Written Answers Nos. 223-244
223. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to publish the report jointly submitted to the Higher Education Authority by the chairs and the presidents of Waterford Institute of Technology and Institute of Technology Carlow, in respect of the technological university process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17279/16]
View answerTechnological Universities: The new Programme for Government outlines that this new Government will continue to support the creation of Technological Universities. It is envisaged that the development of a Technological University for the South East will act as a catalyst and stimulus of economic, social and cultural development for the region.
The development of Technological Universities is in line with the National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030 which provides a framework for the development of the higher education sector to 2030. With regard to the institute of technology sector, the Strategy recommended significant reforms to position the sector to meet national strategic objectives. In particular, the Strategy recommended consolidation within the sector and a pathway of evolution for those consolidated institutes of technology, to allow them to demonstrate significant progress against robust performance criteria and to apply to become technological universities.
The development of technological universities has the potential to deliver greater opportunity to students in these regions, to staff working in the institutions, and to the broader local economy and society.
Technological University for the South-East (TUSE):With regard to the Technological University for the South-East, consisting of Institute of Technology, Carlow (ITC) and Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT), following the publication of the Kelly report, a preliminary facilitation process which was underway since September 2015, has recently been completed and a Report of the process was received by my Department on 13 May 2016.
The Report of the facilitation process is currently being considered by my officials and a decision on publication of the Report will be taken in due course.
I should point out that there was strong engagement in the process by both parties. This facilitation process has been an important building block in terms of building trust between the parties and in developing a strong working relationship between the Presidents and Chairs of both institutions. As part of this process, the Presidents of the two institutions, have jointly developed an initial work-plan to support the development of a joint TU proposal.
In addition to this both Institutions made a recent joint presentation and submission to the Higher Education Authority, seeking funding to underpin the next phase of engagement. This was part of the latest call issued by the Higher Education Authority regarding the restructuring of the higher education landscape. The call sought submissions for funding support in respect of the costs arising from mergers as part of the implementation of the National Strategy for Higher Education.Position of Technological Universities Bill: The first Government Legislative Programme of this new Partnership Government was published on 8 June 2016, and the Technological Universities Bill has been restored to the Dáil Order Paper at Committee Stage.
I recognise that there were a significant number of matters raised in respect of the Bill at both Committee and Report Stage. It is my intention to now consult with all of the relevant stakeholders in relation to both the matters raised during the legislative process and the commitments contained in the Programme for Government.
Following the finalisation of this consultation process I will then advance the legislation having determined a position in relation to any matters raised as part of this consultation process.
224. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Pearse Doherty den Aire Oideachais agus Scileanna cathain a bheidh duine i nDún na nGall (sonraí curtha ar fáil) curtha ar phainéal forlíontach na Roinne; agus an ndéanfaidh sé ráiteas ina thaobh. [17280/16]
View answerIs í an phríomhfheidhm atá ag na socruithe ath-imlonnaithe ná éascú le hath-imlonnú na múinteoirí buana barrachais go léir go dtí scoileanna eile a bhfuil folúntais iontu. Dá réir sin, ceanglaítear ar scoileanna faoi na socruithe painéil folúntais bhuana a líonadh ó phainéil fhorlíontacha atá déanta suas de mhúinteoirí incháilithe ar théarma seasta (sealadach/ionadaíoch) agus de mhúinteoirí páirtaimseartha.
Tá na socruithe maidir le rochtain ar an bpainéal i gcás múinteoirí ar théarma seasta (sealadach/ionadaíoch) agus múinteoirí páirtaimseartha, don scoilbhliain 2016/17, leagtha amach i gCiorclán 0058/2015 na Roinne a foilsíodh ar 16 Samhain 2015 ar shuíomh idirlín na Roinne.
Ba é an spriocdháta d'iarratais a chur isteach chuig mo Roinnse ar bheith curtha ar an bPainéal Forlíontach 2016/17 ná 11 Nollaig 2015. Ní bhfuair mo Roinn iarratas ón mhúinteoir dá dtagraíonn an Teachta. Tá an Painéal Forlíontach ag oibriú faoi láthair agus, de réir mar atá leagtha amach i gCiorclán 0058/2015, ní féidir glacadh le hiarratais dhéanacha.
