Written Answers Nos. 830-843
830. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to explain the reason funding was provided to a community transport service (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46948/15]
View answerUnder the current Dormant Accounts Plan, Pobal are administering the Social Enterprise Measure on behalf of my Department.
The aim of the Social Enterprise Measure is to increase the impact of social enterprises by enhancing their capacity to deliver services and generate traded income through the provision of small capital grants. Funding is being provided to support the development of social enterprises that have the capacity to deliver local, sustainable jobs and which contribute to community gain in disadvantaged areas/for economically and socially disadvantages persons.
I can advise the Deputy that each application under the Social Enterprise Measure was assessed by Pobal against the criteria set out in the published guidelines and scored accordingly.
The organisation referred to in the Question was awarded €88,000 under the Social Enterprise Measure to purchase a fully accessible 57 seater coach to increase accessibility for the elderly, persons with a disability and persons living in rural communities and to develop a disability tourism initiative and expand their existing social enterprise by linking up with commercial tour operators, community and disability groups to provide a range of accessible transport options to tourists to the South West region.
831. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to outline his plans to recoup the €100 water conservation grant from recipients who have not paid the water charges; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1140/16]
View answerThe Water Services Act 2014 (Water Conservation Grant) Regulations 2015 governed the operation of the 2015 Water Conservation Grant scheme. Under regulation 5(1) a person who registered with Irish Water, as required under section 5(2)(a) of the Water Services Act 2014, on or before 30 June 2015 was eligible to receive the grant in 2015 if they were normally resident at the principal private residence on that date.
I have no proposals to amend the regulations which governed the 2015 Water Conservation Grant scheme. There is no direct relationship between payment of domestic water charges and eligibility for the Water Conservation Grant. The grant is funded by the Exchequer and is a payment to all eligible households, including non-Irish Water customers, to promote water conservation in the home.
If a customer does not pay their water charges, late payment provisions automatically apply, unless the customer enters into a payment plan. In the case of a One Adult Household (capped at €160), €30 will be added to any bill where outstanding payments equate to the total annual payment and remain unpaid for 3 months or more. An additional €30 will be added on every anniversary of the original add on date while the bill remains unpaid or a payment plan has not been entered into with Irish Water. In the case of a Two Adult Household (capped at €260), €60 will be added and again at each anniversary. The late payment charges will only apply where someone is in arrears for more than 12 months and has not entered into a payment plan with Irish Water. Payment plans will be developed based on an ability to pay and it is important to note that the late payment charges are focused on those who “will not pay”, rather than those who cannot pay.
A range of flexible payment options are available. Irish Water will facilitate bill payment through direct debit, electronic funds transfer and payment by cash at any retail outlet with a Paypoint or Payzone sign, or at a post office where a bill can be paid in full or part payments of a minimum of €5 can be made. Irish Water is also participating in the Household Budget scheme. This facility, operated by An Post on behalf of the Department of Social Protection, provides customers with a facility to have their household utility bills and social housing rents deducted directly from their weekly social welfare payment.
Any customers who have unpaid water charges can be pursued through the Courts by Irish Water for the sums due. The Civil Debt (Procedures) Act 2015, allows creditors to apply to the Court for an order enabling either attachment of earnings or deduction from social welfare payments, as appropriate, for the purposes of enforcing debt.
832. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to set down the expenditure from the overseas development aid budget spent on the green climate fund in 2014 and in 2015; if any of the increased expenditure announced in budget 2016 will go towards the green climate fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1552/16]
View answerAs I announced on Budget Day, Ireland will make an initial contribution of €2 million to the Green Climate Fund in 2016. This contribution will be Ireland’s first contribution to that Fund and will be in addition to Ireland’s broader and on-going support for mitigation and adaptation action by developing countries. Despite difficult recent economic circumstances, Ireland has delivered approximately €34 million in grants annually through the Overseas Development Aid (ODA) programme. In 2013 and 2014, this amounted to €34.15m and €33.68m respectively. While this was mainly bilateral support to Ireland’s key partner countries in sub-Saharan Africa, it also included other multilateral climate-specific funds like the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF).
An inter-departmental technical working group is actively considering the options for scaling up mobilisation of climate finance in the period to 2020, including through the Green Climate Fund.
833. Deputy Jerry Buttimer asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to set out the categories and amounts of funding his Department provided to Cork City Council in each of the years 2011 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46439/15]
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 Cork City Council from 2011 to 2015 is set out in the following table.
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.
|
- |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
|
Total |
€57,652,004.53 |
€52,194,154.74 |
€49,685,381.48 |
€38,246,297.21 |
€65,059,060.21 |
834. Deputy Jerry Buttimer asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to set out the categories and amounts of funding his Department provided to Cork County Council in each of the years 2011 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46440/15]
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 Cork County Council from 2011 to 2015 is set out in the following table. These are “county at large” payments in respect of the County Council and any Town Councils within the county.
