Written Answers Nos 128-137
128. Deputy Lisa Chambers asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of occasions in each of the years from 2011 to 2016 to date in which the powers vested in him or any other Minister in his Department were exercised without any express act of delegation by departmental officials of certain seniority and responsibility, as per the Carltona doctrine. [17468/16]
View answerThe Carltona doctrine arose from the case of Carltona Ltd. versus the Commissioner of Works in the United Kingdom. The key principle that was derived from the judgment is that acts of Government Departmental officials are synonymous with the actions of the minister who holds a seal of office for a particular Department.
The information requested by the Deputy is rather broad and not readily available and would take an inordinate amount of time and staff resources to research and compile. However, in the event the Deputy has a concern about a particular issue or decision concerning my Department, she should identify this and I will request officials at my Department to forward her the information.
129. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Education and Skills to approve the July provision for a person (details supplied). [17567/16]
View answerJuly Provision is available to all special schools and mainstream primary schools with special classes catering for children with autism that choose to extend their education services through the month of July. My Department also provides July Provision for pupils with a severe/profound general learning disability. Where school based provision is not feasible, home based provision may be grant aided. Where a school chooses not to extend their services for July, eligible children in the school will be granted home based July Provision, on application.
As the home based provision takes place outside the usual school structure it is important that home tutors are qualified to provide an educational programme. It is appropriate therefore that the qualification standard in the Home Based July Provision generally reflects that required in a school environment. Home tutors should be fully qualified teachers who are registered with the Teaching Council of Ireland.
When it is not possible to recruit a fully qualified teacher then consideration will be given to the engagement of a tutor who is registered with the Teaching Council and has a primary degree (minimum level 7 on the National Framework of Qualifications) in a relevant area including e.g. psychology.
The qualification standards for home tutors have not altered. The requirement that all home tutors be registered with the Teaching Council was introduced in September 2013.
Parents with any concerns relating to the scheme can contact my officials at 090 64 83858.
130. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will ensure the capital allocation required by a school (details supplied); if same can now be permitted to go to construction without any further delay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17569/16]
View answerThe school building project referred to by the Deputy is at an advanced stage of architectural planning. All statutory approvals have been obtained and the Stage 2b submission has been approved by my Department.
However, on 1 January 2016 there were 66 major projects under construction. Since the start of this year 14 more major projects have been progressed to construction and there are currently 36 projects authorised to progress through the tender process with a view to starting on site in the coming months. That represents a total of 116 major projects either under construction or progressing to commence construction in 2016. The existing contractual commitments for 2016 now fully account for the funding allocation available in 2016.
My officials will continue to closely monitor expenditure on existing contractual commitments over the coming months and, as funding allows, other projects, including the project for this school will be considered for progression through the tender process with a view to starting on site as soon as possible.
My officials in the Planning and Building Unit will keep the school informed as they continue to monitor expenditure levels across the coming months.
131. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on issues regarding teachers recruited post-2011 (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17570/16]
View answerThe Government has committed to establishing a Public Service Pay Commission to examine pay levels across the Public Service, including entry pay levels. The terms of reference and timescale for the Commission's work are a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.
The Government recognises the importance of being able to attract quality new entrants to the Public Service, particularly so in important professional areas like education.
The restrictions in entry pay levels were introduced in 2011 and 2012 across the public service at a time when the pressure in public finances was severe and the scope for new recruitment was very restricted.
Under the Lansdowne Road Agreement the process of restoring public pay is commencing. An important feature of this is the flat rate increase which is being implemented. This is proportionately more valuable to those early in their careers. Restoration of the supervision and substitution payment is provided for subject to co-operation with the Lansdowne Road Agreement. The Lansdowne Road Agreement did not address the issue of pay of new entrants.
My Department continues to seek to engage with teacher unions on issues of mutual concern and has recently reached agreement with INTO and TUI in respect of:
- discussions to improve the position of teachers on fixed-term and part-time teaching
- a robust review of in-school management structures
- an increase in the quantum of the extra Croke Park hours which do not have to be worked on a "whole school" basis.
The Government has also indicated that it will support the gradual negotiated repeal of FEMPI measures having due regard to the priority to improve public services and in recognition of the essential role played by public servants.
132. Deputy Tom Neville asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of an application for a special needs assistant for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17601/16]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) is responsible for processing applications from schools for special needs assistants (SNA) supports. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in making recommendations for support, which is set out in my Department's Circular 0030/2014.
All schools were asked to apply for SNA support for the 2016/17 school year by 29 February 2016. The NCSE also continues to accept applications after that date, in recognition that enrolments may not have been completed or where assessments were not completed.
I announced on 14 June, 2016 that 860 additional Special Needs Assistants will be available for allocation to schools from September 2016, which is a 7% increase on the existing availability.
This will bring the total number of Special Needs Assistants to 12,900. This increase reflects the growing participation of children with Special Needs in education and will support their full participation and progression within the educational system.
The NCSE advised all schools of their allocations for SNA support for the coming 2016/17 school year on 14 June, 2016. Details of the allocations which have been made to schools have now been published on www.ncse.ie.
