Written Answers Nos. 472-489
472. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the recent changes that have been made to the approvals process for capital-funded social housing projects undertaken by local authorities. [7640/16]
View answerSocial housing projects funded by my Department comply with the Government’s Capital Works Management Framework (CWMF), the strategic objectives of which are to ensure greater cost certainty, better value for money at all stages during project delivery and more efficient end-user delivery.
Working within the scope and objectives of the CWMF, and with a view to supporting the earliest possible delivery of targets under the Social Housing Strategy 2020, my Department has streamlined the nine approval stages of the CWMF to four stages for capital-funded social housing construction projects. This facilitates local authorities to forward design proposals and costings to my Department sequentially, as they are advanced through the authorities’ planning work. In addition, my Department also introduced a new procedure in January 2016 to facilitate a further streamlined mechanism of funding approvals on a pilot basis for social housing construction projects with a maximum all-in budget of less than €2m and up to 15 housing units.
Local authorities opting for this new process provide a more in-depth Capital Appraisal proposal than is ordinarily provided, to allow my Department issue an approved budget for the project. In line with the CWMF’s objective of ensuring greater cost certainty in publicly-funded construction projects, this approved budget will represent my Department’s full financial commitment to the project and it will be the local authority’s responsibility to exercise appropriate cost control and deliver the project within the approved budget.
This new arrangement is optional and local authorities can submit project costings over the course of planning for a project and avail of the four-stage process if they so wish, which may be more appropriate for complex projects.
473. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to establish a service to cater for homeless persons who present themselves, which would be more holistic than requesting that tenants self-source a private rented tenancy; his plans to implement a tenancy sustainment support service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7662/16]
View answerMy Department’s role in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of housing authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of accommodation and related services for homeless persons rests with individual housing authorities.
Housing authorities oversee and fund a range of homelessness prevention and tenancy sustainment initiatives. In relation to accommodation provision, this can include accommodation both from within its own housing stock and also from the private rented market. In relation to the latter, this can be sourced by either the housing authority or the client so that the client can bring to the attention of the housing authority a property which is available for their purposes. Tenancy sustainment initiatives in place include the National Tenancy Sustainment Framework operated by the Department of Social Protection for Rent Supplement clients, the Tenancy Sustainment Protocol operated by Threshold in conjunction with the relevant housing authority and the Department of Social Protection (which is being extended to Kildare, Meath and Wicklow with effect from 25 April) and the Family Support Service operated by Focus Ireland which has tenancy sustainment as its specific aim.
474. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the situation in relation to Galway County Council and the number of fines issued by it for illegal dumping, in particular for the period 2014 to 2015 when 746 fines were imposed but only approximately 38% of this number of fines were actually paid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7665/16]
View answerEnforcement action against illegal waste activity, including littering offences, is a matter for the local authorities and the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Enforcement, and my Department does not compile statistics in relation to fines imposed. Such statistics are publicly accessible through the Local Government Management Agency’s series of annual reports on Service Indicators in Local Authorities, available from the publications section of the LGMA’s website: www.lgma.ie.
My Department provides the legislative framework under which both local authority and EPA enforcement action is initiated and also continues to provide significant financial support to a network of local authority waste enforcement officers, as well as to the Office of Environmental Enforcement.
In October 2015, Cork County Council, Dublin City Council and Leitrim and Donegal County Councils (in a combined bid) were announced as the new Waste Enforcement Regional Lead Authorities (WERLAs). The WERLAs are tasked with driving further performance improvements by individual local authorities in carrying out their waste enforcement functions and with ensuring consistency between local authorities. Their work is overseen by a National Steering Committee that involves other regulatory bodies with a link to waste crime, including the Office of the Revenue Commissioners and An Garda Síochána. The national waste enforcement priorities for 2016 were set by the Steering Committee and include illegal dumping. These priorities will be the focus of the WERLAs’ first full year in operation.
475. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of civil cases for compensation arising from alleged accidental injury or damage that have been instigated against each local authority in the past five years; the number of such proceedings pending, by local authority; and the amount awarded, by plaintiff party and by court, against local authorities over the same period. [7673/16]
View answerI have no function in the matter and the information requested is not held in my Department.
