Billy Kelleher
Question:648. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the additional cost of allowing island communities to vote on the same day as those on the mainland. [46218/15]
View answerIsland Communities
Questions (648)
Written answers
The costs of elections are met from the Central Fund, which is managed by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Department of Finance. I am not aware of any additional costs arising where an island community votes on the same day as voters on the mainland, that is the day appointed by order of the Minister. Section 85 of the Electoral Act 1992 provides that a returning officer may in certain circumstances take the poll on an island in advance of the polling day appointed by the Minister. These circumstances are not related to cost but to anticipated weather or transport difficulties.
Local Authority Housing Waiting Lists
Questions (649, 650)
Ruth Coppinger
Question:649. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of households on the local authority housing waiting list in County Longford currently, six months ago and 12 months ago. [46223/15]
View answerRuth Coppinger
Question:650. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of households on the local authority housing waiting list in County Westmeath, currently, six months ago and 12 months ago. [46224/15]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 649 and 650 together.
I refer to the reply to Questions Nos. 579 to 585, inclusive, of 15 December 2015. The position is unchanged.
Social and Affordable Housing Provision
Questions (651)
Ruth Coppinger
Question:651. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the funding allocated in April 2015 to County Westmeath over three years to buy, rent or lease properties for social purposes; the progress of these plans; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46225/15]
View answerWritten answers
Under the Social Housing Strategy, there are substantial targets and funding resources for the delivery of social housing by local authorities, including Westmeath County Council. In April 2015, 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. The following are the targets in respect of Westmeath, which are supported by a funding allocation of €30.7 million:
|
Funding stream |
Local Authority Housing/ AHB delivery via CAS/ Return of vacant properties |
Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme (SHCEP) |
Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme (SHCEP) |
Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) |
Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) |
|
Year |
2015-17 |
2015 |
2016/7 |
2015 |
2016/7 |
|
Target |
148 |
72 |
226 |
52 |
44 |
As the housing authority for their areas, local authorities are responsible for the detailed planning of social housing provision based on 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, I said when I allocated the targets and funding that all local authorities will be expected to kick-start a building programme. In that regard, I have announced new social housing construction and acquisition projects to the value of approximately €500 million so far this year, including 43 new units for County Westmeath at a cost estimate of almost €7 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 and http://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/Housing/News/MainBody,42225,en.htm.
Given the timelag 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. In this regard, Westmeath County Council has programmed 20 to 30 new acquisitions this year, while I am providing funding support to the Council to return over 80 vacant social housing units to productive use. The projects and programmes to deliver new social housing are being advanced strongly by local authorities.
Under the Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme (SHCEP) units can be delivered in a variety of ways and local authorities are encouraged to explore and use all of these mechanisms, which include units purchased, leased or constructed by approved housing bodies and both multi-unit developments and individual units leased or acquired through rental arrangements directly by local authorities. Units leased by local authorities or approved housing bodies can be for up to 20 years. The accommodation provided is made available to persons on local authority waiting lists, persons with long term housing needs in receipt of rent supplement or persons who are homeless.
The Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) is a social housing support introduced to cater for the accommodation needs of persons who are in receipt of long term rent supplement. Persons normally must be in receipt of continuous rent supplement for a minimum period of 18 months, and be assessed as having a long term housing need.
The targets for Westmeath County Council for the period 2015-2017 are set out in the table above. Together, the RAS and SHCEP Schemes have met the social housing needs of an additional 153 households in Westmeath County Council in 2015, which is well in excess of the original targets set for the local authority.
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.
Question No. 652 answered with Question No. 629.
Appointments to State Boards
Questions (653)
Robert Troy
Question:653. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of appointments to State boards under the aegis of his Department and the number advertised on his Department’s website since March 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46253/15]
View answerWritten answers
Since July 2011, my Department’s website has been used as the primary mechanism for seeking expressions of interest from suitably qualified and experienced persons, for consideration as members or chairpersons of the boards of State bodies under my Department’s aegis.
In line with a Government Decision last Autumn, a Revised Model for Ministerial Appointments to State Boards, brought forward by my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, has been put in place, operating through the Public Appointments Service, and will govern relevant future appointments. Under the revised model expressions of interest are now made directly by registering on Stateboards.ie. My Department’s website has been amended to refer any interested party to the stateboards.ie website.
Details of appointments made since 2011 are available on my Department’s website at www.environ.ie/en/Publications/CorporateServices/TransparencyData/FileDownLoad42058,en.pdf.
In the case of certain appointments to State Boards, statutory selection procedures must be followed or nominations must be sought from independent nominating panels before appointments are made by the Minister or the Government, as appropriate. In addition, in the case of a number of boards, not all of the appointments to the body concerned are made by the Minister, and in some situations appointments are made by the Minister with the consent of another Minister. Furthermore, appointments to An Bord Pleanála and to the Board of the Environmental Protection Agency are of a full-time executive nature and are governed by statutory processes.
