Michael Healy-Rae
Question:524. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the status of a new pipe being provided at Fenit Island, County Kerry, to widen the sluice (details supplied). [22886/16]
View answerDrainage Schemes Applications
Questions (524)
Written answers
This area does not form part of any Arterial Drainage Scheme which would fall under the remit of the Office of Public Works (OPW) under the 1945 Arterial Drainage Act. The OPW therefore has no responsibility for maintenance, nor any authority to carry out any works there.
Flood problems, in the first instance, are a matter for each local authority to investigate and address. Kerry County Council may carry out flood mitigation works using its own resources. The Council may also apply to the Office of Public Works (OPW) for funding of flood mitigation works under the Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme. The purpose of this scheme is to provide funding to local authorities to undertake minor works to address localised flooding and coastal protection problems within their administrative areas. The scheme generally applies to relatively straightforward cases where a solution can be readily identified and achieved in a short time frame. Any application received will be considered in accordance with the scheme eligibility criteria, including a requirement that any measures are cost beneficial, and having regard to the overall availability of resources for flood risk management. Details are published on the OPW website www.opw.ie.
Bullying in the Workplace
Questions (525)
John McGuinness
Question:525. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the reason he has not resolved the complaints of bullying lodged by three persons (details supplied); the reason the Office of Public Works has not accepted the outcome of the independent investigation; the reason the recommendation of the Rights Commissioners of 12 March 2015 has not been adhered to; the cost of the report and the process to date; the cost of a report by a company (details supplied); his views on whether his Department is in breach of sections 8.9 and 8.10 of the positive working environment policy for State employees; and if he will expedite a resolution to the problems. [22900/16]
View answerWritten answers
I am informed by the Commissioners of Public Works that, in accordance with the relevant Code of Practice of the Workplace Relations Commission, all matters relating to such cases are confidential. In the circumstances, it would be inappropriate for me to make any comment on the matter.
Post Office Network
Questions (526)
Thomas Pringle
Question:526. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the reasons the group examining developing post offices as hubs has not yet convened; when it is due to convene; the level of commitment on behalf of the Government to developing post offices as social hubs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22127/16]
View answerWritten answers
The Government is fully committed to its policy that An Post should remain a strong, viable company in a position to provide a high quality postal service and maintain a national network of customer focused post offices in the community. The post office network plays an important role in serving the needs of business and domestic customers alike.
In recognition of the changing commercial environment, the previous Government established the Post Office Network Business Development Group, the remit of which was to examine the potential from existing and new Government and commercial business that could be transacted through the post office network.
The final report of the group, which was published in January of this year, details 23 recommendations, including examining the development of a number of Post Offices as social hubs. The Programme for a Partnership Government commits to acting on all of these recommendations, and responsibility for implementation of the recommendations in the final report has recently transferred to my Department, along with a number of staff with expertise on the matter
The first meeting of the Post Office Hubs Working Group, which I will chair, will take place on 27 July.
Departmental Investigations
Questions (527)
Brendan Griffin
Question:527. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she will investigate an allegation (details supplied); the reason a substantive response has not issued to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22028/16]
View answerWritten answers
My Department has looked into this matter and replied to correspondence last week. I consider that this matter is now closed.
Departmental Reports
Questions (528)
Éamon Ó Cuív
Question:528. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the name, costs, date of commission, date or expected date of publication and name of the external consultant of all external reports commissioned by her Department since March 2011, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22030/16]
View answerWritten answers
The Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs was established on 9June 2016. The Department has responsibility for all the matters that previously came within the remit of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, which was itself established on 2 June 2011, and in addition is also responsible for certain functions transferred from the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and from the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. The details requested by the Deputy in respect of the nine reports commissioned by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht are set out in the Table below.
Contracts for the provision of services are not included in this Table. I would also point out that my Department also commissions engineering or environmental experts from time to time to provide technical reports on specific issues, as required. While the providers of these services are consultant engineers, environmental consultants or may describe themselves in other such terms, their work is not classified as consultancy services and is not funded from my Department's Administrative Budget.
