Written Answers Nos 79-97
79. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Education and Skills when she will issue approval for new buildings for a school (details supplied) in County Cork; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4528/16]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that the school in question has submitted an application for additional accommodation to my Department. The application is being assessed and a decision will be conveyed to the school authorities as soon as this process has been completed.
80. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills to provide a financial statement for Caranua for the year 2015 including a breakdown of the moneys spent in 2015. [4535/16]
View answerCaranua, the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund, is an independent statutory body established pursuant to the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Act 2012. Caranua provides regular updates on its website (www.caranua.ie) in regard to the number of applications received, the amounts expended by it and related matters. The most recent update, which provides figures to 30 November 2015, may be accessed on that website. I understand from enquiries made by my officials that in the year ended 31 December 2015 Caranua had, subject to confirmation on audit, expended some €32.36 million in support of former residents.
Full details regarding Caranua's expenditure will be set out in the organisation's accounts which are subject to audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General. In accordance with the relevant legislative provisions, the audited annual accounts will be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas in the normal manner.
81. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills the amount that remains in Caranua's fund. [4536/16]
View answerCaranua, the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Board, is an independent statutory body established pursuant to the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Act 2012 to oversee the use of the cash contributions of up to €110 million, pledged by the religious congregations, to support the needs of survivors of institutional child abuse. To date a total of €85.92 million, including €84.54 million in contributions and €1.38 million in associated interest has been lodged to the special Investment Account managed by the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA).
I understand that in the period from its establishment in 2013 to end 2015 Caranua had, subject to confirmation on audit, expended some €44 million of the funds available on meeting the needs of survivors and on associated administration costs.
On the basis that the full €110 million in cash committed by congregations will be received, my officials estimate that Caranua will have a further amount of some €66 million available to it.
Caranua's annual accounts for 2015 will set out details regarding the Statutory Fund account. In accordance with the relevant legislative provisions, the audited annual accounts will be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas in the normal manner.
82. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Education and Skills her plans for the former site of a school (details supplied) in Dublin 12; her views on the interest of the local community in this issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4541/16]
View answerMy Department officials and representatives of the Dublin Archdiocese and of the local parish have agreed that the property to which the Deputy refers will be made available to the Department for educational use. My officials are continuing to work closely with the Archdiocesan authorities on the practicalities of the property issues involved and work is well advanced in this regard.
83. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she has made contact with South Dublin County Council regarding the proposed Kingswood Community College in Dublin 24; the progress made in respect of condition No. 3 attached to the planning permission granted, which dealt with the detailed design elements of access and pedestrian crossings; if she will issue a compliance submission to the Council; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4542/16]
View answerA submission has been made to the Local Authority regarding condition number 3 of the Planning Permission granted for Kingswood Community College.
The Design Team are in on-going discussions with the Local Authority regarding the details of the submission.
When those discussions are concluded the Design Team will then make a further submission to the Local Authority seeking formal notification of compliance.
84. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she is aware of the situation regarding the 35 year old roof at a school (details supplied) in County Longford, that an application for funding to replace it was refused and an Emergency Works Grant awarded instead in November 2015, and that new leaks have been identified since then; if she will review her decision not to replace the roof; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4553/16]
View answerThe school to which the Deputy refers submitted three applications under the Emergency Works Scheme in the past year or so. Two of these were received on 22 December 2014. The first of these sought funding to replace leaking pipes and carry out electrical repairs. This application was approved and the grant has been paid in full.
The second application sought funding to replace the fire alarm system but this application was refused as it was outside the scope of works that would qualify for funding under the terms of the Emergency Works Grant Scheme.
The third application was received on 9 June, 2015 seeking funding to replace the roof of the school building. This application was refused as it was also outside the scope of the Emergency Works Scheme.
Following an appeal by the school in November, a grant was allocated to carry out repairs to the roof and the school was advised to apply under the Summer Works Scheme for a replacement roof as this is the appropriate Scheme under which funding could be available for this type of work. It is a condition of the Summer Works Scheme that schools apply for the most urgently needed works at their school. Under the current Summer Works Scheme, the school in question applied for an electrical upgrade.
It is not intended that the Emergency Works Scheme, which is for sudden and unforeseen emergencies, will be used to supplement applications under other schemes or to replace any other schemes provided by my Department. The current offer of funding to the school to carry out repair works to its roof is consistent with this position and the fact that the replacement of a roof is outside the scope of the Emergency Works Grant Scheme.
85. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills to support Aontas in its efforts to build further on adult learning in third level education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4561/16]
View answerI am pleased to inform the Deputy that it has been national policy since 2005 to target support for those mature students (defined as those aged 23 or over on 1 January of the year of their entry to higher education) who have not previously benefitted from higher education and who enter college to complete a full time course. Since 2011 the Higher Education Authority has incentivised higher education institutions to enrol mature students.
The number of mature entrants to higher education, as a percentage of full-time undergraduate new entrants, has risen from 2% in 1986 to 12% in 2014. The new National Plan for Equity of Access to Higher Education has targeted an increase to 16% of full-time undergraduate new entrants. In addition, and reflecting the increasing importance of part-time and flexible learning opportunities for mature students, a target of 24% of has been set for combined full-time and part-time/flexible participation of mature students in higher education.
86. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills to support a school (details supplied) in County Dublin; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4562/16]
View answerI can confirm that the school referred to by the Deputy has submitted an application to my Department for capital funding for the provision of temporary school accommodation.
Further details relevant to the application were requested from the school. On receipt of that information the application can be considered further with a decision conveyed to the school authority in due course.
87. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 147 of 13 January 2016, how many persons are awaiting social housing in the Lanesboro, County Longford area, and how he decided on 16 new units only. [4519/16]
View answerInformation in relation to the number of qualified households on the waiting lists of each individual local authority, including Longford County Council, is available on my Department’s website as part of the 2013 Summary of Social Housing Assessments at the following link: http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/DevelopmentandHousing/Housing/FileDownLoad,34857,en.pdf.
Under the Social Housing Strategy 2020, I have set substantial targets and allocated matching funding resources for the delivery of social housing by local authorities. These targets for the period out to 2017 were set for each local authority area last April and can be seen at the following link: http://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/Housing/News/MainBody,41016,en.htm.
In issuing these targets, I stated that all local authorities are to kickstart a building programme for social housing. Since then, I have announced new social housing construction and acquisition projects to the value of approximately €680 million. These approvals are based on proposals submitted by all local authorities, including proposals for 16 new units which were submitted by Longford County Council across two separate developments in the Lanesborough area. Details of the projects approved 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
http://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/Housing/News/MainBody,44104,en.htm.
As the housing authorities for their areas, local authorities are responsible for the detailed planning of social housing provision based on local need. The precise projects that are proposed to my Department, including the number of units, are therefore matters for the local authority in line with the targets and funding provision issued to them in April 2015. I will continue to work with Longford County Council as they develop more social housing proposals in line with the targets and funding available to them.
88. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to support certification of all rented accommodation; to support legislation to make landlords responsible for certification; and to support the view that in order to register with the Private Residential Tenancies Board landlords must prove they have complied with the minimum standards and have a certificate to prove this. [4501/16]
View answerMinimum standards for rental accommodation are prescribed in the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2008, as amended by the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) (Amendment) Regulations 2009, made under section 18 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992.
The Regulations specify requirements in relation to a range of matters, such as structural repair, sanitary facilities, heating, ventilation, natural light and safety of gas and electrical supply. With very limited exemptions, these regulations apply to local authority and voluntary housing units as well as private rented residential accommodation.
All landlords have a legal obligation to ensure that their rented properties comply with these regulations and responsibility for the enforcement of the regulations rests with the relevant local authority supported by a dedicated stream of funding provided from part of the proceeds of tenancy registration fees collected by the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB).
Since the establishment of the PRTB, over €30 million has been paid to local authorities to assist them in the performance of their functions under the Housing Acts, including the inspection of rented accommodation. Over 167,000 inspections have been carried out in this period. Following the enactment of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, local authorities have a strengthened legislative framework available to them which provides for the issuing of Improvement Notices and Prohibition Notices where landlords are in breach of their obligations. Fines for non-compliance with the regulations were also increased; the maximum fine increased from €3,000 to €5,000 and the fine for each day of a continuing offence increased from €250 to €400.
The idea of certification has been proposed before and there is merit in the proposal. A 2014 report from DKM Economic Consultants, ‘The Future of the Private Rented Sector’ (commissioned by the PRTB), put forward a number of options in relation to improving the quality of the rental stock. These include:
- improving the enforcement of standards by local authorities by prioritising those properties more likely to be in breach of the required standards, and
- in time, moving to a model where there would be a responsibility on the landlord to produce a certificate of compliance every three years.