Foilseofar na socruithe don Phainéal Forlíontach don scoilbhliain 2017/18 ar shuíomh idirlín na Roinne sa bhFómhar. The core function of the redeployment arrangements is to facilitate the redeployment of all surplus permanent teachers to other schools that have vacancies. Thereafter, schools are required under the panel arrangements to fill permanent vacancies from supplementary panels comprised of eligible fixed-term (temporary/substitute) and part-time teachers.
The arrangements for panel access for fixed term (temporary/substitute) and part-time teachers for the 2016/17 school year are set out in Department Circular 0058/2015 which was published on 16 November 2015 on the Department website. The deadline for submission of applications to the Supplementary Panel 2016/17 to my Department was 11th December 2015. My Department has not received an application from the teacher referred to by the Deputy. The Supplementary Panel is currently in operation and, as set out in Circular 0058/2015, late applications cannot be accepted.
Arrangements for the Supplementary Panel for the 2017/18 school year will be published on the Department website in the Autumn.
225. Deputy Marc MacSharry asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will accede to the request from the principals of schools (details supplied) who share a home school liaison community co-ordinator resource to extend the assignment of the teacher in this position; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17304/16]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware from my written reply to his representation that the arrangements governing the assignment of Home School Community Liaison (HSCL) is governed by my Department's Circular 0058/2013. The circular in question was agreed with Teacher Unions and Management Bodies. A key feature of the HSCL scheme is the rotation of the HSCL post as it gives eligible staff members the opportunity to apply to serve as HSCL Coordinators in order for them to gain insight and experience of educational disadvantage first hand.
My officials have received correspondence from the school that an appointment has been made to the post which is effective from the next school year.
226. Deputy Marc MacSharry asked the Minister for Education and Skills to expedite a decision on an application for funding under the schools capital appraisal scheme for urgent refurbishment work in a school (details supplied) in preparation for the opening of a special class for children with autism in September 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17329/16]
View answerI can confirm to the Deputy that my Department recently approved a grant to the school in question to refurbish existing available accommodation to provide suitable accommodation for an ASD class for September 2016. This decision has been conveyed to the school authority.
227. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will address a matter (details supplied) raised in correspondence regarding teachers. [17340/16]
View answerThe criteria for the award of incremental credit to recognised primary and post-primary teachers under Circulars 10/2001, 29/2007 and 29/2010 was agreed under the auspices of the Teachers Conciliation Council. This Council is comprised of representatives of teachers, school management, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, the Department of Education & Skills and is chaired by an official of the Workplace Relations Commission.
In accordance with the criteria as set out in the Scheme and on appointment to a teaching post, incremental credit may be awarded in respect of period(s) of non-teaching service if among other things, the experience gained is considered to be directly relevant to the requirements of the post to which the teacher has been appointed. Where a decision is made to limit or refuse to award credit in respect of a claim a recognised teacher may appeal to a committee comprised of representatives of teacher unions, school management, the Department of Education and Skills and is chaired by an Independent Chairperson.
Regarding the further queries and requests for data contained in the details accompanying this question I will arrange for the information to be forwarded directly to the Deputy.
228. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the amount of funding collected from the property tax charges in County Kerry in 2015; the amount of this funding provided to the local authority in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16723/16]
View answerI assume the Question refers to the Local Property Tax (LPT). LPT is collected and administered by the Revenue Commissioners and is remitted to the Central Fund. The Revenue Commissioners publish LPT information including details of LPT collected in all local authority areas on their website at the following link: http://www.revenue.ie/en/about/statistics/local-property-tax.html.
Section 157 of the Finance (Local Property Tax Act) 2012 provides that an amount equivalent to the overall amount of LPT collected in a given year shall, beginning in 2014, be paid into the Local Government Fund in the same year by the Minister for Finance.
In accordance with the Government’s decisions in relation to local retention of Local Property Tax, my Department paid €11,659,186 to Kerry County Council in respect of the authority’s LPT allocation for 2015.