The "Review of PSO Air Service for the Aran Islands" and "Review of financial submissions relating to the Public Service Obligation Air Service for the Aran Islands" were published in 2014. The "Updated Business Case for Restoring the Ulster Canal from Lough Erne to Clones" and the "Cost Benefit Analysis of the National Gallery Redevelopment Project" were published in 2015. The remaining reports have not been published and publication of these reports will be considered on case by case basis.
For completeness, I wish to provide information to the Deputy in relation to three reports commissioned by other Departments in relation to matters that are now the responsibility of my Department. The University of Birmingham was commissioned in 2010 by the then Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, to undertake a review relating to peatlands. The resulting report, "Review of Archaeological Survey and Mitigation Policy relating to Bord na Móna Peatlands" was published in June 2013 and the associated costs of €34,337 were met by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.
In 2015, the then Department of Environment, Community, and Local Government commissioned a Review of Comhairle na Tuaithe and the implementation of the National Countryside Recreation Strategy. This report was completed by ILC Sports and Recreation at a cost of €15,341. The final report was received earlier this year but has not yet been published.
Finally, the then Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources published the Final Report of the Post Office Network Business Development Group in January 2016. This report was completed by Warrenbay Limited at a cost of €32,540.
Reports commissioned by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht
|
Year Commissioned |
Company |
Title of Report |
Cost |
|
2011 |
Avia Solutions |
Review of financial submissions relating to the Public Service Obligation Air Service for the Aran Islands |
€6,300 |
|
2012 |
Bonnar Keenlyside |
Review of Dublin Contemporary 2011 |
€10,959 |
|
2013 |
Dorgan Associates |
Cost Benefit Analysis of National Archives Development Plan |
€12,669 |
|
2013 |
Dorgan Associates |
Cost Benefit Analysis of National Gallery Redevelopment Project |
€12,731 |
|
2013/2014 |
Dorgan Associates |
Examination of capital incentives to promote investment in film studio infrastructure |
€6,765 |
|
2014 |
EY |
Review of PSO Air Service for the Aran Islands |
€41,795 |
|
2014 |
Fitzpatrick Associates |
Updated Business Case Restoring the Ulster Canal from Lough Erne to Clones |
€15,191 |
|
2014 |
The VAT Practice |
Advisory service on UK VAT |
€ 2,963 |
|
2015 |
Public Affairs Ireland |
Review of Management Structure and Ireland (PAI) Grading of Senior Management Posts within Údarás na Gaeltachta |
€17,617 |
Departmental Legal Cases
Questions (529, 531, 532)
Peadar Tóibín
Question:529. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if her Department or any other Department has a non-disclosure agreement with Meath Partnership. [22156/16]
View answerPeadar Tóibín
Question:531. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if her Department is currently involved in any investigations into Meath Partnership; and if so, the details of same. [22158/16]
View answerPeadar Tóibín
Question:532. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if her Department is aware of any other State organisation, EU agency or local authority currently investigating Meath Partnership. [22159/16]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 529, 531 and 532 together.
I am advised that there is a confidential legal agreement in place with Meath Partnership which was entered into by the then Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government.
In terms of investigations, I understand that there is a Garda investigation ongoing but it clearly would not be appropriate for me to make any comment in this regard.
Departmental Contracts
Questions (530, 534)
Peadar Tóibín
Question:530. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the number of Meath Partnership-related contracts that have been won by companies (details supplied) in the past ten years. [22157/16]
View answerPeadar Tóibín
Question:534. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she is aware of the current €375,000 fundraising project being carried out by Meath Partnership. [22161/16]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 530 and 534 together.
I understand that Meath Partnership operates a number of programmes/initiatives on behalf of the State and also conducts its own business as a private limited company. Accordingly, my Department would not have details of the nature referred to by the Deputy nor would it have information on fundraising activities that Meath Partnership might carry out as part of its private operations.
Questions Nos. 531 and 532 answered with Question No. 529.