In the short term it is my intention to promote best practice in implementing the regulations across the local authorities. The possibility of shared services across local authority areas is also to be explored. The regulations will be reviewed this year and the potential role of certification will be considered as part of the review.
89. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he has reviewed the offer of €2 billion from the Irish League of Credit Unions to facilitate the building of social housing; the status of the process to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4503/16]
View answerI and my colleague, Minister Alan Kelly, met with the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) on 1 December 2015 to discuss a submission containing a proposal setting out a means by which funding could be provided to Approved Housing Bodies, by credit unions, for the development of social housing. My Department has since had a further meeting with the ILCU to address technical aspects of its proposal.
Conscious of the independence of the Central Bank in its regulatory role in respect of credit unions, bilateral engagement has taken place between my Department and the Department of Finance to consider the potential regulatory and legislative implications of credit union involvement in the social housing sector.
The Central Bank commenced a number of new regulations for credit unions on 1 January 2016. Prior to their commencement, following careful consideration, the Central Bank made a number of modifications including to Regulation 25(2) which makes reference to the fact that the Central Bank may prescribe, in accordance with section 43 of the Credit Union Act 1997, further classes of investments for credit unions which may include investments in projects of a public nature. The effect of these modifications is that regulation 25(2) now provides that investment in projects of a public nature can include, but are not limited to, investments in social housing projects.
I acknowledge the recent modifications made by the Central Bank and the willingness of credit unions to actively seek a role in financing the delivery of social housing. I look forward to the ILCU’s further engagement with the Central Bank on foot of the regulatory changes made and my Department will continue to engage constructively with the ILCU in relation to their proposal.
90. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the progress to date in his negotiations with the local authorities and Irish Water on the takeover of estates where there are problems with pumping stations and treatment plants and where the developer is no longer in business; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4516/16]
View answerMy Department, as part of a wider overhaul of the taking in charge process, has sought to determine the number of residential developments with developer-provided stand-alone wastewater treatment plants and/or water treatment systems which are not connected to public water or waste water networks. Many of the developments in question have not yet been taken in charge by the relevant local authority because they are unfinished. In some cases the developments may be completed but not to the standards required under the planning permissions granted.
I announced today a new national initiative and pilot scheme funding of €10m to speed up the taking in charge process of residential developments, including those with developer-provided water services infrastructure, across the country through demonstration projects to improve co-ordination between local authorities, Irish Water and other stakeholders, address infrastructural deficits and bring in additional funding from bonds and other sources. My Department will be briefing local authorities on the initiative in order that funds will be drawn down in 2016. Further details will be available on my Department’s website, www.environ.ie, shortly.
91. Deputy Áine Collins asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to establish a board to examine the credentials of architects and if established practitioners would qualify under a new regulation of the special entry route, given that Architects Alliance of Ireland has made an updated submission. [4538/16]
View answerThe statutory arrangements for the registration of architects are set out under Part 3 of the Building Control Act 2007. The examination of the credentials of applicants seeking inclusion on the register of architects is a matter for the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland which is the designated registration body for the purposes of Part 3 of the Act. I have no role in relation to this particular aspect of the matter. I also refer to the reply to Questions Nos. 510, 511, 516 and 545 of 2 February 2016 which sets out the context and the up to date position on this matter generally.
92. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he has had contact with South Dublin County Council on the need for additional funding for the Council Housing Programme; if he appreciates the need in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4544/16]
View answerThe Social Housing Strategy 2020 sets out this Government’s vision and ambition to work in tandem with local government and other stakeholders to bring a real response to the delivery of new social housing.
Under the Strategy, I have set substantial targets and allocated matching funding resources for the delivery of social housing by local authorities, including by South Dublin County Council. These targets for the period out to 2017 were set for each local authority area last April and can be seen at the following link: http://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/Housing/News/MainBody,41016,en.htm.
Since issuing these targets, I have announced new social housing construction and acquisition projects to the value of approximately €680 million so far, including projects proposed by South Dublin County Council. Details of these projects 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
http://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/Housing/News/MainBody,44104,en.htm.
My Department is in ongoing contact with representatives of South Dublin County Council, including through their participation in the Dublin Social Housing Delivery Taskforce, which was one of the core elements of the governance structures I established under the Social Housing Strategy. This contact will continue in pursuit of the delivery of the targets and funding provision for the local authority under the Strategy.
93. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to provide additional assistance and funding to South Dublin County Council to allow it to take further effective action in respect of the scourge of litter, graffiti and illegal postering throughout the county; if he appreciates the concerns of the wider community on the matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4545/16]
View answerI appreciate the concerns of the wider community in relation to these matters. The Litter Pollution Acts, 1997 to 2009, provide the statutory framework to combat the litter problem. Under the Acts, the primary management and enforcement response to littering is, in the first instance, a matter for local authorities.
It is a matter for each local authority to determine the most appropriate course of action to tackle litter pollution locally, within the legislation provided, including the most appropriate public awareness, enforcement and clean- up actions in relation to litter, taking account of its own local circumstances and priorities.
Penalties available under the Litter Pollution Acts for litter offences range from an on-the-spot fine of €150, to a maximum fine of €3,000 on summary conviction, and a maximum fine of €130,000 on conviction on indictment. The fines for continuing offences are €600 per day for summary offences and €10,000 per day for indictable offences. A person convicted of a litter offence may also be required by the Court to pay the local authority’s costs and expenses in investigating the offence and bringing the prosecution. The latest figures available from my Department’s National Litter Pollution Monitoring System, a system designed to monitor the extent, severity and composition of litter nationally, demonstrate that the litter situation is continuing to improve across the country.
However, I believe that there is no room for complacency. Accordingly, as the Minister with responsibility for this area, I encourage a multifaceted approach to tackling the litter problem, incorporating enforcement, public awareness and education. As such, through the Environment Fund, my Department supports several anti-litter initiatives to combat litter across the country, including:
- The National Spring Clean,
- The Green Schools Program,
- Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) - Litter League,
- Tidy Towns,
- The Local Authority Anti-Litter & Anti-Graffiti Awareness Grant Scheme, and
- Negotiated Agreement with the Banking and Chewing Gum industries.
Under the Anti-Litter and Anti-Graffiti Awareness Grant Scheme (ALAGS), which my Department has co-funded for local authorities since 1997, local authorities are responsible for selecting suitable projects for funding and deciding on individual grant allocations. The scheme requires that projects selected should promote greater public awareness and education in relation to litter, including the issue of dog fouling, and since 2008, graffiti. Under ALAGS, they should also, where possible, focus on voluntary initiatives by community and environmental groups and involve schools and young people in anti-litter and anti-graffiti action. Typically, eligible projects include local media campaigns, clean-ups, primary/secondary school competitions, exhibitions and the production of videos, posters and leaflets. The maximum grant for a project may be up to 70% of the cost, with the balance being met by local contributions. A total of €690,000 was made available to fund suitable projects under the scheme in 2015 and I have already made provision for similar funding in 2016.
In addition, due to specific issues in the South Dublin and Wicklow uplands, my Department has provided support for the Protecting Urban and Rural Environments (PURE) project in that area. I made funding of €90,000 available for the PURE initiative in 2015.
I believe that raising awareness of the litter problem, particularly through demonstrating by our own actions a more responsible attitude to littering, is pivotal to educating our young people in order to effect a change in society’s attitudes towards litter disposal in future generations.
94. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the date for the roll-out of high speed broadband for the Hermitage, Glanmire, County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4484/16]
View answerThe Government’s National Broadband Plan (NBP) aims to ensure that every citizen and business, regardless of location, has access to a high quality, high speed broadband service. This will be achieved through a combination of commercial investments and a State led intervention in areas where commercial services will not be provided.
The commercial telecommunications sector is currently investing approximately €2.5 billion in network upgrades and enhanced services. These very significant investments represent a step change in the quality of broadband services available.
On 22 December 2015, I formally launched the procurement process for the State Intervention to provide high quality, high speed broadband to all premises in Ireland that may not be served through commercial investment. The formal procurement commenced with the publication of the Project Information Memorandum and the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire. In addition, my Department also published:
- the National Intervention Strategy – updated in December 2015, which takes account of responses to the public consultation which took place in July 2015 and subsequent expert analysis; and
- the High Speed Broadband Map 2020 which follows ongoing engagement with industry and public consultation.