In accordance with section 153 of the Local Government Act 2001, the responsibility for legal proceedings rests with the individual local authority.
476. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the status of the proposal to provide a new library in Ballyjamesduff, County Cavan; the stage this project is at; the estimated timeline for the tendering process; the estimated costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7696/16]
View answerThe provision of premises and facilities in the public library service is generally a matter for each local authority in its capacity as a library authority.
Notwithstanding this, my Department recently announced a new €22m Libraries Capital Investment Programme for the period 2016 - 2021 to support the development of priority projects submitted by local authorities. In this regard, the programme includes a priority proposal submitted by Cavan County Council in respect of Virginia library.
As the new library at Ballyjamesduff was not submitted as a priority by Cavan County Council, it could not be considered for funding as part of the capital programme.
477. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the status of the proposal to provide a new library in Virginia, County Cavan; the stage this project is at; the estimated timeline for the tendering process; the estimated costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7697/16]
View answerThe development of Virginia Library will be supported by my Department under the new Libraries Capital Investment Programme 2016-2021. In this regard, my Department will provide a contribution of €850,000 towards the overall cost of the proposed development, which is estimated at €3.5m. The matching funding will be provided by Cavan County Council, which has responsibility generally for the provision of premises and facilities in the public library service in its capacity as a library authority.
Projects will be funded on a phased basis over the lifetime of the capital programme. Accordingly, while the development of Virginia library may proceed at any time at the discretion of Cavan County Council, Department funding for the proposal will be available for drawdown from 2021. The project will also be subject to a four-stage approval process, which has not commenced yet and which will be dictated largely by Cavan County Council’s readiness to proceed through the various stages.
478. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the status of the proposal to provide a new fire station in Ballyjamesduff, County Cavan; the stage this project is at; the estimated timeline for the tendering process; the estimated costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7698/16]
View answerThe provision of fire services in local authority areas, including the establishment and maintenance of fire brigades, the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of premises, is a statutory function of the individual fire authorities under the provisions of the Fire Services Act 1981. My Department supports the fire authorities through setting general policy, providing a central training programme, issuing guidance on operational and other related matters and providing capital funding for priority infrastructural projects.
In February 2016, I announced a five-year Fire Services Capital Programme with an allocation of €40 million, based on the current annual €8 million allocation, to be used for the purchase of fire appliances and specialist equipment, building or upgrading of prioritised Fire Stations, an upgrade of the Communications and Mobilisation system and improvements to Training Centres.
A fire station project in Ballyjamesduff is included in this programme under the list of priority projects to be progressed for 2018. Original project documentation, including contract documents and a cost plan were received in my Department in 2011, indicating a total project cost of €864,000.
My Department is liaising with relevant local authorities to progress proposed projects in the programme within the indicated timescales. The projects in the capital programme will be reassessed on an annual basis and priority may be adjusted to bring forward projects offering best value-for-money and to take account of the state of readiness of individual projects.
479. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the status of the proposal to provide a new fire station in Virginia, County Cavan; the stage this project is at; the estimated timeline for the tendering process; the estimated costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7699/16]
View answerThe provision of fire services in local authority areas, including the establishment and maintenance of fire brigades, the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of premises, is a statutory function of the individual fire authorities under the provisions of the Fire Services Act 1981. My Department supports the fire authorities through setting general policy, providing a central training programme, issuing guidance on operational and other related matters and providing capital funding for priority infrastructural projects.
In February 2016, I announced a five-year Fire Services Capital Programme with an allocation of €40 million, based on the current annual €8 million allocation, to be used for the purchase of fire appliances and specialist equipment, building or upgrading of prioritised Fire Stations, an upgrade of the Communications and Mobilisation system and improvements to Training Centres.
A fire station project in Virginia is included in this programme under the list of priority projects to be progressed in 2016. Original project documentation including contract documents and a cost plan were received in my Department in 2011, indicating a total project cost of €864,000. My Department is liaising with relevant local authorities to progress proposed projects in the programme within the indicated timescales. An updated cost plan was requested in February 2016.
The projects in the capital programme will be reassessed on an annual basis and priority may be adjusted to bring forward projects offering best value-for-money and to take account of the state of readiness of individual projects.
480. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government when an application for funding for a sewerage scheme (details supplies) in County Cavan will be approved, given the urgent need to have these necessary works undertaken at an early date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7700/16]
View answerCavan County Council has included Stradone Group Sewerage Scheme in its application to my Department for funding under the new Rural Water Multi-Annual Funding Programme for the period 2016 to 2018. My Department is currently considering local authorities' bids for funding and allocations to authorities for funding under the new programme will be provided shortly.
481. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government why there is no facility for inter-transfer between counties for full-time employees of the fire services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7704/16]
View answerThere is no formal transfer mechanism between authorities for full-time employees of Fire Services. The contract of employment for each employee is with the relevant local authority to which they are contracted.
Under section 159 of the Local Government Act 2001, each Chief Executive is responsible for staffing and organisational arrangements necessary for carrying out the functions of the local authority for which he or she is responsible.
482. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the extent to which his Department continues to monitor progress in regard to the completion of development works in unfinished housing estates, on a county by county basis; the extent of the works completed to date and that are remaining; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7752/16]
View answerSince 2010, an annual national housing survey of unfinished housing developments has been conducted during the summer months to monitor progress. In that period, the number of unfinished housing developments has decreased by approximately three-quarters, from nearly 3,000 in 2010 to 668 in 2015.
The detailed findings of the annual surveys, annual progress reports and other useful publications and information in relation to Unfinished Housing Developments are available on the Housing Agency’s website at: http://www.housing.ie/Our-Services/Unfinished-Housing-Developments.aspx.
The 2015 National Housing Development Survey and the Annual Progress Report illustrate that good progress is continuing to be made in resolving unfinished developments and that the reactivation of sites is now evident throughout the country.
483. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the extent to which adequate resources remain available to the various local authorities to facilitate the provision of housing adaptation grants to meet the requirements of those with disabilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7753/16]
View answerOn 5 February 2016, I announced total funding of €56.25 million for the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability. I have increased the level of funding available for the grants by some 10% in 2016. This funding will see over 8,000 homes receiving grant aid this year. Details of the allocations are available on my Department’s website at the following link:http://www.environ.ie/housing/grantsfinancial-assistance/ministers-kelly-coffey-announce-eu5625-million-improve-homes.
Through careful management of my Department’s housing budget in 2015, additional funds were made available to local authorities with high levels of grant activity and the same approach will be followed for 2016 in the event of savings arising.
484. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the extent to which his Department continues to be made aware of new applicants applying for local authority housing arising from repossessions or notice to quit from landlords; the extent to which this is being monitored by the various local authorities with a view to taking steps to address the issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7754/16]
View answerThe assessment of applications for social housing support is the responsibility of the relevant local authority in accordance with the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and associated regulations. The prescribed application form for such support requires applicants to provide certain information on their current and previous accommodation, including whether they received a notice to quit or an eviction notice in respect of their current accommodation and the reasons for leaving previous accommodation. My Department does not collate day-to-day information on the number of applications made to each local authority nor the specific contents thereof.
Statutory Summaries of Social Housing Assessments are carried out at regular intervals and they provide information on the number of households on local authority housing waiting lists. Only those households which have been assessed as being eligible and in need of such support following the carrying out of the prescribed application process by the relevant housing authority are placed on the list.
The most recent summary, carried out as at 7 May 2013, provided details on the number of households categorised as having a housing need due to an unsustainable mortgage; details of the 2013 Housing Needs Assessment are available on my Department’s website at the following link:
http://www.housing.ie/News/Current-News/18-12-13-Summary-of-Social-Housing-Assessments-201.pdf .
Further summaries of social housing assessments will be carried out on an annual basis from this year and will provide up-to-date and comprehensive data on the numbers of households qualified for social housing support on an ongoing basis, including the level of households which have a housing need arising from unsustainable mortgages.
485. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the total number of persons currently on the various local authority housing lists throughout the country; the extent to which rent increases are making it impossible for such families to exist or remain in their homes; if urgent provision can be made to meet their requirements, thus preventing a rapid escalation in homelessness; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7755/16]
View answerThe latest summary of social housing assessments, which was carried out on 7 May 2013, showed that there were 89,872 households on local authority waiting lists at that date. The 2013 figures are the most up-to-date figures available on waiting list numbers, which are subject to on-going fluctuation as households are allocated housing and new households are added to the lists. The full 2013 results are available on my Department’s website at the following link: http://www.environ.ie/sites/default/files/migrated-files/en/Publications/DevelopmentandHousing/Housing/FileDownLoad%2C34857%2Cen.pdf.