Leader Programmes Data
Questions (533)
Peadar Tóibín
Question:533. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if there has been a delay in the awarding of Leader contracts to Meath Partnership. [22160/16]
View answerWritten answers
The LEADER funding agreement for County Meath was awarded to Meath Local and Community Development Committee (LCDC), of which Meath Partnership is an implementing partner, along with Meath County Council, which is the lead financial partner. On 8 July 2016, I launched the LEADER programme in Virginia, Co Cavan, where I signed funding agreements with 20 local action groups, including Meath LCDC.
Question No. 534 answered with Question No. 530.
Departmental Funding
Questions (535)
Peadar Tóibín
Question:535. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the foreign travel that Meath Partnership has been involved in the past ten years; the funding that was used to provide for this travel; and the benefits of these meetings. [22162/16]
View answerWritten answers
While Meath Partnership operates a number of programmes/initiatives on behalf of the State, it also conducts its own business as a private limited company. Accordingly, Meath Partnership is obliged to provide information relating to travel undertaken in respect of programmes under my Department’s remit only. In that regard, I am advised that travel and subsistence to the value of €81,569 was claimed by Meath Partnership in respect of the LEADER elements of the Rural Development Programme between 2009 and 2015. I understand that this figure includes all travel expenditure in respect of LEADER, both domestic and foreign, as there was no requirement for separate reporting.
Arts Funding
Questions (536)
Bobby Aylward
Question:536. Deputy Bobby Aylward asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she will commit to reaching an investment of 0.3% of GDP over the three forthcoming budgets of the Government's programme to bring Ireland in line with 50% of the European average by budget 2019; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22293/16]
View answerWritten answers
I assume that the Deputy is referring to investment in arts culture. In this regard, the Programme for a Partnership Government contains a very important commitment to work to progressively increase funding to the arts, including the Arts Council and the Irish Film Board, as the economy continues to improve. I can assure the Deputy that I will be engaging with my colleagues in Government and with the Oireachtas to seek to advance this commitment in the context of the forthcoming estimates and budgetary processes.
I understand that the figures quoted by the Deputy are from a Council of Europe project called Compendium - Cultural Policies and Trends in Europe. I understand that many European counties are not included in the figures, including ten EU member states. The data for the Compendium project are provided by independent researchers and it is not a standardised system for collection of statistics.
I further understand that Compendium itself warns that data provided by the researchers are not comparable across countries because each researcher includes different elements in the definition of culture and these elements are reflected in the figures for public expenditure. For example, local authority expenditure on the arts, artists exemption tax relief, expenditure on public service broadcasting and the Irish language are all examples of elements not included in the Council of Europe figures for Ireland but included in the figures for some other countries.
Expenditure on the arts in Ireland comes from multiple sources, both public and private. I understand that the CSO does not produce national statistics that capture the totality of this expenditure as a percentage of GDP.
The issue of a definition of culture and of capturing public expenditure on culture is one that was discussed in the public consultation process held for the purpose of developing Ireland's first national Cultural Policy Framework, Culture 2025. As I have previously stated, I do consider that further research on this issue is warranted in the context of Culture 2025.
In this regard, I will be forwarding a draft of Culture 2025 to the Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs later this week.
Arts Plan
Questions (537)
Bobby Aylward
Question:537. Deputy Bobby Aylward asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht further to Parliamentary Question No. 148 of 15 June 2016, when the important culture policy document, Culture 2020, will be published; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22294/16]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to forward a draft of Culture 2025 to the Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs later this week.
Film Industry
Questions (538)
John Lahart
Question:538. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the funding allocated to the film industry between 2011 to 2016; the spending on the film industry as a percentage of GNP in that time in tabular form; and her views on funding plans for the film industry in budget 2017. [22589/16]
View answerWritten answers
The Irish Film Board (IFB) has primary responsibility for the support and promotion of film-making in Ireland, in respect of both the indigenous sector and inward productions. The following table shows the allocation from my Department to the Irish Film Board from 2011 to 2016:
|
Table 1 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
|
Grant to Irish Film Board (€million) |
18,431 |
15,690 |
14,858 |
13,962 |
14,512 |
14,471 |
The other primary mechanism through which the Government supports the film industry is Section 481 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 - the film tax relief scheme. This incentive was enhanced in Budget 2016, when the cap for eligible expenditure on film projects was increased from €50 million to €70 million. In 2015, the amount of film tax relief authorised was €51 million.