Where a school wishes to make an application for SNA support in respect of a child who was not considered as part of this allocation process they may continue to make such applications to the NCSE.
Where a school wishes to appeal the SNA allocation which has been made to they may do so through the NCSE appeal process, details of which are set out at www.ncse.ie.
It should also be noted that SNA allocations are not made to individual children, but are made to schools to support the care needs of children with assessed special educational needs in the school.
All schools have the contact details of their local SENO, while Parents may also contact their local SENO directly to discuss their child's special educational needs, using the contact details available the NCSE website.
As the Deputy's question relates to the allocation of SNA support by the NCSE to an individual child, I have referred this question to the NCSE for their consideration and direct reply to the Deputy.
133. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the status regarding expenditure of the development contributions paid to local authorities; the amounts which remain on the balance sheet in respect of development contributions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17344/16]
View answerDevelopment contributions allow local authorities to recoup some of the costs to public funds of servicing land for private development . They provide a mechanism by which developers can contribute to the cost of providing public infrastructure and facilities that benefit development in the area and are expended on public infrastructure defined under the Planning Acts. These include the provision of open spaces, recreational and community facilities, roads, sewers, waste-water and water treatment facilities, drains and water mains, public transport, schools, school sites, broadband and flood relief works. The adoption of these schemes is a reserved function of the locally elected members of each planning authority. It is a matter for the members to determine (i) the level of contribution and the types of development to which they will apply and (ii) the expenditure of contributions within the confines of their scheme-conditions.
Arising from the Government’s effort to meet commitments in relation to the general government deficit limit, the local government sector’s impact on the General Government Balance (GGB) is currently required to deliver a neutral position each year. The precise manner in which capital and current accounts are managed in order to achieve the overall balance necessary is a matter for individual local authorities themselves. However, within these overall limits, there is additional capacity for new non-mortgage borrowing and the expenditure of capital balances on hand by local authorities, which must be sanctioned by my Department. In reviewing requests for sanction, consideration is given to ensuring that priority infrastructural investment can proceed; that contractual commitments and on-going projects can proceed; and that development contributions already collected and aligned to specific capital projects can be utilised efficiently.
Local authorities are obliged to include data on current and long-term development contribution debtors in their Annual Financial Statements. As the audited figures for 2015 are not yet available, figures from the audited Annual Financial Statements for 2014 are set out in the following table.
Current debtors are debts due within a year and are shown before any adjustment for bad debt provisions in the Annual Financial Statements. Total bad debt provisions for all current debtors are reported within the notes to the Annual Financial Statements but do not separately identify the portion relating to current development contribution debtors. Long term debtors are debts due in respect of periods greater than one year. Long-term development contribution debtors are matched in the Annual Financial Statement by deferred income. This acknowledges that the debts of long term debtors are not income in the current period, and are thus deferred to future periods and may or may not become due depending on the progress of the development.
It should be noted that local authorities operate on an accrual accounting basis and therefore recognise income as earned/billed and not just as cash received. Audited data in relation to 2015 should be available later this year.
Development Levy Debtors as at 31 December 2014
|
Local Authority |
Current Development Levy Debtors €* |
Long Term Development Levy Debtors €** |
|
Carlow |
2,635,050 |
1,764,674 |
|
Cavan |
547,616 |
4,431,773 |
|
Clare |
4,910,305 |
3,082,563 |
|
Cork City |
4,453,666 |
1,110,023 |
|
Cork County |
13,328,868 |
42,313,089 |
|
Donegal |
680,346 |
5,693,772 |
|
Dublin City |
17,966,035 |
15,161,373 |
|
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown |
37,243,585 |
36,639,299 |
|
Fingal |
53,678,246 |
5,455,117 |
|
Galway City |
3,400,810 |
3,057,605 |
|
Galway County |
2,026,372 |
14,104,000 |
|
Kerry |
3,403,503 |
348,005 |
|
Kildare |
4,386,298 |
9,834,620 |
|
Kilkenny |
7,557,569 |
0 |
|
Laois |
1,162,454 |
2,398,644 |
|
Leitrim |
465,252 |
1,864,624 |
|
Limerick City & County |
29,645,524 |
455,235 |
|
Longford |
4,386,035 |
191,000 |
|
Louth |
9,144,769 |
8,057,029 |
|
Mayo |
10,019,224 |
1,005,318 |
|
Meath |
21,957,691 |
3,728,088 |
|
Monaghan |
923,951 |
2,930,895 |
|
Offaly |
2,822,050 |
715,563 |
|
Roscommon |
11,890,138 |
853,057 |
|
Sligo |
405,333 |
1,088,239 |
|
South Dublin |
5,279,763 |
12,445,038 |
|
Tipperary |
3,150,383 |
4,336,748 |
|
Waterford City & County |
1,147,179 |
1,208,424 |
|
Westmeath |
3,264,575 |
0 |
|
Wexford |
12,931,180 |
5,985,090 |
|
Wicklow |
8,411,476 |
2,018,267 |
|
Total |
283,225,246 |
192,277,171 |
* Current Development Levy Debtors – Source: audited local authority Annual Financial Statements 2014, Note 5
** Long Term Development Levy Debtors - Source: audited local authority Annual Financial Statements 2014, Note 3.
134. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government how he envisages the funding that is to be made available to local authorities via loan mechanisms will be repaid; what, if any, is the impact of such loans on the Government balance sheet; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17346/16]
View answer135. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if local authorities are to be allowed to borrow from existing funds and what specific fund will facilitate such borrowing; and what will the impact for the Government balance sheet will be; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17349/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 134 and 135 together.