In order to ensure that the most up to date and comprehensive data are available, on an ongoing basis, relating to the numbers applying for social housing support, the Government’s Social Housing Strategy 2020, includes a number of actions to standardise assessment and increase the regularity of assessments including undertaking the summary of social housing assessments on an annual basis from 2016 onwards.
Ultimately, a shortage of supply is at the heart of the challenges in the broader housing and residential sector. Where the estimated requirement is for 25,000 new units per annum the construction sector is currently delivering around half that. The supply issue is putting upward pressure on rents which in turn can push vulnerable households into emergency accommodation.
A number of important measures have been taken to improve housing viability and increase supply, through the actions set out in Construction 2020 and the Social Housing Strategy 2020. Laying the Foundations: Housing Actions Report, which was published on 14 April 2016, provides information on thirty-one major actions taken across the housing spectrum since mid-2014 to increase the supply of all forms of housing. The report is available on my Department’s website at the following link: http://www.environ.ie/housing/activity/laying-foundations-housing-action-report.
One of the key actions involved introducing measures to protect tenants’ rights and the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2015, enacted on 4 December 2015, introduced a number of measures to address rent stability and significantly strengthen the rights of tenants.
Furthermore, the Department of Social Protection’s Interim Tenancy Sustainment Protocol currently operates in Cork and Dublin in conjunction with a local authority funded tenancy protection service, provided through the non-governmental organisation Threshold. Under these arrangements, Threshold provides advice and advocacy for tenants who are at risk of losing their homes. When necessary, Threshold may refer the case directly to the Department of Social Protection and that Department may apply a discretionary uplift to Rent Supplement rates, thereby securing the continuation of the tenancy.
While the protocol arrangements are currently only operational in Cork and Dublin, the Department of Social Protection continues to exercise discretion on a case-by-case basis for Rent Supplement clients nationwide under its National Tenancy Sustainment Framework. Under both Tenancy Sustainment arrangements, uplifts have been granted at the discretion of the Department of Social Protection’s Welfare Officers to approximately 7,500 clients nationwide, with approximately 5,000 of these in the Dublin Region. Operational issues in this regard are a matter for the Department of Social Protection.
With regard to the supply of social housing in particular, the Social Housing Strategy 2020 includes targets and actions to increase the supply of social housing by 110,000 additional units. The report, Social Housing Output in 2015, which I published on 26 January 2016, is available on my Department’s website at the following link:http://www.environ.ie/sites/default/files/publications/files/social_housing_output_in_20150.pdf.
While I am satisfied that a solid foundation has been laid to ensure that the challenges in housing can be overcome, it will take an ongoing and increased commitment from all stakeholders to deal with the issues comprehensively.
486. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of housing purchases or new housing starts approved by his Department in respect of County Kildare in the past 12 months, having regard to the rising extent of homelessness, rapidly increasing rents and the numbers on local authority housing waiting lists; if cognisance is being taken of the worsening situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7757/16]
View answerWhile my Department provides funding to local authorities in respect of various capital projects for the construction and acquisition of social housing, it does not approve individual house purchases or new housing starts. In relation to projects my Department has approved, these follow on from the announcement I made in April last year of over €1.5 billion in funding allocations in respect of social housing to be provided by all local authorities via a combination of building, buying and leasing schemes. Those allocations and associated targets for each local authority, including Kildare, are available on my Department’s website at the following link: http://www.environ.ie/housing/social-housing/minsters-kelly-coffey-announce-eu15-billion-social-housing-targets-local.
Following this notification of targets, I made announcements of substantial new social housing projects in May 2015, July 2015 and January 2016. Between these three announcements, almost €680 million has been allocated for over 3,900 social housing new builds, turnkey developments and acquisitions. Details of these project approvals, including those for Kildare, 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/housing/social-housing/ministers-kelly-coffey-announce-further-1000-social-housing-units .