Appointments to State Boards
Questions (654)
Robert Troy
Question:654. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of chairpersons appointed to State boards under the aegis of his Department who have appeared before the relevant Oireachtas joint committee since March 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46268/15]
View answerWritten answers
Since March 2011 the Chairpersons (or equivalents) of the following Boards have met the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht:
- Dr. Mary Kelly, An Bord Pleanála
- Ms Laura Burke, Environmental Protection Agency
- Dr. Michelle Norris, Housing Finance Agency
- Mr. Conor Skehan, Housing and Sustainable Communities Agency
- Ms Breda Collins, Irish Water Safety
- Ms Catriona Walsh, Private Residential Tenancies Board
- Mr. John O’Connor, Pyrite Resolution Board
- Professor William Reville, Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland*
- Mr. Paddy McGuinness, Western Development Commission
*The Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland was amalgamated into the Environmental Protection Agency on 1 August 2014.
Legislative Process RIA
Questions (655)
Seán Ó Fearghaíl
Question:655. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the details of the Acts currently in force for which he has lead responsibility and that have parts or sections yet to be formally commenced, including the purpose of same, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46283/15]
View answerWritten answers
The information sought by the Deputy is not routinely compiled by my Department but will be forwarded to him as soon as possible.
Question No. 656 answered with Question No. 623.
Vacant Sites Levy
Questions (657)
Barry Cowen
Question:657. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if his Department considered including vacant sites owned by local authorities in the vacant site levy that will come into force as a result of the Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015; and the reason for not including sites in local authority and State body ownership under the terms of the levy. [46293/15]
View answerWritten answers
The Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015 introduced a new measure, the vacant site levy, which is aimed at incentivising the development of vacant, under-utilised sites in urban areas.
Under the provisions of the Act, with effect from 2019 - in respect of 2018 - a levy will be charged on the registered owners of vacant sites in designated areas in local development plans and local area plans as being in need of, and suitable for, housing or in need of regeneration. The Act provides that residential or regeneration land regardless of ownership, either public or private, will be subject to the levy if it meets the criteria for a vacant site.
Departmental Schemes
Questions (658)
Barry Cowen
Question:658. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the cost of restoring CLÁR programme funding to the level that pertained before it was last abolished; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46324/15]
View answerWritten answers
As the Deputy is aware, the majority of CLÁR measures were closed to new applications in 2008 and while some measures accepted applications in 2009 and 2010, all were subsequently closed to new funding requests.
All of the remaining commitments under the CLÁR programme are in relation to already approved Sports Capital projects or Gaeltacht Grants. The lead Departments in relation to these projects and the source of the majority of funding to the community groups involved are the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport.
In the years immediately prior to measures closing to new applicants under the CLÁR programme, expenditure reached an average annual figure of just under € 23 million. An amount of €0.1 million has been allocated in 2015 to meet existing commitments and a similar amount will be allocated in 2016 to cover any existing commitments that may materialise. There are currently no plans to reopen measures under the CLÁR programme.
RAPID Programme
Questions (659)
Barry Cowen
Question:659. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the cost of restoring the revitalising areas by planning, investment and development, RAPID, programme funding to the level that last pertained before this Government took office. [46327/15]
View answerWritten answers
The RAPID programme aims to ensure priority attention is given to tackling the spatial concentration of poverty and social exclusion in areas covered by the programme.
Over the past number of years, my Department has continued to meet its existing contractual commitments on RAPID projects throughout the country. My Department co-funded the RAPID Leverage Schemes, which supported projects that focus on estate enhancement, graffiti removal, traffic calming, community closed-circuit television, health and sports facilities and the provision of playgroups. The following table provides details of RAPID funding provided in the years 2010 to 2015. There is now just one remaining measure under the RAPID programme, which accounts for unpaid commitments, namely the sports capital top-ups. In 2015, I allocated funding of €500,000 for sports capital projects under the programme and these are being jointly funded with the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport.
The figures in the table that follows this reply include funding provided until 2013 contributing to the salaries of RAPID co-ordinators in local authorities. These posts are now funded at local authority level as part of day-to-day operational costs.
The RAPID programme has made substantial progress in identifying the needs of disadvantaged communities and in bringing forward important local projects in response to those needs. I intend that the focus will remain on tackling poverty and social exclusion in RAPID areas and this will be more effectively combined with other programmes and actions delivered on an area basis.
|
Year |
Funding Provided |
|
2010 |
€6,281,000 |
|
2011 |
€2,225,000 |
|
2012 |
€1,467,000 |
|
2013 |
€263,000 |
|
2014 |
€170,000 |
|
2015 to date |
€318,000 |