The 2015 LPT allocation to Kerry County Council along with details of allocations in each local authority area are published on my Department’s website at the following link: http://www.environ.ie/housing/chargestaxes/local-property-tax/local-property-tax-final-allocations-local-authorities-2015.
229. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the allowance exemption he will provide given to households with medical needs and in respect of the upcoming pay-by-weight refuse charges; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16662/16]
View answer256. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 398 of 31 May 2016, the status of the steps he is taking, in respect of families that include a person with a disability, and whose bins are particularly heavy, as a result of that person's condition, in relation to the introduction of pay-by-weight charges for the collection of domestic refuse; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17205/16]
View answer268. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the action he will take to ensure that families who rely on adult nappies in the care of a dependent with a disability or older children who are not toilet ready due to a disability, are not seriously disadvantaged by the change to a pay-by-weight waste charge system as currently is the case. [17310/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 229, 256 and 268 together.
My Department has met with groups who represent persons with special needs to discuss and explore the impact of pay-by-weight charging on households with special needs. My Department has also been in consultation with the HSE and the waste management industry to discuss the issue and to try to find a workable and fair solution to this important matter.
As part of a way forward in relation to the phased implementation of pay-by-weight charging for household waste, the waste management industry has committed to provide a full weight allowance to the estimated 60,000 patients supplied with incontinence wear to reduce their annual household waste charges; the additional weight attributed to non-infancy incontinence wear will be collected free of charge. For its part, the Government is prepared to allow a 50% exemption from the landfill levy in respect of such waste.
230. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will increase the 500 m setback distance proposed in the 2013 targeted revision to the Wind Energy Development Guidelines 2006 to be in line with current 2016 international best practices for wind turbine setback exemplified by the ten times tip height rule in Bavaria and the 2 km policy in Poland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16664/16]
View answer267. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government in the context of the consultation process, concerning Wind Energy Development Guidelines 2006, and the revision that was embarked upon, which involved public consultation, if he is aware that best international practice has moved on significantly since November 2013, with the most recent example being the recommendation of a 2 km setback by the Polish National Institute of Public Health on 8 March 2016, and the judgment by the Constitutional Court of Bavaria on 9 March 2016, upholding the Bavarian State setback rule of ten times tip height that has been in force since 2014; if he will take steps to issue fresh draft guidelines that reflect best international practice, as enforced by colleague European countries, which would necessitate undertaking the public consultation process, and then enacting enabling legislation, in order that the public can have confidence that the issue has been dealt with, in a fair and transparent manner; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17307/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 230 and 267 together.
In December 2013, my Department published proposed “draft” revisions to the noise, setback distance and shadow flicker aspects of the 2006 Wind Energy Development Guidelines.
These draft revisions proposed:
- the setting of a more stringent day and night noise limit of 40 decibels for future wind energy developments,
- a mandatory minimum setback distance of 500 metres between a wind turbine and the nearest dwelling for amenity considerations, and
- the complete elimination of shadow flicker between wind turbines and neighbouring dwellings.
A public consultation process was also initiated on these proposed draft revisions to the Guidelines, which ran until 21 February 2014. My Department received submissions from 7,500 organisations and members of the public during this public consultation process.
As outlined in the Programme for a Partnership Government published last month, the Government is committed to finalising the revisions to the 2006 Wind Energy Development Guidelines within 3 to 6 months. The revisions to the Guidelines will be informed by the public consultation process and best international practice. My Department will continue to advance work on the Guidelines, in conjunction with the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.
The revisions to the Wind Energy Development Guidelines 2006, when finalised, will be issued under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended. Planning authorities, and, where applicable, An Bord Pleanála are required to have regard to such guidelines issued under Section 28 in the performance of their functions under the Planning Acts.
231. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the steps he has taken in relation to the do not swim notices which have been repeatedly issued in June 2016 in Portmarnock, Balbriggan and Skerries, County Dublin as a result of overflows in the Portmarnock Strand Pumping Station and Hampton Cove Pumping Station; and how he will address this matter. [16685/16]
View answerI am aware of concerns regarding discharges in the functional area of Fingal County Council. However, neither I nor my Department has any direct role in monitoring or supervising the delivery of water services or any pollution incidents arising therefrom. Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels for public water services, including the delivery of water services capital infrastructure, encompassing the management of urban waste water collection and treatment infrastructure. All discharges to the aquatic environment from sewerage systems owned, managed and operated by Irish Water require a waste water discharge licence or certificate of authorisation from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the authorisation process provides for the EPA to place stringent conditions on the operation of such discharges to ensure that potential effects on the receiving water bodies are strictly limited and controlled.