Arising from the Government’s commitments in relation to the general government deficit limit, the local government sector’s impact on the General Government Balance (GGB) is required to deliver a neutral position each year. While my Department oversees the contribution of the local government sector to the GGB, the precise manner in which capital and current accounts are managed in order to achieve the overall balance necessary is a matter for individual local authorities. However, within the overall limits, there is capacity for non-mortgage borrowing and the expenditure of capital balances on hand by local authorities, which must be sanctioned by my Department. In reviewing requests for sanction, consideration is given to ensuring that priority infrastructural investment, contractual commitments and on-going projects can proceed, and that development contributions can be utilised efficiently.
With regard to funding announced as part of the Local Infrastructure Fund, I expect that local authorities will continue to avail of loan finance available from the Housing Finance Agency. However, budgetary matters are a devolved function of local authorities and it will be incumbent on individual authorities to ensure that any new borrowing is matched by appropriate repayment capacity.
136. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government why a person who pays motor tax on an annual basis, and where the car is subsequently crashed and taken off the road, can get a rebate of the car tax in respect of the outstanding period whereas this facility is not available to people who tax their car on a quarterly basis (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17395/16]
View answerThe Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) (Amendment) Regulations 1992 provide that a vehicle owner may surrender a vehicle licence - that is the motor tax disc that is displayed on vehicles - and apply for a refund in certain limited circumstances, including where a vehicle has been scrapped or destroyed.
The Regulations provide that a vehicle licence must be surrendered not less than three months before its expiry; this applies in the case of annual and bi-annual vehicle licences. It is necessary to have at least three full calendar months on a tax disc at the time of making a claim for a refund and the motor tax disc for the vehicle must be surrendered to the licensing authority. A refund is payable in respect of the remaining complete calendar months on the tax disc; it is not possible to claim a refund in relation to months which have already fully or partially passed. Given the minimum three month surrender requirement set out in legislation, it is therefore is not possible to claim a refund in respect of quarterly motor tax discs.
137. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the current fire regulations that have to be adhered to in the construction of family homes here and what checks are in place to ensure compliance with those regulations. [17408/16]
View answerPart B of the Building Regulations 1997 (as amended) sets out the legal requirements in relation to fire safety in respect of new buildings and in respect of existing buildings undergoing works involving an extension, material alteration or a material change of use. The requirements under Part B represent the national statutory minimum standards of fire safety provision applicable to the construction of new buildings, including dwellings.
My Department publishes technical guidance documents to assist those involved in the design and construction of buildings with regard to compliance with the Building Regulations. In the case of fire safety, where works are carried out in accordance with the national guidance provided in Technical Guidance Document B – Fire Safety (2006), this will, prima facie, indicate compliance with the fire safety requirements set out in the Building Regulations. It is also open to designers to use alternative approaches, premised on the use of fire safety engineering principles, to meet fire safety requirements provided compliance with the requirements of the Building Regulations can be demonstrated.
Primary responsibility for compliance with the requirements of the Building Regulations rests with the designers, builders and owners of buildings. Implementation and enforcement of the building control system is a matter for the 31 local building control authorities.
The Building Regulations are subject to continuous review and improvement in the light of technical progress, changes in standards and construction practices as well as developments within the construction industry. In this context, a review of Part B of the Building Regulations is now at an advanced stage within my Department; it is anticipated that a public consultation in the matter will be announced shortly.
In response to the many building failures that have emerged over the past decade, my Department introduced the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2014 which require greater accountability in relation to compliance with Building Regulations in the form of statutory certification of design and construction by registered construction professionals and builders, lodgement of compliance documentation, mandatory inspections during construction and validation and registration of certificates.
Statutory certificates of compliance, where relevant, must be given at commencement (design only) and completion and must be signed by a registered construction professional (i.e. an Architect or a Building Surveyor or a chartered Engineer who is included on a statutory register maintained respectively by the Royal Institution of Architects of Ireland, the Society of Chartered Surveyors of Ireland or Engineers Ireland). The statutory certificate of compliance on completion must also be signed by the builder.
In effect, the statutory Certificate of Compliance on Completion certifies that a building is compliant with all relevant requirements of the Building Regulations, including the fire safety requirements set out in Part B and the accompanying technical guidance.
The Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2014 were reviewed following their first 12 months in operation. It is clear from this review that the recent reforms have brought a new order and discipline to bear on construction projects. I am confident that as the transition to the new arrangements for the control of building activity continues to progress, these reforms will in time prove capable of transforming the culture of the construction industry in Ireland to one of improved compliance and quality.