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.
|
- |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
|
Total |
€ 121,299,921.17 |
€ 106,132,251.44 |
€ 91,800,189.14 |
€ 33,143,384.94 |
€ 53,141,916.54 |
835. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government why the number of lots that any given company could apply for in the Telecare tender, either individually or as part of a consortium, was not limited to two or three lots; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46456/15]
View answer836. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government whether the Telecare system is best served by one of the winners of the tendering process subcontracting its functions out to one of the losers in the process; and if, in view of this, the tendering process was sufficiently robust to choose the most qualified applicants for the contracts. [46457/15]
View answer837. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government why companies that won contracts for Telecare were not asked to submit any proof of Garda Síochána clearance before the contracts were awarded to them. [46458/15]
View answer838. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 565 of 8 December 2015 why a list of those academic and technical qualifications held by those members relevant to adjudicating tenders for the Telecare contract were not furnished in response to that parliamentary question, nor any reason for their not being furnished provided. [46459/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 835 to 838, inclusive, together.
My Department is responsible for the Seniors Alert Scheme which encourages community support for vulnerable older people in our communities by providing grant assistance towards the purchase and installation of personal monitored alarms to enable older persons, of limited means, to continue to live securely in their homes with confidence, independence and peace of mind.
The scheme is administered by local community and voluntary groups with the support of Pobal, who took over this role from my Department in September 2015 given that organisation’s significant experience delivering programmes on behalf of Government. This approach was taken in order to 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.
The assessment of the tenders for this scheme, including the award of contracts, was managed separately by Pobal, an independent company, following a public advertisement on eTenders on 20 October 2014.
The range of expertise and experience represented by those on the tender evaluation panel included the following - tendering and procurement, project management, business development, business management, assessment and appraisal, programme design and evaluation, economics, accountancy, financial management and analysis, as well as policy and research experience. Academic qualifications of those involved in the assessment were up to Master’s degree level and included strategic management and innovation, social science, business studies and management.
The tender was broken down into 10 regional lots to ensure that SMEs were not disadvantaged due to excessively large lot sizes. A panel of regional suppliers was contracted to provide the equipment within specified regional areas while maintaining the benefits of local service provision. In accordance with the Invitation to Tender, the maximum number of lots an interested party in their own right could apply for was three lots.
In addition, it was possible for companies who tendered for three lots independently to tender for up to three other lots under a consortium arrangement. Each regional lot contains a panel of ranked suppliers. The first supplier is the supplier of choice for all local organisations in that lot unless they are unable to meet demand whereby the next ranked supplier will then be chosen to supply the equipment.
The suppliers of telecare equipment under the Seniors Alert Scheme are required to communicate any changes to sub contracted parties to the tender to Pobal and this has been outlined in contracts provided to them by Pobal. I understand that, to date, no changes to sub-contracted parties initially outlined have been communicated to Pobal by suppliers ranked highest in each lot. Supplier performance is also subject to annual review as outlined in the documentation provided that formed part of the Invitation to Tender.
In accordance with the Invitation to Tender, tenderers were required to provide evidence to Pobal of their status as Garda vetted, or, alternatively, commitment that such evidence would be provided if admitted to the framework agreement and before the commencement of any services.
I am satisfied that the tender process was entirely robust.
839. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to outline the status of climate change legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46563/15]
View answerThe Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 was enacted on 10 December 2015. My focus now is on ensuring prompt and full implementation of the various provisions of the Act.
840. Deputy Jerry Buttimer asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to set out, by county, the number of newly-built social housing units completed in 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46564/15]
View answer841. Deputy Jerry Buttimer asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to set out, by county, the number of social housing units on which construction was commenced in 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46565/15]
View answer842. Deputy Jerry Buttimer asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to set out, by county, the number of newly-built social housing units that will be completed in 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46566/15]
View answer843. Deputy Jerry Buttimer asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to set out, by county, the number of social housing units on which construction will commence in 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46567/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 840 to 843, inclusive, together.
Information on social housing units constructed and acquired in respect of all local authorities and approved housing bodies and funded by direct capital investment by my Department, is published on my Department’s website at the following link:
http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/StatisticsandRegularPublications/HousingStatistics/FileDownLoad,15291,en.xls.
Data up to Quarter 3 of 2015 is currently available, including a breakdown across the different categories of delivery for all local authorities. Data for the full 2015 calendar year will be available in the first months of 2016.
We now have a strong pipeline of new social housing construction projects in place following from my announcement in May 2015 of the first major social housing build programme under the Social Housing Strategy, with a further substantial announcement in July 2015 of approvals for local authorities and approved housing bodies. Between these two announcements, half a billion euro has been allocated for 2,900 social housing new builds and acquisitions to end 2017. Details of these approvals 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.
In addition, under the Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme approved housing bodies can purchase, lease or construct housing units and make them available for social housing. While the main activity under this programme to date has been through purchase and leasing already completed units, by the end of November 2015, the construction of 17 new units had been completed and made operational for social housing purposes in 2015, with a further 589 new construction units approved but not yet completed.
It is not possible to confirm at this stage the exact breakdown of local authority units to be commenced or completed in 2016 on a county by county basis. All projects must proceed through the planning process and this and other factors can have a direct impact on the timing for the advancement of construction projects.