The EPA is a key statutory body for investigating complaints of pollution and for the enforcement , both directly and through oversight of local authorities, of environmental legislation in Ireland, including compliance in relation to licensed urban waste water discharges. Details of all prosecutions taken by the EPA for pollution incidents and details of its enforcement activities are published on the EPA’s website (http://www.epa.ie/enforcement/).
The EPA’s Bathing Water Quality Report for 2015 identifies several bathing waters adjacent to urban areas as being prone to episodic pollution events and being of less than ‘good’ water quality status. These pollution events are generally associated with overflows from pumping stations or storm outfalls as a result of sewer network blockages or following heavy rainfall. The EPA report highlights that significant infrastructural investment will be required to reduce the likelihood of recurrence of pollution events in these urban areas.
The imposition of bathing prohibitions by local authorities in the event of discharges or following intense localised rainfall is done with regard to public health on a precautionary principle. All such incidents are reported to the EPA’s wastewater enforcement system and are publicised on the SPLASH website at http://splash.epa.ie/#, which is the national bathing water information website for identified bathing waters around Ireland.
232. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of local authority mortgagees, by local authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16734/16]
View answer
Information in relation to the number and value of local authority housing loans is available on my Department’s website at:
http://www.environ.ie/housing/statistics/house-prices-loans-and-profile-borrowers/local-authority-loan-activity.
The most up-to-date information relates to Quarter 1, 2016. Of the 17,696 local authority housing loans as at end Q1, 10,134 have just one named borrower and t he remaining 7,562 loans have more than one named borrower.
233. Deputy John Brassil asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to increase the grants payable under the group water scheme to ensure schemes are sufficiently maintained, given that recent cuts have made them unmanageable for proper maintenance to take place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16751/16]
View answerThe Government is committed to introducing and supporting legislation in the Oireachtas, within six weeks of its appointment, to suspend domestic water charges for a period of nine months from the end of the current bill cycle. The proposed details of the suspension are set out in the recently published Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2016, which is available at www.oireachtas.ie. In line with the suspension of domestic water charges, and to ensure equity of treatment with households on public water supplies, the subsidisation for those on group water schemes will be restored to the level that pertained prior to the introduction of domestic water charges for households connected to the public water supply for the same time period.
234. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the amount of funding Kerry County Council requested for housing in 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16758/16]
View answer235. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the amount of funding Kerry County Council received in 2015 for the provision of social housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16759/16]
View answer
I propose to take Questions Nos 234 and 235 together.
In April 2015, funding allocations were announced of over €1.5 billion in respect of social housing to be provided by all local authorities via a combination of building, buying and leasing schemes over the period 2015-17. Those allocations and associated targets for each local authority, including Kerry which has an allocation for this purpose of some €62 million, 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, announcements for substantial new social housing projects were made in May 2015, in July 2015 and in January 2016, on the basis of project proposals made the local authorities, including Kerry County Council. 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 Kerry, 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 K erry 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. Across the range of schemes under the social housing programme, my Department provided over €11.9 million to Kerry County Council in 2015. I expect funding drawdown to increase as the construction projects are advanced by the local authorities and approved housing bodies. 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, Kerry County Council secured the purchase of 29 housing units. 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; 51 new units became operational for Kerry under this programme in 2015.
The funding provided also includes allocations to local authorities under the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS). The Scheme provides social housing support for persons who are in receipt of long-term rent supplement and information on the amounts paid to local authorities, including Kerry Council, can be found at the following link on my Department’s website: http://www.environ.ie/housing/social-housing/social-and-affordble/overall-social-housing-provision.
236. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of one-off houses built in each local authority area in each year from 2011 to 2016 to date, in tabular form. [16789/16]
View answerThe numbers of one-off houses built in each local authority area from 2011 to date are as follows:
|
Local Authority |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 to date (April 2016) |
|
Carlow |
110 |
72 |
77 |
78 |
101 |
24 |
|
Cavan |
184 |
149 |
123 |
184 |
196 |
50 |
|
Clare |
248 |
210 |
162 |
190 |
242 |
58 |
|
Cork |
867 |
639 |
504 |
604 |
702 |
193 |
|
Donegal |
451 |
385 |
296 |
337 |
362 |
130 |
|
D/L Rathdown |
64 |
69 |
77 |
64 |
61 |
27 |
|
Fingal |
83 |
75 |
68 |
115 |
136 |
54 |
|
Galway |
554 |
397 |
354 |
390 |
461 |
149 |
|
Kerry |
308 |
272 |
247 |
234 |
295 |
72 |
|
Kildare |
205 |
170 |
143 |
167 |
224 |
48 |
|
Kilkenny |
222 |
126 |
143 |
140 |
162 |
47 |
|
Laois |
120 |
120 |
108 |
113 |
98 |
47 |
|
Leitrim |
88 |
62 |
73 |
62 |
98 |
26 |
|
Limerick |
266 |
200 |
191 |
182 |
254 |
53 |
|
Longford |
63 |
61 |
54 |
66 |
86 |
32 |
|
Louth |
170 |
138 |
128 |
155 |
173 |
37 |
|
Mayo |
349 |
253 |
244 |
291 |
302 |
84 |
|
Meath |
266 |
226 |
164 |
247 |
280 |
77 |
|
Monaghan |
128 |
110 |
110 |
95 |
135 |
34 |
|
Offaly |
141 |
110 |
97 |
102 |
132 |
41 |
|
Roscommon |
160 |
117 |
122 |
128 |
125 |
41 |
|
Sligo |
162 |
134 |
124 |
106 |
115 |
39 |
|
South Dublin |
43 |
44 |
44 |
37 |
64 |
19 |
|
Tipperary |
288 |
224 |
201 |
219 |
284 |
69 |
|
Waterford |
176 |
150 |
126 |
147 |
194 |
34 |
|
Westmeath |
149 |
130 |
130 |
150 |
143 |
37 |
|
Wexford |
332 |
229 |
247 |
259 |
281 |
101 |
|
Wicklow |
180 |
119 |
142 |
131 |
161 |
36 |
|
City Councils |
||||||
|
Cork |
42 |
58 |
92 |
60 |
70 |
32 |
|
Dublin |
78 |
98 |
106 |
92 |
109 |
33 |
|
Galway |
29 |
15 |
33 |
26 |
25 |
5 |
|
TOTALS |
6,526 |
5,162 |
4,730 |
5,171 |
6,071 |
1,729 |
This data are available as part of the housing completions data published by the Central Statistics Office and are based on the number of new dwellings connected by the ESB to the electricity supply, but excludes conversions and may not accord precisely with local authority boundaries.
237. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the national policy with regard to one-off local housing and development in the high amenity area; if there are any inconsistencies between local authorities; his plans to amend guidelines with a view to ensuring support for rural development in the interest of long-term sustainability of communities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16790/16]
View answerMy Department published Guidelines for Planning Authorities on Sustainable Rural Housing in April 2005 as a broad national level policy framework for local planning authorities in drawing up their statutory development plans and addressing the issue of housing in rural areas, including high amenity areas, taking into account the particular circumstances of the relevant local authority. The Guidelines require planning authorities to frame their local planning policies in a balanced and measured way that ensures that the housing requirements arising from rural communities are met on the one hand , while avoiding excessive urban generated housing and ribbon development on the other hand. The Guidelines also aim at ensuring that sites developed for rural housing purposes are suitable with regard to access, wastewater disposal, landscape and design perspectives.
The Guidelines further elaborate on the physical development policies for rural areas as set out in the National Spatial Strategy (2002) which, inter alia, promotes sustainable rural settlement as a key component of delivering more balanced regional development.
