Written Answers Nos. 152-157
152. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Education and Skills her views that the current system of employing school secretaries and caretakers by way of grant aid is wholly unsatisfactory, and results in insecure and low-paid employment; and the steps she will take to address the issue. [39786/15]
View answerThe majority of primary schools and voluntary secondary schools receive grant assistance to provide for secretarial and/or caretaking services. Within the grant schemes, the level and extent of services provided is a matter for school management who, through the discretion afforded under the scheme, apply diverse arrangements for secretarial and/or caretaking services as resources permit.
Where a school uses the grant funding to employ a Secretary and/or Caretaker, such staff are employees of the individual school. My Department therefore does not have any role in determining the pay and conditions under which they are engaged. These are matters to be agreed between the staff concerned and the school management, subject of course to any relevant statutory provisions.
Notwithstanding the above, it was recently agreed that my Department would engage in an arbitration process regarding the pay of School Secretaries and Caretakers. The Arbitrator has now issued his report, in which he recommends increases in the hourly rates paid to School Secretaries and Caretakers and the establishment of a minimum hourly pay rate. The recommendations are now being considered by the parties. My intention is to accept the Arbitrator's recommendations, subject to their acceptance by the union side.
153. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills why her Department does not accommodate autistic children with different religious backgrounds (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39790/15]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that the policy of my Department is that children with special educational needs, including children with autism, should be included where possible and appropriate in mainstream placements with additional supports provided. In circumstances where children with special educational need require more specialised interventions, special school or special class places are also available.
The Deputy will be aware that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications from primary and post primary schools for special educational needs supports, including the establishment of special classes in various geographical areas as required. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support. The question of enrolment in individual schools is the responsibility of the managerial authority of those schools. My Department's main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking places. This may result, however, in some pupils not obtaining a place in the school of their first choice.
It is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of schools to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Act, 1998. In this regard a Board of Management may find it necessary to restrict enrolment to children from a particular area or a particular age group or, occasionally, on the basis of some other criterion. This selection process and the enrolment policy on which it is based must be non-discriminatory and must be applied fairly in respect of all applicants.
Section 29 of the Education Act, 1998 provides for an appeal by a parent or guardian to the Secretary General of my Department, or in the case of an Educational Training Board (ETB) school to the ETB in the first instance, where a Board of Management of a school, or a person acting on behalf of the Board, refuses to enrol a student in a school, expels a student or suspends a student for 20 or more days in any school year.
The Educational Welfare Service of the Child and Family Agency (EWS) is the statutory agency which can assist parents who are experiencing difficulty in securing a school place for their child. The EWS can be contacted at 01-8738700.
154. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the value of capital investment projects and grants under way or approved for funding by his Department, by county, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39655/15]
View answerMy Department has a wide and diverse business agenda, including protecting the environment, providing necessary housing supports and fostering community and rural development in partnership with local government and other local development bodies. In order to deliver on this broad business agenda, my Department allocates significant resources to a wide range of organisations, including local authorities, as well as dedicated agencies, non-statutory bodies and individuals.
The Revised Estimates Volume for Public Services 2015, published by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, provides for €1.328 billion gross funding (comprising €494.1 million capital and €834.8 million current) this year to be expended in support of the range of programmes for which my Department is responsible. A breakdown of capital allocation by programme area as set out in the Revised Estimates is outlined in the following table.
|
Programme |
2015 Estimate Capital €000 |
|
Housing |
376,013 |
|
Water Services |
21,711 |
|
Environment and Waste Management |
10,915 |
|
Local Government |
21,799 |
|
Community and Rural Development |
58,774 |
|
Planning |
913 |
|
Met Eireann |
3,995 |
|
Total |
494,120 |
The extraction of a county breakdown of capital investment, projects and grants either underway or approved for funding is not readily available in my Department and its compilation would involve a disproportionate amount of time and work.
If the Deputy wishes to put down a more specific question concerning funding for a specific purpose from my Department, I will endeavour to provide the information sought.
155. Deputy Robert Dowds asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the housing agencies operating and receiving Government funding; and the amount they received in the past three years. [39678/15]
View answerSection 6(6) of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992 makes provision to grant approved housing body (AHB) status to housing associations. AHBs consist mainly of voluntary or co-operative organisations limited by guarantee and registered under the Companies Acts; societies registered under the Industrial & Provident Societies Acts; and/or Trusts incorporated under the Charities Acts. At present there are 536 bodies with approved status. The register of approved housing bodies can be found on my Departments website at: http://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/Housing/SocialHousingSupport/VoluntaryCo-operativeHousing/.
Payments under the Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme are made directly to AHBs by my Department. Details in relation to individual payments to AHBs under other schemes are not available in my Department, as funding is made available through the Local Authorities.
