Written Answers Nos. 541-549
541. Deputy Michelle Mulherin asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the local authorities that have revised their development contribution schemes in order to put more reasonable levies in place to help stimulate residential and commercial development; the local authorities that have not; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39377/15]
View answerDevelopment contributions are levied by planning authorities on the basis of a development contribution scheme approved by the elected members which sets out how contributions are to be applied in their respective functional areas. The level of contribution, and the types of development to which development contributions should apply, is therefore determined at local authority level in accordance with the powers vested in elected members in this connection.
The charging of development contributions is intended to allow local authorities to recoup some of the costs to public funds of servicing land for private development. Without such contributions, this servicing would not proceed or the full cost would have to be borne by the taxpayer. Under the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, income from development levies must be ring-fenced to pay for facilities servicing new development, for example, for roads, footpaths, public lighting and open spaces. My Department issued statutory guidelines on development contributions to all planning authorities in January 2013. These guidelines emphasise the importance of promoting development through the application, where feasible, of reduced development contributions to facilitate development and promote economic activity and job creation in local areas.
Further to the 2013 guidelines, 20 of the 31 local authorities have responded positively by adopting revised development contribution schemes - encompassing reduced charges – which have been notified to my Department subsequent to their adoption.
This information is set out in the Table below:
|
Local Authority |
Scheme revised since January 2013 Guidance |
Scheme predates January 2013 Guidance |
|
Carlow County |
_ |
X |
|
Ca van County |
X |
_ |
|
Clare County |
X |
_ |
|
Cork City |
X |
_ |
|
Cork County |
_ |
X |
|
Donegal County |
_ |
X |
|
Dublin City |
X |
- |
|
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County |
X |
- |
|
Fingal County |
X |
- |
|
Galway City |
- |
X |
|
Galway County |
- |
X |
|
Kerry County |
- |
X |
|
Kildare County |
- |
X |
|
Kilkenny County |
X |
- |
|
Laois County |
X |
_ |
|
Leitrim County |
- |
X |
|
Limerick City & County |
X |
_ |
|
Longford County |
X |
_ |
|
Louth County |
- |
X |
|
Mayo County |
- |
X |
|
Meath County |
X |
- |
|
Monaghan County |
X |
- |
|
Offaly County |
X |
- |
|
Roscommon County |
X |
- |
|
Sligo County |
- |
X |
|
South Dublin County |
X |
- |
|
Tipperary County |
X |
- |
|
Waterford City & County |
X |
- |
|
Westmeath County |
X |
- |
|
Wexford County |
X |
- |
|
Wicklow County |
X |
- |
542. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government her views on a matter (details supplied) regarding the senior alerts scheme and its registration with Pobal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39410/15]
View answerThe objective of the Seniors Alert Scheme is to encourage community support for vulnerable older people in our communities through the provision of personal monitored alarms to enable them to continue to live securely in their homes with confidence, independence and peace of mind. Funding is available under the scheme towards the purchase of equipment by a registered organisation i.e. personal alarm and/or pendant and the associated monitoring and service charges are paid by the participant. Following a review in 2010, one of the recommendations was that a centralised procurement process would simplify the scheme. By decreasing the level of administration for groups, this would allow them to spend more time on the key aim of the scheme, which is enhanced engagement with older members of the community, and would also achieve value for money through economies of scale.
My Department undertook to consider new approaches to the Seniors Alert Scheme in 2014 and arising from this, it was decided that the scheme should be managed by Pobal, given that organisation’s significant experience delivering programmes on behalf of Government. The management and administration of the Scheme transferred from the Department to Pobal on 7 September 2015.
The community based organisations that wish to support older people with the supply of personal monitored alarms are required to register with Pobal before operating the scheme. Paper-based forms are also available to these community based organisations to facilitate those that are not able to register online. In addition, Pobal have a helpdesk facility to assist with any queries, which can be contacted at 01 5117222. Once registered, these organisations can then submit participant applications on behalf of elderly people living in their defined area of operation. There is no closing date for receipt of registrations.
