, designers and builders to ensure that a building is designed and constructed in accordance with the requirements of the Building Regulations.
No special provisions relating to emergency accommodation per se are outlined under the Building Control Act 1990 or the regulations made thereunder. However, given that such accommodation would necessarily be intended for habitation by vulnerable persons, compliance with minimum legal safety requirements is of the utmost importance.
The aim of the Building Regulations is to provide for the safety and welfare of people in and about buildings and the regulations apply to new buildings (including a dwelling) or to an existing building which is undergoing works involving an extension, an upgrade, a material alteration or a material change of use. The minimum performance requirements that a building must achieve are set out in the Second Schedule to the Building Regulations. These requirements are set out in 12 parts (classified as Parts A to M) and a Technical Guidance Document is published to accompany each part of the Building Regulations indicating how the legal requirements of that part can be achieved in practice. Copies of the Technical Guidance Documents are available by on my Department’s website by clicking on the following weblink - http://www.environ.ie/en/TGD/#Current Technical Guidance Documents and Supporting Documentation.
The regulation of building activity is not confined to the Building Control Acts and regulations made thereunder. Depending on the nature of the development concerned, additional obligations arising under the Planning and Development Acts, the Housing Acts, the Fire Safety Acts, the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, and the Multi-Unit Development Act, may also need to be considered.
143. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the number of 999 and 112 calls received by the BT central control call centre in 2014 and to date in 2015; the number of calls for each individual service, be it Garda, ambulance, fire or Coast Guard; the breakdown between landline and mobile; the current period of the BT contract and the value of same; the percentage which is paid by each phone provider; the plans to review or alter the current service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32419/15]
View answerThe Emergency Call Answering Service (ECAS) answers all 112 and 999 calls to the Emergency Services in the State. Emergency calls are free of charge to callers on all telecommunications networks. The ECAS is funded through the Call Handling Fee (“CHF”), a fee payable by the telecommunications operator presenting the call. ECAS also manages an emergency text messaging service allowing deaf, hard of hearing and speech-impaired people in the Republic of Ireland to send an emergency SMS text message. Following a competitive procurement process, the Department appointed BT Ireland to operate the ECAS initially for five years to 14 July 2015. This was extended for 2 years to 14 July 2017 following a detailed assessment of the costs and benefits of extending the current agreement and procurement of a new service. The total value of this contract including set up costs, operator salaries, accommodation and telecommunications costs is estimated at €55 million over the seven year term.
The ECAS is performing to a consistently high standard and exceeding all of the performance levels set out in the Concession Agreement. It has handled over 10 million calls since it launched in July 2010 and has filtered out over 6.2 million calls allowing the emergency services to deal with genuine emergency calls. The average speed of answer for a caller to ECAS is 0.6 seconds which is one of the fastest in Europe according to a report by the European Commission “Implementation of the European emergency number 112 ”. Calls are passed to the appropriate Emergency Service in under 6.5 seconds on average with details of the emergency and the location of the caller.
My Department is in the process of preparing an invitation to tender (ITT) for a new concession agreement to operate the service with effect from 14 July 2017.
Details of the call volumes requested is set out in this following table:
|
2014 |
2015 (to 1 September 2015) |
|
|
Total Calls to ECAS |
2,149,445 |
1,243,827 |
|
Garda |
595,850 |
363,827 |
|
Fire |
72,203 |
44,874 |
|
Ambulance |
287,156 |
190,677 |
|
Coast Guard |
7,811 |
5,270 |
|
Total Landline Calls |
538,006 |
311,330 |
|
Total Mobile Calls |
1,611,439 |
932,497 |
It should be noted that these figures only represent 112/999 calls to the Emergency Services and do not include other direct calls to local stations or offices.
The percentage paid by individual phone providers is commercially sensitive and is not provided in order to respect the legitimate commercial interests of the phone providers.
144. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will provide, in tabular form, the salmon counter figures from the counter at Scartleigh Dam on the River Feale from 1 January 2015 to date in 2015 on a month-by-month basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32427/15]
View answerInland Fisheries Ireland maintain the majority of fish counters in place on migratory salmonid rivers and, in addition to downloading raw data, undertake a detailed verification of the counts and confirm the verified counts before making them publically available. IFI produces an Annual Fish Counter Report which details the relevant verified annual runs of salmon in the rivers where such counters are operational. IFI advise that the verified and confirmed data for the Feale for 2015 are not yet available. I have asked IFI to provide the information to the Deputy as soon as it is available.
I am advised by IFI that the primary index for assessing the status of salmon stocks on the River Feale is the data provided by the Feale fish counter. The annual fish counter assessment is then used in conjunction with the commercial salmon catch and the catch of salmon by anglers to input to the scientific review to generate the annual salmon return to the Feale. Counters, including that on the Feale, are used to support the management of salmon, which is a listed species under the Habitats Directive. Management is designed to ensure the stocks are appropriately protected and that an adequate stock survives to spawn over the winter to ensure the long-term survival of the genetically individual river stock.
145. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the regulatory oversight his Department will have on the broadband intervention strategy in terms of supervising universal service obligations, wholesale access conditions, wholesale physical network infrastructure access, retail authorisations, wholesale-retail contract oversight, dispute resolutions, service level agreements, quality of service standards, monitoring of significant market power, normally the job of the regulation but which has been given a limited role until the intervention is complete; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32445/15]
View answerSection 7.7 of the National Broadband Plan Intervention Strategy which I published for public consultation in July last sets out the governance issues that need to be addressed to ensure robust management of the contract or contracts put in place following the NBP procurement process. The accompanying governance report by our expert advisors contains greater detail on the full range of governance issues. Both documents are available at www.broadband.gov.ie. As the contracting authority, it is envisaged that my Department will be responsible for the overall management of the contract(s), including contract governance.
The contract(s) would be monitored and reviewed to ensure consistency with existing and any future telecommunications regulatory framework.
ComReg will continue to exercise its day-to-day regulatory functions in relation to telecommunications market.
146. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide an update on the progress of the plans to hold open tenders for 10% of existing Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann routes; and if he has met with either company to discuss potential difficulties for them should they be unsuccessful in retaining these contracts. [31951/15]
View answerThe tendering process is a matter for the National Transport Authority, NTA, and I have forwarded the Deputy's question to the NTA for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a response within ten working days.
147. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the resources which will be made available by his Department for the Ireland's Ancient East tourist initiative; the criteria that must be met for a town's inclusion in same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31803/15]
View answerThe role of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport in relation to tourism lies primarily in the area of national policy. The development of Ireland's Ancient East is an operational matter for the Board and management of Fáilte Ireland. The Department is not directly involved in its development or promotion. Accordingly, I have asked Fáilte Ireland to reply to the Deputy directly in this regard. Please contact my private office if you do not hear from them within ten working days.