It is therefore a matter for individual planning authorities to prepare their development plans and the policies contained within such plans , taking account of local and varying geographical and landscape circumstances as well as the approaches set out under the Guidelines. Furthermore, it is a matter for individual planning authorities as well as An Bord Pleanála to implement the Guidelines and local planning policies within the assessment of individual planning applications and appeals under the development management process.
Given the need for local authorities to respond to local circumstance s in the implementation of the Guidelines, I consider that the Guidelines strike a reasonable balance between setting out overall national policies and the application of those policies locally. Therefore, I have no plans to amend these Guidelines at present but will continue to keep them under review.
238. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of extra staff that have been employed in local authorities and to which authorities, to support the housing assistance payment and rent accommodation scheme, and to which scheme they have been allocated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16804/16]
View answerUnder 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 authorities for which he or she is responsible. In this regard, it is a matter, in the first instance, for Chief Executives, to ensure that the appropriate staffing and staffing structures are in place. My Department, however, works closely with local authorities with regard to the implementation of the Government's Social Housing Strategy and in 2015 all local authorities were invited to submit staffing sanction requests to facilitate its delivery.
Furthermore, the staffing approval process was also streamlined to ensure the fast tracking of staffing sanction requests. As a result, to date some four hundred and forty local authority posts have been sanctioned for recruitment, to support the delivery of the Social Housing Strategy, which include posts across the full breadth of housing support services, including supporting existing areas of delivery and resources already deployed in schemes such as the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS).
Since the beginning of 2015, my Department has approved 82 staffing applications from local authorities in relation to both the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) and RAS schemes. Four of the posts sanctioned related to the RAS scheme. A further 34 sanctioned posts related to staffing needs of the central transactional shared service being provided by Limerick City and County Council to all local authorities operating the HAP scheme. The shared service centre, which is the primary administrative support to HAP local authorities, is responsible for a range of functions including monthly payments to landlords and the collection of weekly differential rent from tenants and provides a range of efficiencies to the operation of the scheme. The remaining 44 HAP related posts sanctioned, once recruited, would be assigned to a range of housing related tasks impacted by the introduction of HAP. The table below sets out a breakdown of posts by local authority.
|
Local Authority |
Number of Post(s) Sanctioned |
|
Carlow Co |
3 |
|
Clare Co |
4 |
|
Cork City |
2 |
|
Galway City |
4 |
|
Galway Co |
4 |
|
Kildare Co |
7 |
|
Limerick City & Co |
34 |
|
Louth Co |
7 |
|
Mayo Co |
3 |
|
Meath Co |
4 |
|
Offaly Co |
2 |
|
Roscommon Co |
1 |
|
Tipperary Co |
4 |
|
Westmeath Co |
3 |
|
Total |
82 |
239. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he received a request from Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council for extra staff to facilitate the roll-out of the housing assistance payment and rent accommodation scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16805/16]
View answerMy Department has not received an application from Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council for extra staff to facilitate the roll-out of Housing Assistance Payment and Rental Accommodation Scheme.
240. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to provide copies of memos, instructions and directives to local authorities or individual communications to particular councils in relation to all aspects of housing, including but not limited to, staffing levels, emergency accommodation, building programmes, acquisitions, Part 5 and Part 8 and allocation priorities since 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16806/16]
View answerThe information requested is being compiled and will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as possible.
241. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to allow all persons in emergency homeless situations to self-accommodate; his further plans to cease to limit this option to families and to cease the requirement that persons be put in emergency accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16807/16]
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, including the actual provision of housing solutions for those currently in emergency accommodation, rests with housing authorities.
However, I understand that the Dublin Region Homeless Executive’s placement teams actively work with homeless families and individuals in emergency accommodation in order to try to provide more permanent housing solutions, including through the Homeless Housing Assistance Payment Pilot in the Dublin Region whereby the families and individuals themselves can source available accommodation which meets their needs.
242. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if different local authorities can derive different interpretations from the implementation of the incremental purchase scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16837/16]
View answer243. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he is aware of an anomaly that exists under the incremental purchase scheme in that an income of €15,000 per year is the minimum required to make an application but a minimum of €25,000 per year is required for tenants wishing to use the local authority house purchase loan scheme; if it is therefore possible to qualify for the 60% discount for earning between €15,000 and €20,000 and to apply under the latter scheme with a €25,000 minimum earnings per year requirement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16838/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 242 and 243 together.
