Written Answers Nos. 596-608
596. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if a failure on the part of Irish Water to collect revenues due to it could result in a requirement for further equity capital to be injected in to the company; if that will be provided by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45983/15]
View answerIrish Water is being funded by a combination of domestic and non-domestic water charges, Government support and the raising of debt on capital markets. The main aspects of the Irish Water funding model are set out in a detailed fact sheet published on my Department’s website at the first link below, and for 2015, the total billed income is projected at €500m, of which domestic customers billed income is forecast at €271m.
My Department’s funding letter of 12 May 2015, which is available on my Department’s website at the second link below, reflects the funding commitments for 2015 and 2016 and associated conditions. The conditions around drawdown recognise that there may be variances between forecasts and actual funding attributable to the actual volume of water, number of households and number of children. However, the letter indicates that while this may lead to a funding requirement of less than the amounts agreed by Government, they cannot lead to the position where there would be an expectation of increased Government subvention.
Finally, provision has been made for the issue of working capital loans in 2015 and 2016 to cover cash flow requirements arising from time lags between billing and payment. This amounts to €96m in 2015 with provision for up to €58m in 2016.
Financing Irish Water: http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/Environment/Water/FileDownLoad,41371,en.pdf.
Funding letter 12 May 2015: http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/Environment/Water/FileDownLoad,41442,en.pdf.
598. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the gross motor tax receipts for County Donegal, for each of the years from 2013 to date, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45718/15]
View answerThe information requested is set out in the following table.
|
Year |
Gross Motor Tax Receipts (€) |
|
2013 |
37,668,079 |
|
2014 |
37,569,748 |
|
2015 (to end November) |
33,711,959 |
599. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the funding he provided directly to Donegal County Council, in each of the years 2013 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45719/15]
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. The total funding provided by my Department directly to Donegal County Council from 2013 to date in 2015, is set out in the following table.
|
2013 |
2014 |
2015 (to date) |
|
|
Total |
€52,647,318.64 |
€40,160,006.92 |
€36,286,702.03 |
600. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he has received correspondence from the European Commission as part of formal infringement procedures relating to the delays in introducing a dedicated wastewater treatment collection network for the Gaoth Dobhair agglomeration and the subsequent failure to comply with the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive 91/271/EEC; if he accepts the findings of the Commission that this failure represents non-compliance with the aforementioned legal act as communicated in this correspondence; his plans to reply to the Commission in respect of this charge; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45722/15]
View answerThe Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) generally requires that all agglomerations greater than 2,000 population equivalent are provided with collecting systems for urban waste water and that collected waste water receives the appropriate level of treatment before discharge.
The Directive also provides that where the establishment of a collecting system is not justified either because it would produce no environmental benefit or because it would involve exceptional costs, individual appropriate systems (e.g. septic tanks) which achieve the same level of environmental protection can be used.
The European Commission has queried the provision of a collecting system for Gaoth Dobhair as part of a wider infringement procedure concerning implementation of Directive 91/271/EEC on urban waste water. My Department, assisted by Irish Water, and in consultation with the Environmental Protection Agency where appropriate, is currently preparing a response to the Commission in relation to this infringement procedure. This response will involve consideration of possible options being reviewed by Irish Water for addressing the Directive requirements in relation to Gaoth Dobhair.
Since 1 January 2014 Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels including the management of urban waste water collection and treatment infrastructure. Within its Water Services Strategic Plan, Irish Water has set out an objective of ensuring compliance with the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive and set out target dates to achieve this.
601. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government when he will publish the revised wind energy development guidelines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45724/15]
View answerIn December 2013, my Department published proposed “draft” revisions to the noise, setback distance and shadow flicker aspects of the 2006 Wind Energy Development Guidelines.
These draft revisions proposed:
- the setting of a more stringent day and night noise limit of 40 decibels for future wind energy developments,
- a mandatory minimum setback distance of 500 metres between a wind turbine and the nearest dwelling for amenity considerations, and
- the complete elimination of shadow flicker between wind turbines and neighbouring dwellings.
A public consultation process was initiated on these proposed draft revisions to the Guidelines, which ran until 21 February 2014. My Department received submissions from 7,500 organisations and members of the public during this public consultation process.
It is intended that the revisions to the 2006 Wind Energy Development Guidelines will be finalised as soon as possible. In this regard, account has to be taken of the extensive response to the public consultation in framing the final guidelines. Further work is also advancing to develop technical appendices to assist planning authorities with the practical application of the noise measurement aspects of the Wind Guidelines. My Department is advancing work on the Guidelines in conjunction with the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.
The revisions to the Wind Energy Development Guidelines 2006, when finalised, will be issued under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended. Planning authorities and, where applicable, An Bord Pleanála are required to have regard to guidelines issued under Section 28 in the performance of their functions under the Planning Acts.
602. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the amount his Department has received in fees from freedom of information requests in 2014 and in 2015 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45758/15]
View answerThe total amount my Department has received in fees relating to Freedom of Information requests in 2014 is €3,242.05 and to date in 2015 is €1,555.31.
603. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of political staff working in his Department and the role and salary of each staff member. [45785/15]
View answerAll political appointments to my Department have been made in accordance with the Guidelines and Instructions on Ministerial Appointments for the 31st Dáil. Under the Guidelines, the role of Personal Assistants and Personal Secretaries is to provide assistance to or for the office holder who selected them for appointment. In the case of Special Advisers, the duties are set out in Section 11 of the Public Service Management Act 1997. The information requested regarding numbers and salary is set out in the following tables.
Minister Alan Kelly – Political Appointments
|
Job Title |
Grade |
Salary Scale |
|
Special Adviser |
Principal Officer (Standard) Non PPC Scale |
€75,647 – €87,248 |
|
Special Adviser |
Principal Officer (Standard) PPC Scale |
€79,401 – € 91,624 |
Minister Alan Kelly – Political Appointments
|
Job Title |
Grade |
Salary Scale |
|
Personal Assistant* |
Personal Assistant Scale (PPC) |
€46,016 – €59,011 |
|
Personal Secretary |
Personal Secretary Scale (Non PPC) |
€23,820 - €47,755 |
|
Civilian Driver X 2 |
Civilian Driver Rate |
€631.75 per week |
*Personal Assistant – 2 people job - sharing - working 3.5 and 1.5 days per week respectively.
In addition to the above, I have also appointed a temporary replacement for one Special Adviser who is absent on unpaid leave at present.
Minister of State Paudie Coffey– Political Appointments
|
Job Title |
Grade |
Salary Scale |
|
Personal Assistant |
Personal Assistant Scale (PPC) |
€46,016 - €59,011 |
|
Personal Secretary |
Personal Secretary Scale (PPC) |
€25,074 - €50,268 |
|
Civilian Driver X 2* * |
Civilian Driver Rate |
€665.00 per week |
* * The salary for Civilian Drivers is €631.75 per week. Drivers who will become members of the new Single Pension Scheme are paid a rate of €665.00 per week.
Minister of State Ann Phelan, who has shared responsibilities between my Department, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport has made no political appointments in my Department.
604. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of Bills his Department has published since 9 March 2011; the number and Title of those Bills that included a regulatory impact assessment in advance of publication; the regulatory impact assessments published; the number of promised Bills for publication; the Bills that will include a regulatory impact assessment; the regulatory impact assessments that will be published before publication of the relevant Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45807/15]
View answerThe information sought will be compiled and forwarded to the Deputy as soon as possible.
605. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the steps being taken to increase the efficiency of decision-making in disputes by the Private Residential Tenancies Board given that speedy decisions are in the best interest of both tenants and landlords and that prolonged disputes can leave a landlord without rental income despite facing mortgage repayments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45837/15]
View answerThe Residential Tenancies Act 2004 regulates the landlord-tenant relationship in the private rented residential sector and sets out the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants. The Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) was established as an independent statutory body under the Act to operate a national tenancy registration system and to resolve disputes between landlords and tenants.
As the PRTB replaces the Courts for the vast majority of landlord and tenant disputes, there are statutory time periods laid down in the Residential Tenancies Act to provide for due process. There are a number of factors that may delay the processing of a case including where adjournment requests are made or where there are difficulties locating a party to the dispute.
The PRTB received 3,374 applications for dispute resolution in 2014, a 104% increase since 2008 when 1,650 cases were received. In 2014, some 80% of cases were processed or closed within 5 to 6 months. Only 7% of what were the most difficult cases were taking 9 to 10 months to process.
The PRTB is continuously reviewing operations to increase efficiency and processing times continue to improve in 2015. The PRTB reports that currently 82% of cases are completed in 4 months or less. Only 2% of the most troublesome cases are taking in excess of 6 months to complete.
A telephone mediation service was introduced in late 2013 as an alternative means to address disputes. Processing times for telephone mediation cases in 2014 were typically 10 to 12 weeks. Processing times for telephone mediation have improved further in the course of 2015 to 6 to 9 weeks.
I am confident that the Board continues to discharge its statutory obligations in an independent, fair and efficient manner.
606. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if the Private Residential Tenancies Board is to receive increased resources due to the greater role the board will play arising from the recent measures on housing introduced by him; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45838/15]
View answerThe Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) was established in September 2004 under the Residential Tenancies Act.
The PRTB’s funding is derived primarily from a proportion of the fee income accruing from tenancy registrations, as set down by Ministerial Order. The Board is currently entitled to retain 80% of the registration fee income to fund its activities, with 20% going to fund local authority inspections of rented accommodation under the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2008. It also retains the fees charged for its dispute resolution services. Details of the Board’s income are set out in its Annual Reports and Accounts, which are available on its website www.prtb.ie.
