Written Answers Nos. 158-163
158. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills the additional financial cost of including a new 100% non-adjacent rate of maintenance grant, 45 km or over, payment rate of €4,500 for students whose assessed family income is less than €30,000 per annum under the third level student grant scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2515/16]
View answerBased on the 2014/15 academic year – SUSI paid the non-adjacent rate of maintenance grant to 8,392 students where the reckonable income was below €30,000, and where the students did not qualify for the Special rate of maintenance grant. These students would have received a grant of €3,025. The additional cost of increasing this figure to €4,500 would be circa €12.5 million.
159. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills the additional financial cost of including a new 100% adjacent rate of maintenance grant, 45 km or under, payment rate of €1,750 for students whose assessed family income is less than €30,000 per annum under the third level student grant scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2516/16]
View answerBased on the 2014/15 academic year – SUSI paid the adjacent rate of maintenance grant to 8,346 students where the reckonable income was below €30,000 and where the students did not qualify for the Special rate of maintenance grant. These students would have received a grant of €1,215.
The additional cost of increasing this figure to €1,750 would be circa €4.5m.
160. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills the additional financial cost of increasing payments to students but not including fee payments to colleges, by 5% per annum under the third level student grant scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2517/16]
View answerSUSI paid out €147.3 million in maintenance grants for the 2014/15 academic year. A 5% increase in this figure would cost an additional €7.37 million.
161. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he has contacted the four Dublin and other local authorities regarding the number of families with children who were residing in emergency accommodation, in particular those in hotel rooms, guest houses and bed and breakfasts, on Christmas Day 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2385/16]
View answerMonthly reports are provided to my Department regarding the number of individuals accommodated through housing authorities in State-funded emergency accommodation facilities. These monthly reports are made available on my Department’s website at the following link: http://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/Housing/SpecialNeeds/HomelessPeople/.
My Department is in the process of collecting and collating data on individuals that accessed emergency accommodation during the week of the 21 – 27 December 2015. These details will be available on my Department’s website in due course.
162. Deputy Shane Ross asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will make a formal announcement regarding South Dublin County Council's request to add local area plan lands at Clonburris into the existing Clonburris strategic development zone to create a larger strategic development zone which can be planned better in terms of phasing community need and infrastructure alongside housing provision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2401/16]
View answerIn December 2015, my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, brought a proposal to Government from South Dublin County Council in relation to amending the existing Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) at Balgaddy-Clonburris to incorporate the land referred to in the question and the Government approved the revised SDZ designation. The revised designation of this strategic site, straddling rail and road accesses to the west of Dublin City, will facilitate the preparation of a new, comprehensive and joined-up planning scheme by South Dublin County Council addressing the housing, commercial, transport, educational, retailing, community and recreational development needs of this fast growing area together with the required supporting local infrastructure and community facilities in a sustainable manner. The extended SDZ will now cover c.280 hectares and represents an opportunity for the development of an integrated and sustainable community that is planned in a holistic manner.
The revised SDZ will also assist in bringing forward development proposals that will contribute to addressing the shortage of housing in the Dublin area, with potential for around 8,000 homes at a location which, through carefully phased development and expanded suburban rail and bus services and opening of mothballed station facilities, can take place in a manner that will not add to existing congestion in the area. I understand that the next step will be the preparation of a statutory Planning Scheme by South Dublin County Council under Section 168 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, including full public participation, and I await the outcome of that process, which I also understand is advancing.
163. Deputy Shane Ross asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he has carried out studies or followed international best practice regarding how the increased cost of construction of a three bed or four bed semi-detached or detached home to passive house standards, including the option of solar arrays and water collection systems, would be offset by savings to a householder over a number of years in reduced heating costs, other energy savings and reductions in charges at 2016 levels; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2402/16]
View answerThe Passive House Standard referred to is a standard developed and controlled by the Passive House Institute in Germany. It would not therefore be appropriate to adopt it as a mandatory standard having regard to the principles of fair competition enshrined in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Directive 2010/31/EU on the energy performance of buildings requires EU Member States to ensure that all new buildings (including dwellings) will be nearly zero-energy buildings by 31 December 2020. The Directive broadly defines a ‘nearly zero-energy building’ as a building with a high energy performance where the very low amount of energy required should, to a very significant extent, be met by energy from renewable sources, including renewable energy produced onsite or nearby. The Directive also requires each Member State in setting its energy performance standards to undertake a study every five years on the lifecycle cost of the representative energy performance solutions available within its economy and to ensure that the regulated requirements are set within the range of most cost optimal solutions. In this context, Ireland has been making significant progress in terms of improving the energy performance of dwellings. Ireland’s arrangements for meeting its nearly zero energy buildings obligations are set out in the plan Towards Nearly Zero Energy Buildings in Ireland – Planning for 2020 and Beyond (November 2012) which is available on my Department’s website at the following weblink: http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/DevelopmentandHousing/BuildingStandards/FileDownLoad,42487,en.pdf.
The required cost optimal studies, including the lifecycle costing calculations which take account of energy savings for a period of 30 years, for nearly zero energy dwellings, were commissioned by my Department and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland in 2013 and are available on my Department’s website at the following weblink: ttp://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/BuildingStandards/EPBDReports/.
In the case of dwellings, the specified Nearly Zero Energy obligation is such that the regulated energy load (i.e. energy used for space heating, water heating, fixed lighting and ventilation) in a typical dwelling will be 45 kWh/m2/annum, a very significant proportion of which will come from renewable energy sources. Currently, a typical dwelling built to comply with the Building Regulations (Part L Amendment) Regulations 2011 will have a regulated energy load which should not exceed 59 kWh/m2/annum. Clearly, therefore, one further upgrade of Part L of the Building Regulations will be necessary in advance of 2020 in order to ensure that Ireland meets its nearly zero energy obligation for dwellings by 2020.
In relation to international best practice, it is worth noting that Ireland’s energy performance standard for dwellings under Building Regulations (Part L Amendment) Regulations 2011 is recognised by the Global Building Performance Network as being among the leading statutory standards in the world, as may be seen from the comparison published on the Network’s website at the following weblink: http://www.gbpn.org/databases-tools/purpose-policy-tool-new-buildings.
All changes to building regulations are preceded by a comprehensive public consultation process which includes the publication of a rigorous regulatory impact assessment outlining the significant implications, including the cost implications of the proposed changes.