The Sound and Vision Fund administered by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland also provides funding for the audiovisual industry in Ireland.
My Department has not prepared figures setting out this spending on the film industry as a percentage of GNP.
The Programme for a Partnership Government contains a very important commitment to work to progressively increase funding for the Arts, including the Ar to the Irish Film Board, as the economy continues to improve. I will be engaging with my colleagues in Government and with the Oireachtas to seek to advance this commitment in the context of the forthcoming estimates and budgetary processes.
Special Areas of Conservation
Questions (539, 540)
Eamon Ryan
Question:539. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to confirm that the European Commission opened infringement proceedings against the Republic of Ireland in February 2015 for not designating more than 400 sites of community interest as special areas of conservation as soon as possible and within six years at most, for not having set site-specific detailed conservation objectives for more than 300 sites, including several sites for freshwater pearl mussel, and for subsequently failing to adopt the necessary conservation measures which correspond to the ecological requirements of the natural habitat types in Annex I and the species in Annex II of the habitats directive. [22601/16]
View answerEamon Ryan
Question:540. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the steps the Government has taken to address the proceedings taken against the Republic of Ireland in February 2015 for not designating more than 400 sites of community interest as special areas of conservation as soon as possible and within six years at most, for not having set site-specific detailed conservation objectives for more than 300 sites and for subsequently failing to adopt the necessary conservation measures which correspond to the ecological requirements of the natural habitat types in Annex I and the species in Annex II of the habitats directive. [22602/16]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 539 and 540 together.
Following the public advertising of the intention by Ireland to designate special areas of conservation, these sites were transmitted to, and subsequently adopted by, the European Commission as sites of community importance or European sites. Once adopted by the Commission, these sites are known as candidate special areas of conservation in Ireland. Legal protections, commensurate with those set out in the EU Habitats Directive, apply to the sites since initially proposed for designation and Ireland’s planning and environmental legislation takes the proposed designations into account. The additional technical steps to formal designation do not affect the legal protection of a site.
Ireland has 430 areas identified for designation as special areas of conservation. Most of these were proposed for designation between 1997 and 2005, with some more recent additions in the marine environment.
Under the Habitats Directive, formal designation must be completed within 6 years of a candidate special area of conservation being adopted by the European Commission. With the 6 year period passed for most of the sites in question, the Commission opened an infringement case against Ireland in February 2015. The case is understood to be a horizontal action with proceedings also issued against a number of other Member States.
A project has been put in place within my Department to oversee formal designation of all special areas of conservation. This has involved a significant amount of scientific work to ensure that boundaries of sites are cleared of appeals and finalised for designation, and updating the mapping format used to provide the most accurate and user friendly information to all parties, particularly landowners.
The final phase of formal designation involves the signing of a Statutory Instrument for each special area of conservation. That process began earlier this year and some 86 special areas of conservation have now been designated by Statutory Instrument. Work is continuing with the aim of formally designating all remaining special areas of conservation as early as possible.
While there is no explicit obligation under the Habitats Directive to develop site specific conservation objectives, these are being produced by my Department in order to define the conditions to be achieved by species and habitat types within the respective sites which will in turn maximize the contribution of the sites to achieving favourable conservation status at various levels. These site specific conservation objectives continue to be developed on a prioritised basis, with some 129 published to date in relation to special areas of conservation.
A strategy for the establishment and improved coordination and delivery of conservation measures at site level has been recently developed. A detailed structure and enhanced programme of work will be put in place with the aim of developing and implementing conservation measures. This will be a significant programme of work, but one that has the potential to ensure the protection and restoration of species and habitats. In the longer-term, there are significant economic benefits to be realised through the effective management and restoration of special areas of conservation and the subsequent benefits to issues such as climate change mitigation, flood risk management, water quality and pollination.