This new approach will reduce the administrative burden for the many hundreds of community and voluntary groups registered under the Scheme, who provide an excellent service for the elderly. It will enable the groups to concentrate on the main purpose of the Scheme, namely to support and interact with the elderly in the local community.
543. Deputy Brian Walsh asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the initiatives and funds available to local authorities in County Galway to develop social housing; if there is a budget available for these local authorities to deliver their own social housing stock, as opposed to engaging voluntary housing organisations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39416/15]
View answerUnder the Social Housing Strategy, there are substantial targets and funding resources for the delivery by local authorities of social housing, including by the two Galway authorities. In April last, I issued social housing targets and provisional funding allocations to all local authorities, to be invested in a combination of building, buying and leasing schemes designed to accommodate 25% of those currently on the housing waiting lists. Galway City Council and Galway County Council have a combined target of 1,126 units, supported by €58.5m of investment, broken down as follows:
|
- |
Local Authority Housing/ AHB delivery via CAS/ Return of vacant properties |
Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme |
Rental Accommodation Scheme |
||
|
2015-17 |
2015 |
2016/7 |
2015 |
2016/7 |
|
|
Galway City Council |
136 |
90 |
251 |
20 |
21 |
|
Galway County Council |
144 |
80 |
230 |
80 |
74 |
As the housing authorities for their areas, the Galway authorities are responsible for the detailed planning of social housing provision based on the local need. This includes working with approved housing bodies to assist in meeting the needs of those on the social housing waiting list in their administrative areas.
However, the funding I have allocated also supports local authorities’ own work in the provision of social housing. I have announced new social housing construction projects to the value of approximately half a billion euros, including 155 new units for the Galway local authorities at a cost estimate of €25 million. Details are available on my Department’s website at the following links:
http://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/Housing/News/MainBody,41340,en.htm
http://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/Housing/News/MainBody,42225,en.htm.
Given the time-lag between approval and delivery in terms of construction projects, a successful programme to remediate vacant units, as well as the acquisition by local authorities of properties through turn-key developments and other purchases, are important parts of social housing delivery this year. The Galway authorities inform me they aim to deliver around 70 new acquisitions this year, while I am providing funding support to them to return 90 vacant social housing units to productive use.
The projects and programmes to deliver new social housing are being advanced strongly by local authorities. I am confident that by utilising all delivery mechanisms under these programmes, local authorities will continue to deliver on their social housing targets in line with the Social Housing Strategy.
544. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the proportion of the €60 paid by affordable home owners in the mortgage protection insurance scheme that is apportioned to death and disability cover; and the steps he will take to ensure that affordable home owners are not tied into a similar overpriced scheme when the tender is renegotiated in 2016. [39423/15]
View answerThe local authority mortgage protection insurance (MPI) scheme is overseen by the Mortgage Protection Committee which is a sub-committee of the County and City Management Association (CCMA) and is representative of the CCMA, local authorities, the Housing Finance Agency and my Department. One of the conditions of the scheme, which is a group policy, is that it is obligatory for all local authority borrowers who meet the eligibility criteria to join the scheme. Altering this condition would have a negative impact on the scheme and increase the cost for all existing borrowers.
The provision requiring that mortgage protection insurance is held by mortgage holders is contained in the Consumer Credit Act 1995. This legislation is the responsibility of the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.
In terms of comparison to other schemes of mortgage protection, it is important to note that it covers disability as well as death and that the disability cover is for the full period of the disability and not just 12 months as is the case in the majority of MPI policies available. The MPI premium paid by borrowers is not broken down between life assurance and disability insurance cover.
The Mortgage Protection Committee which oversees the scheme endeavours to achieve a balance between the most economic rate to be charged for the scheme and the benefits provided. In negotiating a renewal of the scheme, which came into effect from 1 January 2012, the Committee were able to harness the downward pressure on pricing in the economy and secure an average 19% reduction on the rate which applied to the previous scheme. As part of the upcoming re-tendering process, the Committee which includes representation from my Department will seek to secure with effect from 1 January 2017, the most appropriate Mortgage Protection Insurance cover at the best value for money for local authority borrowers.
545. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government regarding a report compiled in 2010 by the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Commission into past dumping at sea of chemical weapons and munitions in the commission's maritime area, which gave details of chemical munition dump sites off the County Donegal coast, if he is aware of the exact contents of these known dump sites; if he will provide details of the action that has been taken to date to ensure that these sites do not pose a serious risk to the public and the environment; his plans to initiate a thorough risk assessment report into chemical munitions dump sites located off the County Donegal coast; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39437/15]
View answerThe Oslo Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping from Ships and Aircraft 1972, now the OSPAR Convention, deals with the dumping of munitions in the sea. The OSPAR Convention applies to the waters of the north east Atlantic and Ireland is a party to the Convention.
The 2010 report contains a map of historic dumpsites as reported to OSPAR by contracting parties in the past. The closest of the dumpsites to the coast of Donegal is more than 77 nautical miles (more than 140km) distant and the dumpsites are located in the Rockall Trough, the shallowest part of which is located in 1250 metres of water while the deepest part reaches to 2550 metres.
I am not aware that any encounters with chemical or conventional weapons have been reported in that area and the current best advice on minimising risk from historic munitions dumpsites is not to remove them but to leave the munitions on the seabed to disintegrate naturally.
Marine Notice 16 of 2001, which is available on the website of the Department of Tourism, Transport and Sport, gives guidelines for dealing with explosives sighted or picked up at sea in trawls and for the removal of explosive items from wrecks. This notice covers chemical and conventional munitions and requires all encounters with such munitions to be reported to the Irish Navy and the Irish Coast Guard.
546. Deputy Michael Colreavy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if a substance (details supplied) in County Cavan has been investigated; if so, if he will indicate what the substance is, and if it is a threat to human health or to the environment. [39441/15]
View answerI understand that Cavan County Council has carried out investigations at this location on a number of occasions and they have concluded that the discharge is gypsum, a naturally occurring substance, and that there is no threat to health or the environment arising.
547. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his views, that commercial premises with no public water supply should be exempt from a charge by the local authority for non-domestic water; that in circumstances in which such premises only have a domestic supply, any attempt to charge for non-domestic water is, in effect, double billing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39450/15]
View answerWith effect from 1 January 2014, Irish Water is responsible for public water services. The Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 provides that Irish Water shall collect charges from its customers in receipt of water services provided by it. The Act also provides that responsibility for the independent economic regulation of the water sector is assigned to the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) and the CER has been given statutory responsibility for protecting the interests of customers. Any business connected to a public water supply is liable for charges as a non-domestic customer. If the premises is also used for domestic purposes it is termed a mixed - use customer. Mixed - use customers will be billed separately for their domestic and non-domestic water services and will have a separate account number for each. Mixed-use customers will be charged for the domestic component of their usage based on occupancy. For the domestic component, single adult households will pay a maximum of €160 per year; multi-adult households will pay a maximum of €260 a year. Mixed-use dwellings that register with Irish Water are eligible for the annual €100 water conservation grant.
It should be noted that the existing arrangements for all non-domestic customers are remaining in place with no changes for the time being. On this basis, the local authorities will continue to bill for non-domestic water services as agents of Irish Water and the non-domestic component of their consumption will continue to be charged according to the current non-domestic tariff arrangement. In the case of a metered customer, the volume to be charged at the non-domestic rate will continue to be the metered volume in excess of the current local authority domestic allowance. As part of the water pricing policy which provided for non-domestic water charges, local authorities were required to provide mixed-use customers with an allowance in respect of their domestic consumption.
The CER will be reviewing all aspects of non-domestic water tariffs under a series of public consultations and will shortly publish the time-line for this process.
548. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his views on a motion passed by Ballybay and Clones municipal district in County Monaghan regarding the register of electors (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39455/15]
View answerI have no immediate plans to introduce automatic registration of voters at 18 years of age. However, one of the issues being considered in the context of the establishment of an Electoral Commission is the role that the Commission might play in respect of the register of electors. I await the report of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht following their public consultation on the paper I published last January on the establishment of an Electoral Commission. The report will inform the development of an Electoral Commission Bill including the future arrangements for the preparation and maintenance of the register of electors.