In line with the Government’s Employment Control Framework, the PRTB was required to reduce its staffing complement from a peak of 70 which included agency staff, to 50 at end-2011 and to 33 by end-2013.
The reduction in staffing over that period also needs to be seen in the context of the introduction of online tenancy registration and dispute application services and the outsourcing of certain activities. In 2012, the PRTB awarded a contract, outsourcing its call -centre activities and the processing of paper registrations, allowing the Board to focus on its dispute resolution functions. There are currently 30 people employed on the PRTB account by the outsourced service provider.
Given the sustained increase in demand for PRTB services, approval was provided in 2014 for an additional 9 permanent staff and the Board is in the process of recruitment to fill these posts which will bring the number of personnel up to 42.
More recently, in the context of the implementation of the Government’s package of measures in relation to the rental sector announced in November 2015, sanction for a further 5 staff to establish the Deposit Protection Scheme and 3 additional staff to administer the new rent stability arrangements was secured. When recruitment is completed, this will bring the staff complement back up to 50 and ensures that the Board is well-resourced to perform its functions.
My Department continues to keep the resources available to the PRTB under close review and engages regularly with the Board on this matter.
607. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government given the agreement reached in Paris in France to limit global emissions of greenhouse gases, if he is agrees that Ireland's climate policy is now at extreme variance with the stated ambition of the nations who are party to the agreement, in particular that the five year periodic reviews contained in the agreement is contrary to the Government's stated position of there not being a need for interim reviews; if, in the context of the changed situation, he will consider amending the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 to include either domestic emissions reduction targets or more robust emissions reduction plans with mandatory and prescriptive periodic reviews, or both; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45839/15]
View answerThe Government’s climate change policy is entirely consistent with the outcome of the 2015 Paris Climate Conference, which includes a requirement for Parties to assess, every five years, their progress towards meeting their climate commitments and to submit new plans to strengthen them.
Ireland has already made its commitment to the international process as part of the European Union, which has undertaken to reduce its economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by 2030 (compared to 1990).
Furthermore, the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 provides for a five-yearly cycle of National Mitigation Plans to specify the mitigation policy measures necessary to manage greenhouse gas emissions and removals at a level commensurate with our international obligations. Accordingly, the Act is ideally calibrated to ensure that domestic policy can be reviewed and, where necessary, amended in a complementary fashion with the five-yearly reviews under the international process, while also taking account of our obligations under the EU processes.
In addition, the Act provides for annual reviews of, inter alia, mitigation policy by the independent Climate Change Advisory Council, which may also conduct periodic reviews of such policy.
I am satisfied therefore, that our recently enacted climate change legislation is fully fit-for-purpose to meet both the domestic and international mitigation and adaptation challenges that lie ahead.
608. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he is aware of any disputes or differences of legal opinion over the boundary of Wicklow county; if this has led to any problems with the legal definition of the Wicklow and Dún Laoghaire constituency boundaries for Dáil Éireann elections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45841/15]
View answerThe constituencies which will apply at the forthcoming general election are specified in the Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Act, 2013. I am not aware of any disputes, or differences of legal opinion, in relation to the definition of the constituencies of Wicklow and Dún Laoghaire specified in that Act.
The Wicklow constituency is specified as consisting of the county of Wicklow; and, in the county of Carlow, the electoral divisions of Clonmore, Hacketstown, Haroldstown, Kineagh, Rahill, Rathvilly, Tiknock and Williamstown, in the former Rural District of Baltinglass No. 2.
The Dún Laoghaire constituency is specified as consisting of, in the county of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, the electoral divisions of Ballybrack, Blackrock-Booterstown, Blackrock-Carysfort, Blackrock-Central, Blackrock-Glenomena, Blackrock-Monkstown, Blackrock-Newpark, Blackrock-Seapoint, Blackrock-Stradbrook, Blackrock-Templehill, Blackrock-Williamstown, Cabinteely-Granitefield, Cabinteely-Kilbogget, Cabinteely-Loughlinstown, Cabinteely-Pottery, Dalkey-Avondale, Dalkey-Bullock, Dalkey-Coliemore, Dalkey Hill, Dalkey Upper, Dún Laoghaire-East Central, Dún Laoghaire-Glasthule, Dún Laoghaire-Glenageary, Dún Laoghaire-Monkstown Farm, Dún Laoghaire-Mount Town, Dún Laoghaire-Sallynoggin East, Dún Laoghaire-Sallynoggin South, Dún Laoghaire-Sallynoggin West, Dún Laoghaire-Salthill, Dún Laoghaire-Sandycove, Dún Laoghaire-West Central, Foxrock-Beechpark, Foxrock-Carrickmines, Foxrock-Deansgrange, Foxrock-Torquay, Killiney North, Killiney South, Shankill-Rathmichael, Shankill-Rathsallagh, Shankill-Shanganagh, Stillorgan-Leopardstown and Stillorgan-Priory.