The following table shows funding provided to the Local Authorities under the Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS), Capital Loan and Subsidy Scheme (CLSS), the Capital Advance Leasing Facility (CALF) and Capital Advance Leasing Facility Mortgage to Rent Scheme (CALF MTR) over the last three years i.e. 2012-2014, as well as funding paid directly to AHBs under SHCEP.
|
- |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
|
CAS |
€58,044,354 |
€36,694,334 |
€34,296,733 |
|
CLSS |
€68,680,337 |
€69,144,554 |
€54,796,647 |
|
CALF |
€7,955,646 |
€4,816,600 |
€4,446,899 |
|
CALF MTR |
0 |
€226,567 |
€727,631 |
|
SHCEP |
€58,051 |
€33,107 |
€187,432 |
|
TOTAL |
€134,738,388 |
€110,915,162 |
€94,455,342 |
156. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of three-litre commercial vehicles for which motor tax has been paid in each of the past five years, by commercial or non-commercial activity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39711/15]
View answerGoods vehicles are taxed based on the unladen weight of the vehicle, and I am assuming the Deputy is referring to vehicles not over 3,000 kg, unladen. In order to qualify to be taxed as a goods vehicle, a vehicle has to be constructed or adapted for use as a goods vehicle and used solely in the course of trade or business. Where a vehicle is being used in a manner that would attract a higher rate of duty, the vehicle must be taxed at the higher rate of duty i.e. where a goods vehicle is being used in a private capacity, it must be taxed at the private rate. The number of goods vehicles less than or equal to 3,000 kg unladen weight and the number of small commercial vehicles taxed privately at 31 December for each of the past five years is set out in the following tables. Those vehicles that are taxed privately have been identified on the basis of the EU classification of the vehicle as an N1 vehicle, i.e. commercial vehicles, designed and constructed for the carriage of goods and not exceeding 3.5 tonnes. These vehicles are taxed on the basis of engine capacity.
|
Date |
Number of goods vehicles 3,000kg or less |
Number of N1 vehicles taxed privately |
|
31 December 2010 |
295,342 |
9,666 |
|
31 December 2011 |
290,134 |
12,276 |
|
31 December 2012 |
280,278 |
13,300 |
|
31 December 2013 |
286,805 |
14,602 |
|
31 December 2014 |
285,951 |
15,473 |
157. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the basis for his direction to the Dublin local authorities earlier in 2015 not to rezone any more land for housing; his rationale for this, given the indications that there is significant hoarding of land by housing landowners; his views that this is a factor in the depressed supply of housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39754/15]
View answerI have not at any time directed the Dublin local authorities not to rezone anymore land for housing. However, Minister of State Coffey and I jointly wrote to the Chief Executives of the four Dublin Local Authorities on 10 June 2015 in the context of their role in preparing and finalising the development plans for their areas. At that time my Department’s analysis and that of the Dublin Housing Supply and Co-ordination Task Force was that there was sufficient supply of land to meet immediate housing requirements and that proposals to zone any additional residential land would have to be strongly evidentially grounded and consistent with core strategies.
We strongly encouraged the Chief Executives to focus around practical measures that can be adopted to boost housing supply and to ensure that good quality housing in suitable locations is available at affordable prices. I firmly believe that increasing supply is key to addressing the range of housing issues we face today.
As you will be already aware the Housing Supply Coordination Taskforce for Dublin, with an immediate focus on addressing supply-related issues , was convened by my Department and includes representatives of the four Dublin local authorities. The First Report of the Task Force undertook an analysis of planning permissions in place for developments of 20 housing units or more and concluded that across the four Dublin authorities there is land immediately available with planning permission for development of 12,785 houses and 7,925 apartments, equating to circa. 3 years supply. A further 25,507 units were deemed permissible in the immediate to short term.
A further study of additional zoned residential lands that could be brought on stream by the Task Force has examined infrastructural constraints and has identified specific infrastructural interventions possible to facilitate additional housing supply in the Dublin Region, which will inform investment planning cycles of relevant Government Departments, Agencies and other infrastructure providers such as Irish Water.
Finally, I have just announced a range of initiatives to be implemented from January, including enhanced supply of more affordable starter homes in key locations through a targeted rebate of development contributions in Dublin and Cork for housing supplied under certain price levels, and New National Apartment Planning Guidelines to be issued by me, which will have the effect of reducing the cost of apartment building in Dublin City by approximately €20,000 per unit, on average.
These measures will combine with previous announcements, including the introduction of a vacant site levy, new Part V arrangements and 20,000 starter homes for the Greater Dublin area to be funded by NAMA. Combined they make badly needed new housing development in our urban centres much more economically viable.