The new Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme came into operation on 1 January 2016. The Scheme is open to eligible tenants, including joint tenants, of local authority houses that are available for sale under the Scheme. To be eligible, tenants must meet certain criteria, including having a minimum reckonable income of €15,000 per annum.
The new scheme is a national scheme and the terms and conditions are set down in Part 3 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 and prescribed in the Housing (Sale of Local Authority Houses) Regulations 2015 and the associated Ministerial Income Directions. The consideration of individual applications and the determination of eligibility under the scheme is a matter for the local authority concerned in accordance with the relevant legislative provisions and the guidance underpinning the scheme.
The financing of any house sold under the Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme is a separate matter from the eligibility criteria for the scheme. In order to participate in the scheme, the tenant must, in the first instance, meet the eligibility criteria as set out in the relevant legislation, including having a minimum reckonable income of €15,000 per annum. If the tenant is deemed eligible under the scheme, he or she may fund the purchase of a house from one, or a combination of, own resources or a mortgage provided by a financial institution or a local authority house purchase loan.
The terms and conditions governing the operation of standard annuity mortgages provided by local authorities to qualifying first time buyers are set out most recently in the Housing (Local Authority Loans) Regulations 2012. A copy of the Regulations is available at the following link: http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2012/si/408/made/en/print.
Article 5(b) and (c) of the regulations provide that loans shall not be available in the case of a single borrower, where the annual gross income is more than €50,000 nor in the case of a joint application, where the combined gross income of the borrowers is more than €75,000. The Regulations do not prescribe a minimum gross income for loan applicants.
However, all loans must be issued in accordance with the statutory Credit Policy issued in 2009 in accordance with the Housing (Local Authority Loans) Regulations 2009, in order to ensure lending prudence and to assist local authorities across the sector to engage consistently in responsible mortgage lending, in the best interest of borrowers and local authorities alike. This Credit Policy determines that all decisions in relation to loans are made based on a borrowers’ capacity to repay the loan, credit history and savings record. The final decision on loan approval is a matter for each local authority and its credit committee on a case-by-case basis.
The new Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme is in the early stages of implementation and my Department is monitoring the operation of the scheme in consultation with housing authorities. In line with the commitment in the new Programme for a Partnership Government to make the scheme more attractive for social housing tenants and to raise new funds for housing development, I intend to undertake a review of the scheme following the first 12 months of operation. I will bring forward any changes to the terms and conditions of the scheme which are considered necessary based on the evidence gathered at that stage.
244. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if and to what extent his Department or any agency under its remit monitors the level of nitrogen dioxide in the atmosphere; the towns and cities that regularly exceed a nitrogen dioxide level of 40 micrograms per cubic metre in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16866/16]
View answerAir quality monitoring in Ireland is carried out by the Environmental Protection Agency to meet the requirements of EU Directive 2008/50/EC on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe, known as the CAFE Directive. The Directive requires that certain minimum levels of monitoring are carried out for the purposes of assessment and management of air quality. The EPA monitors a range of atmospheric pollutants, based on data obtained from the 31 monitoring stations that form the national ambient air quality network.
The EPA publishes an annual report on air quality, primarily based on the monitoring requirements of the CAFE Directive. The most recent report, Air Quality in Ireland 2014 – Key Indicators of Ambient Air Quality, was published in September 2015 and provides an assessment of air quality in Ireland for 2014, including Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) levels, monitored at 17 locations across Ireland in 2014. NO2 values for all monitoring sites in Ireland in 2014 were below the annual limit value. Details regarding locations, annual averages and other statistics are available from the following link, with the table relating to NO2 levels found at page 52: http://www.epa.ie/pubs/reports/air/quality/Air%20Quality%20Report%202014.pdf.
There has only ever been one exceedance of the limit value for NO2 in Ireland: that exceedance occurred at a City Centre site in Dublin in 2009.
The 2015 report on air quality in Ireland is currently in production and is due for publication in September.