The Intervention strategy sets out a detailed service specification including a requirement that the State-funded network must be capable of delivering high-quality, high speed broadband of at least 30mbps download and 6mbps upload. It must also be capable of catering for higher performance in the future so as to keep pace with consumer demand. It is therefore a matter for bidders to select the technology which will show how they propose to meet these contractual requirements.
Given the quality of the services we wish to see delivered, and based on the current absence of significant fibre networks in many parts of Ireland, it is likely that fibre will play a major role in any proposed solution. However, the technology platforms that will provide the final connectivity to the premises will be a matter for commercial operators to decide on in line with EU State Aid guidelines.
The 2020 map is available at www.broadband.gov.ie. The map shows Ireland with two colours, BLUE and AMBER.
The areas marked BLUE represent those areas where commercial providers are either currently delivering or have plans to deliver high speed broadband services by the end of 2016 and includes Glanmire, County Cork. Where parts of the town or its environs are not covered by commercial high speed services, these will be the target for the State intervention.
The areas marked AMBER represent the target areas for the proposed State intervention. Members of the public can see whether their individual premise is in the BLUE or AMBER area by inserting their Eircode, and/ or address, or scrolling through the map.
The Government is determined to ensure that the network in the AMBER area is built out as quickly as possible and engagement with industry stakeholders has indicated that this could be achieved within 3-5 years of the contract award.
In this context, the NBP proposes that through the combination of commercial investment and State intervention, 85% of addresses in Ireland will have access to high speed services by 2018, with all addresses passed by 2020.
More generally, I am informed by the commercial operators that next generation broadband services have been rolled out to over 126,000 premises to date in County Cork with over 55,000 more expected to be serviced by commercial investment. Almost 86,000 remaining premises in County Cork will be covered either by further commercial investment or the proposed State intervention.
95. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources to support a matter (details supplied) regarding geothermal energy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4560/16]
View answerMy Department launched two public consultations in 2015 on the development of a new renewable heat incentive (RHI) and a renewable electricity support scheme (RESS). The initial phase of the consultation closed on 18 September 2015 and was designed to review the technology options that may be supported by the new incentive schemes. There will be two additional public consultation phases in 2016, before any decision is taken on the final design of the new schemes, which will give all interested parties another opportunity to participate in the development of the support schemes. A key component in the design of the schemes will be the consideration of available technologies, including geothermal energy, and will include an assessment of their cost effectiveness and viability.
The Energy White Paper - Ireland's Transition to a Low Carbon Energy Future 2015-2030, which I published in December last, commits to the establishment of a regulatory framework to facilitate the exploration for, and development of, geothermal energy resources.
The question of the timing of future legislation in relation to Geothermal Energy will, at this stage, be a matter for the next Government to decide in the context of its overall legislative priorities.
96. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the status of the east-west link road from Dundalk, County Louth to Cavan town; why progress on this section of road is solely the preserve of the local authorities; and the amount spent on the road to date. [4554/16]
View answerCavan County Council was provided with over €2m in the period 2007-2014 by my Department in connection with this project under the Strategic Non National Road Grants Scheme in order to bring this 75 km route to preliminary design stage.
Due to budgetary constraints it is not possible to progress the project further at this point as the priority for available funding remains the repair and maintenance of regional and local roads. The construction cost for a scheme of this magnitude would be in excess of €150 million.
97. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to support a matter on Birdwatch Ireland (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4558/16]
View answerI understand that the Deputy is referring to my recent announcement relating to burning and hedge cutting. Section 40 of the Wildlife Acts 1976, as amended, prohibits the cutting, grubbing, burning or destruction of vegetation, with certain strict exemptions, from 1 March to 31 August during the nesting and breeding season for birds and wildlife.
Following a review of Section 40, which involved, inter alia, consideration of submissions from interested parties, including from the organisation referred to in the Deputy's Question, I recently announced proposals to introduce legislation to allow for managed hedge cutting and burning at certain times within the existing closed period on a pilot two year basis. The legislation required to allow for these pilot measures has been included in the Heritage Bill 2016, which has recently been published.
I am keenly aware that we must ensure that this should not impact adversely upon our populations of wild birds. For that reason, any such cutting will be subject to conditions and restrictions, which will be specified in regulations in relation to hedgerow husbandry, management or maintenance to protect fauna or flora.
The existing provisions relating to Section 40 of the Wildlife Acts are still in operation and any changes to the closed period are dependent on the passage of the Heritage Bill 2016 through the Oireachtas.