I am keen that all local authorities, including Kildare County Council, advance these projects as soon as possible and I have assured them that funding is available to fully support their efforts in this regard. While social housing construction projects are being advanced, acquisitions of new and second-hand houses and apartments remain an effective means of meeting immediate social housing need. In 2015, Kildare County Council secured the purchase of 79 housing units and to date this year, have completed the purchases of a further 25 additional units for social housing purposes. Some of these acquisitions, as well as some of the approved construction projects, were under the Capital Assistance Scheme whereby approved housing bodies (AHBs) deliver social housing for those with specific needs such as elderly people, persons with intellectual or physical disability and homeless persons.
Under the Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme (SHCEP), my Department, together with local authorities, can support AHBs to construct, purchase or lease housing units and make them available for social housing. The housing units are secured under long-term leases/availability arrangements between local authorities, AHBs and private property owners. A total of 30 social housing units were delivered under the Programme in the administrative area of Kildare County Council in 2015. To date, a total of 157 units have received funding approval under the Programme and will be delivered in Kildare over the course of the next two years. 124 of these are new units that will be purchased by AHBs with assistance from the Department’s Capital Advance Leasing Facility and made available to Kildare County Council under long-term lease arrangements funded by SHCEP.
Information on all social housing outputs is published on my Department’s website at the following link: http://www.environ.ie/housing/social-housing/social-and-affordble/overall-social-housing-provision.
487. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the details of all the National Asset Management Agency's properties in Dún Laoghaire and Rathdown, by addresses, by occupancy status and by usage type; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7763/16]
View answerThe National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) does not own or manage properties. NAMA’s role in relation to properties is that of a secured lender. Properties securing NAMA’s loans continue to be managed by their legal owners, or in the case of enforcement, on their behalf by duly appointed insolvency practitioners.
While my Department is working closely with NAMA to ensure that all opportunities to identify and secure housing units for social housing use are maximised, it does not have access to the information requested by the Deputy.
Information on social housing activity supported through engagement with NAMA is available on the website of the Housing Agency at www.housing.ie/NAMA.
488. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government for a detailed report on the numbers of landlords and property owners who have signed up under the housing assistance payment scheme, by local authority, in 2015 and 2016, in tabular form. [7766/16]
View answerThe Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme is being introduced incrementally on a pilot basis to all local authority areas. The HAP scheme has been rolled out to all categories of households in 19 local authority areas. The Dublin Region Homelessness Executive (DRHE) is also managing a HAP Homeless Pilot for the four Dublin local authorities. The table below provides details of the households currently supported by HAP broken down by local authority.
My Department does not hold a detailed breakdown, by local authority, of landlords who are receiving payments relating to properties being rented by HAP households. However, I understand that there are almost 5,600 separate landlords currently receiving HAP payments through the HAP transactional shared service centre that is being provided by Limerick City and County Council.
Households supported by HAP by Local Authority(18/4/2016)
|
Carlow County Council |
204 |
|
Clare County Council |
468 |
|
Cork City Council |
362 |
|
Cork County Council |
1144 |
|
Donegal County Council |
852 |
|
Dublin City Council |
140 |
|
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council |
1 |
|
Fingal County Council |
12 |
|
Galway City Council |
25 |
|
Galway County Council |
86 |
|
Kildare County Council |
205 |
|
Kilkenny County Council |
569 |
|
Limerick City & County Council |
1174 |
|
Louth County Council |
766 |
|
Mayo County Council |
103 |
|
Meath County Council |
92 |
|
Monaghan County Council |
212 |
|
Offaly County Council |
151 |
|
Sligo County Council |
68 |
|
South Dublin County Council |
790 |
|
Tipperary County Council |
364 |
|
Waterford City & County Council |
731 |
|
Grand Total |
8,519 |
489. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if a rural development basic services programme fund will be established to run in parallel with the new Leader programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7783/16]
View answerThe LEADER element of the Rural Development Programme 2014–2020 will provide €250 million in financial resources to support the development of sustainable rural communities. Under the programme, funding will be distributed in rural communities by Local Action Groups in line with local development strategies which are currently being developed in respect of each of the 28 designated sub-regional areas in Ireland.
I have no plans to establish a Basic Services Programme fund to run in parallel with LEADER.
